“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Clayborn,” Griffin told her as he shook her hand.
“You’ve made quite an impression on Wyatt. He hasn’t stopped talking about you, and I’m pretty sure my daughter feels the same way,” she said playfully.
“Mom,” I scolded, shaking my head with embarrassment.
“It’s true,” she continued. “I asked him about Griffin after our little talk.”
Before she had a chance to say anything else, I asked, “Where’s Wyatt?”
“He’s inside with your father. He can’t find his tennis shoes.”
I was just about to go in and help when they both walked out the front door. “Hey, Stitch,” Wyatt said excitedly, completely oblivious that I was standing there. He walked over to him and asked, “Where’s your motorcycle?”
“It’s back at the clubhouse,” Griffin answered.
“I wanted Papa to see it,” Wyatt told him. He quickly turned back to my father and said, “It’s really cool, Papa. It’s a Harley, and it’s got double barrel exhaust pipes. You really gotta see it!”
“Maybe some other time,” my father piped in. “I’m Stan. Heard a lot about you,” he chuckled as he shook Griffin’s hand.
“I told him how Wyatt’s been talking about him,” my mother said smiling.
I thanked him as I took Wyatt’s bag from my father and said, “I wish we could stay longer, but Griffin has some things he needs to take care of. Thank you for keeping him this weekend.”
“Anytime, sweetheart. You know we love having him here,” my mother said as she gave me a quick hug. “Have a good week, Wyatt.”
“I will,” he told her, giving her a little hug before he darted for the car.
I walked over to my father, and just as I was about to give him a hug goodbye, he said, “Wyatt thinks a lot of this fella, and from the look on your face, you do, too. Just be careful.” He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly as he whispered, “Love you, sweet pea.”
“Love you, too, Daddy,” I told him.
When we got in the car, Griffin pulled out his phone and called someone at the clubhouse. “Need you to meet me over at Wren’s house. You’ll need to help her get her stuff loaded and back to the clubhouse while I go to the meet.” There was a brief pause, and then he said, “Good. We’ll be there in ten.”
As soon as Griffin hung up his phone, Wyatt asked, “Are we going somewhere, Momma?”
“Yeah, buddy. We’re going to go over to Griffin’s clubhouse to stay with him for a few days. The bug man is coming to spray, and we need to be out of the house for a couple of days,” I explained. Normally such news would throw him off balance. He needed time to adjust to changes in his routine, but he seemed to like the idea.
“We get to stay there… at his clubhouse?” he asked excitedly.
“Yeah, bud. We do.”
“That’s awesome. Can I take my game?” he asked.
“Sure. And anything else you’d like to bring,” Griffin answered. “And there’ll be some other kids there you’ll get to meet. Dusty is about your age, and he loves video games, too.”
“Okay,” Wyatt said smiling.
When we pulled up to the house, there was a motorcycle parked in the driveway. We all got out of the car, and one of Griffin’s brothers walked over to us. I remembered seeing him at the club the other night. He was a little younger than Griffin, and unlike most of the others, he wasn’t sporting any facial hair. I wanted to run my fingers across his cheek to see if it was as smooth as it looked. Then, he seemed so nice, sporting a big, bright smile, but today he looked different. Today, he had the same serious expression that Griffin was wearing, making him seem a little intimidating.
When Griffin noticed me looking at his brother, he cleared his throat and said, “This is Clutch. I had him come over so he could help get you packed. I’ve got to get back to the club.”
“You’re leaving?” I asked.
“Don’t have a choice here, Wren. I’m the club Enforcer, and my club needs me right now. Clutch is one of my brothers from the club, and I trust him to take care of you both. Once you get your things together, he’ll get you over to the club where he can watch over you and the other women.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“Hey, Clutch,” Wyatt said. “That’s a cool road name.”
“Thanks, little man,” Clutch told him.
“I’ve got to get over to the clubhouse. Prez wants all the officers at the meet. Just make sure they get the necessities and get gone,” Griffin ordered.
“No problem. Cotton gave me my orders. I’ve got it from here,” he told Griffin. “And you can just take my bike back to the clubhouse. I’ll ride with them.”