The four of them entered the dining room for lunch hand in hand and everyone smiled at them and expected Fist and Crusher to announce the women as their ladies but when they didn't, everyone figured that they would wait until dinner when everyone would be there.
Amanda talked to Prez about taking the women shopping. "Babe, we've got 5 people who need clothes. Mara says she has her stuff at the YWCA and a storage unit that she needs to collect but Jasmine, Julia, Sandra and Candy need more than those shift dresses to wear. And Bubba can't keep running around in those sweats. We also need to replenish some of our rescue closet clothes. It's been a long time since we've refilled what we've been giving out." Amanda told him.
"Ouch! My wallet hurts already." Prez teased but when she gave him a look, he added "Okay. I guess we can go this afternoon. Do we have to go to the mall? Can't we just shop at Walmart and let them spend their men's money on trips to the mall?"
"Yeah. That would be cheaper for sure and we should be able to get everything they need in one place. I'll check with Butcher and Andy if there is anything we need for the kitchen too." Amanda said.
They enjoyed their lunch and then Prez called for men and prospects to go with them to go shopping. "Beau, you go with Bullet and Mara. Help them get Mara's belongings. Guardian. Wheels. Jess. Ivan. We're going shopping. Get a couple of vans ready to go. If anyone needs anything from Walmart, give Amanda your list." Prez said as he helped Amanda out of her chair.
Everyone went to the restroom and then got ready to go. Thankfully only Andy, who had gotten up during lunch, had a list of stuff he needed from the store. "I had planned on going in after breakfast but I needed sleep more than ingredients." Andy told Amanda and Prez.
"Andy, in the future, don't be afraid to ask for help. Your place as our cook is secure. I just need to know what you want your road name to be?" Prez said. "If Bubba decides to stay, he's already expressed an interest in working in the kitchen so maybe you guys can split up the duties and you can have a life outside of the kitchen too. But I'll need a name for him too."
"Wow. So I get to choose? I always thought you would choose our names. I'll have to think about it." Andy said, feeling super happy right now.
Everyone loaded up in the vans and took off for Walmart. As soon as they got there, the men led their women to the clothing department and stood just watching them shop. They got a kick out of it because their women seemed to turn into young girls when they shopped, giggling as they helped each other find things to wear.
Prez gave Wheels and Guardian the lists Andy had given him and they went to get the groceries while the women found their clothes. All of the men tried not to show that they were kind of embarrassed when the ladies moved into the lingerie section and turned to talk to each other even more than they had been.
Amanda noticed and couldn't help but laugh and whispered to the women "hold things up so that the men can see, even if you don't buy it". All of the women caught on to what was happening and they teased the men mercilessly with things like thong panties and lacy push up bras but in reality settled for things that were more comfortable and practical. They all picked out nightgowns to wear to bed and wondered if they would even wear them, not realizing that the men were looking forward to seeing the women in them later, hopefully.
Ivan and Bubba went to the men's department and got clothes for him before rejoining the other men as they gathered up the women to head over to the shoe department.
"Ladies, just get something to keep your feet warm for now. I suggest sneakers because winter is not going to last much longer but you'll be able to wear sneakers even during the summer months." Amanda told them. She had already almost filled up a cart with unisex clothes like sweats and socks but she had also added packages of boy short panties in a variety of sizes.
The shift dresses that they kept on hand were ordered online and she realized that she was going to have to do that soon but needed to do an inventory of what they had on hand first. Prez had gotten men's boxers in a variety of sizes. Men's jeans and t-shirts would have to be purchased as needed since they didn't usually get men as rescue victims and definitely not ones as big as Bubba.
When Wheels and Guardian joined them with two baskets full of groceries, Prez finally called a halt to it all and they all headed to the check out. Since Prez was the one who was going to pay for it all, he and Guardian stayed to unload everything while the rest of the men took the ladies back to the vans.
"Man, I hope everything is going to fit. We probably should have brought an empty van just to get it all home." Prez said as they filled the conveyor belt over and over again.
"If you want to send the ladies home, they could unload people and bring back a cargo van before we get finished checking out." Guardian suggested.
"Yeah, I think we should. Why doesn't Walmart have bigger bags for large purchases?" Prez groused as he pulled bag after bag off of the spinning carousel behind the cashier and put them in an empty cart. Once he had it empty, he pulled out his phone and texted Wheels to take everyone home and then come back with a cargo van.
Wheels let him know he would be back ASAP and let everyone know. No one objected since it was cold outside and the vans weren't as comfortable to sit in as the couches were at home.
It took nearly half an hour for the cashier to ring up everything and they ended up with four and a half carts full of Walmart bags and a over $600 bill. Prez was just thankful that Brigett hadn't been with them or the bill could have been much higher. That woman loved to shop!
When they got back to the compound, Prez told the prospects to just unload everything on the dining room tables and to help Andy get stuff put away. The ladies could separate and claim the things they had bought.
Prez entered his office to go put the receipt in the pile of paperwork that needed to be entered in the computer and hadn't planned on doing any paperwork right now but his phone rang just as he reached his desk.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Badger. This is Rooster. How are things going there?" Rooster asked.
"Good. How about with you?" Prez said and got an uneasy feeling.
"Good. I need a favor." Rooster said.
"Sure. What can I do for you?" Prez said. When the president of the mother chapter calls and asks for a favor, you don't say no especially since he had helped them out so much in the past year.
"Have you ever met Tank?" Rooster asked.
"Yeah, once. At Sturgis. I think it was the first year after I became president. Didn't he get in some trouble and end up in prison?" Prez asked, trying to remember the details of what had gone down with Tank.
"Yeah. Well, he got railroaded but he's getting out soon and while I'm hoping he will eventually come back here, he asked for an alternate club that is not a 1% club for a while. We're having some Cobra issues right now and I don't want him coming back into this right away. He needs a chance to get used to life on the outside before he can really deal with the memories of coming back here.
I've got his bike here and I'm going to send a couple of men to pull it up on a trailer so that he'll have it. I've got a feeling that he may want to go nomad for a while. I also need someone to go pick him up. He's been transferred to a low security facility not far from you." Rooster explained.
"When is he due to get out?" Prez asked.
"Next Tuesday." Rooster said.
"What time can we pick him up?" Prez asked, his mind kicking into overdrive.
"Any time after 8 am. He's going to need clothes and boots and they will need to be dropped off since the clothes he had when he was arrested won't fit anymore. I'll email you his sizes and send you some money for his start-up expenses." Rooster told him.
"Good. I just got home from taking four new couples shopping and getting in a grocery order. My wallet has been crying all the way home. Hey, is your construction crew going to be busy this summer? We've got to expand and I've got men with women wanting houses but I think we are going to do an apartment complex. Almost half of my guys have managed to find their life partners in the past year. Hammer and his woman were expecting a baby now too and Margie is going to be having her baby here real soon." Prez told him.
"Sounds like your club is about to turn into a mirror image of ours. We've got toddlers running around all over the place and new babies due in the next few months." Rooster said with a chuckle.
"Well, I can't wait for Amanda to give birth. She's due in a little over 2 months." Prez told him.
"Well, I guess you guys won't be going to Sturgis this year?" Rooster asked.
"Probably not me and Amanda or Hammer and Stella but the rest of the guys might want to go." Prez said. "It's too early to even think about Sturgis right now. I've got to get our expansion done and we're going to be building the Rescue Center too. I need all the capable hands I can get and probably for the whole summer."
"Well, let me check what is planned and I'll let you know if I can spare a few guys. So are you good to go on picking Tank up?" Rooster asked.
"Yeah. I just hope he's not thinking that we're going to have club whores for him because I kicked them all out. He'll have to go to town if he wants female company." Prez warned him.
"Ya know what? I can't remember Tank ever messing with the club whores we had when he was here so I'm not sure what he'll want. His woman was killed a long time ago. That's one of the reasons he doesn't want to come back here. Too many memories of her here." Rooster told him.
"Well, if you talk to him before then, let him know I'll be there to pick him up next Tuesday morning at 8 am." Prez reassured him.
"Good deal. Let me know when Margie gives birth and tell them I said congrats." Rooster said before he hung up.
Instead of leaving his office, Prez texted Spokes to come to him, telling he needed to talk to him. A few minutes later, a knock came at his door and he called out "Come in."
"What's up, Prez?" Spokes asked as he came through the door.
"I just got a call from Rooster. Guess what? Tank is going to be getting out of prison next Tuesday. He's been transferred to Lexington and Rooster has asked if he can transfer here at least temporarily. He says Tank doesn't want to go back there, at least not right away, because of some Cobra issues they are having and all the old memories of his woman being there. She was killed not long before he went to jail.
He's being released next Tuesday morning at 8 am. I'm planning on being there to pick him up but do you think we should go in as a club or just me and a driver?" Prez asked for his opinion.
"I think just you and a driver will be enough. He might feel overwhelmed or he might see it as if we don't trust him. We should have a special lunch or dinner for him. Maybe Andy can make his special chicken. I bet he's going to really appreciate some good food after eating prison food for..............how many years has he been in there?" Spokes was quick to reply.
"Five, I think. Yeah, I think you are right. Rooster said he's going to have his bike sent up here too so that he will have it when he's ready to ride again." Prez said.
"Do you think he will stay or go nomad?" Spokes asked.
"I'm not sure. I know if it were me, I'd probably go nomad, at least for a while, but first I would want to become familiar with my new club. Besides, winter is not over yet so he won't be able to ride for a while. It's too bad too. I bet he's dying to get on his bike and just go!" Prez said.
"What about a woman? We don't have club whores anymore." Spokes asked.
"Yeah, I mentioned that to Rooster. He said he never knew Tank to mess with the club whores, even before and after his woman. You know who would be a good match for him, if they get along?" Prez asked and Spokes thought about the women in town and finally shook his head.
"Julie from the diner. I think they are about the same age and ever since her husband died, I've never even heard of her having a man in her life." Prez said.
"Well, I agree they would be a good match but just because we don't know about her having a man doesn't mean she doesn't have one. Julie is an attractive woman and a hard worker. I find it hard to believe that she doesn't date." Spokes said.
"Well, we'll just do the introductions and let them take it from there. I'm definitely not interested in becoming a matchmaker. I've got enough on my plate as it is." Prez said. "Who's making dinner tonight?"
"Andy. Butcher went home. He said Margie can't be left alone and he's worried about her. He was also impressed with Bubba. Said he's fast with a knife." Spokes said.
"Well, hopefully he can give Andy some relief. Poor kid has worn himself out trying to keep up with the demands of cooking 3 meals a day 7 days a week. I think we've only done take out a couple of times since he took over and that was because everyone wanted pizza. Any idea what they are making tonight?" Prez asked.
"I think it's Mexican but I'm not sure." Spokes said. "It should be ready soon. I can't believe how fast time is passing lately. Sometimes it seems like we just woke up and it's time for bed. I look forward to everyday ending now." Spokes grinned at Prez.
"Hahahaha! I know what you mean. Funny what a big difference they make just by being here. We used to stay up half the night drinking, trying to get numb enough to go to an empty bed and now we eagerly turn in early after only a beer or two." Prez said.
"True, but you'll never hear me complain." Spokes said.
"Well, if Tank says he needs female company, we'll introduce him to Julie but if he just needs sex, then we'll introduce him to Pepper." Prez said.
Together they left Prez's office just in time as Edmond let them know that dinner was ready on his way to knock on doors.
The next few days were quiet. Prez ordered a new cut for Tank once Rooster sent him the sizes. Prez called George at the leather shop and told him to get a club patch ready but he would have to bring Tank down to get the correct vest size and George said he keeps a variety of sizes made up so if they could wait while he sewed the patch on, then he would have it ready for them to pick up. Prez assured him that would be fine since Tank would need boots too. George was happy to push through the order because they usually spend a lot of money in his store.
With spring getting closer, the women started planning for weddings. Everyone was trying to plan it to happen before Amanda gave birth.
Prez and Amanda got into a small argument over expenses regarding the weddings and receptions. "Look, we are going to be facing a lot of expenses with the expansion and buying the land across the street. We just can't afford to go all out for these weddings. There are four couples getting married and at least 6 more that are more than likely going to happen before the end of the year.
Unless you have a way to pay for them all, they are just going to have to downsize some of this or pay for it themselves. The club can't meet all these expenses without making a loan and I'm not going to do that for something like weddings." Prez had finally lost his temper about it and put his foot down.
Amanda had been in a huff about it for a day or two but in the end realized that he was right. She had gotten a little carried away with some of the things she had been planning. All of the women were very understanding and said that they didn't need anything so extravagant as she had been planning. "So long as we get our men, we're happy. Let's just keep it simple. The receptions will just be the men within the club since none of us have family to invite. The only extras will be "the families" and the "Allen's."
The families had purchased Jess's land and got the mobile homes set up and while it had been a challenge for them at first, they seemed to be content now but were eager to get their permanent homes built.
Leon and Tasha came back from their honeymoon and Leon was not surprised that the plans for the expansion had changed when he met all of the new women in the club.
All of the women said that they were okay with having an apartment so long as they had at least two bedrooms and master bathrooms like what they had in the clubhouse. They all agreed that if they ended up having more than one child, they would insist on single family homes but for now an apartment away from the clubhouse made the most sense. Amanda suspected that the women just felt more secure being in the clubhouse, especially if they had been through a lock down.
When she mentioned that to Prez, he made up his mind that the secure room for the apartment building would have a hidden underground tunnel to the clubhouse that only the executive staff would know about.
Even Doc and Melinda were happy with the plans that Prez proposed of expanding their current apartment and the plans to expand and improve on the clinic.
Because of the way Leon planned to redesign it, they would even be able to have a "rescue wing" that would be separate and private for individuals and they would have several "family friendly" units available. The only real issue left was finding enough qualified men to do the building. Prez decided that he would contact all of the sister chapters for help before he began contacting the local employment agencies.
The few days of quiet they had enjoyed erupted in total chaos when late Saturday night, the kitchen phone rang.
"Hello?" Digger said. He had been in the kitchen looking for a snack for the movie he and Stephanie were planning on watching.
"Please help us." A small voice said.
"What's your name?" Digger asked.
"Tommy. Can you please come and get us? We're scared." The small little boy's voice said.
"What are you afraid of?" Digger asked.
"The bad man is here." The boy whispered and Digger could hear a man and a woman yelling and slamming in the background. Then suddenly he couldn't hear the woman anymore.
"Where are you?" Digger asked urgently.
"In the red trailer. Please hurry. He's going to find us soon." The little voice whispered softly and Digger could hear another child whimpering in the background. Digger pulled out his cell phone and sent an urgent message to Prez that there was a rescue call on the kitchen phone.
"Where are you hiding?" Digger asked, knowing that there weren't many places to hide inside a trailer.
"In the closet in the bathroom. Please hurry." the little voice whispered and then the angry voice started to come through very clearly as if it was right outside the door.
"Where are you, you damned brats?" The angry voice said with a slur. Digger could hear him stomping around, the door being slammed open and heard the rings on the shower curtain moving over the metal rod. Digger just prayed that he had not heard the little boy whispering.
"Don't talk anymore. We'll be there as fast as we can." Digger said.
Just then Prez came charging into the kitchen. "What's going on Digger?"
"At least one kid, I think more than one, and a drunk looking for them. Red trailer at the trailer park. I'm going to wake up my team." Digger said, pushing the phone at Prez and then taking off out of the kitchen.
Prez barely managed to catch the phone before Digger shot out of the kitchen. He put the receiver to his ear and could hear a slurred voice slamming things around and yelling for "you damn brats" and felt his blood pressure start to rise.
He could also hear some heavy breathing, like a child trying hard not to cry. He said "Shhh! Be very quiet. My men are coming. We'll be there soon. Just stay hidden and be very, very quiet."
Prez continued to listen as team 2 rushed downstairs and began pulling on their coats. They ran out the door and jumped into the SUV parked right outside and took off for the trailer park.
When the angry voice on the phone sounded like it was getting farther away, Prez asked the little boy "What's your name?"
"Tommy." The little boy whispered.
"Where is your mommy, Tommy?" Prez asked.
"I don't know. The bad man was hitting her. She told us to run. We were going to go to the neighbors house but I couldn't find my other shoe and I couldn't reach Amy's coat in the closet." Tommy whimpered.
"Who is Amy?" Prez asked, dreading the answer.
"My baby sister." Tommy replied.
"How old are you, Tommy." Prez asked.
"I'm six. Amy is four." Tommy said.
Then Prez heard the drunk's footsteps again.
"Be very quiet, Tommy. Don't make any noise. My men should be there soon." Prez said. The trailer park is only about two miles down the main road once they left the clubhouse road so it shouldn't take them long to get there. If Digger was driving, he just prayed he didn't roll the vehicle or cause an accident making the turn on to the main road.
Within another couple of minutes, Prez heard banging on the trailer door and the drunk yelling "What the fuck? Who the hell is there?"
He yanked open the door and Crank answered "Your worst nightmare." Crank yanked the man out of the trailer and threw him on the ground as Digger and Snoop entered the trailer. They found the woman on the living room floor, out cold.
"I'm going to call for Doc. She's out cold and I don't like the way her neck is bent. I can't tell if it's broken or just laying at a weird angle." Snoop said as he bent over her trying to determine if she was still alive or not. "At least she's breathing but she's been beat up bad."
"I'm going to find the kids." Digger said.
"Don't bring them out here. They don't need to see their mother like this." Snoop said.
Digger walked down the hall to the bathroom. "Tommy? It's me. You called me, remember?" He stepped into the bathroom and closed the door and opened the door to the small linen closet behind it.
He had to move a laundry basket and bent down to see two small children crouched down behind it, the boy clutching a cordless phone with his arm around his sister, Digger's heart felt like someone had punched him in the chest.
"Hey. We took the bad man outside. You can come out now. I'm not going to let him hurt you." Digger said and put his hand out to the little boy. Slowly the two children crawled out of the closet and Digger grabbed a clean washcloth from the shelf above them. He wet it and wiped the kids faces then helped them wash their hands.
"Come on. Let's go find you some warm clothes. We're going to take you to see our clubhouse. Okay?" Digger tried to smile at them.
"What's your name, sir?" Tommy asked and Digger was surprised at how polite and well mannered the little boy was.
"They call me Digger. Who is this pretty little lady?" Digger asked as he sat the little girl on her feet.
"Her name is Amy. She's 4 and I'm 6. I'm in first grade." Tommy said. He was a small little boy with brown hair and brown eyes. His sister looked just like him except Tommy had straight hair and Amy's was curly.
Digger let Tommy lead them to their shared bedroom and helped them out of their pajamas and into clothes that would be warmer to go outside in. He also gathered up some extra clothes for them to take with them.
Amy had hold of a stuffed bunny rabbit that she refused to let go of. "What's your buddy's name?" Digger asked her.
"Bunny." Amy said shyly.
"How did you know our number to call us, Tommy?" Digger asked.
"From the paper we got at school. Our teacher made sure we all had a copy to bring home." Tommy said and showed Digger a copy of the flier they always passed out to the schools when Prez or Spokes went to talk to the kids about "stranger danger" and what to do if someone was hurting them or if they felt threatened by someone.
Digger finally heard Doc arrive and continued to keep the kids occupied, asking about the things in their room, like Tommy's school work or their coloring book and story books. Digger acted very interested in everything they were showing him and told them to make a pile of things they would like to take with them and explained that they were going to go for a sleep over at his house. He wasn't sure if Tommy realized what was going on or not and was thankful that he was not asking where his mom was.
When Snoop came down the hall, he started to tease Digger about playing with the children but then thought better of it. Digger often got stuck with the most gruesome parts of what they do and he deserved to be able to deal with something that wasn't so disgusting for once.
When Doc reached the trailer, he examined the unconscious woman and determined that her neck wasn't broken but she had several cracked ribs and a nasty bump on her head. Her shoulder was dislocated, which he set while she was unconscious, and she had both old and new bruises. She must have felt Doc touching her because she began to wake up but was disoriented at first.
She moaned and pulled her injured arm closer to her body as Doc was tying the sling he had put on it closed behind her neck. "Who are you?" Was her first question.
"My name is Doctor Goodson but you can call me Doc. We're from the Rescuer's MC. Your son called us about a bad man being here." Doc explained.
"Where are my kids? Are they okay? He didn't hurt them, did he?" She asked as she became more aware.
"They are gathering up some things. We're going to take you all to our place until you are healed up. You'll be safe there. Who is the man outside? And why did he do this to you?" Snoop said.
"His name is Harry Clarkson. One of the guys I work with set us up on a blind date. I went out with him one time. He got drunk and because he paid for dinner, expected me to lay down with him. I refused and he got mad. Started pushing me around. Security at the restaurant made him leave me alone and called an Uber for me. Harry apparently doesn't know the meaning of the word no.
Every Saturday night since then, he comes around wanting to crawl into my bed but I refuse to open the door to him. I forgot to lock the door earlier and this time he just opened the door and came in. He started pushing me around and I told the kids to run next door and call the neighbor. Why did they call you instead of the police?" She asked.
"They didn't. Your son did." Snoop said.
"What? Where is Tommy? I need to see my kids." She said, becoming agitated. "Tommy! Come here please."
A minute later, Tommy came running down the hall. "Mommy? Are you okay?" he said, running directly for his mother.
"Baby, why didn't you go next door like I told you?" The woman asked as she hugged her son close.
"I couldn't find my other shoe and I couldn't reach Amy's coat in the closet. It's really cold outside and their lights are off. I don't think Aunty's home." Tommy explained. "So I called the number from the paper my teacher gave me at school. They came to talk to us at school about what to do when someone makes you scared and I was really really scared."
"I know baby and I'm so proud of you." The woman told him.
"Ma'am, I'd like to take you to our clinic to take some x-rays of your ribs and your head. I want to be able to keep you under observation at least overnight until I'm sure you are not in any danger." Doc said.
Digger came down the hall just then carrying Amy, who was clutching her bunny, and the duffle bag with the kids clothes inside and Tommy's school backpack. "I've got stuff for the kids." He said holding up the bag for her to see.
There was a basket of clean laundry sitting next to the sofa where she had been folding clothes when Harry had shown up.
"Alright. If you wouldn't mind getting me a duffle bag out of the hall closet, I'll just stuff a change of clothes in it." The woman said.
"I'm sorry for not asking earlier but what's your name, ma'am?" Doc asked.
"Nicole. Nicole Downing." Nicole said. She quickly stuffed a couple of t-shirts, jeans, a night gown, underwear and socks into the duffle bag. Snoops offered to carry it for her as she grabbed her purse. Doc helped her to stand and they all left the trailer. Snoops made sure all of the lights were off and he locked the door behind himself.
Doc helped her into the ambulance while Digger put the kids in the SUV. Crank climbed in and drove the ambulance so that Doc could ride shotgun in case Nicole needed him.
Snoop and Knife rode up front while Digger rode in the back with the two kids. He had put seatbelts on them but they were both so small that he didn't want them to ride alone. Snoop drove them carefully back to the clubhouse and turned the kids over to Melinda to prepare them for bed. Then they went to talk to Prez about the man who was now strapped to a chair in the shed.