The Downing kids had been afraid of all the big men at first but it didn't take long before little Amy had them wrapped around her little finger. But instead of Thor, her "go to" person was Digger, which Stephanie found just adorable. It also turned on her biological clock and she began hinting to Digger about wanting a baby soon. After spending time with those kids over the past couple of days, Digger wasn't totally opposed to the idea.
On Monday afternoon, Butcher made a frantic call to Doc to come to his house. Apparently Margie was having labor pains and Butcher was panicking, terrified that he was going to lose the love of his life because he thought the baby was coming too early.
Doc and Melinda took off in his ambulance with Prez and Thor right behind him. They would be there hopefully just for emotional support but also to hold Butcher back and keep him out of the way if things started to go bad for Margie.
Thankfully, it was just Braxton contractions but Doc did confirm that it wouldn't be much longer before she went into real labor. "Baby has already shifted into a birthing position and your cervix is just starting to thin out. Have you been having any kind of pain before this?" Doc asked.
"Pinching pains in my hips and my lower back has been kind of sore but that's more of a steady ache. I figured it was because of the weight I'm carrying in the front." Margie answered.
After that, Butcher insisted that they move back in at the clubhouse and because she was worried about it happening again and she wanted Doc and Melinda closer, she agreed without putting up too much of an argument.
Once they had Margie all settled into a room closer to the clinic, Prez asked Doc "Doc, do you have everything you might possibly need for Margie and the baby if you end up having to deliver it here?"
"I think I'm going to call Dr. Allen and see if he can get the loan of a warming bed. Not all babies need them so buying one is not necessary for us but when babies do come early, it's a good idea to keep them in one. Baby will need to be kept warm for at least a few hours after birth. Also a monitor for once she goes into labor. I don't have one that will track a fetal heartbeat.
I'm hoping we get enough warning that she's ready to give birth and we can get her to the hospital in time. Melinda is good at what I've taught her and she said she has been a midwife and can deliver babies that come naturally but I'll need a trained nurse to assist me with Margie if I end up having to do an emergency C-section. Even though I pray nothing goes wrong with the baby, we may need a trained baby nurse. Melinda is only one person and she's never had to deal with a baby in distress.
Doc did not disclose that Butcher had talked to him a few months ago that if anything were to go wrong during childbirth that he wanted to make sure that nothing happens to Margie. He couldn't go on if she died and knew he would not be able to take care of a child on his own. He wouldn't want to if Margie was not going to be there with him.
Doc had tried to reassure Butcher that while Margie is older than any of the other women in the club, she was in good health and a strong person. He really didn't see anything that would warrant Butcher worrying about losing her. But Butcher had been adamant and made him promise to save Margie no matter what.
Everyone seemed to be rather on edge for a while after that, especially Prez and Hammer, who kept their women very close to them that night.
Tuesday morning, Prez was up early and wished he had not told Rooster he would pick Tank up from the prison himself but he had given his word that he would. His bike was due to arrive later today and they had a room all ready for him.
When Prez entered the kitchen just after 6 am, he found both Andy and Bubba preparing breakfast. Bubba was showing Andy how to make the sauce for eggs benedict and Andy was saying "I don't know how well this is going to go over. These guys are more of the meat and potato's crowd but I'm glad I know how to make it now."
"Did you say eggs benedict?" Prez asked and they both nodded.
"Man, I haven't had that in years but I remember it as being really good. My late wife, Lois, and I had it on board the ship when we went on a cruise to the Bahamas for our honeymoon. I ate some really good stuff on that trip that I haven't had since." Prez said.
"Well, if everyone likes it, we can make it another breakfast choice now. I'm kind of worried about the poached eggs part of this. I don't have the pans for that. We're going to have to use muffin tins for now." Andy said.
"Good. Since it's just a glorified Egg McMuffin, for those that don't want the sauce, they can just leave it off." Prez said.
Just then, Wheels stumbled into the kitchen. He was going to be driving Prez to the prison this morning to pick up Tank. The two men got coffee and while Prez would have liked to try a serving of Bubba's breakfast, he figured that Tank would probably want to go somewhere to eat so he told him he'd have to try it some other time.
Wheels said it was too early for him to even think about eating yet so he declined too.
While Prez went to kiss Amanda goodbye and use the restroom before they left, Wheels went to get the nicest of the SUVs ready to go. He had made sure that it was clean and full of gas yesterday so he just had to warm it up. He pulled up to the front door just as Prez came out.
It took an hour for them to get to the prison and they sat and talked while they waited for him to come out. Both men were glad that they were not required to go inside.
"You ever been in jail, Wheels?" Prez asked.
"No way. My dad would have beaten me to death for sure if I had ever gotten arrested. How about you?" Wheels asked.
"Just overnight a couple of times for fighting when I was younger. My dad didn't have to hit me to keep me in line. He had a way of looking at you that scared the piss out of me at the same time he made me ashamed of myself for whatever I had done wrong. When my mom was killed, I grew up mentally really fast. I had to. My dad kind of lost it when she was killed." Prez said. Everyone in the club knew about how Kathryn had died.
"What about this guy we are picking up?" Wheels asked, curious about his history.
"He got busted when the MSMC was still a 1% club. His wife had been killed just a few months before then and he would just take off and ride, trying to clear his mind. He stopped at a bar in the wrong town and some guy from a rival gang picked a fight with him, after planting some coke on his bike.
The cop tainted the evidence by not wearing gloves and they trumped up all kinds of charges. Possession, intent to sell it, fighting, terroristic threatening, all kinds of BS charges. Apparently the judge was not a big fan of bikers.
After much negotiation, their lawyer finally came back and told them that if Tank didn't go down for this, there was going to be a lot of trouble for the club so he took the hit. Their lawyer did fight hard for him and finally made it so that as long as he did his full 5 years there would be no probation afterwards and he would regain his full rights. He won't be able to carry a gun, I think they said, for 6 months and he's never to go near that town again but other than that, he'll be as free as a bird.
I've got a feeling that as soon as the weather warms up and it's safe to ride again, he'll ask to go nomad. Don't ask him about his past. I don't know how sensitive he's going to be about it." Prez said.
"How did his woman die?" Wheels asked.
"Cobras snatched her. She was missing for a month and during that time, I understand that Tank was going crazy looking for her. He couldn't sleep, couldn't eat and drank almost constantly. When they dumped her body in the driveway of the compound, naked and all cut up, he went ballistic.
He would lead the way into any of their camps, guns blazing. He liked to carry an AK15 and showed no mercy. He almost single handedly wiped them out in that area for a while. This all happened about the time Rooster became president and got them out of the gun and drug running. Tank would have been about your age, I think.
Man, did her rich daddy have a field day with that! From what I heard, he disowned her and threatened to kill Tank if he ever hurt his daughter. He blamed Tank for what happened to his little girl, and made a big scene at the funeral.
No one can be really sure about it but there were rumors that her daddy had paid the judge to throw the book at Tank. He wanted him to get life but the judge couldn't and wouldn't go along with that because it would open up too much publicity. I think they were more worried about getting all of their small time scams exposed.
Tank was about my size, from what I remember, maybe a little taller than me. But from the sizes that Rooster sent me, he's put on some weight up top at least." Prez said.
"So he's a weapons person?" Wheels asked.
"Yeah. He wasn't as good as Ace but from what I remember of him, he was a damn good shot." Prez said.
Just then the door to the prison opened and out walked a very large man and both Prez and Wheels eyes got big and their mouths dropped open. "Damn, he's a lot taller than I remember and he may not be as tall as Thor but he's as big everywhere else." Prez said. He had been expecting him to be a little bit bulkier but not this much.
Tank speed walked to the gate, showed his release papers and shook the guard's hand. The guard let him out and wished him good luck. "Don't come back, Tank. You are better than this place." the guard told him.
"Thanks and don't worry. I won't be back." Tank said and stepped over the white line that was painted on the ground as he went through the gate and just stood there for a minute as he took a deep breath. "It's true. The air smells better out here." Tank told the guard who just smiled and said "That's the smell of freedom. Go and make the most of it."
"I plan on it." Tank replied then he saw Prez and another young man waiting for him. He wanted to run to them but he walked at his normal pace.
When he reached the SUV, Prez greeted him. "Welcome back to the world, Tank." They shook hands and then bro hugged.
"Thanks Badger or should I be calling you Prez now?" Tank asked.
"Yeah, it's Prez now unless we are around other clubs whose presidents are there. Gets too confusing to call all of us Prez. Tank, this is Wheels. He can drive anything with wheels on it and is the best I've ever seen behind the wheel of one of these things, hence his name." Prez introduced him.
"Welcome home, Tank. Nice to meet you." Wheels said as he tilted his chin up to look at his face and felt very small standing in front of the huge man.
"Thank you. It's good to finally be out of there. Any chance we can go get some decent coffee and food? I've really missed good coffee. The stuff they have in here is never hot enough and tasted like they used dirty socks for coffee filters." Tank said and Wheels was surprised at how soft spoken he was, just like Thor.
"Sure. We actually waited to have breakfast so that you wouldn't have to eat alone. Afterwards, we need to stop at the cut shop to pick up your cut and get you some boots. Did we get your sizes right?" Prez asked.
"The t-shirt was a bit too small so I had to cut the sleeves off to get it on but the pants were okay. I'll be glad to get rid of these prison shoes. And I need a belt and a coat. This thing is a joke but it's better than nothing." He said referring to the lightweight jacket the prison had given him. "Rooster said he sent you money for my clothes?" Tank asked.
"Yeah. My wife bought you some jeans but I guess we'll have to exchange the t-shirts she bought for larger sizes. And I'd better check with George to make sure he's got a blank cut to fit you and tell him to start adding the patch. What would you like to eat?" Prez asked.
"Can we go to Denny's? They used to serve a skillet meal that I've been craving for over a week now. I hope they still make it. I also want steak and eggs and real orange juice, not that powdered crap they served in there." Tank said.
Wheels pulled out and drove them first to Denny's and both Wheels and Prez were impressed with not only how much Tank ate but his excellent table manners. He didn't shovel food into his mouth but ate like a gentleman. He was going to give Thor competition in the consumption department! But it wasn't really surprising when they thought about it. They both wondered what little Kelly was going to have to say about how much he ate. She always teased Thor about it.
"Prison food sucked. Everything tasted like cardboard because it was all stuff they heated up from frozen cartons. Is Butcher still your cook?" Tank asked.
"Actually he's retiring. Margie is expecting a baby any day now. She had braxton contractions the other day and like to have scared Butcher half to death." Prez told him. "We've got two cooks now. Andy has been a prospect for about 3 years and Butcher taught him how to cook. He's a natural at it and has come up with some really good dishes on his own. In fact he's going to be making his special chicken dish for you tonight. It's awesome!
We also have a man who was part of a rescue we did a few weeks ago. A couple of years ago, he got into a fight with a man who was pushing his woman around in a bar one night and the other guy hit him over the head with a beer bottle. Nearly knocked him out and it gave the guy the chance to cut him up really bad with the broken bottle. He looks like Frankenstein now but he's a really nice guy and a good cook himself. His woman is there too and she has a very impressive chest. His name is Bubba and her's is Julia." Prez informed him.
"You got that right." Wheels piped up, causing both men to laugh at how Wheels blushed bright red when he realized what he had said as he practically drooled at the thought of Julia. Wheels hoped that April never found out that he had commented about Julia's breast size.
"That brings up a subject I need to let you know right now. We don't have any clubwhores anymore. I got fed up with the trouble they kept causing and kicked them all out but if you need some female attention, we can call them to come for a night. Sometimes they come on Friday or Saturday nights to just drink and have fun in the hope of making some money too." Prez said.
"No thanks. I have no desire to be with a woman that will sleep with just anyone." Tank said quietly. "I heard about Lois, Badger. I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Yeah. I miss her but I've got a new woman now and she has become my world. In fact, she's going to bless me with a son in a couple of months. She's due the first part of June. Hammer's woman, Stella, is due with their first in late July." Prez said.
"Wow. Congratulations! Sounds like your clubhouse is about to be overrun with babies. Children are such a blessing. I wish Tina and I could have had kids. She would have been a great mom." Tank said quietly and got a far away look on his face.
"Well, if you are done eating. Let's get going." Prez said. He paid the bill and left a generous tip for the waitress.
They went to the leather shop first and got Tank's cut, boots, belt and a duster coat for him to wear not only for warmth but for then it rained and he was on his bike. Everybody in the club had one.
"Man it feels good to be dressed like a man again. Rooster said he was going to have my bike brought up here. Has it arrived yet?" Tank said as they left the leather shop.
"It's due sometime today. Do you want to go nomad when the weather warms up enough to ride?" Prez asked straight out.
"Maybe. Just for a little while. I've been locked up for a long time and will need to work on short rides first. Get my back and leg muscles used to it again. Riding a bike is very different from lifting weights. I heard Thor went nomad for a while?" Tank asked.
"Yeah, but he's back now. Just got married in February in fact. His wife, Natalie, is going to be opening a security guard training school soon. She's a second degree black belt. She flipped Crusher on his back one night when he tried to grab her from behind to keep her from beating one of the club whores who threw a bottle of beer at Thor from behind one night. It was impressive to say the least." Prez told him.
"Sounds like it." Tank said. "From what I remember of him, Crusher is not a small man."
"Ace's woman has two martial arts belts. She just got out of the Navy. She took an early discharge because her sister was killed and her niece and nephew were in danger." Prez told him, not as a warning but more as a head's up that they were women he wanted to be careful around.
Tank didn't say anything but just nodded his head. He seemed more interested in watching the scenery go by. "Man, it feels so good to be free finally. I think the hardest thing about being in prison is there is nothing to look at but 3 cement walls and a wall of bars with more cement walls on the other side of them.
I had an outer wall cell so I had a small window and at least I could see a small section of the sky but unless I stood up against the bars, I couldn't see the stars at night because it was so high up on the wall. The only thing it was good for was letting you know when it was light or dark outside. I wish it wasn't so cold right now. I'd love to camp out tonight." Tank said, wistfully.
"This is nothing for the cold right now. In January we got several feet of snow and were basically homebound. Most of it has melted now. Only high up in the mountains really has any of it left. We've been getting some cold rain at night but the days so far have been clear and it looks like we might get an early spring this year." Prez said, not really surprised that Tank was talking about the weather.
"Oh Prez, before I forget, are you going to patch Ivan in tonight? Last night was his birthday but he understood that everyone was kind of upset with what was going on with Margie." Wheels said as they turned on to the road to the compound.
"Oh Lord, I forgot. Yeah, I'll take care of it at lunch. I've got his cut in my office." Prez said.
"What did you choose for his road name?" Wheels asked curiously.
"Wizard said he's becoming really good on the computer so I left it up to Wizard to choose his name and he picked "Clicker". Wizard said that when he's researching something, it's like listening to a clock clicking away the minutes."
"I won't be able to carry a gun in public for a while but I do look forward to firing one again. Do you have a shooting range?" Tank asked.
"Yeah, we have one in our basement for both short and long range." Prez said. He was worried about Tank not being able to carry a gun but understood that he wanted to stick to the conditions placed by the court to keep from having to go back to jail. He would not be able to send him on missions for a while if he could not carry a weapon. It would put not only himself but his brothers in danger if he couldn't defend himself or others.
"How long did they say you can't carry?" Prez asked, just to be sure it was only 6 months.
"Six months from today. Man, I'm going to miss my gun too. They confiscated it when I was arrested." Tank said.
"Well, we've got a wide selection from you to choose from when you are ready. At least you'll be able to carry again before Sturgis. Couples with new babies more than likely won't be going but I'll let the rest of you guys go if you want." Prez said.
As they pulled into the compound parking lot, Tank looked up and was duly impressed with the changes they had made to the club house. "Wow. When did you guys add the turrets? They make the house look like a castle in a fairy tale." Tank commented.
"Wow. It's been a while since you've been here then. About 6 years ago? We also built up the front wall after my mom was killed." Prez told him.
Just then the front door opened and the men and women of the club started pouring out to welcome Tank home. Tank couldn't help but feel overwhelmed for a moment as they all rushed up to him but Prez saw him tense up and the look on his face and called everyone off.
"Hey, we're not all 10 years old. Back off and let the poor man breathe. Besides, it's cold out here. Let's all go inside and I'll introduce you all." Prez called out and everyone hurried back inside.
When Tank stepped inside he found everyone standing in the main living room, men coupled together with their women were introduced first. "When I call out your name, step forward so that Tank will be sure who you are. For those of you that don't remember Tank, he comes to us from the MSMC mother chapter. Tank, we welcome you to your new home." Prez said.
"Thanks, Prez. I look forward to getting to know all of you and I hope I don't offend anyone by asking that you come one or two at a time and never from behind me. I'm not used to big crowds anymore." Tank said with a small smile.
"Very understandable and we can take it slow. First, this is my wife, Amanda. Babe, this is Tank."
"How do you do, Tank. It's very nice to meet you." Amanda said, putting her hand out to him.
Tank accepted her hand and knelt down on one knee. "My Queen. I'm blessed to meet you. I vow to protect you and our club with my dying breath." Tank said, making an old fashioned formal vow, touching his forehead to Amanda's hand.
"I had forgotten about that tradition." Prez muttered to himself. He still had issues with other men touching Amanda but for some reason this wasn't bothering him.
"It's a very nice tradition but not really necessary. Please stand Tank and meet the rest of our family." Amanda said.
Prez resumed introducing everyone. "Many of them you might remember. First, our executive members are our VP, Spokes and this is his lady, Heather."
Prez went through the line up and after every member had been introduced, Tank said "Now you know I'm not going to remember everyone's names right away without your cuts but I'll try not to step on too many toes."
"Please don't because we don't want to cripple anyone." Doc laughed. "Tank, sometime in the next couple of days, please come and see me. I need some information from you."
"Sure Doc. But in the meantime, what is that I smell? Something smells really good." Tank said as his stomach growled loudly.
Andy stepped into the doorway and called out "Lunch!" Everyone went to get in line but Prez clapped his hands and said "Before we all get our food, I have an announcement to make. Ivan! Step forward please. Spokes would you mind collecting the box that came the other day from my office?"
Spokes took Prez's key and hurried to collect Ivan's cut from Prez's office then returned to the dining room. He passed it to Prez and then went to stand with Heather.
"Ivan, you've been an excellent prospect with only one or two mess ups since you've been here but since those were corrected, you've not repeated them and have grown in more ways than one.
Yesterday was your 18th birthday and I'm sorry for missing it but it got kind of crazy in here with Margie nearly giving everyone heart failure. But I wish to correct that oversight right now by welcoming you as a new brother to our family. Please remove your cut." Prez said.
Ivan whipped off his prospect cut so fast that it made everyone laugh. Prez held the box while Amanda lifted the lid then lifted Ivan's new cut out and showed it to him.
Prez performed the ceremony, accepting Ivan as a newly patched member and Ivan vowed his loyalty. He wanted to mimic Tank but wasn't sure who's hand he could take so he just did what he had seen others before him do. The smile on his face lasted all night long.
Everyone enjoyed a wonderful lunch, prepared by all three cooks, with Butcher running to and from their room to check on Margie. Doc had ordered total bedrest and Margie was already insisting that they put her on a gurney so that she could come out of their room and be a part of the goings on.
Just as lunch was coming to an end, Socket and a prospect by the name of Henry showed up from the MSMC, pulling Tank's bike and bringing his possessions that he had left at the clubhouse when he had been sent to jail. He hadn't figured that Rooster had collected his gun when he had gone to prison but he had.
To Tank, it was like having a part of him back but instead of putting on his holster and seating his gun in it, he locked it away in the gun safe under the table next to his bed. He was determined to not screw up the court order and end up going back there ever again.
Ivan respected that Tank was an older member and allowed him to choose which of the two remaining rooms on the second floor and thankfully he didn't take the one that Ivan wanted.
"Well, that settles it. We are now at our max in the rooms upstairs. We have got to expand or we can't take in anymore members and now have nowhere for the prospects coming in to go." Prez said as he settled with the executive staff at their table in the bar that evening. He felt bad for Andy who had already been here for 3 years and for Jess, who he was looking forward to patching him in soon. Then he remembered that Edmond would also be patching in soon. "Lord, where are we going to put them all?" Prez thought to himself.
Amanda had already gone to bed and Prez wanted to have a beer before turning in and to talk to Spokes.
"So, were there any issues with getting Tank out of jail?" Spokes asked.
"No. But I've got a feeling our grocery bill is about to skyrocket. He ate two full breakfast selections at Denny's, drank at least a full pot of coffee on top of several glasses of orange juice. It was impressive even after seeing Thor eat." Prez said.
"Well, Leon called earlier and said he can come over tomorrow. Apparently he has some new drawings he wants to show you about the expansion. He also said that the families are ready to go on the land purchase as soon as we are. Leon said he'd leave it up to you to call the meeting since he doesn't know what's going on with us and I didn't tell him." Spokes said.
Prez pulled out his phone and texted Leon and Joe, telling them to come for lunch tomorrow and that they could meet afterwards. He got immediate replies saything that they would see him tomorrow.