Prologue One
Saddle
I already told you those boys need to find their own way. Just because you lost something doesn’t mean they didn’t. They lost their mother don’t you forget that! Nothing in this world compares to that.
“Who the hell do you think you are, telling me how to bring up my boys?”
My brother staggered toward me, a pitchfork in one hand, a bottle of whiskey in the other. He was a true mess of a man. My sister-in-law had recently passed away from a long battle with cancer, and he was left with five little boys to take care of. The more I tried to help and force him into reality, the less inclined he was to listen, and I was tired of all this. Those boys meant the world to me, but if I couldn’t take them away from this then there was nothing more I could do.
“You’re a nobody, that’s what you are, Troy.” I took a step back, holding up my hands just in case he decided to lunge at me. “You’ve never amounted to a goddamn thing. Not one damn thing! All you’ve ever been good for is gettin’ in trouble with the law.”
He wasn’t wrong. There’d been a couple times growing up that my rebellious nature had gotten me locked up. I was the youngest of the two, and didn’t like to follow rules. I acted out, but that didn’t mean I didn’t take care of my family.
Our daddy was a drunk bastard who beat on my mother every chance he got. On more than one occasion I would intervene and take the beating for her. Anger raged within me, but I couldn’t let him touch my brother, nor could I let my family starve. Bar fights, driving under the influence, and theft all by the age of seventeen was in my repertoire. Add in the fact that I nearly killed a man for speaking ill of my dead sister-in-law, and I had gained quite a reputation for myself. Family meant everything to me, even if Benjamin was a shitty brother.
In truth, my brother wasn’t wrong, which was why I had to go. “I may be a nobody, but at least I know I have somewhere to go. Look at yourself Benjamin. You’re a sad sight, brother.”
That’s when he lunged at me and I took a step back watching him falter and fall head first into the hay. I ripped the pitchfork from his grip and threw it far away before it stabbed him in his goddamn eye. Grabbing him by his shirt, I tugged him up to look at me.
“I may not have much to my name, but I have dignity, and I have respect for myself and my family. Get your shit together Benjamin or you’re gonna wind up dead and those boys will know what true loneliness feels like.”
I released him, shoving him into the hay. Staring down at my brother I grimaced, disappointed in what he’d become. “I leave at break of dawn. I’ll let the boys know.”
“Of course you will, always running away.”
“I’m not running away! I’m running toward something. And I feel for those boys because they also should be running toward something better than this. This is your dream Benjamin, not theirs. Don’t make them suffer or you’ll find out real quick what those boys are made of.”
I stormed out of the barn leaving him lying there with his whiskey and his tears. Theodore, the oldest of the bunch, met me down the road. He was barely ten, but he was smart and knew what was going on around him. I got down to his level and patted his head. He was the splitting image of me as a kid.
“Where are you going, Uncle Troy?”
“I’ve got a job offer in Washington taking care of some people. They need man power and there’s some good money in it for me.”
“You’re leaving us?”
I couldn’t help but get choked up. These boys were my blood and I hated leaving them, but we each had a path to follow and this was my time to find out what the hell it was I was meant to be. “I’d never leave you, boys. You boys are my world. But I’m also not going to lie to you and tell you this is what I want in life. This here’s your Daddy’s ranch, and he needs your help, Theodore."
I looked back at the ranch and sighed. Benjamin needed more than help, he needed an intervention. I looked at my nephew and patted his cheek. "Stay with him, Theodore, as long as you can, and then I want you to go. I want you to run as far away as possible. Make somethin’ of yourself and don’t let anyone ever bring you down. You hear me?”
He nodded, giving a profound pout that left my heart broken for him. I hugged him tight and told him that I’d be back if he needed me. Theodore was young and had no clue what his life entailed. I wanted the best for these boys, but I needed to find my own way.
The next morning, I left without a word. Hopped onto my bike and roared out of there, leaving Eagle’s Ridge and the Maverick Ranch behind me.
I didn’t know what the future held on store for me, but this was a chance I couldn’t give up. AN old friend, Paul Jameson, had offered me an opportunity to be a part of something bigger. A chance at freedom and the right to live my life without judgement or resentment.
I’d be a fool not to take it.
Prologue Two
Saddle
New Years Eve,
1989
Rachel was throwing a New Year’s party at her home and it was getting wilder by the minute. Asking a bunch of lonely bikers to join you only meant trouble, but Rachel didn’t care. She loved each and every one of us and we loved her. Besides, her food was to die for, and so was her punch.
I swayed slightly as I walked back into the kitchen. She said the liquor was in the pantry in the far back. I managed to wrangle the door open and as it slammed shut behind me, I found myself face to face with a woman who was as shocked to see me there as I was shocked to find her there.
"What the hell are you doing in here?"
"I'm so sorry, I just needed to get away for a moment."
She looked nervous. “You stealin’ somethin’?”
“N-no, I was just taking a pill, for my migraines.”
I narrowed my eyes on her and she blushed in response. She was very beautiful. Soft skin, generous lips, and plush tits that made my mouth water. It was probably the alcohol that had me all riled up, but the woman had this air of mystery around her that made me curious to know more.
"What's your name, woman?"
"Well it's certainly not, woman." She tried sidestepping around me, and I took a step forward, feeling her up as she tried to squirm past me. Her body felt warm and curvy as it brushed against the growing bulge in my pants. She reached for the door and I pressed a hand to it, leaning my weight on it so it wouldn't budge. She sighed and slowly turned to face me.
"I need a name, woman."
Her jaw twitched and her reply was snippy and fiery. People rarely talked to us that way, being that I was a stranger and a Royal Bastard. "I told you not to call me that."
"Well, isn't that what you are? A woman."
"Even so...that's not the way you address someone you just met."
"Then what should I call you then? Ma'am? Sweetheart?" I ducked my head and leaned into her. “Sugar?” My lips brushed lightly against hers as I whispered the last word.
Her soft breath lingered on my mouth, heating up my blood. "Why do you want to know my name?"