Last Mile

With a chuckle, I got up and took Rev’s free arm. “Asshole,” Rev muttered as we pulled him through the crowd and onto the stage riser. Breakneck motioned to the microphone stand beside him so we could do the harmony on the chorus.

Once we were assembled, Breakneck lifted his gaze to the sky. “This one’s for you guys—Preacher Man and Case.” He then gazed back out into the crowd. “Here’s ‘The Weight.’”

Breakneck started strumming the opening of the song I knew so well. Closing my eyes for a moment, I could see myself riding on the back of Preacher Man’s bike, my arms wrapped tight around him as “The Weight” blared out of the radio speakers. I could always feel him humming along when I rested my head on his back.

“‘I pulled into Nazareth, was feeling ’bout half past dead,’” Breakneck began in his smooth voice. So much had happened since the last time I heard him sing. We’d all faced our own personal tragedies. We’d lost a father, Kim lost a husband, and Breakneck lost a daughter, all to the violence of the MC world. It was then that I was first able to really feel thankful that we were changing the vision of the club. Even with the threat of Eddy and the Diablos hanging over us, I knew we had made the right decision. I couldn’t help thinking that my old man and Case would approve of what we were doing.

When it came time for the chorus, Deacon, Rev, and I leaned in around the microphone and sang our hearts out. Once the song ended, we received thunderous applause and whistles. I smacked Deacon and Rev on the back. “Felt good to do that again.”

Deacon grinned. “It sure as hell did.”

“Yeah. It did,” Rev said, smiling.

After I hopped down off the stage, I headed straight for Samantha. She jumped up off the bench and threw her arms around my neck to give me a hug. “That was awesome!”

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “I think you’re just a little bit prejudiced,” I said as she pulled away.

“Nope. I just call it as I see it.”

Deacon and Rev appeared beside us then. “We still got it, huh?” Deacon asked with a smirk.

Alex grinned at him. “Oh yeah. You do.” As she rose off the bench, she handed Wyatt to Beth. “Now I think you owe me a dance or two.”

“I think I can oblige you with that one,” Deacon said.

As they headed over to the dance floor, Rev went over to Annabel and pulled her up. “Will you honor me with a dance, Mrs. Malloy?”

A dreamy expression filled Annabel’s face. “Of course I will. But they’re not playing a slow song.”

“I’ll make them play one. It is my birthday,” Rev said.

Once they left, Samantha and I were all alone. With an awkward silence hanging around us, I wondered what I should do. Was asking her to dance coming on too strong, or would she be offended if I didn’t? The whole gray area of friendship was a real pain in the ass.

Just as I was about to man up and ask her, I felt a tug on the back of my shirt. I turned around to see Willow staring up at me. “Will you dance with me, Uncle B?”

Since I was incapable of ever telling Willow no, I held out my hand to her. “Of course I will.” Once she slipped her hand in mine, I glanced over my shoulder at Sam. To my surprise, she didn’t seem pissed at my picking a six-year-old over her. “I’ll be right back.”

She gave me a warm smile. “Have fun out there.”

Willow jerked me along until we were in the middle of the couples. Rev hadn’t yet asked for a song change, so it was still a fast one. I started making goofy moves that rewarded me with giggles from Willow. She then started copying what I was doing. With her love of ballet, she was a pretty natural dancer, even when doing the sprinkler. When I looked back at the table, Sam and Mama Beth were both laughing at our antics.

As soon as the song was done, I squatted down beside Willow. “Would it hurt your feelings if I asked Samantha to dance with me now?”

Her face lit up. “No. It wouldn’t.” She patted my shoulder. “Samantha is really, really nice. I think it would be good if you made her your girlfriend.”

“Oh, you do, huh?”

Willow nodded. “Poe really liked her, too, and you know he doesn’t like just anyone.”

I refrained from arguing with her that I couldn’t base a potential relationship on the fact that a deer—who had probably been after the corn—approved of the woman in question. “It’s good to know that Poe liked her.”

“All the family likes her, so you should, too.”

Once again I had to remember that Willow was just a kid. She was such an old soul sometimes. “Thanks for the dance, rug rat.”

“But I’m the one who asked you.”

I grinned. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it.” Pulling her closer, I said, “Now give your favorite uncle a hug.”

“But, Uncle B, I love you and Uncle Rev the same. I promise,” she argued as she threw her arms around me.

As I rubbed her back, I said, “I know. I’m just teasing you.” When I pulled away, I winked at her. “Now if you still want to dance, go over to Joe and tell him as a prospect, he has to dance with you.”

Willow wrinkled her nose. “That’s okay. I don’t want to dance with him.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “Just because.”

Although I could have pressed her, I already knew the response. He wasn’t Archer, whom she had a crush on. Back when he was a prospect, she would have loved to make him dance with her. Of course, Archer was twenty-one and totally wigged out by Willow’s crush. He worried at any moment one of us Malloy men was going to kick his ass for being a pervert. We loved to give him shit about that.