Monster Slayers MC Book 7

I talked to Dixie about Papa Joe’s request for us to take over the Farm but while she said she wasn’t interested or felt qualified enough to take on something like that, she did say we should talk to Marley and maybe the rest of the club about it.

“Just because we have chosen this for our lives, some of the others kind of didn’t have much of a choice. It doesn’t mean they have to leave the club entirely but even you have to admit that we are running out of things to do. This town is growing fast and we are going to have to diversify even more than we already have or go back to running guns to keep up with all of the expenses soon. It took us years to get away from that BS and I don’t want us to go back to it.” I told her.

Now that weddings were over and all of the newlyweds had come back from their honeymoons, I called an executive staff meeting and included the wives.

Once everyone was in the meeting room, I called the room to order and told them about what Papa Joe had proposed. “All of you know Papa Joe and Mama Mae and Aunt Chris.” I said and immediately saw Marley sit up a bit straighter and focus on me.

“As we all know, they are getting up there in years. About a month ago, Papa Joe asked if anyone here would be interested in taking over the Rescue Farm. Now, I’ve talked it over with Dixie and while the two of us do not want to lead it, and this would not mean that you have to leave the MSMC, I told Papa Joe I would get back to him if anyone here expressed an interest. This is not something that is going to happen overnight, in fact it may take a couple of years but he’s wanting to know an answer soon. If none of us want to do it, then he needs to start putting feelers out to find qualified people to take over.

Their house and land is not a part of this so it would mean basically building or buying a building that would work. Training or hiring qualified people to do it. While you would be in charge and control the place, Papa Joe says the only reason he has been so successful is because he had qualified people like Dr. Jill and Dr. Murphy to help them.

Dixie and I discussed some of where we’re going in the next year or so and I’m sure Connie can back me up when I say, we are going to have to start diversifying some more. Our current income is just not going to be able to keep up for long. The town is growing and while we have the land on this side of the highway locked up pretty much, the other side of the highway is only partly reserve land. I would rather see us put our funds towards purchasing more land so that we have passive income from rents and land leases. This not only gives us the options to keep certain businesses out but to welcome businesses that will benefit the entire community, not just us.

We’ve already got the garage overstaffed and plenty of workers for the construction crew which to be honest, we don’t have enough work to keep them all busy all the time.

We haven’t had trouble with the Cobras or the Vipers or any of the other clubs in a while so we really don’t have much need to expand our club much more but I will not turn away new prospects, especially if they are rescues or runaways from bad situations, as most all of our current members are. Most of the members who were here when I took over have retired or passed away. There’s only 6 of the older members left. Howler, Chains, Smokes, Trainer, Spades and Pyro. But that’s a conversation for another time.

With these issues in mind, in addition to what we are going to do it the Rescue Farm shuts down but we are calling for suggestions, again, on how to expand and diversify so that our club can continue to grow and prosper. Keep in mind that the MSMC focus will always be to rescue the kids and young adults but we are not set up here to be taking in little ones and giving them what they need to be able to get past what they have been put through.

But, we need to focus on Papa Joe’s request but don’t forget about the rest of it. I don’t want answers now. Talk to your partners and be sure you are willing to commit to it 100% before you come back to talk to me.” I told them and everyone nodded that they understood.

Annalisa held up her hand and said “My father is looking for new investments, as always and wants to help us out as much as possible. He’s been building all across the country but mostly up north for years but as you all know, he’s recently relocated down here to Texas to be closer to us and our families. I’m sure he will be willing to have his design and advertising teams help out wherever we need them.” She said and Connie nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Great. I do not want to lose Connie, for sure. I don’t know what I would do without your help anymore. Annalisa, I know you have your hands full with your kids right now but I also know what a fantastic artist you are. I want to create a design for our business cards and hopefully you can help me create something really spectacular.

Claire, I know you and Mindy are both fantastic cooks and are interested in opening a new restaurant in town and that’s great but please don’t let us starve. I’m sure Dixie and Nessa and any of the other ladies can take a turn every now and then to keep us from going hungry but I don’t want that responsibility to be on them all the time.

If the rest of you ladies want to work, fine. It’s not required but I don’t want you to feel left out here. You know with all of the babies coming, it seems right and left, that we will always need help there.

“Gentlemen, several months ago we talked about selecting seconds to lead our training duties. I’m not talking about our executive staff duties or positions. We are the elite members of this club and we will maintain our positions until we either retire or die, but we can’t keep spreading ourselves so thin.

None of us are getting any younger and I don’t want to chance any of us developing health issues because we are overworked and stressed out. Our own children are growing up so fast and I, for one, want to be a part of my son’s life. Not only that but the younger ones need to know how and what to do when we can’t be around.

Most of the men we have now have been training in different positions but now it’s time that either we or they choose what they will be doing on a more permanent level. Everyone needs to continue to cross train for the rescue part but as far as paying every day jobs go, they need to pick one and work it all the time.

In six months, I had better not walk onto a construction site and find any patched member standing there with his thumb up his butt saying he’s waiting to be told what to do. We need crew leaders for each business, especially the construction crew. They should be able to tell the crew what needs to be done on a specific job and know you can send them to do it without you having to be there to breathe down their necks.

Same goes for when we go on rescue missions. These guys need to know how to take out the bad guys without not only not getting hurt themselves but to keep the ones we are there to rescue safe and unhurt.

They have been training for months now but have they been cross training? Can guys like Razor and Blade handle a gun? A crossbow? A regular bow? How are their fighting skills? I’ve seen some of them bulking up in body size a bit but nothing drastically. Do they know the hand signals we use when we have to be silent? I want to have some contests and offer prizes for winners.

Now the weather is going to be changing on us soon. We’ve got Thanksgiving coming up and the final wedding of the year for Claire and Circuit, Mindy and Knuckles and Cheryl and Manny.

They are going to overlap their honeymoons so that we are not without a cook for any period of time, with Claire and Circuit going for a week then three days later, Cheryl and Manny are going and then as soon as Claire and Circuit are back, Mindy and Knuckles are going to go. That will take up the first two weeks of December and then we have Christmas and New Years after that.

With that said, on February 1st, I want your candidates for your seconds on my desk. They will have 3 months to work on improving themselves in our first set of contests to be held the first week of May. The elite staff will work out a series of contests to see not only how well they trained the rest of the men but how much the men have learned. I also want us to put together definite teams so that when we have a rescue, I can call upon a set team of men to go, instead of having to call church and talk over what is happening and deciding without knowing everyone’s best capabilities.

We’re going to train to have military black op capabilities. During the training, I’m going to call upon the Ninja’s to come and train us in martial arts. I’ve been talking about doing that for almost a year now but things keep popping up to get in the way of it.

If Annalisa can get our new cards made, we are going to start passing them around. Also, for the past two years, we haven’t gone to Sturgis or participated in any of the fundraising rides we normally do. Now those kind of things got pushed to the side because our ole’ ladies were pregnant or had just given birth or were wounded and in the hospital but this coming year, we need to get back in there, especially if we decide to do an orphanage around here.

Annalisa, do you think your father’s design team could come up with some fliers or other advertising ideas that we could use to promote some of the charities we support?” I asked.

“Definitely. Just make me up a list of charities and what the focus is and I’ll talk to Daddy.” Annalisa smiled at me.

“Okay. Now, last but not least. Jenny has been in a coma for over a month now. The doctors still don’t know if she’s going to make it or not. Dixie and I have signed papers to become Bucky and Penny’s legal guardians for the time being. IF Jenny pulls through, she will be untouchable. I have already arranged for her trailer to be pulled up here and parked next to Manny’s. If she wants to stay here, she will be welcome because we grew up with her late husband. If Mike had not moved away after his father died, he would have been the fifth member of our elite staff. He was a good guy and we are going to take care of his wife and kids.

IF she doesn’t survive, Dixie and I have decided to adopt the kids as our own. Now we are both praying that Jenny does make it but there are no guarantees and I know this is what Mike would have wanted.

So, I think that’s about all I have to say. Any comments or questions?” I said and looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be thinking over what I had said and no one spoke up so I called an end to the meeting by saying, “After lunch, I’m going to call a general meeting and inform everyone of the training and the proposed contests that will be happening in hopefully May and then the six of us are going to have to come up with criteria and rules for each competition. Claire, what’s for lunch today?” I asked as my stomach let me know it was lunch time!

“Today is Mindy’s day to cook lunch and she didn’t tell me. Sorry.” Claire said.

“Well, it’s about that time. Let’s go find out.” I said and we all filed out of the meeting room and our noses filled with the smell of something delicious and it was!

A month later..........

Thanksgiving was great! Claire, Mindy, Dixie and Marley pulled out all the stops on the Thanksgiving feast. The brides were all beautiful on their wedding day. We were all surprised that the men agreed to wear tuxedos but I have to admit, they all looked really sharp.

Mindy had come to me and explained about her brother. “Davey is rather nervous around strangers but he loves music. He can hear a song once and play it perfectly on the piano. My parents bought him an electronic keyboard for Christmas one year and it’s his dearest possession.” she had told me with pride she just couldn’t hide.

“He doesn’t do well when people get too close to him, especially if they are strangers and he more than likely won’t respond if someone tries to make conversation with him. It’s not that he can’t talk or doesn’t want to but the doctors told us there is something in his brain that blocks him from making normal conversation.

For example, you might ask him about the weather but he will tell you all about an animal or the zodiac or explain the solar system. He’s actually smart as a whip but just has trouble communicating it and he gets stressed out easily when he can’t express himself. Sudden loud noises scare him. When he gets too stressed out, he can have grand mal seizures, which are horrifying to watch but both of my parents know what to do.”

“Don’t worry, Mindy. I’ll let the guys know that it’s okay to applaud if he plays but to not really approach or touch him. You should get him together with Kevin. He’s really into astronomy. They would probably get along great!” I told her.

We have arranged for the best rooms at the hotel to be reserved for the wedding guests who will be attending. Mindy had requested a ground floor for her family since Davey is in a wheelchair.

I’m going to be walking my sister down the aisle. Cheryl and Mindy will be escorted by their fathers.

Cheryl’s mother also asked that we decorate to the nines for this wedding and she’s paying for it all. She was determined that her daughter had a top of the line wedding!

Mindy’s brother surprised everyone when he played several songs on the electronic keyboard his parents had brought with them. Through his father, Spoons and Scout found out some of the songs he knew how to play and they gave us an impromptu concert that was very good. Then Mindy and Claire teamed up with Davey and he played several songs that they sang to. Everyone cheered and clapped and yelled “ENCORE”! And Davey had a huge smile on his face. Everyone could tell that Mindy and her parents were very proud of him.

As previously planned, Claire and Circuit left for their honeymoon in the Bahamas and came back tanned and well rested. Cheryl and Manny left 3 days after them. Cheryl had taken Manny to Paris, courtesy of her father who was trying his best to get back in her good graces.

The day after Claire and Circuit came back Mindy and Knuckles left for a week in Jamaica. They just got back and now everyone is gearing up for Christmas. All of the ole’ ladies have been shopping almost every weekend, mostly for the kids and we men had to rein them in a bit.

Jenny’s body was almost completely healed now but she was still in a coma although they had removed life support. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for her to wake up.

Bucky had had a couple of moments that nearly ripped mine and Dixie’s heart out when he got upset and we had a hard time calming him down. At first it was hard to understand him because he was crying. We finally figured out it was because Mindy’s mac and cheese wasn’t like what Jenny used to give them.

The next was when Claire made a broccoli dish. Bucky acted like we had seen abused rescue children act as he ran and hid and it took us over half an hour to find him. Dixie finally found him hiding in one of the downstairs bathrooms, shaking and terrified.

Apparently it was something that Gerald had forced him to eat and he didn’t like it. He kept crying that the bad man was here. We found them sitting in the middle of the bathroom with her crying with him and trying to reassure him that the bad man was gone forever. He just kept crying that he wanted his mommy.

Bucky had had night terrors that night and woke up crying that the bad man had killed his mommy and she had gone to heaven to be with his daddy. His wailing cry had torn at my heart and that’s when I decided that he needed to at least go see Jenny. I could see it in Dixie’s eyes that she was heartbroken but she knew this needed to happen. It’s what was best for Bucky.

The next morning, I got him dressed while Dixie dressed Penny in their nicest clothes that she had bought for them. Nessa was going to watch Sammy for us and we drove the kids to the hospital.

I could tell this was stressing Dixie out. She held Penny the way Annalisa had held Carmella when she was upset when she first came to the clubhouse and I knew the little girl had seated herself firmly in my wife’s heart.

Comments she made on our way to Jenny’s room just confirmed that for me. “Wow, this elevator seems to be going a lot faster today.”

We rode up to the fourth floor and I recognized Gloria as the lead nurse on duty. “Hey Gloria. This is my wife, Dixie. Any change in Jenny?” I asked.

“If she’s going to wake up, it might be soon. She’s been having rem eye movements since early last night but she hasn’t opened them yet. Are these your kids? I thought you just had the one little boy and there’s no way this is the same little guy.” Gloria said.

“No, these are Jenny’s kids. Little Bucky here has been having night terrors and is missing his mom something fierce. Penny’s still too young to remember much about everything that went down. Is it okay if we take them in to visit with her for a bit?” I asked.

“Sure. Maybe it will help not only them but her. The mother’s instinct is a strong thing.” Gloria said and led us down to Jenny’s room. She pushed open the door and dropped the doorstop down to hold the door open. As soon as Bucky saw his mom, he started yelling “Mommy! Mommy!” and leaned so far out of my arms that I almost dropped him.

“Whoa, little man. Hang on. Now mommy was hurt pretty badly so you have to be careful touching her. Okay?” I told him and he nodded his head but never took his eyes off of his mother.

As soon as I put him on the bed, he carefully crawled up next to her and kissed her cheek. “Mommy? Wake up, mommy.” He called softly to her. When she didn’t move right away, he laid his head on her shoulder and put his arm across her chest and hugged her. It was enough to break my heart and even more so when Dixie put Penny on the other side and the little girl curled up next to her mom and stuck her thumb in her mouth as if she was going to sleep with her mother.

Dixie was trying hard not to cry but I knew this was hurting her to see. I pulled her into my arms and she quietly cried against my chest.

Suddenly, Jenny took a deep breath and her eyes fluttered open. Bucky immediately reacted as he lifted up and looked into her eyes. “Mommy?”

“Hi baby. Are you alright? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” she asked, in a hoarse voice, as she pulled him close to her with one arm then realized that Penny was laying next to her. Penny lifted up and smiled at her and Jenny kissed them both on their cheeks. Then she seemed to realize that she wasn’t at home when she saw me and Dixie standing there.

“Are you from the Monster Slayers MC?” Jenny asked.

“Yeah. Welcome back. I’m Rooster. I’m the prez of the MSMC. This is my wife, Dixie.” I said, trying hard not to show the emotion I’m feeling.

“Can I have some water please? My mouth feels awful and my throat hurts.” She asked and Dixie hurried to get her some water in a cup with a straw. As soon as she had a couple of sips, she asked,

“I take it, I’m in the hospital? How long have I been here?”

“Yeah. You’ve been here for almost 2 months now. It’s almost Christmas. How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Wow! Really? So I missed Halloween and Thanksgiving! I feel tired and kind of weak but at least I’m not in pain this time.” Jenny said. “Is Gerald in jail?” She asked.

“Um, no! But don’t worry. He won’t be coming back to bother you anymore.” I said.

“What happened? I just remember hiding my kids under the bed and locking the door and calling you but then everything goes black.” She said.

I explained what had happened that day and the damage Gerald had done and as much as I knew about what the doctors had to do to save her life.

“Gerald said that the money you were supposed to be getting from Mike’s death hadn’t come in yet so he was tired of supporting your kids.” I told her the excuse that Gerald had made for beating her up.

“That lying sack of sh.........! He was taking my check and spending it on himself. He sold my car without my permission so I couldn’t get around or get away from him.” She said.

“How did you know to call me?” I asked.

“Mike told me about you and the MC. I got your number from Mr. Jefferson from when you came to rescue Manny. You guys were the talk of the trailer park for weeks after that. I’d wanted to talk to you that night but Gerald was home and wouldn’t let me go outside. I was afraid to leave my kids in the house with him so I just waited. I looked you up online and had planned to call you earlier in the morning when he left for a little while. I thought he was going to be gone for longer. I got the kids quieted down and I was dialing your number but he came back before I had a chance and he went off on me because he was already drinking again trying to get over the hangover he had from the night before. Penny was cutting a tooth and kept crying. He kept yelling at her to shut up which only scared both of them so they cried even more.

We got into a big fight when he threatened to make her shut up. I’d found out he had hit Bucky and bruised his back and bottom and tried calling the cops but those two jackasses didn’t do anything to him but tell him to keep his hands off the kids. They didn’t even arrest him.

It just pissed him off even more and after that is when he broke my phone and barely left the house after that for a couple of days until he ran out of beer. He would get so pissed when I told him I needed money for food and stuff for the kids but damn it, my kids needed to eat and he was spending my money!” Jenny said.

“After he broke my phone, so I couldn’t call for help anymore, he barely let me leave the house so I couldn’t get to a neighbor’s to call. I had no way to get away from him after he sold my car and he never left me alone for very long. He had been drinking almost all night and when Penny started crying because her mouth hurt, he started getting mad and he started pushing and hitting me when I wouldn’t let him “discipline” Penny.

I waited until he passed out and tried to steal his phone and had just gotten it out of his pocket when he woke up and caught me. He started hitting me with his closed fist but I managed to push him down and he was still so drunk that I think he just fell asleep because he couldn’t get up and kept yelling that he was going to bust me up when he woke up. I don’t think he even realized how bad he had already hurt me.

I could barely move or breathe and I just barely managed to get back to the bedroom and lock the door. I put the kids under the bed and called you. The last thing I remember is him pounding on the door with something.” Jenny said.

“He had a hand ax and was almost through the door when we got there. But he’s gone now and won’t be coming back. Jenny, I’ve had your trailer moved to our land so that the trailer park couldn’t declare it as abandoned and you are going to be under the protection of the MSMC from now on.

When you are feeling better and ready to be released from here, we’ll talk more about it and will take care of your kids until you are back on your feet and ready to get out of here. We had to file for temporary guardianship of them while you were out so that we could take them to the doctor and such. We weren’t sure for a while there if you were going to make it.” I told her.

“I understand and will never be able to thank you enough. Mike used to talk about you guys all the time. He had wanted to look you up when we first talked about moving here to help out my mom but then he got called up and he just barely managed to help me pack out of our house before he had to leave.

I didn’t have much time with all that was going on with my mom and I didn’t even realize I was pregnant with Penny. My mom passed away about two months after I got here and I thought the morning sickness was from stress because she had died and I was so worried about Mike. Then when I was a little over three months, I went to the doctor and found out I was pregnant.

I never even got to tell Mike because he was “in-country” and they were not allowed to carry cell phones. I wrote to him but later found out his mail had been being held until they returned from their mission. Then I got notified that he was KIA three months later.

I was six and a half months pregnant with a three year old son at his funeral. They gave him full military honors for his funeral, gave him a 21 gun salute, played taps, gave me the flag that draped his coffin and all I could think about the whole time was how he would never get to meet our baby and how much I wanted him back.” She said, choking back the tears as she held her kids close.

Neither Dixie or I knew what to say and just stood and watched her talk to and play with her children. When the doctor came in to talk to her, we took the kids so that he could examine her. It was hard to watch Dixie hold and cuddle the little girl she had become so close to, wanting a little girl of her own. I also knew it was too soon to suggest that we adopt another little girl.

Finally the doctor finished examining Jenny and stepped back and told her and us, “Well, I’m so glad you are finally awake. Your ribs have healed up nicely as well as your wrist. The surgical incisions have healed too and even though you slept through all the healing and related pain, you had us worried for a while as to why you were not waking up but I guess maybe you just needed the rest. You are going to be feeling weak for a while and need to put on some weight. You are a good 20 pounds under even the lightweight side of what you should be for someone your height and bone structure.

I wish I could say you can gain it here at the hospital but until they find a cook who can make something worth eating, then it will be better for you if you do it at home. Now, I want you to stay with us for one more night at least so that we can make sure you can at least hold food down and go to the bathroom okay but then you are free to go. Do you have someone to stay with you and help with the children?” the Dr. asked.

I stepped up and answered for her, “Yes, she will be staying with us and we’ll continue to watch the children for you until you are able to take care of them on your own again. We’ll bring you some food as well. The stuff they serve here is not good for human consumption. For now, we should probably go and let you get some rest. You’ve got enough to deal with so don’t worry, we’ll take good care of the kids and I’ll get some food sent up here.”

She thought for a moment as she looked at me and Dixie and then her kids. “I don’t know what to say Rooster. Thank you! Come, let me say goodnight to my babies.” she said as she held out her hands.

Dixie and I put the kids back on the bed next to her and she hugged and kissed them and told them to go with us and that she would be home with them again soon. Penny didn’t understand what was going on but Bucky got excited and then upset. He didn’t want to leave her but she talked softly to him and told him that she had to stay one more night and then promised him that he could come tomorrow to pick her up. She looked at me for confirmation that he could come tomorrow and I nodded back at her.

Bucky finally settled down and they hugged and he gave her a big kiss on her cheek. She kissed him back and then said “Go with Uncle Rooster and Aunt Dixie and I’ll see you tomorrow. Be a good boy and help them take care of Penny. I love you! Both of you!”

“We love you too, mommy!” He said as I picked him up off the bed and Dixie picked up Penny. “Come on kids, let’s go home and let mommy get some rest so that she can come home. Good night Jenny. We’ll be back in the morning but tonight I’ll have some food sent up for you.”

“Thank you! Both of you. I owe you for this.” Jenny said as she waved goodbye to her children.

“No, you don’t. This is what we do. You just get better so you can come home.” Dixie said with a watery smile.