Page 146 of Jackass

My own goddamn brother.

I slipped my hands into the pockets of my jeans and just stood there, waiting.

“Hey, man, so you can’t stay here. Your room is a crime scene. They’re likely to be here for hours. Then, it will have to be cleaned.”

“I get it,” I said, looking out across the parking lot. “I don’t even know why I’m still here. I can head to the station and fill out my statement, then hit the road. I’ll head back to Arkansas.”

“I’m fucking glad you were still here,” he said, and my head snapped around to look at him. “If you weren’t still here, who knows where she would have gone. Hell, we’d been looking for her for weeks with no success. What I meant was, you could come stay at the clubhouse for a few days, until you’re ready to go home.”

“Don’t you have to ask your president?” I asked, not fully knowing how those things worked.

“Fuck, no.” Jack laughed. “Charlie is the only little girl in the club for now. She has everyone, including King, wrapped around her finger. If he said no to me, I would just send her in there. You saw the way she fucking took down the sheriff? He’s King’s older brother.”

My eyebrows hiked up to my forehead at that information.

“I don’t know. Sammy… I mean, Sam, might not be comfortable with that,” I hedged.

“Sam might not be comfortable with what?” she asked, walking over with Charlie.

“I invited Derek to come stay at the clubhouse for a few days,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her to him.

“Yes. Yes. Yes,” Charlie chanted excitedly, jumping up and down. “Uncle Derek can stay in my room.”

“UncleDerek can have his own room,” Jack countered, and I winced.

“Jack, I’m sorry. I only told her so she would trust me.”

“Don’t be sorry, Derek,” Sam said. “You are her uncle.”

“Sammy’s right. I’m just being an ass,” Jack said.

“He’s good at that. Just ask Auntie Rachel,” Charlie added, and Sam and I both laughed.

“Hey, I’m telling Uncle Cash, Auntie Rachel needs a spanking,” Jack told Charlie.

“She might thank you for that,” Sam whispered with a smirk.

“Woman, no. Just no,” Jack said, shaking his head.

The banter between them made me smile. I wanted them to be happy. In that moment, I realized I wanted to get to know my brother. And my niece. I wanted to watch her grow up. Be a partof her life.

“So, what do you say?” Jack asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“If you really think it’s ok?”

“I do. Come on. Zero is over there with the SUV to take us back.”

We walked over to the vehicle and climbed in.

Things were awkward when we got back to the clubhouse. But once Jack told everyone what happened, the tension eased.

That, and Charlie went after anyone who even looked at me sideways. My niece would be a force to be reckoned with when she grew up, and I could only hope I would still be a part of her life when that happened.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Jack

We walked into the clubhouse, and all signs of life disappeared. Everyone stood motionless as Derek walked in behind us.