The Rescuer's MC Bk 6

After racing with Wolf in the pool, Ace headed up to his room. Ace took his time, taking his shower and changing his clothes. Since he had nothing else to do this afternoon, he figured that maybe he would catch up on his reading.

What he really wanted to do was to go for a ride on his bike but there was still too much snow on the ground and it was really cold outside. He had finished his last book last night so he headed for the library downstairs. He had just hit the bottom step when someone rang the buzzer for the front gate.

Ace waited as Beau, who was closest to the front door, pushed the intercom button and said “May I help you?”

Prez had just come out of his office because he had heard the buzzer and joined Ace as they waited to hear who it was.

“I’m looking for Robbie and Diana Thurston? I’m their Aunt Dorothy.”

When they heard that, Prez glanced at Ace, who had the strangest look on his face. “Ace? Do you know anything about this?” He asked and then nudged Ace when he didn’t reply, “Ace?”

“Oh sorry. Yeah. Let her in.” Ace said. His heart was racing and he felt like he wanted to run to collect Diana and just hide her so that this woman couldn’t take her away but there was also something about this woman’s voice that had him glued to the floor where he stood.

Beau pushed the button to open the gates and then the button to speak to her, “Come on in. You can park right outside of the front door.”

Prez told Beau, “Go tell Robbie and Diana that their Aunt is here.”

Beau walked down the hall to the infirmary and Doc told him “He’s in the room down the hall. Third door on your right. I think Diana is with Melinda in the playroom.”

“Thanks, Doc.” Beau said and went to collect Robbie first. He knocked on Robbie’s door and heard “Come in.” Beau opened the door and said “Robbie, there’s a woman at the door for you. Says she’s your Aunt Dorothy?”

“Awesome. Thanks, Beau.” Robbie said and rushed to follow him out the door. They stopped by the playroom to collect Diana, who surprised Robbie by acting reluctant to come with him at first.

“Come on. She’s waiting for us.” Robbie said, urging her to hurry up. When she seemed to drag her feet, as soon as they were out of the playroom he stopped and kneeled down to talk to her and said, “What’s wrong, Sunshine?”

“Robbie, is she going to take us away from here?” Diana asked with a sniff.

“I don’t know what we are going to do yet, sweetheart. I doubt if we will be staying here. Why?” Robbie asked, pulling her closer.

“I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave Ace. He will be sad. And I really like Joey. And Kelly.” Diana added on. She had already picked up on how Ace’s face always lit up whenever he saw her. It had made her happy to make him happy.

“Baby, we can’t stay here. This is a place for big men, not little girls. Even Kelly and Joey are going home today. They won’t even be here for dinner tonight.” Robbie said. “Maybe Ace can come and visit us sometime? Come on now. I think you will like Aunt Dot. She looks just like you and mom, from what I remember.”

Diana finally nodded and took his hand when he stood up and reached out his good hand. She dragged her feet as much as possible and while Robbie urged her to hurry, he didn’t push too much. He knew his sister and to push her was going to make her act rudely when she met their aunt.

When she saw Ace at the end of the hall, standing, not really shaking her hand but holding Dot’s hand and they were just looking at each other, she took off running to him.

Ace felt like he couldn’t breathe as he and Prez waited for Dot by the front door. Her voice had been like a balm that had wrapped him in some kind of warm blanket and while he was anxious to meet the woman, he was also apprehensive because there was a good chance she was going to take Diana too far away for him to ever be able to see her again.

He still couldn’t explain why he felt so protective of the little girl but he did realize that what Melinda had said was true. There was no way the state would grant him custody when she had living family members who were not only able but willing to take care of her.

When Prez opened the door, Ace had the strangest sensation wash over him as the grown up version of Diana stepped through the door. She was dressed in her Navy blue dress uniform of a fully buttoned down navy blue jacket over a skirt that stopped at lovely knees that ran down well muscled calves to tiny ankles in dark blue pumps.

He was rather surprised when he looked over the insignia that identified her rank to see that she was a full fledged Captain. He almost snapped to attention because she would be considered a senior officer of higher rank than he had been when he was in the marines.

Ace had been discharged as a Master Gunnery Sergeant and while he had been in the top ten during his time in the service, Dot’s rank would be the equivalent of a Colonel in the Marines. A rank not easily achieved, especially as a woman.

They locked eyes almost as soon as she entered and then he heard Prez say, “Hello. Welcome to the Rescuer’s MC clubhouse. I’m Prez, the president of this club. How can I help you?”

And she turned to reply. “Hello. My name is Dorothy Mitchell. I was told by my nephew, Robbie, that he and my niece, Diana, are staying here? That they had to be rescued by your club?” She said, shaking hands with Prez and Ace couldn’t explain the sudden urge to punch Prez for touching her.

“Yes, they are here. I’ve already sent someone to call them to come out here.” Prez said. “Please allow me to introduce one of the members of our club. This is Ace. Ace, this is Diana and Robbie’s aunt Dorothy.”

Ace’s feet finally managed to move forward as he reached for the hand she held out to him. The second he touched her, a warm tingling sensation ran up his arm and suddenly his heart felt like it was trying to tap dance in his chest as it began to race and he had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless.

“Hello, Ace. Nice to meet you.” She said quietly, holding his gaze and not pulling back her hand.

“Hello, Dot. Robbie and Diana told me you would be coming. Nice to meet you too.” Ace said softly, as he finally managed to find his voice, reluctant to let go of her hand as he held it firmly but gently.

Robbie and Diana had said her eyes were a different color but Ace had not been prepared for the beautiful turquoise blue color in the adult version of Diana’s face. His attention was captivated as she looked at him as if she was mesmerized by him as much as he was by her. She had the same ability to look at him like she was searching his soul with her gorgeous eyes, the same way Diana had the first night he had found her.

Prez looked back and forth between the two of them with a knowing smile on his face. He could tell that they both seemed to be captivated by each other.

They stood and just looked at each other until suddenly they heard Robbie yell. “Aunt Dot!” Then her concentration was broken as she turned to meet her nephew and niece. She was shocked to see the mini version of herself holding onto Robbie’s hand as much as she was by not only how big her nephew now was but by the fact that Robbie had a bandage around his head and his left hand.

Robbie was almost to them when he dropped Diana’s hand and as she ran to Ace, Robbie hurried to greet his aunt, throwing his arm around her, careful not to bump his injured hand. “Oh, it’s so good to see you again, Robbie, but what happened to you? Why is your head bandaged and what’s wrong with your hand?” Dot asked with concern.

“This is why we had to be rescued. But I’ll tell you the details later.” Robbie said, glancing at Diana in the hopes that his aunt would understand and she caught on right away.

As soon as Robbie had let her go, Diana ran to Ace, who bent over and picked her up, sensing that she needed to feel safe. She hugged his neck tightly, hiding her face on his shoulder. “I don’t want to go, Ace. Please don’t let her take me away.” she whispered.

“Give her a chance, Diana. She’s your aunt and she looks just like you except for her eyes. I’ll always be here for you.” Ace whispered back.

Robbie seemed to understand that Diana needed another minute so he turned back to his aunt and said. “Oh Aunt Dot. It’s so good to see you again. Are you all signed out of the Navy?” Robbie asked as he hugged his aunt warmly again. He may not know what was going to happen next but he was definitely relieved that she was there to take some of the burden of decision making off of him.

“Yes, in fact I came directly here as soon as my paperwork was processed. The admiral himself signed me out and gave the order for me to be airlifted to the mainland and then I had to catch a flight back to the US. He sent word that I had completed all of my assignments and had earned all of my points and issued an order for me to be released immediately.

Without him, it would have taken me weeks to process out. He’s been like my dad from day one. I hope to be able to introduce you kids to him some day. Man, you have both grown so much. Robbie, you didn’t even reach my shoulder the last time I saw you. Now look at you!

And Diana was just a baby the last time I saw you two. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for Nancy’s funeral but I just found out about it when we got back to port. The admiral was furious that I wasn’t notified and did some ass chopping on my behalf.” Dot said.

Dot realized she was rambling because she was nervous but couldn’t seem to stop herself. She felt slightly jealous of her niece for some strange reason and then realized it was because Diana was being held by the very handsome biker.

“Diana, come on and meet Aunt Dot. Don’t be rude.” Robbie told his sister. Diana hugged Ace’s neck even harder, refusing to let go but she did turn to look at them. Ace knew she needed his comfort so he stepped closer to them.

“Hello, Diana. I know you don’t remember me because you were just a baby when I left but I want to be here for you now. Man, it’s amazing! You look so much like Nancy. It’s like someone copied a picture of her at your age and blew life into it.” Dot said but was thinking “I really envy you right now. You are where I would love to be.”

“Hello.” Diana said as Ace sat her on her feet. “Are you going to take us away?” Diana asked right away.

“I think we need to sit down and talk, sweetheart. Then we will decide together what we are going to do, okay?” Dot said. “But before we go talk, is there somewhere I could use a restroom? I’ve been flying and then driving and have barely stopped since I hit the states. When I landed in Lexington, I just ran for the baggage claim and then to the car rental place and as soon as I had a vehicle, I got on the road here.” Dot asked, turning to the men.

“Sure. Beau, come show Dot where the ladies room is and then bring her to the living room.” Prez instructed.

Beau, who had been standing off to the side, nodded and softly said, “Follow me, ma’am.”

Prez watched Ace as he watched Dot walk away with a smile. “Come on kids. She should be out soon. Let’s get you to the living room.” He told Robbie and Diana. As he passed Ace, he said “Welcome to the club, brother.”

The comment went right over Ace’s head because he was still stunned at how beautiful Dot was and how much she looked like Diana. Except for the slight difference in their eye color, they looked like mother and daughter.

Ace knew this should be a time for Diana and her family and he was torn between giving them that privacy and wanting to be part of it. He stood rooted to the spot until Prez turned and said “Well, come on!”

Diana let go of Robbie and ran back to Ace, grabbed his hand and when he didn’t move, she looked up at him and said, putting her hand on her hip. “Did you lie to me? You said you would always be there for me!”

Ace looked down at her and finally caved in. How could he say no to her? To that face that looked so much like her aunts? He sighed, let her take his hand and pull him into the living room.

They all sat and waited for Dot to come out of the ladies room. Prez told Beau to bring them a jug of lemonade and a jug of sweet tea and glasses of ice. Beau hurried to do as he was told and passed Dot in the hall. He pointed to where she needed to go and then turned to get their drinks.

Dot walked down the hall and easily found the living room. Prez, Ace and Robbie all jumped to their feet when she came into the room and Diana looked at them like they were all crazy. “Geez, why did you guys all jump up like that? You scared me.”

“Gentlemen always stand up when a lady enters the room.” Robbie explained.

“Oh. I wondered why you guys always do that. How come you don’t jump up when I come in the room? I’m a girl too.” Diana asked curiously.

“When you grow up, we’ll stand up for you too.” Ace told her with a smile.

Dot silently caught her breath when she saw Ace smile at Diana. It totally transformed his face and he was even more handsome, as if that was even possible. She had been on a ship for over 5 years with nearly 200 men. Some single, some married. Some were real players and a few were true gentlemen but none of them had caught her eye and not one of them had ever stirred the feelings she was experiencing inside right now.

Most of the men respected her rank but a few of them resented the fact that she had been promoted to a rank that gave her control over them. While in front of others, they were respectful but in private they made their displeasure known.

Most of it was just attitude but sometimes there were cruel or rude comments, mostly when her back was turned or they thought she was out of hearing range. She had let most of it just roll off of her back but those men also received the shittiest jobs and there wasn’t a damn thing they could do about it.

Dot accepted a seat across from Robbie and Diana and wondered why Ace and Prez were staying for what was a family meeting but didn’t say anything at first. She was surprised when Prez said,

“Dorothy, I know you must be wondering why Ace and I are here so please allow me to explain. We rescued Robbie after he was beat up by a bar owner here in Winchester and we found Diana hiding not far away. I’m sorry to say that I haven’t even had a chance to sit down and talk to them at length to find out their stories in depth because we’ve been very busy lately, as we always are at this time of year.

When we perform a rescue, we are required to let the state know that they are in our custody and that we are accepting responsibility for them until either a safe family member steps forward or if necessary and only if we have no other choice, we turn them over to the state to be put in foster care.” Prez told her and immediately saw Robbie and Diana become agitated so he assured them by saying

“Don’t worry, either of you. I would not have turned you over to the state. I would like the name of the person who said that you were not able to take guardianship of your sister, Robbie. Whoever it is, does not know what they are talking about and I want to report it to the proper authorities to get that corrected asap.

Robbie, you told us that you are already 18 and that you had a stable job, were renting a house and had a reliable babysitter for your sister until you got off of work, right?” Prez questioned Robbie.

“Yes sir. I turned 18 a month after my mom died. The lady showed up at our house a week before my birthday. I was working at the garage as a mechanic’s helper, trying to work my way up. Our house wasn’t much to look at and maybe it wasn’t in the best part of town but it was dry, we kept it clean and Diana never went without food, even if I can’t cook more than breakfast stuff.

I’d take her to Mrs. Cooper, who was Diana’s first grade teacher’s aid, before I left for work and she would watch her after school until I could pick her up. She lived right around the corner from us and knew our mom so I knew she was someone I could trust.” Robbie said without pride.

“Well, then the state may have just followed the law to the letter of your age on the date it was reported to her but if she had been any good at her job, she could have delayed paperwork until you turned 18 and then she would not have had to displace Diana at all. My guess is you had a nosy, busybody neighbor that didn’t think it was appropriate for a young man your age to be raising a young girl and had no business poking their noses in where it didn’t belong.” Prez said.

Diana and Robbie looked at each other. “Ms. Appleton! It’s got to be.” Robbie said. “She was a cranky old woman who lived across the street from us. She sits on her front porch all day and watches everyone on the street. Quick to call the cops if anything is not what she thinks it should be. Shriveled up old hag has nothing better to do than gossip about everyone on our street.

When we first moved on to that street, she came over and nearly drove my mom nuts asking questions and “offering her opinion”, telling mom tales about all of the neighbors.

When mom was killed, she came over with some store bought cookies on a paper plate saying she wanted to offer her condolences and asking about who was going to take care of us now. I think I pissed her off when I told her it was none of her business and closed the door in her face. Hell, we had just gotten home from the funeral and the last thing we both needed was her sticking her nose in where it didn’t belong.

A week before my birthday, I got a call saying that someone from the state was going to come to collect Diana and that she would be placed in foster care. At first I thought it was a joke but when they showed up at the house the next day, I knew it wasn’t. The lady from the placement agency had some legal looking paperwork and the cops with her so I had no choice but to let them take her and believe me when I say she put up a fight.

I tried to go and visit Diana but the woman said I needed to wait until her husband was home, that it wasn’t appropriate for me to come over while he was not in the house. She said it would be best to wait for the weekend. She acted like I needed to make an appointment to go over and see Diana.

Then a little over a week later, I got a call from Diana. She was crying and said that the man had spanked her with a belt for crying because she misses mom and that she was scared. I told her to put her clothes back in her backpack and that I was coming to get her. I left work and it was dark outside already.

We tried to open the bedroom window but it must have been painted shut because we couldn’t get it open. Diana made it to the backdoor and unlocked it. I took her hand and we just ran for it. We went home, I packed as much of my clothes as would fit in my backpack and Diana said she was hungry so we went and got food off the dollar menu. I had just paid our rent so I was almost broke.

We stayed at a friend’s house for a couple of nights but I was worried about getting him in trouble but he let us sleep in his spare bedroom for a couple of days. We took showers and washed our clothes and he fed us while we were there. I went to work the first couple of days because I knew I was going to need the money but all day, I worried about them finding Diana while I wasn’t there. That they would come and take her and I wouldn’t be able to find her again.

I finally got a message through to you, Aunt Dot, and waited for you to call me back. When I finally heard back from you and you told us to go to your friend’s house. I took what little money I had left, put gas in my truck and we took off. I thought I had enough gas but something must be wrong with my gas gauge or my truck because it was eating gas like crazy. I didn’t have the tools I needed to fix my truck and I was nervous about going back to our house to get them. I thought I had enough to make it to London but then we ran out of gas just before Winchester. I managed to coast fast enough to make it a little way up that dirt road.

We didn’t have many options and I knew we would freeze to death if we tried to stay there so the only thing we could do was walk until we found a town. I looked up our location on the GPS on my phone and saw we weren’t far from Winchester so we just started walking.

When I saw the help wanted sign in that bar window, I went in and talked to the owner and he said he would give us burgers and fries and promised to pay me $50 if I did the dishes, emptied the trash, cleaned the bathrooms and swept and mopped the floor. I only had 25 cents left so I agreed.

I wish now I would have asked to see what the bathrooms in that place looked like before I agreed because I have seen cleaner gas station bathrooms. It was so nasty that I nearly threw up while I was cleaning them.

He gave Diana that pitiful peanut butter sandwich on stale bread and a glass of tap water. He told me I had to work for anymore than that. So I worked while Diana watched TV and read her book.

It was already getting late and I wanted to get back to my truck before it got too late. When I asked him for my pay, he laughed and said he never agreed to pay me anything and we got into a yelling match.

I was so pissed but I just told Diana to come on, that we were leaving. Then that a-hole told me that he was going to keep her as his plaything. That’s when we got into a fight. I told Diana to run outside and hide and she took off like a shot.

I was watching to make sure she got out the door and that SOB hit me from behind with an empty beer bottle. I stumbled and caught myself on the door jam as I nearly fell through the door. He slammed the door on my hand and I thought he had broken all of my fingers. Man, the pain was unreal.

I knew I couldn’t fight him anymore so I just grabbed Diana’s hand and we took off running as fast as she could run. I didn’t realize how badly I was hurt and I guess I was not thinking straight because I was getting so dizzy and kept falling down.

When we got back to that small gas station where I had seen that payphone on the wall outside, they were already closed. We were both freezing because we had left our coats in the bar along with our backpacks and my phone was in my pack.

I was afraid to call the law because I knew they would turn us in and the state would definitely take her away and because of what I had done, they probably would never let me see her again. Then I saw the flier in the gas station window and used my last quarter to call here. And here we are.” Robbie finished telling their aunt.

“Damn! If I had known what was going on, I would have called some friends of mine to come and get you guys but until six days ago, I thought everything was fine and was seriously thinking about re-enlisting. But even if I could have retired at a higher rank if I stayed, I was tired of it.

Being a woman in the service is definitely not an easy thing and being one of very few women on board a ship makes it even more so. Especially if the men resent the fact that you are of a higher rank than they are. Things weren’t bad when I was just a newbie but once I started moving up in rank, the fewer and fewer male friends I had.

But that’s over now. What we need to do is to decide where we are going to go from here. Where is this house where you were living?” Dot asked.

“We were still living in Paris, Kentucky but neither one of us want to go back there, except maybe to get our stuff and to put some flowers on mom and dad’s graves. They are both buried near grandma and grandpa. If I have my choice, I’d like to stay here and maybe work at the MC’s garage? I’m a decent mechanic but willing to learn more. I just need time for my hand to heal.” Robbie said, turning from his aunt to ask Prez with a hopeful look on his face.

“I’m not saying no exactly, Robbie. But only members and prospects work at the garage. Some of our other businesses have civilians working at them but the garage is members only. In order to work there, you would have to spend time as a prospect for the club and then have to be accepted as a patched member.

You would work there to earn your pay but a prospect’s work earns him his room rent, food, medical coverage for you and your sister and if your aunt chooses to stay we’ll even cover her. While you are a prospect you are a grunt who does what he’s told to the best of his ability and as quickly as he can.

Scrubbing toilets, working in the kitchen and bar and guard duty is not all that there is to it but if you are really serious about being a prospect, we’ll talk more about what else will be required of you in private.” Prez told Robbie.

“Whoa! Hang on a minute. I think Robbie and I need to have a private talk before we jump into anything. For now, I’ve been up for over 24 hours straight and need to get some sleep. Do you mind if we put this talk on hold until I have a chance to get some rest and talk to Robbie privately? Is there a good hotel in town?” Dot said.

She was tired, hungry and some of this was over her head right now because she was literally exhausted. All she really wanted to do was get out of her dress uniform and into a nice hot shower, maybe something to eat that wasn’t fast food and then get at least 6 hours of sleep.

“Of course. Forgive me. I should have realized, but the hotel is not for you. I’m sure we can come up with a nicer room than anything you will find in Winchester and the only other alternative is an hour away in Lexington. Robbie, why don’t you and Diana walk your aunt down to the room next to yours.

Dot, I’ll have a prospect come and put clean sheets on the bed and make sure you have enough towels and stuff. Dinner should be ready in about an hour. We’ve got an excellent cook so I’m sure you will enjoy it.

There’s just a couple of things. You can not roam around the club house by yourself. If you need to leave your room for anything other than to go next door to Robbie and Diana’s room, then you need to call for a prospect. Just open your door and call out “Prospect”. One of them will escort you wherever you want to go on the ground floor.

The upper floors are sleeping accommodations for the men and for those who have them, their ole’ ladies, so not a place for you to be, especially alone. None of the men here will hurt you but you have no business up there.

Also, while you are here, I need you to swear that you will never repeat anything you might see or hear while you are here to anyone that is not a club member. If you have questions about anything that is happening, come to me. I’ll try to answer them the best I can. Understand?” Prez said and Dot nodded her head. “Do you swear to keep what you might see or hear here to yourself?” And again Dot nodded. “I need to hear you say it, please.”

“Yes, I understand and I swear.” Dot said. She was curious to know why they had such rules but right now she was too tired to push the issue.

“Do you have a bag in your car that you will need for the night?” Prez asked.

“Yes, it’s in the trunk.” Dot said.

“I’ll get it for you.” Ace said. It was the first thing he had said the whole time they had been in the living room. He held out his hand for her key and she dropped it in his hand.

While Ace collected her bag, Robbie and Diana led Dot down the hall and opened the door to the room next to theirs. They entered the room and Dot was pleasantly surprised by not only how big it was but by how nicely it was furnished. “Oh! To be able to sleep in a real bed again. This is going to be nice!” Dot said as she walked into the room farther.

“The bathroom is in there and there’s a walk-in closet over there.” Robbie said as he pointed to the two doors on one side of the room. “There’s also a small patio out through those doors but ours has snow all over it so I’m sure yours does too. We are in the room right before this one. We were told to always keep the door locked, even if you are not in here.” Robbie said, handing her the key.

Dot walked over to look at the bathroom and expected to see a tiny little room with only enough room to turn around in but she was shocked when she saw the large luxurious bathroom. Marble tiles on the floor, on the vanity and a fully tiled shower big enough to hold at least 4 people AND a jacuzzi tub! This was heaven compared to what she had just come from on the ship.

Curious to see what the walk-in closet looked like, she hurried over to it and her jaw dropped open when she stepped into the large closet. “This is bigger than my entire cabin on the ship! I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven.” She said as she stepped back into the room, expecting to find just Robbie and Diana but Ace was also there with her large duffle bag. He was carrying it like it weighed no more than one of the fluffy looking bed pillows on the king size bed that she couldn’t wait to crawl into.

Just then, another young man showed up with an armful of sheets and towels. Carlyle stood in the doorway, uncertain of what he was supposed to do. “Come on in. Put the towels and bathroom stuff away for Miss Dot and then strip the bed and remake it. Kid’s go get ready for dinner. Dot, I’ll give you some time to shower and change out of your uniform and then I’ll be back to escort you all to the dining room. Okay?” Ace said as he sat her bag on the large blanket trunk at the end of the bed.

“Thank you, Ace.” Dot said.

“If there’s anything you need, just stick your head out the door and call for a prospect and one will come.” Ace said. “Come on kids. Give your aunt a few minutes to herself.”