Chapter 2

Merigold

We sat eating as Ethan filled me in on the things that we had to do. " On Monday we have an appointment with dad's lawyer at nine. Then after I thought I would take you to the clubhouse  and show you around there." I nodded my head in agreement " Sounds like a plan."  I look up from my plate" Can I ask you something?" During our phone calls, Ethan has told me a bit about his club. Like how Raider and his best friend Ace started it. And it was passed down to Ethan when Raider got sick.

 He said that when I got up here he would explain it more but it was better to see for myself as well.  He leans back in his chair " You can ask me anything you want." I point to his vest " What do the patches on your vest mean?" " Well, first it's not a vest it is called a kutte." I lower my eyes in embarrassment. " Sorry." " Don't be sorry for not knowing. It is going to take some time for you to get used to all of it. I know you don't know about this life that dad lived and that I lived all my life. I don’t know anything else. But I'm going to be right here to guide you through it. Dad wanted to do it himself. But when it became obvious he wasn’t going to be able to, he asked me to do it. And that's what l’m going to do."  

He points to the small patches on the left side of his chest " The first is my nickname Viper. The one above my name states my position at the club. Prez." He turns so I can see the back. Reckless Renegades in big block letters are written across the top. In the middle is a picture of two pistols crossing each other with a large R in the middle. " That's the club name and symbol. " Ethan says. "  "I don't want to be disrespectful or say the wrong thing when we go to the clubhouse, so do I call you Prez, or Viper, or Ethan?" I ask. " Feel free to call me which one you want. No one in the MC calls me by my real name but if you are more comfortable with it then use it," he says with a smile.

" I like Unka Viper. I want a nickname." Jace says." Me too. I want nickname Unka Viper '' Jax says, bouncing in his seat. " Uncle Viper. I like the sound of it. You boys want a nickname do you?" Ethan says, picking his plate up and taking it to sink. " Yes' ' the boys say in unison. " Well I'm going to have to think about it for a little bit and get to know you, boys, better before we can give you one," he says. " Yea" the boys shout. I start picking up the leftover pizza and start packing it away. " Boys remember what Alaric says about nicknames." Ethan has returned to his seat and raises his brow at me " Nicknames are earned. And they are special to each person." I say. " Your mom is right, boys. But we will find you a good one when the time comes." Ethan says. " Like the one momma earned?" Jax asks. " Your mom has a nickname? " Ethan asks. " Yep," Jace answers. " Did she earn it?" " Unka Laric says she did," Jax says with a grin. 

Ethan looks at me " So little sis are you going to tell me this nickname you earned." " Maybe another time. It's kind of a long story how I got it." I say. " Fair enough. I hope to hear the story one day. And when I do I'll tell you how I got mine." he says.

Ethan   

I can see the sadness in her eyes when I mentioned the nickname. I won't push but I get the feeling there's a story there. It just reminds me of how little I know about her. But in time I'm hoping she will feel comfortable opening up to me. I know a little about her past from what the lawyer and private investigator found out. And for the most part, it wasn't good. But I don't know the whole story but I want to. I want to know everything. My gut tells me to just give her time. We just met. I'll give her all the time she needs.

Merigold

I look over and see Jax yawning. I smile " Ok you two time for bed. It's been a long day." " While you get them ready I'll go grab your bags from the truck," Ethan says. I hand him the keys and ask if he'll just get the suitcases for now. I'll handle the rest tomorrow. I wash the boys up and take them to their bedroom. Ethan dropped their suitcase off already. I get the boys in their pajamas and settle into bed. They are out as soon as their heads hit the pillow. My poor little guys, it has been an eventful couple of days for them and then meeting their uncle. They wore themselves out. I kiss each one on the forehead. " Goodnight boys." and head back downstairs.

Ethan at the fridge he turns when he hears me and raises a beer " Want one?" "Yea that would be great." He hands one to me and we go sit in the living room. Ethan sits on the couch and I choose the chair. Sitting in the recliner for some reason doesn't feel right. Ethan hasn't said anything I get the feeling it was dad's spot. So I get and move to the love seat. I reach down to take off my boots and stretch out my feet. " Is there anything you can tell me about the meeting with the lawyer?"

" Just that we are going to go over dad's Will," Ethan says. I must have had a strange look on my face because he followed up with " I don't know what's in the Will. When we had a good lead on you I told the lawyer that I wanted to wait until you were found to go over it. McMasters agreed because he said it concerned both of us. So we are going to find out together." I sat back and took a big swig of my beer before I asked the next question. " Did umm. Did he know that you found me before he umm?" I just let the sentence trail off from there. 

Ethan smiled. I guess he could see I wasn't sure how to ask the question and I was considering his feelings on the subject. " Yea. He knew. I was able to tell him the good news. I showed him a picture of you and the boys that the investigator gave us. I was able to give him some details of your life. He was so happy that after all these years we were able to finally find you. Like I told you he has been looking for it since he found out about you being born. With little to go on other than your birthday, your name, and a picture that was sent he tried but it was hard. But he never gave up. Even when there were times I thought he should. But no matter how many dead ends he ran into he refused to give up. He said you were out there somewhere and it didn’t matter what it took he was going to find his baby girl. Merigold even though he never knew you he loved you since the day he got that picture in the mail. When he got sick I did the only thing I could do. I took over for him."

" Did it bother you that he was looking for me?" Merigold asked. " Absolutely not. I wanted to know my sister as much as dad wanted to know his daughter. Family has always been the most important thing to dad and me. I think we both felt like something was missing from our family. The place where you should have been. You, dad, and I were robbed of a chance to be a family. So don't ever think that you weren't or aren't wanted because you are and have been for a very long time." he said. I don't know what made me do it but I set my beer down, got up, and hugged Ethan. " Thank you for finding me" Ethan wrapped his arms around me " I'll always find you, little sis. Always."

                            Monday morning

We sit in a small waiting room of Mr. McMasters’s office. I have Jax on my lap, Ethan is in a chair to my left and Jace is to my right. The walls are wood paneling that gives the room a warm feel. The chairs are pretty comfortable. The receptionist is at her desk directly in front of her. I can't help but notice that she keeps stealing quick peaks at Ethan. I try and fail to keep from giggling. Ethan looks over at me " What's so funny?" I compose myself " Sorry. The receptionist keeps checking you out" Before he can say anything a man is standing in front of us. Ethan stands up and shakes the man's hand. " Viper good to see you." the man says. " You too Rich." Ethan points to me and I stand grabbing the boys' hands.” Richard McMasters this is Merigold and the twins Jax and Jace. Merigold, this is Richard McMasters family friend and lawyer." Ethan says. 

" Pleasure to meet you, sir. '' I say. Mr. McMasters offers his hand. I take it and he closes his other around it as well. He is a handsome man. Tall, six-foot easy. He has short dark blonde hair that he has styled. He has light brown eyes that light up when he smiles at me. His firm jawline is clean-shaven. He is wearing a navy blue suit. The jacket isn't buttoned revealing a light blue button-up dress shirt. The way the shirt hugs his chest you can tell he is fit. He doesn't look any older than his late thirties. " It is a great pleasure to finally meet you Merigold," he says. " Let's go to my office and we can get started"

Once seated in Mr. McMasters’s office I give the twins their tablets with headphones to keep them occupied. " I'm going to go through everything your father's Will with you but if at any point you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. Raider was a simple man and didn't want a bunch of what he called legal talk so everything is pretty straightforward." Mr. McMasters says. The first thing he does is hand Ethan and me a flash drive each. I look at him curiously as to what these are for. " Those hold personal messages from your father to each of you," he says. I looked at Ethan and he just shrugged. 

I guess he didn't know anything about it. " Merigold here are a couple of things that just concern you. Things that were put in place shortly after you were born." and he slides a small pack of papers towards me. I open it and inside is the name of a bank with an account number with my name on it. Also a monthly statement. The amount of money in that account is enough to make my eyes bulge out of my head. It is almost a quarter of a million dollars.

I squeak " Ethan" because that's all I can manage to get out. He grabs my hand,  lightly squeezes it, and nods. Mr. McMasters continues " That account was set up for you shortly after you were born and had been accumulating over the years. And it's all yours no one else can touch it." I just nod " Ok." 

" Now as far as Will goes it is pretty simple. The clubhouse property, the house, and the auto shop are divided fifty/fifty." Mr. McMasters says sliding a paper in front of us.  I look up in utter shock " I'm sorry. What?" " Merigold, your father wanted you and your brother to have equal shares in everything he owned," he says.  " But that's not right. It should all be Ethan's. He didn't know me. Ethan was there for him. He raised Ethan. I didn't earn any of this. It's not fair to Ethan at all." I'm practically shaking. I'm so overwhelmed. 

Ethan grabs my hand. “Merigold just breath and listen to me. Yes, you weren't there. But that wasn't your fault. It wasn’t your choice. Just because you weren't doesn't mean you don't deserve this. And as far as being fair to me I think I should be the judge of that. And I'm not complaining. Just let it all sink in before you make any decisions." he looks over at Mr. McMasters.

" Is there anything that says if she doesn't want any of it she can give it to me?"  " If at any time Merigold feels she wants to give you any of the properties she is within her rights to do so." Mr. McMasters answers. " See Merigold you don't have to have it if you truly feel that strongly about it. But I want you to think about it and not make a hasty decision. Can you do that for me?" Ethan says. I take a deep breath. He is right. I'm overwhelmed and I need to think about this. " Yes, you're right. I'll take some time to think about it." 

“ One last thing before we sign everything. When Raider was informed you were found, Merigold, and he found out about the twin’s Raider and Viper met with me to set up a Trust for each of them. It is set up where they can touch it at the age of twenty-one. Or earlier if they want to use some of the money towards college. If that happens they can only do it with your consent. I will handle the Trust but you have power of attorney over it.” I look at Ethan and start to shake my head. This is way too much.” This is what dad wanted to do for his grandsons. And I want to do it for my nephews. It is a gift for them.” Ethan says. I don’t know what to say. Their generosity is beyond anything I could have ever expected.

  With everything agreed on Ethan and I signed the papers each of us taking part ownership of the house, the clubhouse, and the auto shop. We both shake hands with Mr. McMasters `` Merigold if you have any questions in the future or need any help with anything feel free to call." he says. " Thank Mr. McMasters for everything. I will." I say. Ethan walks me back to the truck and helps me get the boys loaded up. " Ready to go see the clubhouse?" Ethan asks before he walks to his bike. I'm not sure if I am but I smile anyway." Sure. Lead the way."