Stryker

20 - Meeting her parents

Stryker

“I’m so nervous, Mark,”

It’s crazy how much I love it when she says my name. Like it means something. Anyone else calls me Mark, and I’ll cut their damn tongues out of their heads.

We woke up this morning, fucke.d... Twice, showered, ate breakfast, got dressed – and in that order – jumped into the rental car I hired and drove to her parents’ place.

I thought I’d be respectful and leave my cut in the hotel room. I don’t want to rub their noses in the fact I am a biker. Not that they won’t be able to tell, but I thought I’d try and dress appropriately today. I’m wearing black pants, a black button-down shirt, and uncomfortable as shi.t shoes. I have a ton of tattoos that mostly are covered up because I don’t want to seem disrespectful to the Harmon's. It’s not like my ink ain’t full of demons and horror. Don’t mean I’m dirty. Not the way her parents see bikers, anyway.

Coral is dressed in tight jeans and a tight white blouse, showing off her perfect curves. Her beautiful blonde hair has been straightened and is now in a ponytail in the middle of her head.

She looks beautiful. God, I wish there was a better word to describe this woman, but none seem to do her justice.

“I know you are, baby, but it’ll be okay. Just remember that I’m here for you. No matter what they say, I will always be here for you.”

She smiles so genuinely that it makes my heart sore. “I love you.” She leans over and kisses me.

“I love you, too. However, I think we should go in; we have an audience.”

“Great.” She groans before turning away from me and looking out of her window. “My mother.” I don’t want to tell her this but that was very obvious, the woman looks just like Coral, or should that be the other way round?

We climb out of the car, and I’m around her side and taking her hand before her mother has time to blink. Not that I’m not usually a gentleman where Coral is concerned, but it doesn’t hurt to show her mother that I have manners. We walk up the steps to the front door, her mother’s eyes narrowing angrily.

Jesus, this should be fun.

“It’s good to see you, Mom.” Coral hugs her mother tightly. Her mother hugs her back, but it seems forced. Her eyes haven’t left me yet. “Mom, this is Stryker.” There’s a smile on my girl’s face as she takes my hand. She’s so proud to be mine. Makes me feel good to know she’s not ashamed of me.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Harmon.”

“I’m sure it is.” Her words have a snarl, but I don’t let it get to me. She’s entitled to her opinion. She doesn’t like bikers, I understand why. She’s never going to be my biggest fan. Nothing I can do about that.

We follow the older woman inside the fancy-looking house, with the large windows and the lightly painted walls, where her husband is waiting. He’s tall, not very built, brown-eyed, dark-haired, although it’s very obviously graying. He’s standing with his arms crossed over his chest, staring us down.

Good look with the intimidation tactics, buddy. They won’t work on me.

Coral releases my hand and runs straight to her father, arms around his neck. However, he doesn’t hold her back, he keeps his arms to his sides. “I missed you, Daddy.”

“I doubt that very much with what you’ve been up to.”

I hear my girl sigh as she lets go of her father. Fucke.r, he shouldn’t be making her feel like she’s done something wrong!

I don’t get to say anything, I’m not even introduced to him because there’s a little blonde thing rushing down the stairs screaming Coral’s name.

“Cindy!” I watch the girls embrace like they haven’t seen each other in years, and it’s so easy to tell that Cindy is Coral’s younger sister, they look so much alike.

Cindy is a little shorter and not as curvy as Coral, but she’s beautiful just the same. She’s wearing a graduation gown, but I can see the hem of a light blue dress that sits on her knees through the gap at the front when she hugs her sister.

I chuckle as they speak a mile a minute about what they’ve been up to in their time apart. I know their parents are watching me; I can feel their eyes burning holes into my head. I’m not going to prove these fucker.s right by getting into it with them. I’m here for Coral. I don’t care if they never like me, I’m going to keep my cool for the woman I love.

“Is this your man?”

“Yes, this is Stryker.” Both girls stand with their arms around each other, heads together as they look at me.

I smile at them both. Coral is the more beautiful of the two, but Cindy is a beauty all on her own.

“Damn, Sissy, he’s hot! You did well. I’m impressed.”

I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me. This one has no filter. She’s not at all shy. Her years in California have altered her accent. It’s slightly different from Coral’s, who doesn’t seem to have lost her southern twang.

“Cindy!”

“Mother!” She mocks.

“Must you say such things?”

“Yes, I must. I’m eighteen, and I can appreciate a hot guy when I see one.”

God, she’s cheeky.

“He’s a filthy biker! Your sister is bedding down with a filthy biker!”

“Yes, he is a biker, and I bet he’s really filthy.” Cindy winks at me, and I can already tell this one is trouble.

“That’s enough, young lady!” Cindy rolls her eyes at her father. “It’s time we got you to graduation.”

This is my second graduation this week. Willow’s was a couple of days ago, now I’m here for Cindy’s.

The girls file out, but Coral’s father grabs my arm, stopping me from going any further. “You are not what I wanted for Coral. She deserves better than the life of a biker’s Old Lady.”

“You’re right. However, it’s the life she wants.”

I’m not scared of this man. He’s as tall as I am, and I can tell just by looking at him that he could once take care of himself and probably still can. However, he won’t scare me off with anything he has to say.

“Coral is an amazin’ woman. You did a fantastic job raising her, believe me, it shows in everything she does.”

He looks at me with a stunned expression on his face, but this isn’t me bullshitting him, I’m being damn straight with him. Kids are a product of their parents. They mold them from babies to be the people they end up being. Sure, shi.t happens that changes a person, and not all children become good adults. That’s not the parent’s fault. But it’s the parents who raise a good kid to be a better adult, and her parents certainly did that with Coral.

“She didn’t come back to Tennessee looking for a relationship. Hell, I wasn’t looking for one either. Shepard swore my brothers and me to protect Coral, never to touch her or he’d kill us, and that’s all it ever should have been, me protecting her. But who in the hell wouldn't fall in love with her when she’s damn near perfect in every way?

“I was nothing and nobody until I met her. She’s changed everything about me in the short months I’ve known her. I would kill anyone who hurt her. I’d even die for her in the worst way imaginable if it meant I was protecting her.

“You have every right to be scared after what happened to Coral as a child,” Her father’s face remains impassive, Shepard must have told him how Coral confided in me her most painful memory. “Any parent would be, and I totally understand everything you did after the child was born. Why you couldn’t let her keep the baby, and so does Coral. But I promise you that Coral is safe with me. Ain’t nothin’ ever gonna happen to her while I'm breathin’.”

“And what happens if you get yourself killed? Because it’s not like it won’t happen doing what you do. What happens to my daughter then?”

“Then I know you’ll be there to take care of her and show her the way to move forward. Coral thinks the world of you and her mother. After everythin’, she still worships you both. However, she’s a grown woman now and has the right to choose her own path. If you both force this, you will lose her, and I don’t want that for any of you. A girl needs her parents in her life. I don’t have any parents. Mine never gave a damn about me. However, I know you care about Coral. She talks so fondly of you both. She needs you, Mr. Harmon.”

“You’re just as Shepard described you.”

I blink at him.

I figured they’d spoken about me. God, he just couldn’t wait for Coral to call her damn parents and tell them about us herself.

“It’s not you that we don’t like, Stryker, it’s your lifestyle. But it’s your choice how you live your life, just as it is my daughter’s. She loves you that much is obvious, and I know she’ll be with you no matter what I say.”

“She just wants to know that you won’t abandon her.”

He shakes his head while scratching his short beard. “Will never happen. I just want my daughter to be happy. After everything she’s gone through in her short life, seeing her smiling the way she was when she looked at you... Just take care of her, she is everything to me.”

He holds his hand out to me, and I shake it out of respect for him and Coral. “You have my word, Sir. I won’t let you down.”

“Good. Good.”

“I want to marry her.” It shot out of my mouth before I could stop it. Now wasn’t the right time, but I couldn’t help it.

Don’t dads like to be asked for their daughter's hand in marriage?

BlackJack told me that once. He told me he asked Taylor’s father if he could marry her. It helps the father know you respect him and his part in his daughter’s life.

“I would like your permission to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

Pretty crazy, right?

A biker asking his girl’s old man for her hand in marriage. I might not have been raised right, but Taylor taught me that manners cost nothing. Asking Coral’s dad for her hand in marriage was the right thing to do. Old-fashioned, but right.

He slaps his other hand over mine. “It really doesn’t matter what I say, son. If you want to ask her and she says yes, whether I like it or not, you’ll still marry her.”

“True. However, having your permission would mean a great deal to me. It would also mean everything to Coral to have your blessing.”

He looks me in the eye for a long moment. I almost think he’s going to take a swing at me. However, he smiles and nods his head. No verbal permission is given, but I don’t need it, that nod said it all.