Moonshine & Mistletoe (Black Rebel Riders' MC Book 11) Read online

  Moonshine and Mistletoe

  A Black Rebel Riders’ MC Novella

  Book 11

  Glenna Maynard

  Moonshine & Mistletoe © 2108 Glenna Maynard

  This is a work of fiction. Names characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual people, alive or dead, business, establishments, locals or events is entirely coincidental. Any reference to real events, business, organizations or locals is intended only to give the fiction a sense of realism and authenticity. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means – electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording, or otherwise – without prior permission in writing from the author.

  The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the word marks mentioned in this work of fiction.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Dear Reader

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Coming Soon

  Bonus Scene

  About Glenna

  Character Glossary

  Available now

  Preview Hades’ Flame

  Dedication

  This series is dedicated to some people who have meant the world to me. Their love of Harley Davidson and rock 'n roll is something I will always carry with me. Foxy Roxie, Elmer Lee (Cowboy) and my parents Glen & Alice. Thank you for all of the wonderful influences you placed upon me. Roxie, Elmer, and Dad I hope you all are riding on that highway in the sky. You too Johnny and Oba.

  To those who are gone but never forgotten. I love you!

  Moonshine & Mistletoe

  Your favorite badass bikers are back.

  Join the Black Rebel Riders’ MC for a Christmas to remember.

  Axel Black is set to leave Drag Creek and everyone there behind after being dumped by his girlfriend. He knows ending the relationship was for the best. A new life is waiting for him in Texas. This is his chance to prove to his father that he has what it takes to be a leader. Falling for a gorgeous stranger is the last thing Axel needs. Ainsley is a distraction he can’t afford. He’s sworn off relationships but when there is moonshine and mistletoe involved anything is possible—like falling into bed with the cartel.

  Dear Reader,

  This novella reads as book 11 of my Black Rebel Riders’ MC and crosses over with my Devils Rejects MC. You don’t have to have read the Devils Rejects to enjoy this story but for better enjoyment I suggest reading my interconnected MC books in the following order.

  Grim The Beginning (BRRMC 1)

  Rumor (BRRMC 2)

  Baby (BRRMC 3)

  Striker (BRRMC 4)

  Romeo (BRRMC 5)

  Heart of A Rebel (BRRMC 6)

  A Rebel Love (BRRMC 7)

  A Rebel In The Roses (BRRMC 8)

  Born Sinner (standalone)

  Blood of A Rebel (BRRMC 9)

  The Devil’s Rebel (BRRMC 10)

  Hades’ Flame (DRMC 1)

  Boogeyman’s Dream (DRMC 2)

  Reaper’s Till Death (DRMC 3)

  Cupid’s Arrow (DRMC 4)

  Uno’s Truth (DRMC 5)

  Moonshine & Mistletoe (BRRMC 11)

  Chapter 1

  Rebel

  Drag Creek, Kentucky

  Taking a hard drag off my cigarette, I stop in my tracks, looking at the man next to me. My brother. He’s really home for good. Too fucking bad it took our mother’s death and his daughter being taken to bring Striker’s ass back to Drag Creek, but I’m glad he’s here. The years we spent apart I felt a piece of me was missing and now with him at my side running the club, standing in the steel toed boots of the men who raised us, I feel whole.

  Flecks of grey are peppered through his dark hair. We aren’t getting any younger. Every damn day he looks more like Romeo.

  Snow falls around us, illuminating the ground. As the wind whips around us, I feel trapped in a fucking snow globe. A real Hallmark moment if you will. The frigid air nips at my cheeks as Axel, Abel, and Cole select a tree. Snow caps the top of the massive pine and I wonder how in the hell the damn thing will fit in the bar. I never thought I would see this day. All of us together doing something so Goddamned mundane as cutting down a Christmas tree for the Roadhouse but here we are one big fuckin’ happy family.

  My brother looks over to me and smiles. Another thing I never thought I’d see again. There has been a lot of bad blood between us, but we are looking forward and leaving the past where it belongs. With Grim and Romeo retired it is up to us to continue to grow this club and leave something for our boys to inherit. I never thought I’d live this long let alone have a family of my own. However, here I stand years later after losing Rumor the horrible way that I did a changed man, because of Chelle and the love she gives me so freely.

  Looking up at the sky I wonder if Rumor ever looks down on me and if she is proud of the man her death made me. I never deserved her, but she was mine, loving me with her pure heart. Chelle understands the scars that have marked my heart. She knows that one day even though I’ve made peace with that part of my life I want to see Sarah again in the hereafter. I don’t know if Heaven has a place for a sinner like me, but I go to church every Sunday all the same.

  My brother’s hand comes down on my shoulder in a tight squeeze. “She’s happy for you, man. She’d have wanted this for you. For all of us. Karly thinks about her often and how different things might have gone if she were still here.”

  I nod and take one last puff before snuffing the cherry out.

  “Right. When did you grow to be so wise?”

  “I’ve always been smart, cocksucker.”

  “Whatever, grandpa.” I flick my finger at one of his gray patches of hair.

  “Fuck off,” he growls, and I smirk.

  “What? Don’t like being called grandpa?”

  “It’s Grampy,” Cole yells with a chuckle and I shake my damn head.

  “Won’t be long before you’re a grandpa too, old man. Harley set a date yet?” My asshole of a brother smirks at me.

  “New Years.” I didn’t think the fucker had it in him, but Reaper, my daughter’s man did as I asked. Brought me the head of that bastard, Tiny Leone. I promised my blessing and I gave it. Never fucking thought I’d marry my daughter of to a motherfuckin’ Devils Reject but things have changed. Our clubs have found peace. We’re trying to do things differently. My boys will be headed to Texas soon, after the holidays to start a new charter, that consists of both Black Rebels and Devils Rejects. Axel says they are calling themselves the Black Rebel Devils MC.

  “You boys gonna cut that tree down or are you trying to get dick bite,” Striker grits at our sons rubbing his hands together for warmth.

  “The fuck is dick bite?” I question.

  “Frostbite of the dick, motherfucker. Give me a cigarette,” he demands, blowing out a breath that fogs up the lens of his glasses.

  “I thought you quit.” I pull the pack out of the inner pocket of my cut and shake him one out.

  “I did.” He flashes me a smile accepting the lighter I hold out to him next.

  “You old asses just gonna stand there and watch or were ye planning on actually helping?�
� Abel yells.

  **

  Walking into the house it’s quiet. I’m still not used to the silence. Abel still technically lives at home, but he never stays here. He’s always off doing his own thing. Chelle is mad at me too. Hates that I am sending our sons to Texas, but it’s for the best. Axel has pending charges and Abel will go wherever his brother is, so it only makes sense to send them. It was my brother’s idea and I agree with him.

  “Honey, I’m home,” I call out as I kick my boots off and shrug my jacket and cut off, hanging both in the coat closet. I’m met with more silence. I move through the house to the kitchen. Usually, my wife keeps me a plate warm in the oven but tonight there is nothing. Not even leftovers in the fridge. Damn, she must be angrier than I thought. My stomach growls and I fix myself a ham sandwich. As I walk through the house eating my late-night snack, I can hear the TV on in the bedroom. I go to open the bedroom door and it’s locked. I knock once. “Come on, Chelle, you can’t stay mad forever.”

  The volume lowers on the TV.

  I knock again. “Let me in. Final warning. You know what happened last time,” I warn. She pulled this shit once before and I knocked the damn thing off the hinges. I start to kick it in when it swings open and my wife stands on the other side with a hand on her hip.

  “Idiot,” she grumbles and gets back under the covers.

  “But I’m your idiot.” I smirk.

  Chapter 2

  Axel

  I sink down on the couch after my shower. Had fucking tree sap and pine needles all over me after cutting down that stupid fucking tree the old man said we needed for the Roadhouse. Which translates to the stupid fucking tree my mother wanted. Turning my phone over in my hands, I see on my girl’s social media she’s back in Drag Creek. She didn’t even text me. Ain’t that some bullshit. Pissed off and tired of this shit, I give her a call. It takes five rings before she even answers.

  “Hey,” she whispers sounding off.

  “You coming here or am I coming to your folk’s place?”

  Coralie lets out an exasperated sigh. “Why don’t we do lunch tomorrow?”

  I put my phone on speaker and hold it out in front of me as my throat tickles. I heavily exhale through my nose. “I haven’t seen you in three Goddamn weeks. I don’t want to wait another day.” Coralie attends college on the other side of the state. Her parents have big dreams for her that don’t include biker trash like me.

  I put a guy in a coma, but shit wasn’t even my fault. The dumbass fucking hit me first. It happened a few months ago. I went to Coralie’s school to see her. There was some big party she wanted to attend or some shit for Halloween. Said she wanted the full college experience. Whatever the fuck that means. Anyway, she told me to meet her there. I walked into the place and it was like I stepped into some cheesy as fuck movie like my sister’s, Morgan and Harley enjoyed watching and torturing me and my little brother with growing up. Party was at a fraternity house. I was looking for Coralie and found her in the basement dancing with some preppy looking tool. He had his hands on her hips and shit.

  I kept my cool. Tapped the bastard on the shoulder and said, “Thanks for standing in but I’m here now. Let a real man dance with his girl.” Coralie took a step back and had the nerve to glare at me like I was the one on the wrong. That should have been my sign to walk away but I didn’t.

  The fucker looked at me and laughed. He turned to her and said, “Do you know this clown? I thought Halloween costumes were for kids.”

  “The fuck did you just say?” I growled, clenching my fists at my sides.

  “You heard me, man.” He shoved at my shoulders. “Why don’t you go back to the freakshow.” Then he punched me, landing a pathetic jab on my jaw.

  I laughed at him and told him, “That was your one.”

  I don’t remember much after that, but I know I fucked him up. Broke the bone of his pallet and knocked out a few teeth. He’s the son of a senator and his dad is pushing to lock me up. So far, my old man has managed to keep me out of jail and I know Texas is his way of making it go away. Well at least it gets me of the state and hopefully off the rich asshole’s radar.

  “We should talk. I’ll come to you.”

  “Fine,” I snap at her. Thinking about that shit at that party has me fired up again. Ending the call, I toss my cell phone onto the couch and sigh. Rubbing a hand through my hair, I walk to the fridge and grab a beer from the inside of the door. I know when I go to Texas if she doesn’t come with me we’re through.

  I drink my way through a six-pack of ponies before I hear the light tap on my door. Blinking my eyes, I scrub a hand over my face and call out, “It’s open.”

  The door swings open and she stands in the entryway. Her blonde hair is in a messy knot on top of her head. She’s dressed down in an oversized university sweatshirt, leggings that make her ass look good, and a pair of boots.

  Stomping her feet, she shakes some of the snow off before entering.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I tell her, and she rolls her shoulders.

  Coralie stops short by the couch and I grab her by the wrists and pull her down to me. I don’t want to fight. With other ideas…like getting her naked and in my bed in mind, I kiss her. Her lips don’t move, and I pull back.

  She gives me a disappointed expression, her brows lifting as she frowns. “You’re drunk.”

  “And you’re late but I’m not complaining. I’ve missed you.” I inch my fingers under her shirt, up her side, toward her bra.

  “I came here so we can talk.”

  “Don’t be like this. I just want to be with you. Is that so wrong or too much to ask for?”

  “When you’re drunk it is. I didn’t come over for this.” Her hand goes to my bare chest, her fingers tracing the dark ink outline of the lion’s head that covers the expanse of my chest. “I need you to be serious.”

  I grin lazily at her and pinch her nipple between my fingers as I say, “I am serious. Serious about getting you naked.”

  “God!” Coralie moves away shaking her head. “Are you going to Texas?”

  “Are you coming with me?”

  “Axel…I—you know I can’t.”

  “So where does that leave us because I won’t be able to drive up on a weekend whenever I fucking feel like it.”

  “I know that,” she whispers, unable to meet my eyes. “I think…I think we should quit while we are ahead, ya know?”

  “Is that what you want?” I scoot forward, placing my elbows on my knees and resting my face in my palms.

  “Yes. No. I don’t know. But we both know this isn’t working. And with the way things are right now with everything…we need a break. Maybe once I graduate.”

  I scoff. Opening up a box on the table I pull out a joint and fire it up. “Alright, Coralie. You go back to college with your rich fuckin’ friends and I’ll go to Texas and lay with every fucking whore I can stick my dick in.” I smirk and take a hit and she smacks the fucking joint out of my mouth. It falls to the floor, burning a hole in the rug as I stare at her.

  “Fuck you, Axel. I don’t care what you do.”

  I should say something, but I don’t because she’s right. This isn’t fucking working and I don’t have it ion me to fight for a bitch who doesn’t give a damn about me. I grab the left-handed cigarette up from the floor and stick it between my lips and blow a ring of smoke at her.

  Tears slide down her cheeks, but they aren’t genuine. Coralie doesn’t give a shit about me. All she worries about is pleasing Mommy and Daddy and keeping her perfect appearance up.

  **

  “You can’t leave before Christmas, Axel. It’s the holidays. You know how much it means to me to have the whole family together. Your sister is going to be here. Sara is coming with her twins. We all want to make this year special.”

  I know what my mother is trying to do, but her guilt trip isn’t working.

  “I don’t feel like celebrating, Mom. I just want to go down to Texas and che
ck shit out. Abel will be coming down right after New Year’s. Me leaving a few days early doesn’t make a difference.”

  “You can’t spend Christmas alone.” She grabs my hand. “Please, son. Reconsider. Harley is getting married on New year’s.”

  I shrug her off. “Harley won’t miss me. Besides, I’m not a kid and I won’t be alone. I have a truck full of moonshine and I am sure company won’t be hard to come by.”

  A smack thwacks the back of my head. “Just like a man to think with your other head.”

  “Ow, damn,” I gripe. That earns me another thump.

  “Leave him alone,” my old man intervenes, thank the fuck. I love my mother but damn. I don’t want to be here seeing everyone all happy and shit when I just got fucking dumped. Mom crosses her arms but shuts her mouth. “Your bike is on the trailer. You got everything?”

  I look around my apartment. There’s still photos of Coralie and me on the wall. I frown and stare down the dark hallway that leads to the bedroom and the bathroom. It’s time to let go and move forward. There’s nothing left here for me. “Yeah. The rest of this shit can go to the dump or charity.”

  I give my mother a hug and a kiss to the cheek.

  “You better check in along the way.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Call in at the halfway point and again when you arrive. I mean it,” my old man growls.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Chapter 3

  Ainsley

  Somewhere, Texas

  Pulling up to my father’s house feels strange. I haven’t spent a day of my life in the place, but my stepmother insisted I come home for Christmas break. She thinks it will be good for me to try and connect with the man who raised me. Like she has any freaking idea what I need. My whole life I was hidden away like his dirty secret because he said it was safer for me that way. My father was not a good man. He was a criminal. A cartel boss. That was the impression he gave to all who knew him but to me he was my dad. He never missed a thing going on in my life. He was there for every important moment and yet I feel numb.