“They do but Baffle filled me in early so I could be here,” Crutch explained as he tapped the table then glanced at his wife.“To help with the boys,” he tacked on without looking at me.
I didn’t believe that for a minute.He might have been helping out with the boys, but that wasn’t why my husband sent him out of the meeting early.I wondered if it had been a wise choice to send the husband of the woman who had given me a hard time, though.That seemed counterproductive and quite frankly made me nervous.
“It’s crazy that she thinks she can question a club brother, the former president no less, about his whereabouts,” Roxy faux whispered to her mother loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Nell isn’t asking for club secrets.She was curious and probably wondering if her husband was finished with church yet,” Crutch explained with far more patience than I would have had.“He shouldn’t be much longer,” he said as he turned his attention back to me.I wondered why he was being so nice when his wife had been awful to me so far, but I didn’t get the chance to ask that question before he turned around to the table Roxy and Lila occupied.“You ladies should hit the road since you’re not here to eat.”
“You’re kicking us out?”Lila scoffed.
“Nope.I think it’s for the best today unless you have something to say to Nell.”The way his gaze laser-focused in on them, it was like he dared them to address me, even though he just gave them the opening they needed to do their worst.
“Said all I needed to her last night and nothing’s changed,” Lila chimed in with a roll of her eyes.
“What Mom said,” Roxy agreed.
“Then it’s time for you to go.”Crutch turned back around as if his word was law and he had more important shit to focus on.
“I’m an ol’ lady and have every right to be here.Roxy is Punchy’s daughter, so she does, too.”
Roxy flinched as her mother spoke and I wondered what that was about.As luck would have it, I didn’t have to wait to find out because Crutch had zero compunction about telling Lila how things really were.
“Punchy revoked any claim on Roxy last night and again this morning in church, so all the brothers know it’s been done.”
“What?”Lila hissed as her head snapped back-and-forth between the former club president and her daughter.
“She can’t be here unless it is a day open to the public or she’s a guest for a specific event that isn’t closed to club members and family.”
“I invite-” Lila started to say before Crutch cut her off.
“By a member,” the man finished before Lila could get a word in edgewise.
“Come on, Mom.Let’s go and I’ll explain.”Roxy’s defeated voice may have made me feel bad for her if I didn’t know what she had done to trick my husband into sleeping with her in the past.Granted, he wasn’t my anything when it happened.Considering he saved me from an assault, I felt the need to protect him - even from having something that already happened in the past constantly dredged up.
As the women made their way out of the clubhouse’s kitchen, my attention shifted to my yogurt, so I missed whatever prompted Crutch to speak.
“One more misstep and being Punchy’s ol’ lady won’t give you any privileges here either.Go home, Lila.”
My eyes drifted to Tilly who remained unusually quiet while her husband kicked the woman, who I assumed was her best friend, out of the clubhouse.Once the two women were gone, Tilly plated the boys’ food and then brought her tea over and sat directly across from me.
“I wanted to apologize for my behavior.I was woefully misinformed about a few things.”She sniffed and I looked up to see tears in her eyes.
“You know what she did now?”I questioned.Tilly seemed shocked that I knew.“Do not behave like this in front of him.There is a reason he didn’t want anyone else to know when it happened.”My warning came out a bit more fiercely than I intended, but maybe that was necessary to get my point across.
Crutch chuckled while Tilly looked at me like I was a puzzle that she was missing crucial pieces to solve.
“It’s okay, honey.You can dial it back.Baffle is spilling the beans to all the members today.”
“No!Why?”
“For you,” he said with a slight shrug of his shoulders as if it wasn’t that big of a deal.
“I don’t want that.It has nothing to do with me.”I glanced around frantically searching for where their meeting room might be, but I knew none of the doors in the kitchen would take me directly there.“Where are they?”I finally asked as my eyes came back to meet Crutch’s amused ones.
“Love that you want to protect one of my boys, but it’s already a done deal.It also has everything to do with you.Some people were under the mistaken impression that Roxy was going to be claimed by Baffle.He never intended to do that and didn’t realize, until now, that even some members thought it was in the works.Your man is explaining because he doesn’t want anyone confused or wrongly placing blame for that not happening on your shoulders.”His gaze slid over to his wife then and she ducked her head in what appeared to be shame, remorse, or possibly a bit of both.
As if they were summoned by our conversation, or the smell of the pancakes Tilly whipped up for the boys, club members started to flood into the kitchen.When Punchy saw me there, he veered off in my direction.
“Sorry for everything you had to deal with yesterday, young lady.”Everyone’s eyes tracked to the two of us and it made me feel incredibly uncomfortable to be under that much scrutiny, so I tried to keep my attention focused solely on Punchy.
