The sporadic texts and Jessa’s Instagram posts showed me the rough-edged, impulsive biker had been body-snatched by a guy who assembled IKEA furniture and wore a “Dog Dad” T-shirt while grilling steaks in the backyard.
All his focus was on getting Jessa settled. He looked happy, like this new domestic life with responsibility suited him.
If only that soft side extended to relationships.
As much as I enjoyed our friendship, part of me wished he were the kind of man who would settle down. Who wanted the same things in life that I wanted. But as commitment-phobic as he always was, I didn’t have a shred of hope he’d ever change. With Jessa in the picture, he’d probably become even more antsy—wanting freedom in the moments where he wasn’t playing parent.
But I knew he’d show up when I asked if he could help Elena and her kids move into their new place.
“That’s everything,” Elena said, leaning against the tailgate of my truck. Her few belongings fit in the back with room to spare.
Eva bounced Tomás on her hip. “I found some furniture for you in the club’s storage unit. Just a few things: a bed, a sofa, and a kitchen table. I’ll follow you with Reaper’s truck, and Hatchet can unload it.”
Kenna and I exchanged a glance. The club didn’t have a storage unit.
Eva met my eyes and raised her brows in a silent challenge to keep my mouth shut. I couldn’t help but smile. She’d bought it, probably out of her own pocket, but she knew Elena wouldn’t accept more charity.
Tomás reached for Kenna with his chubby arms, and she stepped back. I stifled a chuckle. While Eva clearly had baby fever, the only baby Kenna wanted was a baby goat. I’d overheard her laying out a case for an entire menagerie to Merrick the night before. The argument was so organized that I suspected she’d shown him a PowerPoint presentation.
Elena exhaled softly. “Is it weird that I’m going to miss it here? I know Sofia is going to miss Hatchet.”
As if on cue, Sofia shrieked as Hatchet and Jessa lunged at the girl as they played a nonsensical game they called “bear trap.”
“I think he’ll miss her, too,” I said. “He’s a giant kid. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you dropped by with her to say hi sometime.”
“Maybe,” Elena murmured.
She’d been through hell, and I didn’t blame her if she wanted to leave her time living at the club in the past.
Jessa walked over then, sweaty and smiling, and reached for Tomás like she couldn’t help herself. The baby cooed. Eva tried to turn away to keep hold of him, but Tomás whimpered, and Eva relented.
“Thank you for everything,” Elena said, reaching her arms to wrap around Kenna. “I can’t believe you even found me a job.”
Kenna hugged her back. “The owner of Onyx Taproom is a Maverick, and he needed a new server. It’s a nice place, so tips should be good.”
“Now I just need to find a daycare or a babysitter.” Elena ran her hands through her hair.
“I could babysit,” Jessa offered.
I arched a brow at her and then flicked my gaze to Hatchet, who was still chasing Sofia. “You should ask your brother first,” I suggested. “He has pretty strong ideas about you working.”
“It’s not work,” Jessa argued, clutching Tomás closer. “It’s fun. I love kids. And I’m going to lose my mind doing nothing until school starts. Besides, he told me I have to find something to keep me busy for the rest of the summer.”
I leveled my gaze at Jessa. She was still adjusting to having a parental figure who cared about where she was and what she did.
She groaned and threw up her hands. “Fine. I’ll ask for permission or whatever.”
She stomped off toward Hatchet, her golden ponytail swinging with fury.
Eva chuckled under her breath. “Hatchet seems to be taking to domesticity well.”
“He’s strangely good at it,” I said, watching Sofia chase Hatchet around the yard. Chaos lunged at his leg, yapping loudly. He yelped when the dog caught a bit of skin. I didn’t even try to hide my laughter.
A few minutes later, Jessa came trudging back, her expression dialed to full teenage exasperation. She still had Tomás propped on one hip, his tiny hand tangled in her hair.
“So, Mr. Overprotective said I can babysit, but only if it’s at our house.” She scowled. “Apparently, I’m not allowed to stay by myself at somebody else’s place. Because the world is full of danger and creeps and blah, blah, blah.”
“Sounds like a fair compromise,” Eva said. “He’s not wrong. There are a lot of creeps out there.”
