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“They are. So, are the kids going to start there tomorrow? If so, why are you working late? Won’t you be able to do this while they’re there during the day?” He appeared puzzled.
“Law, while I appreciate the club’s offer to let them attend, I can’t. The club has done more than enough for us. I don’t want them to do this. Besides, we’re only going to be here a couple more days, hopefully. Once we move, who knows where that might be. I might not even be able to stay in Dublin Falls. Driving back and forth isn’t feasible for me, even if the club was nice enough to say they could stay longer than a couple of days.”
I watched as his face hardened and he furrowed his brow. He didn’t look happy.
“What do you mean, you might not be able to stay in Dublin Falls? Where else would you go? It’s not safe for you and the kids to move somewhere else. Not with the way Dan is acting. He’s still out there and we haven’t found him. He’s a ticking time bomb if you ask me. As for staying here at the compound, you can stay as long as you like. No one needs this guesthouse. You and the kids are safe here. You should send them to the daycare.”
“I mean, if I can’t find anything I can afford in Dublin Falls, I might have to look further away. I don’t want to go far, but I might not have a choice. I’m not stupid. I know even if you find Dan and arrest him, he’s not going to go to jail or anything. He’s not one to give up easily. I need to find a place where we’ll be secure. As for staying here long term, that’s not going to happen. This house is for your use. Soleil told me how the single guys use them when they find their old lady until they finish building their house. I think that’s wonderful. I love how this whole compound is like its own community and that you all live here together even after you start a family.”
“We have an apartment for that on the second floor if it’s needed for one of the brothers. No one will mind you staying here. So, see, there’s no rush to find something and you can take your time finding a place in Dublin Falls. That way you won’t need to worry about driving too far to take the kids to daycare. The club has more than enough money to absorb those three into the rest. You can’t keep working like this, Tonya. It’s after midnight. What time will the kids be up in the morning and what time will you be going to bed? Tell me the truth.” The ring of authority had me confessing the truth before I even thought to lie.
“I’ll be going to bed around two, probably. They get up most mornings between six and seven. But I’m used to it. I’ve been doing this for almost two years and honestly, I did it even before the divorce. I had the twins then too.”
“And Dan didn’t fucking help you with them when he was home so you could actually work while he watched them?”
The disgust in his tone was evident. I shook my head no. “Dan didn’t believe in a dad being more than the breadwinner. He felt it was the woman’s job to raise the kids and keep the home. The fact I worked some didn’t change that.”
His fist hit the table with a loud bang. I jumped in surprise. His face was red. “That fucker needs someone to beat sense into his head. This isn’t the nineteen fifties. That shit went out the window a long time ago. Even if you didn’t work another job, raising your kids is a two-person job. He helped make those kids, he needed to help raise them. The same goes for the house. Either he helped or he paid for help to come in. I hope you don’t think any of the Warriors expect that out of their old ladies. Because I can assure you, they don’t. All of them, I think, use Brielle’s company to clean their houses just like they do the businesses.”
I hadn’t known that, but I couldn’t say I was surprised. Everything I was learning about this club showed me how different they were. Not only from regular people, but from what I’d been convinced was how an MC would act.
“I’m happy for the ladies here. They have the best of both worlds, it seems. Who knows, maybe one day I might get lucky enough to have that, but I’m not counting on it. I have to be able to do this on my own. I’ve found a way to do that. When the kids get old enough to go to school, that’ll help. Until then, I have a routine and I’m able to stick to it. Now, I hate to run you off, but it’s late and I have a bit more I have to do before I can head to bed. Thanks for stopping to check on us. I expect I’ll see you around.”
Usually, I wouldn’t have been that rude, but I needed to get him out of here. There was something about him that unsettled me. I couldn’t say what or why, but I was tired and I wasn’t thinking clearly. I couldn’t deal with him without all my wits about me.
I could tell he wasn’t happy, but he didn’t argue. He got up and followed me to the door. When I said goodbye, he gave me a tight smile and said goodnight back. I closed the door and leaned against it. He made me weak in the knees. The last thing I needed or wanted. Shoving those thoughts away, I went to finish my work and call it a night. Morning would be here in a blink and I was dog tired.
Law: Chapter 5
It had been two days since I’d stopped by to check in on Tonya when I saw her light on. Although I’d been tempted to do it again last night when I saw she was up again, I’d resisted. I didn’t want to put her even further behind in her work and I didn’t know what I could say or do to get the stubborn woman to listen to me.
Her refusal to send the kids to our daycare was the first thing I felt we needed to overcome. As soon as we did that and she could work normal hours, she’d be on her way to getting real rest and making room to have a life outside of taking care of her kids. The latter was something I was finding I was desperate for her to have.
I’d been searching my heart and mind, trying to figure out why that was so damn important to me and I’d finally figured it out. I hadn’t wanted to admit it, but I had to. I wasn’t one who often lied to myself. I wanted her to have room in her life so she could find a man. A man who would not only care for her, but for her kids. Someone who wouldn’t leave them and would be there for them forever, just like he’d want them to be there for him. And the only man I could picture that being was me. I tried to imagine her with one of the single brothers and it made me angry.
I’d been blown away once I admitted that to myself. It had been eight years without Frankie. Over the years, I admit her image had faded. I couldn’t recall exactly what she looked like without looking at her photo. For the longest time, I kept it up in my apartment. It wasn’t until I moved to the compound, into my room here last year, that I put the picture away for good. I hadn’t been sure that I’d ever find anyone to share my life with, but it wasn’t helping me to try and move on, by looking at her picture every day.
The other thing I was working hard to bring about for Tonya was to find where the hell her ex had disappeared to. We’d searched for him at his old place more than once. He hadn’t returned. No one seemed to know his new address. We’d even gone to the track where he raced and kept his bike when he wasn’t traveling to races, and they had no idea. According to their records, they still had his old address listed. He hadn’t been to the track all week, which they did say wasn’t typical of him.
This convinced me he knew she’d gone to the cops, and he’d gotten out of town. That was smart of him, but he couldn’t stay away forever. He had a race coming up in a little over a week. He would have to be practicing for it and to do that, he’d need his bike from the track. Knowing this, the club had assigned me, Lance, and a few others to keep an eye out for him there. As soon as he was spotted, they’d call the police and detain him.
Sure, I could have the club take care of him or maybe even use Smoke to find him, but I was trying to stay within the law on this. If I was being truthful, the longer he was out there somewhere, the longer we could keep Tonya and her kids safely within our walls. If I knew she’d stay after we caught him, I’d let Smoke find him. However, I doubted she would, even though he’d probably only spend a night in jail. The hope was he’d be sufficiently scared by being arrested that he’d leave her alone and become the father his kids needed. I wasn’t holding my breath on either of those happening. Men like him didn’t change. He was a selfish asshole and he’d die one.
If I was lucky enough to be a dad, even if the mother of my kids and I didn’t stay together, I would never abandon my kids. I’d spend every minute I could with them and make sure they didn’t go without anything. Hell, if their mom turned out to be worthless like Dan, I’d do everything in my power to get full custody of them, if I felt that was the best thing for them.
Evening was coming and everyone was off work for the weekend. This meant the clubhouse would be full. Not only would the single guys be there, but the couples along with the kids. The rule around here was the clubhouse was kept clean and free of bunnies or other women until after ten. That’s when the old ladies knew they and the kids had to be gone if they didn’t want to see stuff. It wasn’t like it was in the past, I was told, but you could still see people having sex or getting a blow job, if you weren’t careful.
I wouldn’t deny I’ve had a few hookups here since I joined. The Warriors didn’t believe in denying their prospects the ladies like some clubs did. I’d been horny and willing a few times. However, having sex out in front of people was not my scene. I didn’t care if the others did it. Whatever floated their boats, but for me, I liked to have sex in private.
Entering the clubhouse after my shift and a quick shower, I was happy to see a lot of the club was already here. I worked the day shift today. That was my usual one unless I picked up an extra shift or someone needed a day off and couldn’t trade it with someone else. I didn’t mind. It helped keep me busy, although with my club duties, I wasn’t doing as much as I used to do.
I was here to take Lance’s spot, so he could stand at the gate for a while. I didn’t mind either job, to be honest, but I knew he hated the gate. When he saw me, I saw his face drop. His shoulders hunched as he came around the bar. As he passed me, I clapped him on the shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He gave me a half-smile. I didn’t waste time getting my ass behind the bar.
It was several minutes later when I was serving up another beer that I caught sight of Tonya. She was sitting at a table with Soleil and a few of the other old ladies. She was smiling, which was good to see. She had Dylan on her lap. I glanced around to see where the twins were. I caught a glimpse of them running around with Emmie. Seeing that they were occupied, I looked back at their mom.
I took a minute to soak her appearance in. She was dressed casually. Her long light red hair was up in a braid. She didn’t appear to have a lick of makeup on, which suited me. I thought she was beautiful without adding anything to her face. Her blue eyes were bright. It was funny. As much as it looked like she and Soleil could be twins, I didn’t find myself a bit attracted to Soleil. However, that wasn’t the case with Tonya. Just looking at her made my heart speed up and my cock stiffen. Thankfully, that was the case, otherwise, Falcon would kill me. I had no doubt.
I decided it wouldn’t hurt to go over and see if any of them needed a refill. As I approached, Tonya looked up. I saw the quick look of surprise flitter across her face then her smile got bigger. I smiled back. I couldn’t help it. Stopping across the table from her, I gave the others a cursory glance.
