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“Remind me what your first date with Hawk was?” I asked, lifting my eyebrow at her.
“She was flat in a hospital bed after being shot. I waited until I had her weakened and unable to run. I mean, it worked for me, but I’m not sure if that’s the way to go with Tonya,” Hawk joked.
This made me laugh and Nyssa glared at him. From that point on, I sat and we talked about dating logistics. By the time I left, I was feeling a smidge better about asking her out. I knew if I didn’t, Nyssa would do it for me. I had to get to Tonya before Nyssa blabbed to the old ladies. She swore she wouldn’t, but I wasn’t sure I could trust her for long. With sweating palms, I set out to ask Tonya to go out with me within the next few days. I prayed she’d say yes.
Tonya:
Yesterday had been an emotionally exhausting day for me. Going down to the police station with Law and filling out the paperwork for the restraining order had been hard to do. There was this tiny part of me that continued to hope that Dan would see the error of his ways and become the father our kids deserved. We would never be husband and wife again, but it would be great if we could at least be on friendly terms. I knew it was a long shot, but I couldn’t help but wish for it.
I’d been so lucky to have Law willing to go with me and help me through the whole process. Having him there had made me feel safe and cared for—a first in a long time. I knew he was doing it because the club asked him to, but it was still nice. I tried really hard not to read anything more into it than that.
I would deny it if asked, but when it was just me, I could be honest and admit in my head that Law was the kind of man I should’ve married. Or at least, the man he appeared to be was the kind of man I should’ve gone for. I’d let sexual attraction and the fact Dan was a famous rider blind me to his faults. Sure, none of us were perfect or without our faults, but I’d made too many excuses for his. I often wondered if I hadn’t gotten pregnant with the twins so early on in our relationship, would we have ever gotten married? The answer I came up with was, probably not.
I would never regret my years with him simply due to the fact I had my beautiful children. I loved them more than anything or anyone in the world. I loved being a mother. The one thing I wished for late at night was a man to share all of those joys and worries with. Someone who would love the kids and me as much as we would love him.
After taking those few hours in town, I had to work even later into the night to catch up on my work. I avoided going to the clubhouse last night, so I could get the kids in bed on time and get myself back to work as fast as possible. Unfortunately, they were raring to go by six thirty this morning. It was almost noon now and I could barely keep my eyes open. I’d drunk a whole pot of coffee and it had barely helped.
We were out on the playground with some of the other kids and parents. The kids were begging to be allowed to go in the pool. I was trying to figure out how to get out of letting mine swim. I was too tired to keep a really good eye on them. Dylan wouldn’t be able to go in at all without me, and Daniel and Dena would have to have a close eye kept on them. They’d begun to learn how to swim and I had the special flotation vests for them, but they still needed close watching. Soleil came up to me with Lara in her arms. She was dressed in her bathing suit and floater vest.
“Take the kids home and get them in their suits. We’ll be over to get them in a few minutes. Mom and JJ are on their way. They’re going to help keep an eye on all four of ours. While we do that, you go back to bed and get some damn sleep. You can barely keep your eyes open. If you yawn one more time, you might swallow your face.”
I pushed her away playfully. “I am not. And there’s no need for you to take the kids. You should spend the afternoon with Caro and JJ. My three will be fine. They won’t die if they don’t go in the pool.”
“There’s no way you’ll talk me out of it, so don’t even try,” she told me sternly. Nyssa had come up to join us and heard the whole thing. She was nodding her head in agreement.
“Tonya, do as she says. We’ll have more than enough adults out here to watch the kids. In fact, stay right here,” she said, before marching off. I watched as she made her way over to a group of men. When she came back, Law was with her. I wanted to run and hide. I knew what he’d say.
However, he didn’t say a word to me when he got to us. Instead, he bent over, scooped me up in his arms and started walking toward the guesthouse. I cried out in shock as the others all laughed. Dena and Daniel were watching us with their little mouths hanging open. Dylan was sitting in the grass with Razor and Talia’s triplets. He stared at me in confusion. After regaining my senses, I smacked Law on the chest.
“Law, put me down! What has gotten into you?”
“Nothing. I’m just making sure you don’t argue about resting. Nyssa will come over in a few minutes to get the kids’ suits. They’ll be fine. You’re going to get your ass in bed and rest.”
“First, you’re not my boss. Secondly, even if you do send the kids off to the pool, I won’t sleep. I’ll do housework or work on one of my client’s accounts,” I taunted him.
I gasped in shock as he spanked my ass on one cheek. I didn’t know what to say or do. This side of Law was new to me. The only time he’d surprised me like this was the time he made the remark about calling him sir.
“No, you won’t. If I have to, I’ll cuff your ass to the bed and won’t let you get up until I’m satisfied you’ve gotten enough rest. I told you. You’re doing too damn much. Let us help you. You don’t have to prove to any of us that you’re a damn great mom. Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish or wrong. Now, are you going to do as I said, or will it be the cuffs?”
I continued to argue but in the end, he was like an immovable force. Finally, by the time Nyssa came to get their swimming suits, I had to admit defeat. She left me with a smile and a wink. Law marched me into my bedroom. He pointed to the bed. I figured I’d let him leave then sneak my laptop out of my work bag at the foot of the bed. I thought wrong. After I sat down and before he left the room, he took my phone and laptop with him. My protests fell on deaf ears.
Seething, I threw myself back on the bed to plot how to get rid of him. As time passed, I got sleepier and sleepier until at some point I drifted off. When I woke up, it was almost dark. I came jumping out of bed in a panic. A look at the clock showed me it was seven at night! The kids had been without me for seven hours. They had to be wondering where I was and it was time for dinner. I hurried to use the bathroom and splash water on my face before I brushed out my hair and raced out to the living room. I came to an abrupt halt.
Law was sitting in the living room, watching television with the volume on low. The kids were nowhere in sight. I came to a halt and stood there staring daggers at him with my hands on my hips. He smiled at me. “Have a nice nap, Valkyrie?”
“That wasn’t a nap. That was more sleep than I get in a night. Why didn’t you wake me up? The kids have to be starved and the club has to be tired of watching them. Law, you should’ve—”
He cut me off. “Bullshit. You needed sleep. The kids have been having a blast. They were safe and they ate dinner with Hawk, Nyssa, Izzy, Falcon, Soleil, Caro, JJ, and Lara. Now, they’re watching a movie. As soon as they’re done, they’ll bring them home to get a bath and go to bed. I have our dinner staying warm in the oven. I hope you like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn.” He stood up to walk into the kitchen. I followed him since I didn’t know what else to do.
“Now that you’ve had a chance to recharge some, I wanted to talk to you,” he said casually.
I watched as he removed the food from the oven. He brought it to the table and sat it down. Two place settings were already laid there. He got in the fridge and poured us both a glass of iced tea which he placed by our plates before pulling out my chair. I slowly sank down. As he took his seat, I was able to speak again. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Eat first, then I’ll tell you.”
It was hard not to insist that he tell me now, but I figured arguing wouldn’t do me much good. It hadn’t done me any good so far today. We ate in silence. I had to admit the food tasted really good. I always enjoyed someone else’s cooking. I’d have to see which old lady I needed to thank for this meal.
Once we were full and the mess cleared away, which he insisted on helping do, he went into the living room. I followed him and sat down on the other end of the couch. I waited for him to tell me what he wanted to talk about. What came out of his mouth was the last thing I ever imagined.
