AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tonya: Chapter 13
The past two weeks had been a quiet one after all the drama with Dan. I’d been anxious about what would happen next but nothing did. Or at least nothing bad. After Law talked to Regan, she talked to a Dr. Kurts at Dublin Falls General Hospital. He was the one to evaluate Dan when the sheriff took him there rather than straight to jail. It was a good thing, because they found he was using amphetamines and cocaine. His body was flooded with them. On top of it, he had alcohol in his system. He was truly a mess.
After they kept him for seventy-two hours, because he kept going off, they decided he would benefit from being put in a secure drug treatment program. Once he completed that, they’d talk with the judge to see if he had to serve time for violating the restraining order.
I prayed that they’d be able to help him become the man he was before he began to act insane. I wanted the kids to have a relationship with him. The sad part was the kids didn’t even say anything about him or ask to see him. To them, he was just a distant figure that long ago was around sometimes. Dylan didn’t have a clue who he was. This was evident just yesterday when we were sitting down to dinner.
All of us were gathered around the table eating. I loved seeing my children and Law together. He was busy asking the twins what they did at daycare that day. Yes, he’d talked me into letting them attend again this week. I kept telling him it was temporary, but something told me they’d be going there permanently. I planned to talk to Wren about what it would cost me monthly for them to attend. Maybe, if nothing else, they could go part time.
As they excitedly told him about the stuff they did in the garden and with the pigs and goats, Dylan reached over to touch Law’s arm. When he didn’t immediately turn to him, he loudly yelled “Dada.” The shock on Law’s face was comical. He looked at me.
“Babe, did he just say what I think he said?”
“If you think he said ‘Dada’, then yes. You heard right,” I told him with a smile.
Law gazed at Dylan in wonder which made Dylan smile and pat the table, calling out Dada over and over. The little shit. I’d been hoping he’d say Mama. He said things like eat and dog, but never my name. I did all the work and still couldn’t be his first word. This made Dena and Daniel pause in their tale and stare at their little brother. Then they looked at me.
“Is he allowed to call Law Dada?” Daniel asked softly. He had a half-scared and half-excited look on his face.
“That’s up to Law,” I said.
Daniel glanced at Law, who was sitting there still stunned. Finally, he answered Daniel.
“I-I’d love it if D-man calls me that, as long as your mama is alright with it. Why do you ask?”
“Well, if he calls you that, can we call you that?” he asked as he pointed to his sister.
I swear Law got tears in his eyes that he quickly blinked away. Apparently, a big badass biker can’t be seen crying. I wanted to hug him.
“Big D, I’d love it if you and Dee Dee Doll called me that too. I just want you to know that if you do, that doesn’t mean your dad isn’t your dad. I’ll be like a second dad. Would you like that?”
Daniel nodded his head at the same time Dena did. The next thing I knew, they were all hugging and I was crying. It had been an emotional evening to say the least.
Today, I’d told Soleil all about it. She’d cried too.
Since the kids were at daycare and Dan wasn’t on the loose, I decided to take a drive to town. There were things I needed to get, and I hated to ask Law to do it. He was working the day shift today.
Getting my stuff together, I got in the car and headed out the gate. The drive to town was nice. It had been a while since I’d been anywhere alone. The peace was relaxing. My first stop was the apartment. There were a few things I wanted to get. There were a few of the kids’ favorite toys I’d forgotten. I planned to make a quick run in, get them, then get out. That was the plan but that wasn’t what happened.
As I was leaving, who did I run into but Prissy. I groaned inwardly when I saw her come marching toward me. I stopped and waited. I knew it wouldn’t do me any good to keep going. She’d run after me to the parking lot. I’d seen her do it before when she wanted to talk to someone. I pasted a fake smile on my face and greeted her first. “Hi, Prissy, what’re you doing out and about today?”
“I was taking a walk and I saw you coming out of the apartment. Are you and the kids moved back then?”
“No, we aren’t. Actually, we won’t be moving back. Law and I need to talk about when to let the apartment go.”
“So, it’s a serious thing with you two? I heard some disturbing news the other day.”
“Really? What did you hear?” I humored her. Poor thing didn’t have anything else to do all day but gossip and stick her nose into other people's business. What a sad life.
“I heard that Law, as you call him, had his cop friends arrest Dan, and throw him in a mental hospital. Tonya, how in the world can you allow the father of your children to be treated like that? It’s a shame you couldn’t get back with him instead of shacking up with a biker. He’ll never treat you the way you should be treated. And who ever heard of a cop who’s a biker? It’s disgraceful. They should fire him.” Hearing her disparagement of Law was the last straw. I’d tried to always be nice to her, but enough was enough.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Prissy. Law didn’t have Dan just thrown into a mental hospital. Dan has a serious drug problem and was a threat to himself and us. He came to the Warriors’ compound and the sheriff had to be called. Rather than throw him in jail for violating a restraining order, he was lucky enough to go to the hospital and get sent to a treatment center where we hope he gets well. There’s nothing disgraceful about Law. He’s an honest, hardworking, loving man who loves me and my kids. I’m lucky to have found him. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t spread your unfounded gossip all over Dublin Falls. I find it offensive. Now, I have places to go. Have a good day and think about what I said,” I told her, before walking off and leaving her there with her mouth hanging open in shock. It was the first time ever I think someone got the last word with her.
I drove off, still pissed and ready to battle someone. Lucky for the rest of town, no one got in my way. My next stop was the drugstore. I needed to pick up more children’s Tylenol. I browsed around there and found a couple other things, then I headed to a nearby department store. Daniel had outgrown his tennis shoes, and I was going to pick him up the next size. Lord, the way they grew, I was hard pressed to keep them in clothes and shoes.
I found a pair he’d like and they were on sale, so that was a success. My last stop was the bank. I needed to withdraw some money at the ATM. With my money in hand, I couldn’t think of anything else I needed to do, so I headed toward the edge of town. I might as well go home.
I was almost to the town limits. I was passing several small houses that sat there. As I did, a police cruiser caught my attention. Of course, I looked. I wish I hadn’t. Coming out of one of the houses was Law. Now, in normal circumstances, I would assume he was there making a police call for something. I would’ve thought the same this time, only he came out holding something in a bag in his hand. He stopped on the porch.
