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“You’ll find it takes a lot to scare a Warrior. Plus, they love kids and are wonderful with them. We’re blessed,” Ashlee chimed in.
I recalled from what Soleil told me that when Ashlee met Devil Dog, she was running from her husband and was pregnant with her second child, Jayce. After they met, she quickly got together with Devil Dog and they had their son, Micah. He was the age of the twins. I wondered if I could talk to her about how she handled her ex. Soleil hadn’t told me what happened to him.
“You are,” is all I could think of to say.
“I heard you do accounting from home. Do you have a lot of clients?” Regan asked out of the blue.
“I do, but I’m always looking for more, if you know anyone who needs someone. I have references. I wish I could do more, but with the kids, I have to work when they nap and at night. Some clients don’t like for you to do odd hours or remote work. Those who don’t care, seem to like the work I do.”
Regan and Harlow exchanged a look then Harlow shocked me again. “The club owns about a dozen businesses around Dublin Falls. They’re always looking for good help. I bet some of them at least need accounting done. Let me talk to Terror and see. If they do, do you have room to add maybe a handful or more?”
“I-I-I, yes. I could do it. But you don’t need to ask Terror. I appreciate so much what the club is doing. You don’t have to give me work too. I can’t repay you for what you've done already,” I protested.
“Nonsense. You’re family and if you’re good, then we’d be stupid to have a stranger do it instead of you. I don’t know how you do it. When do you sleep?” Harlow asked.
“I don’t sleep much. Maybe four hours a night. I find time to work when they nap and sleep. Sometimes they get busy with something and they play hard while I work. It’s not ideal but I make it work. It’s the only way I can bring in an income to support us and not spend most of my earnings on daycare.”
“Speaking of daycare, did you know that the club has its own daycare?” Ashlee asked.
“No, I didn’t. That’s wonderful and smart. I know most of you work and I wondered how you did it. Where is it?”
“Not far. It’s just a mile or so down the road. It’s at Ms. Marie’s old farm. She let us turn it into a secure daycare. It’s also where we work and grow produce that we use for ourselves or sell at the farmers’ market. Ms. Marie and a few others are the ones who oversee that. I love to eat it but I have a black thumb when it comes to growing anything,” Harlow jokes.
“That’s for sure. That’s why she doesn’t have a single houseplant. She’s killed them all. Ms. Marie finally gave up,” Regan said with a grin.
“Yep, I don’t deny it. Why don’t you have the kids go to our daycare? It’ll allow you to work during the day, so you don’t have to stay up most of the night. They’d be safe and have a blast. We have great workers who help us and they teach the kids as well. Wren was a teacher. She oversees the daycare and its staff. She doesn’t let them just do nothing all day. They’re engaged, have fun, and learn all at the same time,” Harlow informed me.
“Wow, that does sound amazing, but I can’t afford that, Harlow. I appreciate the offer, but I can’t.”
I couldn't imagine what it would cost to have all three of my kids in their private center. A part of me was jealous they had something like that. I was hoping things would ease next year in the fall. The twins would turn five after Thanksgiving, so they had to wait until they were almost six to go to kindergarten. When they did, I hoped it would allow me to work more during the day. Dylan would still be with me, but one kid was easier than three.
“Just come take a tour tomorrow and see what you think. If you like it, then we can talk about what it costs. I bet you’ll be surprised at how you can do it,” Harlow cajoled. In the end, to get her to stop pleading with me, I agreed to tour the daycare the next morning. We’d meet at ten at the guesthouse and ride over together.
We let the kids play and we talked for the next hour. More of the old ladies came out to say hi and chat. It was so nice to be with a bunch of mothers all going through some of the stuff I was. By the time it was time to get the kids inside and ready for bed, I was relaxed and feeling content.
They were tired and didn’t play long in the tub. With all three washed, in their pajamas and tucked in, I read them only a half of a book before they were out. I tiptoed out and got comfortable, then I got to work. I had another account due by tomorrow. It was going to be a long night. As I worked, I couldn’t stop thinking of Law. I wondered if he had any luck tracking down Dan. Surely, if he had, he would’ve called me. I hated the fact they were having to hunt him. Where in the world could he be and why did he move? He seemed content with his place other than his insistence on moving back in with me. I snorted as I thought of that again. It would be a cold day in hell before I let Dan Ewing back in my house and life.
Tonya: Chapter 4
I was riding with Harlow to see the daycare just as we planned. We only had my three in the back since Hunter and Emmie were in school and Justice was already there. I dreamed of the day my kids could go to school. Not just for the break it would give me or the time to do other work, but because they loved to do things and learn new stuff. It was hard to keep up with things to keep their active minds busy. I was online all the time trying to find them new activities. I was just telling Harlow about it.
“Oh, Tonya, you really do need to send them here. They have all kinds of stuff they do and learn. I’m always amazed at the things Wren and her staff come up with. And if you're looking for extra learning to do at home, she’ll gladly share a ton of other things too. I don’t know how she does it and raises her two, but she does. Of course, Ghost is right in the thick of it with Bethany and Branson, so that always helps. I couldn’t do it without Terror. Heck, none of us could. Our men are the best,” she said proudly.
My stomach cramped, as I thought of what she said. Even when he lived with us, Dan wasn’t much of a father. He didn’t lift a finger to do anything with the kids. He always said that was my job. He acted like he was the breadwinner and I was the stay-at-home wife and mother. He never acknowledged that I contributed money too. It wasn’t as much as him, but we couldn’t have made it without it either. I snorted unintentionally. She gave me a puzzled look.
“Sorry, I was just thinking of what it would have been like if Dan had ever lifted his finger to do anything with the kids or around the house. That was a woman's work, according to him. All he ever seemed to worry about was making more money and what he was doing for fun with his friends.”
“I’m sorry that you had someone like that, Tonya. That blows. If the Warriors were anything like that, I doubt many of them would have a woman, certainly not the ones they have. You should see my dad.”
“Your dad?”
“Oh yeah, he’s the president of the whole Warriors’ charter, plus the Hunters Creek chapter of the club. He’s in his fifties and he’s married with a second family. He’s super hands on, just like he was when I was little. My mom died when I was five and he raised me with help from the club. There were no old ladies around to help him do that.”
“Wow, that’s amazing, and he’s had another family. How old are they now?”
“Let’s see, the twins are almost two-and-a-half. My stepsister, Devyn, is twenty-two.”
I gaped at her in shock. When she said her dad started a second family, I had no idea she meant this recently, or that it was from scratch. She laughed at my expression.
