“I’ve been living two minutes away. At the Cornish Crusaders clubhouse. Tanya abandoned me and Cooper nearly six months ago. I was struggling so much, I thought I’d be the bigger person and contact you guys first. To apologise. I left messages with the reception at the hotel and both of your mobiles, but not once did you ever call me back.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never got any messages.” She turned towards my dad. “Greg, do you know what he’s talking about?”
My dad climbed to his feet and walked towards me and mum. Stef relaxed back into the sofa and winced as she turned her foot slightly. Cooper started fussing in my arms so I sat him on the sofa next to Stef and he curled into her side and began sucking on his thumb.
“Mary, I thought he was treating us like mugs. Asking for help, after he refused to take on the family business. So I threw away and deleted all the messages.”
“I was coming back to tell you that I’d work here. That I would learn the business, then Tanya told me she was having an abortion. I was devastated, I went to the Cornish Crusaders clubhouse for a party and never left. I felt like I didn’t have a home anymore. There was too much pressure here for me. I’m not like you Dad. I’m not business minded.”
“Oh, Tyler. My poor boy, I am so sorry. I wanted to reach out to you so many times, but I thought you didn’t want anything to do with us.”
“Mum, I’ve been struggling. Raising a baby alone. I needed you, needed your help.”
“Well, you have us now. Will… Will you let us get to know our grandson?”
“Do you both want to be in our lives?”
“Yes!” Mum answered. “Don’t we Greg?”
“Yes. I am sorry son. I made a bad decision and I regret it.”
“And there will be no talk of me taking over the hotel?”
“Well, it will be yours one day. But you can just hire someone to run it.” Mum explained.
“Tyler,” I turned around as Stef called my name. “I really need to get home, I’m feeling sleepy and in pain.”
“Did you hit your head? Do you have a concussion?” I asked as I bent down beside where she was sitting with Cooper still cuddled into her side. I placed my hand on her leg and she smiled at me.
“I just twisted my ankle. I’m ok, just tired. Plus I need to call and rearrange my customers. I won’t be able to work tomorrow.”
“Come on, let’s get you home.” I picked up a sleepy Cooper and looked at mum. “Can you carry him to the car please?”
“Oh, yes. Of course.” I passed over Cooper and he looked at her, before he smiled. “Hi, handsome boy. I’m your granny Mary.”
“You’re his only granny,” I stated. Mum looked at Stef and I shook my head. “Come on, babe.” I bent down and scooped Stef up in my arms, bridal style.
“Ty, I can walk if you help me. You don’t need to carry me.”
“I like carrying you,” I whispered in her ear and placed a quick kiss on her neck. She moaned in the back of her throat and I could see her nipples hardening underneath her thin top. “No sex until you’re better. I don’t want to risk hurting you,” I muttered. Her head shot up and she looked at me with shock.
“You’re as turned on as I am.” She smiled.
“Yep, always am when I have you in my arms.” By the time we got to the car, dad had the passenger side door open and mum was strapping Cooper into his seat. I placed Stef gently in the car and she pulled her seatbelt around her.
“It was lovely meeting you Stef.” Dad said and mum nodded her head, agreeing with him.
“When can we see you again?” Mum asked. I hesitated, not knowing what to say.
“How about we meet up tomorrow evening for a meal?” Stef suggested.
“Your ankle, babe.”
“I’ll be fine. We will give you a call tomorrow once we’ve sorted out a babysitter.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Mum beamed. I kissed her quickly on the cheek and nodded at dad before getting into the car to take my family home.
Pup
Stef’s ankle was still giving her grief, she went straight to bed last night when I gave her some more pain killers and made sure to elevate her leg. She had rested all day but she was still walking with a limp.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked her as she stood in front of the bathroom mirror applying her make-up.
“Yes. I’ll be fine,” she assured me. I had called my mum and told her that Stef’s ankle wasn’t completely healed and she offered to make a meal at home. Mum and dad owned a house in Portwrinkle just down from the hotel, it overlooked the beach and had four bedrooms as well as a small swimming pool.
“Oh, that’ll be Eden,” I mentioned as the door buzzed. “You nearly ready?”
“Yep. I’ll be out in two minutes.” She smiled.
“You look gorgeous,” I told her. She was wearing a royal blue knee length dress with small sleeves, she paired it with a pair of flat sandals. I went for my usual look of black jeans, a t-shirt and my Cornish Crusaders cut. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t approve of what I was wearing as I always wore my leather cut, showing my solidarity to my club and brothers.
I pulled open the door to see Eden standing there.
“Hi, come on in.” I kissed her on the cheek and stepped back to let her in.
“Thanks. How’s Stef’s ankle?”
“I’m fine,” Stef said as she hobbled into the living room.
“Are you sure you should be walking on that?” Eden questioned.
“If anything it’s just a sprain and the doctors won’t do anything except give me crutches and they are just a pain in the backside.”
“Anyway, Cooper is already asleep. He shouldn’t wake up. You have our numbers if you need us.”
“I do. I’ll be fine. I bought this book I’ve been dying to read.”
“Oh, what book?” Stef asked as she picked up her bag and stuffed her phone inside.
“Let me love you by Amy Davies. It’s about a hot guy called James Wilde.”
“Oooo sounds good. Let me know what you think. I’m always looking for new books to read.”
“Will do. Go and have some fun and leave me with Mr. Wilde,” she winked at us.
“Thanks again Eden. Come on babe.” I scooped Stef up in my arms and she squealed.
“What are you doing?”
“It’ll be quicker getting down the steps if I carry you.”
“Tyler, I can walk.” I didn’t put her down until we were standing out in front of the car and then it was only so I could unlock it and open the door.
“Is this the house you grew up in?” Stef asked as I pulled the car into the driveway and shut the engine off.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Wow and you haven’t been back here for…”
“Nearly eighteen months. Are we doing the right thing coming here?”
“I can’t answer that for you, babe. This is your decision to make. But I do know that if my mum and dad were still here I’d be spending every minute I could with them.” I took a deep breath and pushed my door open. This wasn’t just about me anymore, I wanted Cooper to know his grandparents and this was my chance to give Stef a mum and dad she could turn too. This was our chance to rebuild our family. As I rounded the car to help Stef out, the front door to the house opened and mum and dad stood in the doorway. Dads arm was wrapped tightly around mum and her face was lit up brightly with a smile.
“You ready?” Stef asked.
“Yep. Let’s do this.” I wound my arm around her waist and helped her walk.
“Tyler, Stef. It’s so lovely to see you again,” mum gushed.
“Mary, we only saw them last night,” dad chuckled.
“Oh, shush Greg. I’m happy to finally have him home and gain a daughter too.” Mum pulled Stef in for a hug before she was ushering her in the house and down the hallway.
“Dad.” I nodded at him.
“Good to see you again son.” He clapped me on
the back before closing the door behind me. “Come on in.”
We followed the same route that mum and Stef had gone, when we rounded the corner into the living room, mum was fussing over Stef.
“Really Mrs. Green I’m fine. A glass of wine would be lovely though.”
“Oh, none of that Mrs. Green stuff. It’s Mary and Greg or mum and dad if you’d prefer.”
“Mum,” I said shaking my head at her.
“What? I want her to know she’s a part of this family too. Speaking of, why didn’t you bring my grandson?”
“He’s sleeping. When will the food be ready? I’m starving.”
“I’ll get the drinks. Beer?” Dad asked me.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Mary, you sort the food out. Our boy is hungry.”
“You’ve not changed.” Mum said placing her hand on the side of my face. “Always hungry.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. I’m the one that has to feed him every day.” Stef laughed.
“You’re doing a great job, he’s looking well.” Mum smiled before she hurried out of the room and to the kitchen.
Stef
“Mary, that roast lamb was delicious.” I said as I laid my knife and fork down. I was full to the brim.
“Oh, I’m so glad you liked it. I didn’t think to ask Tyler if you were a vegetarian.”
“Oh no, I like my meat.” I smiled as my hand wandered under the table to Tyler’s leg and squeezed it.
“It was a shame to hear of your friend’s wedding being postponed,” Greg said.
“What?” I asked, confused. Wedding? Whose wedding? Did he mean Lizzy?
“Oh, I assumed you knew. We had a call today. They have had to postpone it for a few weeks, the venue they have is fully booked so we offered them our wedding package.”
“Oh my god. I need to call Lizzy. Excuse me for a minute.” I pushed back my seat and climbed to my feet. I hurried out of the room the best I could and dug around in my bag for my phone. Once I found it I clicked on my recent calls and pressed Lizzy’s name.
“Hello.” She sounded quiet and upset.
“Lizzy?” I asked. “Are you ok? Tyler’s dad just told us about the wedding.”
“Stef? Are you there? Hello?”
“Hold on.” I glanced at my phone to see that I only had one bar of signal. I waltzed to the front door and stepped outside. It was cooler out here, the days were warm but the evenings were still a little bit chilly.
“Lizzy?”
“Oh, Stef. It’s my dad, he had a heart attack.”
“What!” I screeched. “Is he ok?” Please let him be ok, I pleaded.
“Yeah, luckily it was only a small one. He’s in the hospital. He’s going to need a whole lifestyle change. Mum is determined to get him healthier. I want him to walk me down the aisle.”
“Of course you do. Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“I’m sorry. You hurt your ankle and it only happened last night. Scott has been great, re arranging everything for the wedding. I can’t marry him without my dad being there. Also…”
“Also? What else haven’t you told me?”
“I’m definitely going to be showing for my wedding. We had a scan this morning, we’re having twins.”
“Oh my god!” I screamed. “That’s fantastic news.”
“Yeah it is,” she sobbed.
“Lizzy what’s wrong? Do you need me to come over? Because I can.” I jumped when I felt a blanket being placed over my shoulders. I looked up to see Pup standing by my side, he looked worried. I gave him a reassuring smile. He pulled me to stand up and then he sat me in his lap as I talked to my best friend.
“I’m ok, everything is just a bit overwhelming at the minute. I was shocked at the idea of having one baby, now I’m having two. How am I going to look after two newborn babies?”
“You won’t be alone. You’ll have lots of help. Me included.”
“Thanks Stef. So the wedding is going to be six weeks on Saturday. Which will make me nineteen weeks pregnant.”
“You’re going to look amazing. Do you need me to do anything to help? Ring around the guest list or anything?”
“No, everything is sorted. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
“Ok, send my love to your dad. I’ll speak to you soon. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
“Bye.” I ended the call and let my hand drop to my lap. I leant back against Pup and we sat in silence as the sound of the waves surrounded us.
“You ok?” he asked.
“Yeah, Lizzy’s dad had a heart attack, he’s ok. That’s why the wedding is postponed and she’s having twins.”
“Shit. I bet that was a shock,” he chuckled. I nodded in agreement. He wrapped his arms tighter around me and I basked in the comfort he gave me.
Stef
It had been well over a week and I hadn’t heard anything from Evan, it was making me nervous, what was he up to? Did he have a plan? He must have got the message by now that I would never hand Cooper over to him.
“Hey, babe you ok?” Pup asked placing his hand on my jean covered thigh as he parked the car at the clubhouse. We were all meeting here today for a barbeque. We hadn’t done anything as a big group while I had been with Pup, so I was excited and nervous.
“Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking.” I gave him a tight smile before pushing my door open.
“Hey, Coop.” I glanced up to see Toes was pulling Cooper out of Pups arms. He was flying him through the air like an aeroplane and Cooper’s shrill laughter was enough to light up anyone’s mood.
“Hi, Pup.” Ashlyn greeted him. “Stef, how’s the ankle?” She looped her arm through mine and we walked towards the park area where Nate, Olivia, Danny, Caitlin and Lacey were playing. Jasmine was sitting on a bench with Lily on her lap and Toes still had Cooper. I gazed around for Cammie, Holes and Harley but I couldn’t see them, so they mustn’t have been here yet.
“My ankle is fine now. I told Pup I just needed to rest it and then I’d be ok. He fusses over me too much.” I laughed.
“Welcome to the world of alpha biker men.” She giggled. I sat down on the bench next to Jasmine as Ashlyn walked into Irons stretched out arm. He was whispering in her ear and her smile transformed big and bright as she nodded.
“Hey girls.” Cammie joined us at the bench as Holes walked past holding Harley’s hand.
“Oh my god, is he walking?” Jasmine asked.
“He’s just started. He’s still a bit wobbly. Scares me half to death when he pulls himself up and attempts it. Especially if the dogs get in his way.”
We all stopped talking when a loud whistle sounded. We looked towards Iron who was waving his arms in the air telling everyone to be quiet.
“Just a quick announcement,” he smiled. “I’ve knocked up my Old Lady so be prepared for a new member of the Cornish Crusaders,” he cheered.
“Iron!” Ashlyn giggled as she smacked his chest. “What a way to announce it.”
Carla, Cammie, Jasmine and me all climbed to our feet and shot towards Ashlyn taking in turns hugging her.
“This is great news.” Cammie smiled.
“How far along are you?” Jasmine asked.
“We went to see the doctor this morning. I was worried because of the damage the knife could have done when Switch stabbed me.” She rubbed her hand over her pelvis. I remember Cammie telling me about everything that Ashlyn had been through. “He did a scan to see what was going on and I’m sitting at nine weeks pregnant. Which is really strange as I had a light period last month.”
“That can happen,” Jasmine added.
“The baby is really active already. Everything is looking great.”
“I’m so happy for you.” I told her as I pulled her in for a hug.
“Iron looks over the moon.” Carla mentioned.
“Yeah, he loves Lacey as his own. But we have wanted to extend our family for a little while now. It just wasn’t happening.�
�
“Sorry to break this up.” Prez shouted. “Brothers we need a church meeting, ten minutes. Ladies and children inside please.”
“Why do we need to go inside?” I asked Carla.
“Prez’s rules. While all brothers are busy in church, ladies and kids need to be inside where it’s safe, just in case.”
“Hopefully we won’t be long, babe,” Pup said kissing me.
“Where’s Cooper?”
“Toes must still have him.”
“I’ll go look for him. Love you.”
“Love you too.” I watched as Pup strolled into the clubhouse with a still smiling Iron. I glanced around all the people still outside and couldn’t see Toes, so I headed inside. It was dark after being outside in the bright sunshine, so I waited for my eyes to adjust before moving in closer to the bar.
“Toes,” I called out. His head snapped up to mine and Cooper started chanting.
“Mamamamamama.”
“You ok?” he asked. I smiled and nodded. “You don’t seem your usual bubbly self.”
“Have you ever been in a situation where you don’t know what to do? Where you’ve been conflicted? I mean I know what I want to do, just not sure how to go about it.”
“I see it this way, sweetheart. Follow your heart and you can’t go wrong.”
“Thanks.”
“Is this about Pup? Do you not love him anymore?”
“Oh god, no. I love Pup with everything I have in me. Him and Cooper are my world.”
“That’s ok then. As long as you’ve got love you don’t need anything else. It’ll all sort itself out.”
“Thanks, Toes. You’ve got a soft side. I can’t wait til the day you fall in love. She’ll be spoilt.”
“She will indeed. I just need to find her.” He winked at me. “I better get to church.”
“Oh, shit, sorry. I better get him down for his nap too.” Cooper was falling asleep on my shoulder sucking his thumb. Toes headed into church as I headed towards Pups room to lay Cooper in his cot.
Conflicted Love Page 14