A Love So Hard (Aces High MC - Charleston Book 2)

by Christine Michelle

  “He took my son’s father from him with more lies. I can’t ever look at him again,” she finally got out. “If I ever see him again, I will wish him dead, and worse I might do something to make it happen. I never want to speak to my parents again. Not ever.”

  “Then we’ll make sure that happens.”

  “But what about Timeless? He was just as guilty. I’ll have to see him when we go to the clubhouse,” she stated evenly.

  “You would really go back to the clubhouse?” I questioned it, because I had thought for sure that she’d never want anything to do with that place again.

  “If what I thought had been true, then no, I would never step foot there again. Knowing what I know now, I can’t hate the place because evil people committed evil deeds there. It’s your home and your family. I’d never take that away from you. Plus, Toby deserves to know the rest of your family too. He will especially need that since I don’t have one of my own anymore.”

  My heart was thudding so hard in my chest again; it was a wonder the damn thing hadn’t broken something yet. “Luce, you and Toby are my family. This is our home.” It occurred to me then that she might not actually want to be with me after all the time and heartache that had separated us. “That is if you want me here.”

  “Of course I want you here, you idiot. Just try to keep me away from you now that we have you back.” That was music to my ears.

  “Timeless won’t be a problem. If you never want to see him again, you won’t have to,” I reassured her.

  “He’s the president though.”

  I shook my head once more. “Not anymore. He stepped down, and he’ll be facing some club justice for his part in keeping you from me too. If I say he shouldn’t be there when you are, the club will agree. They all owe me that fucking much since the club – even through fucked up members and hang-arounds – is what took you from me.”

  “Whose president then?”

  “Merc,” I told her with a grin.

  “Oh! Heaven help your club!”

  Yeah, I had to laugh at that. She hadn’t been here the past few years to see the way Merc had cleaned himself up. I thought she’d be pretty impressed once she realized how much some of the things had changed, and were changing, hopefully for the better.

  “I don’t have the ring anymore, Luce, but I can’t go another day without doing what I planned that night. I still want you; want to marry you, if you’ll have me. We can take the time to get to know one another again, but knowing Toby’s here now too…”

  “Yes,” she said, not allowing me my speech. Nothing else I had to say mattered anyway. That one word was all I needed to hear. I cradled her face with my palms and leaned in to kiss the woman I’d loved so hard for the past eight years. She was finally going to be mine, and we had a son together. A boy. My boy. Shit! My life was getting ready to change again in a crazy way. This time, though, it would be all good.

  Chapter 17

  (Lucy – age 24-28, Double-D – age 27-31)

  We took four months getting to know one another again before we tied the knot. It was never a question as to whether we were going to do it. I just wanted to make sure that we were both certain since so much time had passed. I knew CJ said he didn’t blame me for finally moving on with something else, but I wanted him to have time to process the fact that I’d been with another man for almost a year and a half before he found us. Jordan and I had practically been living together. Compared to the one time CJ claimed he couldn’t even remember having sex with another woman, that was a lot to swallow. I didn’t even like to think about the fact that he’d willingly been with another woman since me. I knew if my jealousy left a tiny open wound, his must have had to deal with something far larger. He never showed it though.

  He was always true to his word. That was why I was standing there looking in the mirror at the beautiful ivory gown that draped down my body in a waterfall of silk. It was a simple slip gown with thin straps across my shoulders that billowed out into silk sashes that draped down the back of my shoulders and stood in place of a typical train. I hadn’t been thrilled with too many of the dresses on option in South Carolina at the time with their poufy shoulders and too much lace. I wanted simple, and CJ made sure I got the simple I was looking for. It was lovely, and I couldn’t wait for him to see me in it.

  I already knew that CJ and our son would be wearing matching outfits and waiting for me at the altar. They were both in black slacks, black leather motorcycle boots, a crisp white dress shirt, and each wore their own black leather kutte. Toby’s had “T” on the front where Double-D’s name was embroidered on his own over his left pec. Then on the back was the Aces High Insignia of the smoking skull with the top hat sitting on all four aces from a deck of playing cards. The top rocker above that stated Aces High MC. Below it simply read In Training. It was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen and I couldn’t wait to see what my men looked like today. I knew what they were wearing, but I had yet to actually see them with the whole ensemble on. CJ informed me that if he had to wait to see me in my dress I had to wait as well. He was a jerk like that, but secretly… I loved it.

  Tiger Lily was the only one there for me in my wedding party. I didn’t want anyone else to stand by my side. Since I didn’t have a father here to stand up for me, despite apparently having had two of them my whole life, Merc was standing in to give me away. I met him just inside the lobby of the brick church and once the wedding march started playing on the piano the doors were opened and I got my first glimpse of my boys standing there waiting for me. I watched as CJ reached down and took our son’s hand in his, and had no doubt that was to keep him in place so he wouldn’t run to me. It made me smile even bigger knowing that. Merc started walking me down the aisle and I almost stumbled when I realized he was chuckling beside me.

  “Slow down,” he whispered to me. “Making him wait up there is half the fun.” I heard a few chuckles from the club members and their families who were sitting closest to us when he said that.

  “I don’t want to wait any longer,” I mumbled back just as quietly and was still just as overheard as he had been judging by the fact that those chuckles had grown louder.

  “Who has the honor of presenting this woman in in holy matrimony to the man standing before us today?”

  “I do,” Merc stated clearly before leaning in and placing a quick kiss on my forehead and then gently settling my hand in CJ’s. “That’s her heart in your hand, Brother. Don’t ever let go,” he said to my man before taking his place just behind where my man stood before me. My Toby came over and I leaned down so he could kiss me the same way. Then he looked up at his father. “Love my mom and me so hard we feel your hugs even when you ain’t there,” he told his dad. I nearly lost my stuff in front of the God, the pastor, and everyone before Merc took my son’s hand and pulled him up so he could watch us form the lofty height his Uncle Merc graced him with. We didn’t write our own vows, instead opting to just say the ones the pastor laid out for us. It didn’t matter, we knew we were pledging our forever to one another. The minute the words “I do” slipped from my lips CJ had his mouth on mine.

  “Well, son, you didn’t let me get to that part,” the pastor teased and our Aces High family all joined in with raucous, though church appropriate cat calling and laughter. It was the perfect day. The perfect moment. And I now had my perfect family together the way it was meant to be in the beginning.

  Chapter 18

  (Lucy – age 24-28, Double-D – age 27-31)

  Her right thigh was in my hand and the nurse was holding back the other as she was instructed to push one more time. Lucy was exhausted. She’d been at this for so long now, and it had come down to luck that she wasn’t wheeled into the damn operating room. At the last minute, she yelled that she had to push, and I started yelling for help. Our baby was finally making his or her way into the world, and my heart damn near seized in my chest at the overwhelming joy I felt intermingled with the sadness that I had missed al
l this with Toby. Lucy had filled me in on the dramatic arrival of my son. This didn’t seem to be going at all like her first delivery, and it had me worried.

  “That’s it. Look at that head full of dark hair,” the doctor remarked. “One more push, Lucy, and you’ll be able to hold your baby.” The doctor smiled up at me quickly and then put her eyeballs back where they belonged, between my wife’s legs. Damn if that didn’t sound fucked up in my own head. “Come on, one more, let’s make it a good one!” Her coaching voice must have worked, because Lucy grunted her way through another push where the nurse and I both helped out in our own little way by keeping her thighs held tight. Then the doctor was holding our baby. The tiny little body was actually less bloody than I’d always imagined, but had white stuff caked onto it here and there. I started to worry as I watched, then a little scream pierced the air and I couldn’t hold back the tears that came.

  “You have a daughter,” the doctor announced.

  A daughter.

  A princess.

  A beautiful little girl that I just watched being brought into the world. She was a miniature version of her mom except the hair. The hair was all me.

  “No wonder I had so much heartburn. Look at all that hair,” Lucy commented much to the amusement of the doctor and nurses. I just glanced around clueless. Not a damn one of them bothered to explain it to me though. It didn’t matter, because what came next nearly floored me.

  “Dad, do you want to cut the cord?”

  I turned my attention from the baby – my daughter –and back to the doctor. “Really?” She nodded her head and I went to work, freeing my daughter from the cord that attached her to her mother. Jesus. Our baby was whisked away momentarily as I stood there in a sort of shocked state. I had missed all of this with my son. Tears came faster down my face and I had to glance away from everyone in order to get my shit under control. So many conflicting feelings rolled through me. The loss of this experience the first time, the joy of having it this go round, and seeing my daughter brought back to her mother and placed on her chest all sent me into a whirlwind of emotions that I didn’t even think it possible for me to possess. I thought maybe I might be losing it a little and then Lucy’s voice grounded me again.

  “Hi, sweet girl,” Lucy cooed to our daughter. I just watched, heart lodged somewhere in my throat. My girls were both healthy. The nurse mentioned seven pounds and eight ounces when they’d swept her away to do a quick cleanup and wrap her like a burrito in the pink and white blanket. They’d placed a little cap on her head too, and I just wanted to rip it off and marvel at that head full of dark hair she already had. Instead I leaned over and touched those tiny little fingers that had managed to escape her burrito-blanket prison. “Isn’t she perfect?” Lucy asked as she glanced up at me momentarily before locking onto our daughter’s little face once more.

  “Of course she’s perfect, she came from you,” I announced. The women in the room all “awed” before the doctor cleared her throat.

  “Once I get this taken care of we’ll give you guys a few minutes of privacy then they’ll need to take the baby to the nursery for just a bit.”

  “What? Why would you need to take the baby?” I asked defensively, remembering why Lucy hadn’t been aware of her parentage for nearly her entire life.

  “It’s okay,” Lucy informed me. “She has to get cleaned up, and they’ll do a couple tests, and put the security band in place on her ankle.”

  I was still panicked. “No, you can do that in here!” It was definitely a demand.

  The doctor just chuckled. “You’re more than welcome to go with the baby, Mr. Brothers, but it can’t be done here. She has to go to the nursery.”

  I squinted my eyes up at the doctor as I spoke to Lucy. “I knew you should have just given birth at home. It’s not like you didn’t do it that way with Toby.”

  “I nearly had to have a C-Section,” Lucy argued.

  “But you didn’t,” I countered before turning my attention back to the doctor. “If I go with the baby whose going to stay with Lucy?”

  The doctor and the two nurses both gave me a sympathetic, if knowing, look. “We can have someone come in to be with her, if you’d like.” It was the nurse who spoke this time.

  “I’ll be fine. I’m just going to take a nap while you go watch our daughter get her first bath,” Lucy told me. When I looked back over at her it was obvious she was completely worn out. I gave her a nod and leaned in to kiss her lips softly.

  “I love you, Lucy!” She offered up a tired smile and then waved me off.

  “Go, be with our daughter. I need a nap.” I moved to follow the nurse, but before I got to the door I heard her quiet response. “I love you too, CJ.” My heart was somewhere in my throat again and beating erratically. I would never miss another thing in our lives, and damn sure I’d never miss it because of some bullshit involvement from other people. We’d had so many experiences that should have happened together robbed from us. I vowed in that moment that I would never allow anything to come between us again. I couldn’t take it. Lucy was my everything, and now I had a son and daughter to protect with my life. No fucking way was anything ever going to mess with the balance we’d finally found as a family. Not one damn thing.

  PART TWO

  Fixing the Cracks

  Chapter 19

  (Lucy – age 31, Double-D – age 34)

  “My Tiger Lily isn’t going to be up for it. We didn’t tell anyone, but she was pregnant. Made it to 13 weeks this time.” I could see the tears in Merc’s eyes. Ever since Annalise had been born five years ago they had been trying to have a daughter of their own. His woman had been through three miscarriages in that time.

  “Sorry to hear that man. You guys going to keep trying, or…?” I left the question hanging. I didn’t know how he was able to deal with the first two losses. I’d seen Lily after and if I ever had to see Lucy look that rung out it would kill me, let alone to go through it three times now.

  “Fuck no! I made an appointment with the doc. I ain’t telling her though. She don’t need to know why she isn’t getting pregnant anymore.”

  “How are you going to explain the recovery time?”

  “I’m going on a run to North Dakota,” he stated simply.

  I nodded my head. That was probably for the best. “Yo, Double-D?” Our newest prospect called out. We hadn’t even given the kid a road name, or even thought of one yet, because none of us thought he’d make it much beyond the first month. He’d surprised us and been there for two months so far, but still, no name.

  “What’s up, Prospect?”

  “Phone for you,” he mentioned. “Want me to transfer it to the office?”

  “Yeah, give me a minute to head there,” I instructed before heading in that direction with Merc on my tail. Two years ago, he’d made me his VP after our last died of a heart attack right there in the office we were heading for. The bastard had been balls deep in one of the club whores when his ticker knocked out on him. Poor girl flipped the fuck out and was never seen again after running from the clubhouse screaming her ass off about being fucked by dead dick.

  “We should probably move the office,” I murmured as we moved toward the door. Merc snickered.

  “Still can’t get over that shit.” He laughed. “Dead dick in my pussy!” He mocked the woman with a high pitch squeal to his voice.

  “Jesus!” I shook my head. “That was some seriously fucked up shit.”

  “He would have loved that shit,” Merc said, still laughing at the situation nearly two years later.

  “Yeah, that sick fuck would have loved it. He went out just the way he always said he would.”

  Once we got the door opened the prospect transferred the call and I picked it up on the second ring. “Double-D here,” I answered. If they were calling the clubhouse, it had to be club business.

  “Um,” a hesitant voice called out over the phone. I heard the sound of papers being shuffled in the background. “I was
looking for a Charles Brothers,” she insisted.

  “You got him, what can I do for ya?”

  “My name is Donna Griffith. I work for Child Protective Services, a branch of the Virginia Department of Social Services. I have your daughter here, and she…”

  “You have my daughter? In Virginia?” My voice rose to a threatening tone and Merc immediately came to attention and pulled out his cell phone.

  “Yes, sir. It appears her mother has passed,” she started and my whole world fell out from under my feet. Where the fuck was Lucy? Why were they in Virginia? What the fuck?

  Merc shook his head quickly. “No problem, Luce, just wanted to check on you guys and make sure everything was okay. Why don’t you and the kids head on over to the clubhouse for a bit? No, it’s nothing. He’s fine. Well, see, Tiger-Lily had a miscarriage. I was hoping to get her out of the house, and figured some girl time…” He paused and the woman on the other end of the phone continued to shuffle papers or some shit.

  “Sorry,” she said into the phone. “I had it hear a moment ago, but someone came into my room looking for something before I got to this call. I guess they shuffled things around a bit.”

  “Look, lady, I don’t know what kind of shit you’re trying to pull but my wife and daughter are both alive and well in South Carolina,” I stated coolly into the phone. I started to hang up, but the woman caught my attention.

  “Your daughter, Ever Lee Brothers, watched her mom die two days ago. It took us this long to find contact information for you. We had to track down a Mr. Adam Bolson in order to find out how and where you might be reached.” Adam Bolson was PeeWee – Pike Bolson’s – brother. Adam had been the man whose wife I’d unknowingly fucked at a club party.

  I noticed that Merc hung up with Lucy so I put the office phone on speaker and let him listen in to this nonsense. “Listen, lady. I think you got the wrong person because I don’t know an Ever Lee Brothers – unless you’re saying that band’s name wrong.”