by L. Ann Marie
"Cloud!" Victor says. "My friend Brantley is getting a new room for his Brothers. He's going to be so surprised, I'm not telling him though." He's bouncing all around the room as he talks. They have the platforms up, the beds look like rafts; the lower walls are painted like water. There are planks along the side held by rope.
"This is awesome Little Brother. He will be excited." I tell him catching him around the waist.
Danny watches us smiling. "He wanted to help today. He's carrying the wood from Patches to me once it's cut."
I set him down. "I better put you down then, that's an important job and we need to finish this quick. Can't be stopping progress Little Brother." He throws me chin and walks over to Patches. Danny cracks up. "Where do you need help?"
"Chris is replacing some wood in the basement. It's a fuckin dirty job and no one wanted to do it. He may still need that help if you're willing." He looks over at Victor and smiles, he's trying to carry three pieces at once. Since Danny's just watching I don't help him. I bet there's a lesson in there somewhere.
"I'll give him a hand." I say walking out. In the basement I find Chris and Chet. "Brothers, Danny said you may need a hand."
"We could use the help Cloud. Thanks. We're replacing damaged beams; the plumber is done so we have the whole basement to ourselves." Chris says.
"Tell me what to do and I'm there." I tell him.
What a mistake that was. Six hours later someone yells 'food is here'. I drag my filthy, smelly body upstairs, wash in the kitchen sink, sit and eat. Prospects are handing out beer, one comes back with a clean shirt for me. I throw him chin. While we're eating men are bringing in bags and walking right upstairs. No one pays attention to them so I just watch. Pres and Jessie come in with bags they throw chin and head upstairs, old ladies follow. The Brothers don't pay any attention to them either. I finish and stand.
"I'm out as soon as I finish cleaning up the tools Cloud. I'll have to finish the last two tomorrow." Chris tells me.
"I'm not in tomorrow; I promised I'd go for a hike with the kids." I tell him. His shoulders slump. I smile. "Jake will be here."
He smiles. "If you can get him here for ten I can do some finish work in the kitchen then get the basement finished by twelve." He looks hopeful; I bet he wasn't expecting to do all this when he started.
I nod, "I'll let him know." I follow the Prospects up the stairs while I'm texting Jake. Danny has me hanging pictures with Patches. I don't mind the heavy work but I like the clean and easy after lugging and holding beams downstairs.
"It looks like we're almost done." I say when Danny moves close to me.
He looks over, "Yeah, the plumber and electrician showed when I expected to wait a couple of days. Surprised the fuck out of me. We are two days ahead of schedule. I got two safe rooms and two bathrooms left. Depending on who shows tonight we may be finished tomorrow night. Patches has a list of toys to fill the bins, some PD help will be here tomorrow night to get that and the furniture moved in."
"Nice. They'll be excited to get home. I know she didn't expect all this." I tell him with a smile thinking about her reaction.
"Looks like she's got another admirer." He says.
I look at him, "another?" Who the fuck is her admirer?
"Rob seemed interested to know when we'd be finished and Chet and Tiny. You have no competition with Tiny, he just likes strong old ladies. He loves them to death." He smiles. Fuck! Fuckin Rob with his sensitivity and shit. I can't talk like he does. "Piece of advice Cloud. Women want a man to be there for them, just them. You have no one competing with you but you. It's completely her preference in men, but she's going to want someone that won't cheat and stands by her." It's like he knows what's going through my head.
I look at him replaying his words. I nod and go back to hanging pictures. He's right. I don't need to be any more than I am. I think about the kids. Jacob and Jeremy are six, Christian is eleven, Brantley and Taylor are twelve and Joey is thirteen. It's a lot of fuckin kids and they're all young. Christian acts like the oldest, he sees everything. They seem to be good kids though. They help each other and while I was sitting with them they showed they're bonded, even Taylor who is new to the house. Jeremy seems fragile, after what they went through I can understand why. He's scheduled for a psych evaluation next week. I hope the little guy can get past what his fuckin mother put him through. CJ has a weight chart up for them, they're still small for their age but they're gaining weight. She's good for the kids.
I finish the pictures and call it a day. I let Danny know I'm out and ride home through the reservation. It's ten minutes from my house this way. It was a good day, I'm glad I went back to help.
Rob
I call Digs to find out where CJ is. Calling the hotel Rena answers. "Two days in a row, I'm feeling lucky." I can hear her smile.
Fuck, my dick twitches. "You're up for two in a row?" She doesn't usually like consecutive days.
"Not usually but you had me thinking about last night all day. I'm up for another go round." She sounds interested.
"I'll leave my door open, come over when you get off." I'm feeling like a player but I'm not doing anything with CJ yet.
"I'll be there. Did you call just for me?" She sounds happy that I did.
Fuck. I'll call CJ on her mobile. "I did, I'll see you when you get here Re." I hang up and hunt down CJ's mobile.
"CJ, it's Rob from the MC. I hope your day went smoother than yesterday." After talking to Danny a nuclear attack is the only thing that didn't happen to her yesterday.
"It was a fun filled calm day, thanks for asking Rob." She sounds distracted.
"Do you have plans for tomorrow?" The kids must be ready to climb the walls.
"Yes we have a full day planned." She's smiling, I can hear it. I wonder what she's doing, she didn't invite me, maybe it's a family thing.
"No problems today with the little guys?" I've got nothing else to say here so I'll fall back on the kids.
"Not a single one. They have therapy on Tuesday; if there's a problem she usually sees them right away. Thanks for asking though."
Fuck I've got no reason to keep her on the phone. I think of her tight little body and I'm fuckin hard. "That's good. I'll see you when you get back in your house. Give me a call if you need anything." She says goodbye sounding distracted.
Maybe she's just not interested. She's a knockout though. I'll wait until she's in her house, then I can see her while I'm talking to her. I walk through the house straightening whatever is out of place and wait for Rena, another beautiful body.
Chapter Three
CJ
Cloud is waiting with our food when we get downstairs. Everyone is happy to see him. He isn’t so scary in jeans and a t-shirt. The boys bump his fist making me smile. “Hi CJ, I brought an suv so we can all fit for the ride.”
“Yes!” Joey and Christian say.
“You’ll have to be lifted in Joey. Are you sure?” I know how independent she is.
She gives me a look like I’m crazy. “Did you see his muscles, he can handle it. I hate the wimpy guys that can barely lift me.”
I laugh and wave my hand to the suv. “I guess that’s as good as a compliment. Thank you Cloud.”
“No, thank you, I don’t think I’d fit in your little van.” He says with a smile. He lifts the boys up then Joey. She has a captain’s seat and loves it. Lifting the chair into the back I notice his very fine muscles. I hand him the bag with our lunch, he clips it into a net so it stays upright. How cool is that? He closes the back door and puts his hand on my back guiding me to the passenger door; he doesn’t close it until I’m buckled in. Joey slaps my arm. I wave her away but I’m jumping up and down in my head. Friggin Christian laughs.
Cloud
Fuck I almost kissed her; I need to keep my head around her. I take a deep breath to clear my head walking around the truck. Being close to her is fuckin with my head. I'm fucked. Away from her I keep thinking about her.
Smiling
I get in and ask the kids if they're ready. They yell back making me laugh. "Cute kids."
"I think so." She smiles back and my fuckin heart speeds up. Fuck. I didn't act like this with Mia and I was ready to marry her. What the fuck is going on with me?
I get us to the park and get Joey in her chair. I strap the bag to her chair and walk behind her with CJ. "What is CJ short for?"
She laughs, "Nothing. My birth certificate says CJ, my mother was Claire and my father was John. My guess is it is their initials."
"You've never asked?"
"I grew up in care. There was no one to ask." She doesn't sound bitter.
"Is that why you foster?" It would explain a single woman with six kids.
"Yep. I lived in some pretty bad places but the last home I was put in really cared. It made an impact. I wanted to do that for someone else. So I started fostering when I got out of college." She says it so easy; I'll bet it wasn't that easy.
"What about you? Have you always flown?" She wants to know about me. Interest.
I smile, "I grew up on the reservation. My grandmother is a shaman; she believes in the old traditions and raised us in that culture. I was interested in planes and encouraged to fly. I started young, went into the military, learned to fly helicopters, became a SEAL. Jamie and Kevin were my team leaders, when I got out they offered me a job. I used to do international missions, now I stay stateside."
"Did you not like the international missions?" She sounds surprised; I look at her and see she is.
"I loved the scenery; anything different is beautiful when you first see it. The reason I moved to stateside is my sister. She needed me to be here while she went through some tough times." I don't really want to talk about Aleena.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." She understands it's not an easy topic for me.
I take a breath. "I'm not usually a talker. I want us to get to know each other. In order to do that I need to talk." I give her a smile.
"The strong silent type. I get it. I'd like to get to know you so I hope you're not too silent." She gives me a shy look.
I watch the boys. Joey is half way between us and them. "Aleena was in an abusive marriage. Her husband not only beat her but cut her. She called me when I had just gotten back from a mission. I picked her up from a shelter. She had been in the hospital for a week before that. I'm her closest male relative and I didn't protect her like I should have. I talked to Jamie and he agreed to keep me stateside so I could be closer to Aleena. Now she lives on the same street as I do." I smile thinking that wasn't so bad.
"Why are you smiling?" She catches everything.
"I was just thinking that wasn't so bad."
She laughs and grabs my hand running toward the kids. I'm so surprised I don't realize what she's doing. Joey is rolling down a hill. I run, fuck! I pull her along, she's still laughing. I reach for the right side and she grabs the left. We slow down together laughing. Joey is hysterical. "You should have let me get to the end." She gets out between laughs. Cute fuckin kid. The boys are yelling for us to hurry. CJ looks at me with a smile. She lets go so I do, we jog behind a laughing Joey. The kid is having fun speeding down the hill, I see why she guards her independence and wonder if Mitch could find a way to get her more.
The boys walk the wall while we walk behind Joey. It's a nice walking trail with pretty views. The boys ask about food so we sit and eat. "Sam made a good lunch; I'll have to thank him." Joey says.
"That's nice of you Joey. I don't know him well but what I do know is he likes feeding people and he always does a great job." I tell her.
"How come you don't know him?" Brantley asks.
"There are over two hundred Brothers. There's a recognition program for the Brothers to learn about one Brother a month. That's how I know about Sam. I don't work for the MC unless there's trouble, so I only see them on my down time. I don't really spend much time in the yard so I don't get to meet many unless we're at a Club function or during church." They're all listening and watching me.
"Why are you in the Club?" Christian asks.
"I met my cousin two years ago, he is the VP. He grew up with his dad not knowing about us. His mom, my aunt, died when he was born. I wanted to see him more than just holidays so I started helping when there was trouble or they were doing special projects like with your house. He was a SEAL too; he was on the same Team I was before I got there. It's funny, we did the same things, ending up in the same place, we even look alike." I smile thinking of Steve and his gruff personality.
CJ laughs, "When I first saw all the guys running in my house I thought you were all giants, my head kept calling you that. You were the Indian giant; two of you would have messed with my head." Joey and Brantley laugh.
"You took down two of those giants. When I needed you to get the boys, I threw you over my shoulder so you didn't kick me too." I tell them, the kids find this funny.
Christian is watching me, he seems contemplative, he doesn't miss much. "You didn't grow up with your parents either." It's not a question.
Where the fuck did that come from? "No my grandmother and our people raised us." He nods but doesn't say anything else.
"We all don't live with our parents. We can still be great people because we have CJ. She teaches us how." Joey says. Christian nods.
"You're already great people. I noticed when I first met you. You take care of each other just like the Brothers and my people. My grandmother believes people are put in your path to teach you about life and living in harmony with other people. You have to decide who you follow; CJ is a good person to follow."
She's been watching and listening to everything, she looks at me, "Thank you."
Jacob and Jeremy stand up. "We have to pee." CJ laughs.
I stand, "I'll take them. Anyone else need to go?" Taylor stands. Jacob holds my hand and grabs Jeremy's, we walk into the trees. They find this funny and giggle until they find good trees.
We make it back to the group and they go to CJ for a squirt of sanitizer. "Germs can make Joey sick." Christian says. I nod. Her immune system is lowered by her meds. I read it in her book.
"Taking care of each other." I tell him. He smiles and nods. He reminds me of Little Ben and Darren.
CJ
We've had an awesome day. Cloud takes us to dinner on the way home. He's answered all of our questions and he's been great with the kids. I'm drawn to him and learning more hasn't changed that. He's held my hand most of the day, it's been so long since anyone but the kids have done that. My heart beats fast and I feel heat run through me when he touches me.
Getting back to the hotel we get the kids settled, I'm glad he stayed. He gets the boys clothes ready while they shower and I get Joey's treatment done. We meet on the couch. "I'm glad you stayed." I tell him as I sit. The kids are playing the hand-helds.
"I am too. While I've answered all your questions you haven't told me much about you." His smile and green eyes throw me off for a second.
"There's not much to tell. I grew up in care, went to college, and now I run two group homes."
"What did you study?"
"Business admin and psychology. I knew what I wanted to do and what it would take. Because I was motivated I had an easy time of it." I think of all my friends that struggled through.
"You're not attached or seeing anyone?" It feels awkward but I guess he needs to know.
I snort making him smile. "I was married but it ended two years ago. I haven’t dated anyone since. It's not as easy as people and tv make you think." I look at his reaction, he's not surprised.
"How about you?" I ask watching his eyes.
"I was close to marriage once but she turned out to be someone completely different than who she portrayed herself to be. I've been a little gun shy since. I wouldn't be here now if I was seeing someone else. I have an ingrained need to be honorable. There is no honor in disrespecting someone." His eyes go far away for a few seconds.
"Admirable trait and I agree." I look away a l
ittle embarrassed. "It's humiliating to realize you gave complete trust to a virtual stranger. My confidence in my ability to choose a partner was shaken. Not that anyone since has asked, until you." I look back at him then look away.
He puts his hand on my cheek, I look at him. "I felt the same way. I was a SEAL, a member of a huge security firm and I couldn't see a lie right in front of me. It sucked. I'm glad I didn't put my trust in her alone though. She even fooled the Baxter's. She was Mitch's assistant. No one had a clue. That helps a little."
I turn my face into his hand. "My aunt liked him. When she found me we started coming for dinners. She was so smart and funny. I got a little comfort that I wasn't the only one fooled. I know what you mean though, it only helps so much. Christian hated him. I should have paid attention to that."
"Christian doesn't miss much. My grandmother would say he has an old soul."
I smile thinking of the Indigo and Crystal people conversation my aunt had with me. Joey calls me, he moves his hand and I go to our room. When I come out Christian is sitting with Cloud. It looks like an intense conversation so I get the little guys into bed and Brantley and Taylor watching a movie. When I get back Christian is hugging Cloud. I've never seen him hug anyone but the kids. He grabs my hand walking by with a smile.
I sit and have a war going on in my head. I want to know but keep myself from asking. "How is the house coming along?" I throw out to keep my friggin mouth from asking about Christian.
"You are going to absolutely love it. Danny is like an artist with houses. The show on tv could have used him." He says with a smile. He's excited.
"He did more than just fix the damage that was done?" I don't know what to feel here.
"Yesterday I helped fix damaged beams in the basement. Danny isn't a halfway guy. I think the foundation damage and beams were done today about lunchtime. Everything that is done is with respect for you and what you do. The Brothers mission is to keep their women and children safe. They started at home, then went into their neighborhoods then the community. They believe it's the best way to make a better world for the kids." He says it so passionately.