by Jessie Cooke
Talia took a minute to process that. She knew that his words should make her angry. Sabrina’s growing up without a father should make her hate him. But for whatever reason, it didn’t. She wasn’t going to risk Sabrina’s peace of mind, however, so she said, “If you meet her, will you be willing to at least be a part of her life? Even if it’s only occasional visits, or phone calls? I mean, I can’t introduce you to her if you’re just going to abandon her…”
“Again.”
“No. You never abandoned her. I never gave you the chance to get to know her back then, and you have offered help more than you had to over the years. It was me that turned it down. But she’s a teenager now, and if she ever needed a father in her life…it’s now.” He was silent, and she could tell he was processing that. He looked like he was about to pass out too and she suddenly remembered the sandwiches. “Oh! I’m sorry. Have you eaten?”
“No, but I’m okay. I should go…”
“No. You haven’t eaten, you’re exhausted, and you’ve been drinking. You can stay here tonight. She won’t be home until noon and you can be gone by then if you want. You can sleep in my bed, I’ll take the couch.”
He chuckled and drank what was left in his coffee cup. “You know, sometimes I think God hates me…but then I think about all the kindhearted people he’s sent me, all the people I never deserved, and I’m confused all over again.”
“Maybe he sends you kindhearted people because you have a kind heart of your own. Maybe you just never learned how to give yourself credit.”
He smiled and brought his free hand over to cover hers and gave it a squeeze. “Doubtful,” he said. “Where’s the couch? You’re not sleeping on it.”
It was sometime in the dead of night when Talia had almost, finally gotten to sleep, when she felt him lie down in the bed beside her. Without saying a word, she turned and rolled into him and he closed his big arms around her and held her while he cried.
27
“Mom!” The sound of the front door opening and the little girl’s voice sent a shudder through Coyote’s body. It was shameful that he was scared to death of a thirteen-year-old girl, but he was. He looked over at Talia, who was standing by the sink, and she smiled at him. If he weren’t so grateful to her for taking care of him the night before, he might have run out the back way.
“In here, Bri.”
Sabrina walked into the kitchen with a smile on her face. She was beautiful, like her mother. She had long blonde hair and tiny little features…and, strangely still to him, Coyote’s dark brown eyes. The smile fell from her face as soon as those eyes landed on it. “Oh, hey. I wondered why there was a motorcycle in the driveway.” She looked at her mother and raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Suppressing the grin that was tugging at his lips Coyote said:
“Hey.” He stood up and towered over her as he held out his hand. “I’m Coyote.”
She didn’t suppress her smile. “Coyote? That’s your real name?”
“Sabrina!” Talia scolded.
“It’s okay.” He chuckled. “No. My real name is Xander Lee. My friends call me Coyote.” She took in his vest and the long hair that he had pulled back into a braid. Finally, she slipped her tiny hand into his and shook it.
“Sabrina,” she said, dropping his hand, quickly. She looked at her mother again and said, “He’s a friend of yours?” Coyote could tell that coming home and finding a man in the house was new to her. It gave him an odd feeling. He should have felt like shit about Talia’s being alone for so many years, but instead, he was happy that she wasn’t with anyone. Selfish bastard.
“Yes,” Talia said, drying off her hands. “Coyote is an old friend. Sit down and I’ll make you some lunch. Coyote and I would like to talk to you.”
She pulled out a chair and eyed him again, warily. “I had lunch at Mary’s house.” Talia came over and took the seat to Coyote’s right. Sabrina sat at the other end of the table. Coyote had a beer when he got out of bed because that was the only alcohol Talia had in the house…but he was starting to shake now. He needed a shot. “What’s going on?” Sabrina was suspicious, and rightfully so. They were about to change her whole outlook on life. Coyote wondered if they were making things worse at this point by telling her, but Talia seemed to think it was the right thing to do.
“Sabrina, I know that you have a lot of questions about your dad. Coyote is here to try to answer some of those questions for you.”
The little girl once again narrowed her eyes on his face. “You know my dad?”
Coyote looked at Talia, just to make sure one last time. She nodded at him. Shit. “Yeah, kind of…I mean, I’m him.”
It took several long minutes for Sabrina’s face to register that she had even heard what he said. When it did, there was nothing there but anger…and maybe disgust. She looked at her mother and said, “Is he telling me the truth?”
Talia nodded. “Yes. Coyote is your father.”
“Well, it figures. I mean, that motorcycle and vest explain a lot. I guess you were just too busy for the past thirteen years to have time for a kid, huh?”
“Sabrina, please don’t talk to him like that…” Sabrina jumped up out of her seat and said,
“And why not? Because he gave up some sperm and then took off, I owe him anything?”
“Sabrina!”
“It’s okay, Talia. Let her get it out,” he said.
“Oh, thank you so much. You’re already coming to my rescue. What a great dad you are!”
“I’m sorry, Sabrina. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you.”
“Words, they don’t mean anything. Why now, huh? Why are you just now showing up? Is it because you’re getting too old to play Sons of Anarchy and you’re looking for something else to do?” Sons of Anarchy was a new television show. It was on cable and pretty racy and explicit. Coyote was surprised that Sabrina had seen it. As soon as he had that thought, however, he had to remind himself that he knew absolutely nothing about thirteen-year-old girls.
“Sabrina!” Talia said, more sternly this time. “Sit down and let Coyote finish talking.”
“What’s he going to talk about? And you,” Sabrina said, turning on her mother. “What were you doing with a guy like this? You see that patch on his vest that says 1%? Do you even know what that means, Mother?”
“Yes, Sabrina, I do. I’m not sure what you think you know…”
“I read. I watch television. I’m not an idiot. That means that he’s a criminal. You had sex with a criminal, created a kid he didn’t want, and now you want me to be happy about that thirteen years later? No freaking way!” She turned toward the door and Talia called after her.
“Let her go,” Coyote said. “Give her some time.”
Talia had tears running down her face and when the front door slammed she said, “That wasn’t how I imagined that going.”
Coyote got up and crouched down in front of her chair. Taking her hands in his he said, “It was better than I imagined it.” She laughed through her tears and said:
“I’m a glass half full kind of girl, I guess.”
“And it’s what makes you so special. I, on the other hand, am a realist. She needs some time. But I’m not going to abandon her, I promise you. Call me when she’s ready…or if you just need to talk, and I’ll be back.”
“Promise?”
He nodded and stood up. Taking her face in his hands as she looked up at him he said, “I promise. I won’t go away, but I think since we waited so long, we have to take this at her pace, okay?”
“Okay.” He bent down and kissed her softly on the lips. Talia shuddered. He was tempted to really kiss her…he’d been tempted to do more than that when he was holding her the night before. But it was too soon. It would be too disrespectful to Colleen, and he wasn’t prepared to live with that guilt on top of everything else.
“I’m going to go now, but call me, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, again. Coyote let go of her, reluctantly, picked up his t
hings off the counter and left. He was shaking hard by the time he started up his bike and headed for home. He knew that he would have another kid there who was almost just as pissed off at him as Sabrina was. Wolf had every right to be pissed at him for bailing. He hadn’t turned on his phone either. He needed to check out, but he knew he’d have to face the music for that. He was going to need a little help, though. He pulled the Harley into the first liquor store he found before leaving Madera and bought a fifth of whiskey. He managed to make himself wait until he came to a rest stop along the 99, but as soon as he stopped and took that first sip, his soul rejoiced. He hated that he had killed two years of sobriety in a matter of days…but without Colleen there was no way he’d be able to do any of this without the alcohol…at least, that’s what he told himself.
“Who does that? Who just takes off like that and leaves his son, who is mourning too, to handle every fucking thing?” Wolf had sucked up his anger the day before and entertained the relatives, and the Southies, and everyone else that turned out for his mother’s funeral. When he finally got to bed, it was after two in the morning and there was still no word from his father. Manson had acted like he was worried about him…he’d alluded to the possibility that Coyote might hurt himself, and now that pissed Wolf off even more. “The old bastard wouldn’t ever hurt himself. He’s too fucking narcissistic.”
Trisha had just quietly listened to that point but when Wolf called Coyote narcissistic, he saw the change in her face. “Can I say something?”
“Not if you’re going to defend him.”
“Okay.”
“Shit. I’m sorry, Trisha.” He sat next to her on the bed. She had always been there for him and he had to remind himself that she was hurting too. She loved his mother and she had lost her friend.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t going to defend him. I guess, as an outsider, I see things more clearly than you do. Your mother also told me a lot about Coyote that I didn’t know, and I’m sure a lot of people don’t know. I just think you’re wrong, Wolf…about him being a narcissist. That guy that was here from Boston…the really hot one with the blue eyes?”
Wolf cocked an eyebrow. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Trisha calling Dax Marshall “really hot.” “Dax?”
“Yeah, him. I would think that he’s probably a narcissist. It’s easy to see how much he thinks of himself. Coyote…not so much. He’s probably holed up somewhere with a bottle. Your mom told me what happened to him when he was a kid, and how he still blames himself for that. Then Doc Marshall sent him away and he had to start all over on his own. Coyote is tough on the outside, Wolf, but your own mother was the one that told me how soft he was inside. He takes everything to heart and the drinking probably takes a lot of the pain away. But narcissists, they don’t care enough about other people to even feel any pain.”
“So, what are you saying? You think maybe he did kill himself?”
She smiled. “No, baby. I just think that your image of your old man is a little warped sometimes. I wish the two of you got along better. You’re really going to need each other, to get through this.”
“Which just brings me right back to why I’m pissed off,” Wolf said, only in a softer tone. He loved Trisha’s heart. She reminded him a lot of his mom. But he wasn’t going to let the old man off so easily, no matter what she said.
“Maybe…you need to let off a little steam before he gets back.”
Wolf smiled. “What did you have in mind?”
“Hmm…well, you tell me, baby. Whatever relaxes you the most.” Wolf slid his arm across her shoulders and planted a kiss on her full lips.
“You know exactly how to relax me,” he whispered.
“Well then, gorgeous, why don’t you take off all these clothes and let me work my magic?”
Wolf stood up and started stripping his clothes off and Trisha did the same. She was so hot. He knew she went to the gym a few days a week and she liked to walk and hike…her body was perfect, and he loved it. Sometimes, he wished that he was in love with her. She would make one hell of an old lady. But Wolf had always been something of a romantic although he wouldn’t admit that to just anybody. He believed strongly that there was someone out there who was just perfect for him. That idea was planted in his head by his mother when he was just a kid, and he had held onto it all these years, just waiting for it to happen. In the meantime, though, Trisha really did know just exactly what he needed. She took his hand and they both sat back down on the bed. She leaned in and their lips met. They kissed softly and slowly at first, but it quickly turned passionate. Wolf’s hands moved down her back until they landed on her round ass. He squeezed and caressed her cheeks as she squirmed her way up into his lap. She was sitting sideways, pressing down against his hardening cock. He could feel how moist her pussy was and he ran his hand up one of her legs until he reached the top of her thigh. It was wet, and he let his fingers play in the moisture there, inching his way higher and closer to her pussy while their tongues wrestled and the feelings coursed through both of their bodies.
Wolf finally touched her pussy and she gasped when his fingers skimmed across her sensitive clit. “You’re so wet, baby.”
“You make me that way,” she whispered back. Wolf slid one thick finger into her wet pussy and he began moving it in and out, fingering her and making her squirm all over his lap. When he took her clit between his fingers and pinched it, she cried out his name. “Oh, Wolf! Fuck, baby! I thought this stress relief was supposed to be for you.”
He smiled and said, “It’s working for me.” He kept rubbing her pussy, harder and faster. Her breathing was becoming erratic and she had her eyes closed and her head thrown back. He brought his other hand up and used it to rub her hard clit while he fucked her, now with two fingers. He loved the way she gripped his shoulders with one hand and had her fingers dug into the skin of his arm on the other. He liked to “feel” his women. He hated having sex with a meek one that would just lie back and let him do all the work. Trisha was always an active participant, and she was just about to reach her peak, and then she’d show him just how active she was. He felt her whole body clench and she threw herself forward. The warm liquid from her orgasm ran down his fingers and when he pulled them out, he brought them to his mouth and tasted her.
“Fuck, baby, you’re good,” she whispered in a raspy voice. She kissed his lips again, licked them, and then she climbed off his lap and positioned herself on the floor on her knees between his legs. His cock was at full attention now and liquid was oozing out through the tip. Trisha wrapped her hand around him and began to stroke it. She looked up at him as she did and then brought out her tongue and made a show of slowly licking the tip of it. His body convulsed as she began to lick all around his shaft, and then dragged her flattened tongue down the underside of his cock.
He groaned. “Jesus, your lips and tongue feel so good on my cock, babe.”
She smiled around his flesh and continued with what she was doing. At last, she opened her lips up and placed them on the head of his cock, and she began to suck him into her mouth, slowly, expertly…making every nerve in his body stand at attention. She had been right, he could feel his stress melting away. She sucked and slurped and licked…and Wolf watched her with his eyes half closed as he leaned back on his hands and thought that he could go to sleep right there. She must have sensed that he was a little too relaxed, because she increased the pressure of her lips around his cock and she placed her other hand on his sensitive ball sac and began to massage. Fireworks were exploding in his head and six string bands were playing…it felt so good and he was so close to his own orgasm already that he had to make her stop.
Wolf pulled her off his cock and lifted her all the way up on his lap again. He pressed his lips to hers and guided her down to the bed with him while they kissed. Once he was on his back, Trisha got up on her knees and straddled him, finding his cock with her hand and guiding it to her pussy. She pushed up higher on her knees and smiled down at him as t
he tip of his cock pressed into her soaked opening. Wolf grabbed her ass again and he used his hold on it to lower her down where he wanted her…pelvis to pelvis, with his cock buried as deeply inside of her as it would go without the rest of him collapsing and climbing in after it.
Trisha began to ride him slowly. Wolf grunted and groaned as she moved up and down on his throbbing cock. He slid his hands up to her back and pushed her down so that their bodies were melded together, with her beautiful breasts and hard nipples pressed into his chest, and he kissed her again. She kept riding him and the kiss turned hot, sexy, and sloppy while they searched for each other’s tongues and bit at each other’s lips and licked whatever body part they could reach. Wolf held her up by her shoulders when he finished with the kiss and he began to suck and bite at her breasts and nipples. Trisha was moaning, loudly, and when he buried his face in between her breasts and began to motorboat them, her body jerked hard and she let out a sound that made him think she’d had a second orgasm. That wasn’t unusual. Trisha always had multiple orgasms when he fucked her. It was another thing about her that he loved.
He let her come down from that high and then he pulled her off him and said, “Stay on your knees.” Trisha did as he asked, and Wolf positioned himself behind her. He loved the feel of her round ass slapping up against his flesh when he buried his cock inside her. Her pussy was even wetter now and it felt as hot as fire when he pushed his cock back into it. He reached around and took her breasts in his hands as he started to pound her from behind. Trisha thrust her hips back against him and wiggled them every time their flesh met. Wolf wanted to howl, it felt so damned good. He took his right hand off her breast and raised it over the pale, white cheek of her ass. He raised it and let it come down and slap into her flesh. Trisha groaned and wiggled her ass back even harder. His cock felt like it was so deep inside of her that he might never get it back.