Caught - A Brother's Best Friend Romance

by Phoenix, Piper

  “He’s not happy,” my mom said putting her hands on my shoulders .

  “No kidding,” I said moving away from her and turning towards the living room. I flopped down on the couch and put my hands over my face .

  Even though it was all over I don’t think I could have felt any worse. I knew I had made things worse between the Brother’s and The Henchmen .

  My mom grabbed my arms and lifted my hands towards her face, “Did they do this to you ?”

  I looked at my red, scratched up wrists. They felt sore, and I was pretty sure I was going to have bruises on my arms from where they had grabbed me. I hadn’t even realized how bad the marks that had been left behind were until she pointed it out .

  “Yeah,” I answered, but she already knew that they had .

  “Those fucking bastards, doing that to my little girl,” she said and disappeared into the bathroom. She returned with the first aid kit and started wiping at them with various creams .

  It felt nice to be cared for and the cool creams soothed my skin. I forced a smile, “I’m fine, really .”

  “First Troy and now this…,” my mom mumbled as she gently wrapped my wrists with gauze bandages. “What are we going to do ?”

  She stood up and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her eyes shot up towards the ceiling and then she made a small worried, frown before she walked away, leaving me alone in the living room .

  I flipped on the TV so I could be alone, without feeling like I was alone. My mom was in the other room and I was home .

  I zoned out, and at some point I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, it was dark and all the lights in the house were on. In the dining room, I could hear my dad talking quietly to my mom .

  “I’m just worried about her is all. Who knows what those dick asses did to her while they had her,” my mom said .

  “She’s fine, Lauren. They didn’t have her that long. She’s tough .”

  “I should go over there myself and give The Henchmen a piece of my mind. They should know better than to mess with my daughter,” my mom said, and I almost believed she’d actually do it too .

  My dad laughed, “And that’s where she gets that toughness from .”

  I stood up and stretched my arms feeling the soreness in my wrists as I made my way into the dining room. They both stopped talking and looked at me. I saw the concern on both of their faces although they both tried to hide it .

  “Did you have a nice nap, honey?” my mom asked .

  “It was fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine. But I have something I need to tell you,” I said turning towards my dad .

  “If it’s about the ten grand you owe me, we can talk about it later,” he said staring into my eyes .

  “Right. Later then,” I said and started to back out of the dining room. That had gone far better than I could have ever imagined, but now that I had to come up with ten grand I’d be stuck living here longer than I had planned. I stopped my feet and turned back towards them, “Really, I’m fine. I promise. And now I’m going to go take a shower to wash this Henchmen scum off of myself .”

  My mom took three quick steps in my direction, “They touched you! I knew it, Terry! They did something to her… I’m going to kill them all !”

  “No, they didn’t touch me, mom! Not like that anyway… I just meant I wanted to wash away the crappy thoughts of them and this day. They’re assholes and I’m afraid their asshole germs got all over my skin and clothes.” I smiled hoping that would alleviate my mom’s worries. And maybe it did because they let me leave the room without an interrogation .

  After I finished my shower, I put on some yoga pants and a T-shirt. I looked at myself in the mirror and started to think about Stone. Was he mad at me? Or more importantly, what if he would have been killed? I didn’t want things to be this way between us. I didn’t want to hide, or be afraid anymore. He should know how I feel .

  I slipped into my shoes and grabbed my keys. I reached out to open the front door and noticed my dad’s shadow looming over me .

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he said in a deep voice .

  “Out,” I said and almost wanted to confess everything about Stone, but I couldn’t do that, at least not yet. First, I had to talk about Stone. It wasn’t like I could make that choice for him, especially if it could potentially result in his death .

  “Do you really think that’s a good idea after what happened today ?”

  “I’ll be fine. Really .”

  “Where are you going ?”

  “To a friend’s house… I won’t be long, I promise,” I said reaching into my purse for my cell phone, only it wasn’t there. I had left it in my car. My car that was still on top of the parking ramp. “Shit .”

  My dad reached out his hand and passed me my cell phone, “Car is in the driveway. If I get even a tingling sense that something is off, I’m sending the club out looking for you .”

  “I promise… no more stupid ideas,” I said taking my phone and dropping it into my purse. I smiled, “At least not without talking to you first. Where’s my car ?”

  “Stretch drove it back,” he said tossing me the keys. “I’m not joking. Straight to your friends and then right back home .”

  “I’m not sixteen, dad,” I said rolling my eyes, kind of feeling as though I was actually sixteen again. My heart was racing at the idea of getting to see Stone .

  I waved at him and left the house. Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell he had moved the curtain aside so he could watch me as I walked and got into my car. He didn’t drop the curtain until I backed out of the driveway and shifted it into drive .

  I probably should have called Stone, but I didn’t. I didn’t even want to stop to take the time to dial my phone, I just wanted to get there and see him as soon as possible .

  When I got to his house I was tempted to pull into the driveway, but I didn’t. I parked down the street and ran towards his house. Even though I was ready to stop hiding that didn’t mean Stone would be. I had to respect that because I had no idea how my dad would react when he found out .

  He was pissed I’d went after Stretch on my own. I think he was even more pissed I had taken his money… I couldn’t then be the reason he was pissed off at Stone too .

  I stopped at the door and knocked hard. A light flicked on and I realized I was still knocking. I pulled my hand back and hoped I hadn’t woken him up. Although, truthfully, I didn’t really care if I had .

  Stone pulled open the door standing there with his sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He looked down at me and for a second I thought he was going to send me away. Instead he stepped forward and pulled me into his arms .

  “That was really fucking stupid,” he said cupping my face with his large hands. He kissed me so hard and passionately that I could actually feel exactly how he felt about me. I wasn’t just another notch. He held me as though he wasn’t ever going to let me go. “So fucking stupid. I was so worried. Don’t you dare ever do that to me again !”

  “I know… I’m sorry,” I whispered, and he looked around the neighborhood and pulled me inside, closing the door behind us .

  He pressed against the door and kissed me again. I put my hand on his chest, feeling his silky skin underneath my fingertips. But I came here to talk to him, I stepped to the side and smiled .

  “I need to talk to you,” I said crossing my arms as if to say I was closed for business until I said everything I came here to say. It wasn’t like I was saying we couldn’t do other things, I was only saying, not now .

  “Me too,” he grabbed my hand and led me to the couch. His face was serious, and I started to worry that something was wrong. “We have a problem .”

  “What is it?” I said rubbing my fingers against one another .

  “Wait, I have something for you first,” he said as he stood up and disappeared down the hallway. He came back holding a little black box. “Here .”

  “What is this?” I said turning t
he box around in my hands .

  “Open it,” he said smiling his sexy half-grin .

  I flipped open the top and revealed a shiny, silver bracelet with a tiny motorcycle charm attached. It was beautiful, and I loved it even more because it was from Stone .

  “I saw that you liked bracelets. Like the one you had on the other day,” he said pointing to my now jewelry-free bandaged wrist. If only he knew what had happened to that bracelet, actually I’m glad he didn’t know because he’d probably go after it .

  “I do… like that that is,” I said putting on the shiny new bracelet. “I love it. It’s so beautiful. Thank you, but why ?”

  “I realized something today… This is so awkward for me to say, I’m not good at this shit, but I’m fucking in love with you,” Stone said, his smile even bigger once he had said the words out loud .

  I smiled so huge my face started to hurt. I launched myself towards him and hugged him. It was amazing and I couldn’t have been happier… that was until I remembered why I had come. I looked him in the eyes .

  “But what about my dad?” I said worried that mentioning him was going to completely kill the mood. “He’ll never let this happen .”

  “I know… I think I can get him to come around to the idea. It’s going to take time, but I think I can make him see,” Stone said wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer. “We have to try to make him understand .”

  “I’m in. In fact, that’s pretty much why I came here tonight. I want to be with you. I don’t want to have to hid anymore,” I said sliding my hands around his neck. “I can’t stay away from you… and I don’t want to .”

  “You consume my every thought. You’re all I want. We’ll figure this out. We’ll make him see,” Stone whispered as he leaned in and started kissing my neck. I let my body relax as our bodies started to melt into one .

  We were together and I couldn’t have been any happier than I was in that moment. I’d found something I thought I’d never find again, and I found it in the last place I expected .

  Stone lifted me up off of the couch and smiled that sexy smile at me. I couldn’t stop smiling back as he carried me down the short hallway and straight into his bedroom .

  We’d make this work. We’d find a way to make my dad understand. We’d be together .

  Always.

  Epilogue

  S everal weeks after the whole Stretch incident, we agreed to how we would come clean to my dad about our relationship. With each passing day we only became more in love with one another .

  I was beyond nervous, but I sat my parents down at the dining room table while Stone waiting out of sight down the hallway near my dad’s office that I still worked in. My palms were sweaty, so I wiped them on my pants .

  I paced back and forth trying to find the right words. I thought they would have come easier, but with both of their eyes on me it was harder than I had expected. Or planned for .

  “Oh, Jesus Christ, Terry, she’s pregnant,” my mom blurted out and put her hand over her mouth. The odd thing was I couldn’t tell if she was upset, or happy about it. Maybe it was some strange combination of both .

  “I’m not pregnant,” I said, shaking my head and waving my hand side to side .

  “Oh,” my mom said with a puff of air as she dropped her hand back to the table .

  “I just have something I need to tell you and I’m not sure where to start exactly,” I said shoving my hands into my pockets. “OK. Umm. Here goes. You know how when you met mom, and grandpa kind of well, um, hated you a lot ?”

  My dad chuckled, “That’s putting it lightly .”

  “He wouldn’t have liked anyone,” my mom said trying to make things seem better to my dad .

  “Tell yourself that. That man still hates me with a passion,” my dad said .

  “Right. So, well ….”

  “She’s finally going to tell us,” my mom whispered to my dad, but it had been loud enough for me to hear .

  “Sorry?” I said raising my eyebrows. Had I heard her right ?

  My mom looked at my dad and then at me. She shook her head side to side, “You know who your father is right? There is no hiding things when it comes to him. You can try to hide it, you can try to sneaky around, but he knows everything that happens in this town. Not to mention I saw how you two looked at each other even back when he was in the hospital .”

  I glanced towards the hallway. They knew about me and Stone. How? When? How long? I was rendered speechless .

  “Is he in here?” my dad said in a low voice looking in the same direction I had .

  Oh shit. How much trouble were we in? They haven’t killed me yet which seemed to be a good sign so far. At least for me .

  I couldn’t say anything but I nodded. Stone had been prepared for death, the removal of his patch, having to turn in his cut, all sorts of outcomes we considered, he said he was ready .

  My mom smiled at my dad and I raised an eyebrow .

  My dad leaned forward, “If he’s just fucking around with you, I’m going to kill him, you both know that right ?”

  “Oh God, dad, no. He’s not… it’s not like that,” I said raising up my palms .

  My dad looked at my mom and took her hand into his. Then they did something I never imagined as a possible outcome. They smiled. They looked happy .

  “You love him?” my dad asked still looking at my mom .

  “I do. I really do .”

  “And he loves you?” my mom asked smiling as she stared into my dad’s eyes .

  I was about to open my mouth to answer, when Stone stepped out from out of the kitchen. He walked over to me and took my hand. Stone looked right at my dad, “I do. I love her more than life itself ."

  There was a long uncomfortable silence before my dad shoved the chair back so hard it hit the wall behind him. He stomped over to me and Stone, his face unreadable .

  Then a smile slowly grew on his face until it was so big his teeth showed, “Well then why the fuck have you been hiding it from everyone?” My dad turned back to my mom, “They’re in fucking love! This calls for a celebration !”

  “What?” I said softly .

  My mom put her hand on her heart and she smiled. She almost looked as though she could cry .

  “I don’t know why you felt the need to hide this from us,” my mom said looking as though she was already dreaming about wedding and grandkids. I wanted to tell her to slow down .

  Stone and I looked at one another and laughed. I turned to my mom, “So how long have you known ?”

  “Probably long before you even did, dear.” She stood up and snuggled under my dad’s arm. They both looked at us as though this was one of the best moments of their life. I thought it was a bit much. My mom touched Stone’s arm and looked at me, “I don’t think you could have picked a better one .”

  “Thanks for the compliment,” Stone said turning his bright blue eyes towards me. “But I’m the lucky one here. She could have anyone she wanted. I don’t know how the fuck I got so lucky .”

  I couldn’t stop smiling .

  It was going to be hard being with someone in the club and I knew that. But I knew all this going into it. I grew up with a father who often seemed to put the club first. There were lots of days and nights where my mom would be in the kitchen pacing worried about whether or not she’d ever see my dad again .

  Club life could be dangerous. But it was like a family. They club had saved me more than once and for that I was grateful. I’d never forget it and it would be easy to consider them my family .

  Before now, that world hadn’t been something I ever wanted for myself. I didn’t want to be the one pacing in the kitchen waiting to find out if my guy was ever going to walk through that door again. But I fell in love. For Stone, I’d pace for a lifetime if I had to .

  “So when is the wedding?” my dad asked wearing a huge grin .

  “Dad!” I said with huge eyes .

  Stone wrapped his arms around me
and lifted me off of the ground. He stared into my eyes, his expression completely serious, “The sooner the better .”

  There was nothing I wanted more than to be his old lady. Now and forever .

  * * *

  I t had been a little over a year since we came clean to my parents about our relationship. I sat there in our small living room, rubbing my pregnant belly. I looked around the room of the house we now shared .

  My lips curled upward as I thought about the first time I had come here. How badly I wanted to be with him but how afraid I was to admit it, even to myself. Now this was my house too and soon we would welcome our little baby into it .

  I thought back to that day we gathered in the backyard of my parent’s house with the club, our family and our friends. Stone looked so incredibly hot in his cut and jeans. I remembered how he swallowed hard when he saw me in my white wedding dress. When I walked up to him, he told me how beautiful I was and how lucky he was to have me .

  Our wedding had been small, but it was perfect for us. It was one of the best days of my entire life. And soon, in about two more months, we’d have our first child. A son .

  I couldn’t believe this was my life. It wasn’t even close to what I had imagined for myself… it was about a billion times better than I could have ever dreamed it could be .

  Stone walked in the front door and smiled at me. He kissed me as though he hadn’t seen me in days. It was passionate and I could feel everything he felt for me in just that one kiss .

  We were simply in love. And together we would love our son with everything we had and more .

  Stone kneeled down between my knees and rested his head on my belly. I twirled my fingers into his hair while he kissed and whispered wonderful things to our son .

  Our son kicked and did summersaults. It seemed he was just as excited to meet us as we were to meet him. And neither Stone nor I could wait to be a family .

  T he end.