by Parker, Ali
“Thank you for breakfast,” I said as I bit into my piece of extra crispy bacon. Just how I liked it.
Caleb grinned. “Anything for you and Jayden. It’s a big day. He’s meeting the whole clan.”
“I know. I’m still nervous. I know it’s silly, but I can’t help it.”
“He’ll love it. There will be a bunch of kids there. Axel and Jax both have kids. Axel’s oldest daughter is probably close to around Jayden’s age. I bet they’ll hit it off.”
“I hope so.”
“Lauryn,” Caleb leaned forward and rested his hand over mine. “Everything will be just fine. Trust me.”
I nodded. He was right. I was worrying over nothing. I’d faced much more difficult things than bringing my son to a family-friendly house party. I’d been in an abusive relationship, raised my son alone, and survived a brutal attack in an alley from a gang member who wanted to kill my boyfriend.
I could handle this. It was just another change was all, and there had been a lot of those lately.
Jayden and I had moved into Caleb’s apartment two weeks ago. He didn’t like that my son and I lived alone in such a seedy part of the city, so he’d offered up his place to us. It was a two-bedroom apartment, and we would have to find something with a bit more space sooner rather than later, but for now, it did the trick. Caleb had been using the second bedroom for storage, and he moved everything into a storage locker and painted it with a fresh bright green for Jayden.
He’d helped us move all our stuff and as soon as everything was unpacked, I felt at home in the apartment. Probably because that’s all that Caleb wanted.
We spent most of our nights inside, cozied up under blankets on the sofa watching movies while the gas fireplace burned. On weekends, Jayden would stay up with us and fall asleep with his head in either mine or Caleb’s lap. On weeknights, he was in bed by eight, and Caleb and I had time to ourselves.
My life had never been better.
I had stopped dancing and was looking for a new job that I could do during the day when Jayden was in school. Ever since the whole mess with Isaac in the alley, I hadn’t wanted to go back to the club. I hadn’t wanted to go back to that scene at all. I’d given all my dancing clothes to Sadie, Milly, and Cassidy. They had loudly complained when the bag of goods I gave them did not contain my sparkly stockings. Those I had kept. Caleb said he liked them, and I adored them, so they were neatly folded up in my panty drawer for future use.
I’d applied for a few jobs. Nothing made me all that excited, and Caleb told me not to worry too much about it. The Lost Breed MC supported their own, and I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do anymore.
It was strange having someone who looked out for me so fiercely.
Strange but wonderful.
After years of wandering around lost, I had finally found my home.
***
The skating rink was the highlight of the day for all of us. Jayden only fell once, and Caleb made it easy for him to skate it off. He learned how to stop and how best to use his skates to get forward momentum. I lingered by the boards in my women’s skates for as long as I could before Caleb came and grabbed my hand and pulled me out into the middle of the ice with them.
I hadn’t laughed so hard before.
When we were done, my feet sang my praises as the skates came off. We put our shoes back on and headed out to the car to get lunch. We sipped hot coffees and ate paninis at a cute bakery not far from Caleb’s apartment and, when we were good and full, went home to get ready for dinner.
I prepared a homemade macaroni dish that Caleb drooled over once it was done. I slapped his hand away when he tried to steal a piece and then wrapped it up in tinfoil. “You can’t eat it. Wait until the party.”
Caleb whined and sulked. Jayden laughed at him.
Then, before we knew it, it was time to go.
We piled into the car and headed to Axel’s house. The property was sprawling and beautifully landscaped. His driveway curved upward to his house, which was all one level and boasted floor to ceiling pristine windows. It very modern and not at all what I expected from a Lost Breed member.
Everyone else was already there when we arrived, so we parked at the bottom of the driveway. I held Jayden’s hand as we walked up to the front door. I stopped to knock, but Caleb walked right in.
“Hello?” he called. I lingered on the threshold with Jayden. Caleb looked back at us and offered me his hand. He pulled me gently into the house, and I peered around, admiring the modern architecture and clean lines of the place.
It was absolutely beautiful.
Ellie hurried over from the living room to greet us. Everyone else was there, milling around with drinks in their hands, and they waved at us as we shrugged out of our coats. Ellie hung them up in the closet behind the front door and then bent down to say hello to Jayden, who was hiding behind my legs.
“Hey there, you must be Jayden. Your friend, Jamie, told me all about you. She’s excited to see you,” Ellie said cheerfully.
Jayden looked up at me. “Jamie is here?”
I nodded. “Yep, come on. Let’s go in and say hi.”
Ellie gave Caleb a hug and patted his cheek. “You look good.”
He winked at her. “Thanks.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant. Your bruises are gone. You look like yourself.”
“Oh,” Caleb said.
I snickered at him as we walked into the living room.
We were greeted by everyone with loud hellos and waves, and I smiled brightly back. Ellie walked over to Jamie taking Jayden with her. She immediately dropped to a crouch and started talking to Jayden, which put him at ease. Then, she called over a little blond-haired, blue-eyed girl. “This is Hannah.”
Hannah clasped her hands behind her back and swayed her shoulders back and forth. She was very shy, but she smiled. “Hi.”
Jamie introduced Jayden to her. “Hannah, this is Jayden. You guys will probably see a lot of each other from now on.”
“Hi,” Jayden said.
I looked up at Caleb, who was grinning from ear to ear. He poked Hannah in the shoulder. “You should show him your playroom.”
Hannah blinked up at Caleb.
He nodded at her. “Go ahead. The adults are going to be boring and just talking for a while. Go play.”
Hannah’s shyness disappeared. She grabbed Jayden’s hand and pulled him along behind her down the hall and through an open doorway.
“She has a playroom?” I asked.
Jamie stood back up and nodded. “It’s amazing. Axel spared no expense. Come on. Let me get you a drink. Wine? Champagne? Beer?”
“So many options,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ears.
Jamie ended up pouring us each a glass of champagne, and she passed a beer to Caleb. Then, the three of us joined the others in the living room. Everyone made comments about how good Caleb looked, and he joked around with them about how he’d always been handsome. I’d never seen him in such high spirits before, which I said to Derek when I found myself standing alone with him toward the end of the night. The kids had all gone to bed in Hannah’s bedroom. Axel and Ellie had set up mattresses for everyone. It was well past midnight, and Derek nodded at Caleb as he joked around with Dani and Ryder.
“I’ve never seen him like this either,” he said. Then he tapped his beer can against my champagne glass in a toast. “Good work, Lauryn.”
“Sorry?”
He grinned at me. “This is all you. Caleb’s a pretty serious dude. Never cracks a smile or tells a joke unless he’s really happy. Now look at the bastard. Happy as a little clam.”
I felt a smile tugging at my cheeks.
I was just as happy, and looking around the room at my new family made me feel like there was a warm light glowing in my chest. These people were everything I had been looking for all these years, and they had welcomed me and my son with open arms.
“Are you crying?” Derek asked, so
unding appalled.
I laughed and dabbed at my eyes, and I nodded. “Yes.”
“Get your shit together, woman. This is a party!”
I took a sip of champagne and smiled up at him. “Damn straight, it is.”
The End
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About the Author
Ali Parker is a full-time contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and twenty books behind her. She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little creepy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.
She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.
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The Parker’s Wicked Playground
Caleb
Lost Breed MC Series Book 6
Copyright © 2018 by Ali & Weston Parker
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
First Edition.
Editor: Mary Wolney
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