I kept thinking how crazy it was that your life could change in a matter of seconds, but I had to admit that as insane as it was, I wouldn’t change it for anything.
*
Wendy
“Why are the bells purple?”
Adley peeled off into a fit of giggles.
I smiled innocently at Carnie. “Huh?”
Carnie rolled her eyes and took the piping bag away from me. “I don’t know why Mom thought it was a good idea to put you in charge of decorating.”
I didn’t know why she thought it was a good idea either. “Your guess is as good as mine, Carn.”
Adley and I were having a blast icing the cutouts crazy colors, but Carnie didn’t really appreciate it.
“How am I supposed to take pictures of these and put them on the blog?” she scoffed.
I grabbed the offending purple bell and bit into it. “Problem solve,” I muttered around the mouthful of delicious, buttery cookie.
“Hey,” Adley protested. “I want one.”
Mom brought over another batch of cookie that needed icing and set them next to me. She reached up and wiped a smudge of icing from the corner of Adley’s mouth. “I’m pretty sure you’re doing a good job at taste testing, honey.”
We worked two more hours on cookies, ‘til the ovens were empty and the counters were overflowing with every kind of cookie you could imagine.
Adley was camped out on the couch watching some movie with dancing and singing kids.
“I wish they had shows like those when we were her age.” Carnie walked into the kitchen and plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs.
“We had High School Musical,” I pointed out.
Carnie curled her lip. “The only good thing about the movie was the fact Zac Efron was in it.”
I grabbed the just washed pan Mom dropped into the sink and dried it. “That’s a valid point.”
“Who?” Elle asked. She was sitting on the other side of the table with her feet kicked up on a chair and a coffee cup clutched in her hand. She looked like your typical aunt type, but I knew that she had more than coffee in her cup. I had lost track of how many times I had watched her and Mom splash RumChata into their cups.
Carnie pulled out her phone and searched for a picture of Zac Efron. She held the phone up to Elle. “This is Zac Efron.”
“You could have just asked me to show her.” I smiled and popped a piece of puppy chow into my mouth. “I have a few saved to my phone.”
“Does Slayer know that?” Carnie asked.
I rolled my eyes. “Pretty sure that has nothing to do with him.”
Mom hushed us and peeked her head into the living room. “Adley?” she called.
“She’s sleeping,” Carnie replied.
“Perfect,” Mom sighed.
She pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. “Now we can talk about you without her ears hearing.”
“Talk about me?” I laughed. “I didn’t know I was a topic of interest.”
“Spill it,” Carnie ordered. “Everyone at the clubhouse wants to know what the hell is going on with you and Slayer. I have strict instructions to not return until I have answers.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed another handful of puppy chow. “I think you guys need to get a hobby or something.”
“Normally, I would tell your sister to knock it off, but even I want to know just what is going on with you and the new dad.”
“Mom,” I whined.
Elle grabbed the bowl of puppy chow and hugged it to her chest. “Spill or you don’t get anymore.”
“That’s playing dirty,” I mumbled. They all knew that puppy chow was my favorite.
“Spill it,” Carnie repeated.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have anything to spill.”
“Right,” Elle drawled. “You’ve always had a hottie kissing you goodbye. No news there.”
“Hottie?” I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “Slayer is not a hottie.”
Mom reached over and pressed her hand to my forehead. “She doesn’t have a fever but she’s talking crazy.”
Hottie was not the word I would use to describe Slayer. Sexy was more like it.
Totally kissable worked, too.
“Look, just tell us what is going on with Slayer.” Carnie leaned forward. “If you don’t and I come back to the clubhouse with no news, Alice is going to flip her shit.”
“I…there…” I sighed and hung my head. “I don’t know what is going on with Slayer and me. I’m here to help take care of Adley.”
“You need to kiss Slayer to properly take care of Adley?” Carnie snickered.
Elle fist-bumped her. “More like she’s taking care of Adley while she also takes care of Slayer.”
I hadn’t even hesitated when I kissed Slayer this morning. It came so naturally to me now that I didn’t even realize when I did it.
“Unbury your head from the sand, Wendy. There is something going on with you and that man, and it's more than being his daughter’s babysitter.” Mom grabbed the bowl of puppy chow from Elle and set it in front of me. “Eat up and talk.”
“Start from the beginning,” Elle ordered.
I grabbed a handful and sighed. “You mean the beginning where we hated each other?”
That seemed like a lifetime ago.
“What changed?” Mom asked.
“Uh.” What had changed? Everything happened so fast that I never really had a chance to sit back and think about it. “Well, Adley showed up, and we moved here and then…”
“And then you were kissing,” Carnie laughed.
“Well, yeah.” But it felt like there was more than that. Moving out of the clubhouse made me see Slayer in a different light. He was more than just some guy in a motorcycle club.
He was a dad. He was kind and compassionate. There was just more to him that I would have never seen if Adley never would have come into his life.
“Wendy,” Mom called.
I grabbed a cookie and nibbled on it. This conversation was making me eat everything in sight. “Yeah?”
“This is where I have to be your mother.”
I tipped my head to the side and laughed. “Okay.”
“What are you normally?” Elle chuckled.
Mom slid her finger over her lips. “Zip it, Elle. You were the one who brought this up on the drive over here.”
Elle held her hands up. “Okay, okay. I just probably would have said it a hell of a lot better than you would have. But carry on.” Elle held up her cup in a cheers motion. “Why don’t you tell her I’m her aunt and that’s her sister.”
Mom shook her head and flipped Elle off. “I don’t know why I brought your cranky ass with me.”
Elle smiled broadly. “Because you love me. That’s me being your sister.”
Mom mumbled under her breath, and Carnie giggled. “I missed this,” she wheezed.
“Silence!” Mom bellowed.
Elle clicked her tongue. “That was brilliant, Agnes. Wake up the kid so we can try to have this awkward as hell conversation in front of her.”
These were the times that I was okay with not living in Pines Peak anymore. “Mom,” I said. “Just say whatever you have to say.”
Mom huffed and folded her arms over her chest. “Now I’m all flustered and nothing is going to come out the way I want it to.”
Elle snickered. “Ain’t any different from when you normally open your mouth.”
Carnie stifled her laugh and rested her hand on Elle’s arm. “Ellie,” she scolded.
“Fine, fine!” Elle folded her arms over her chest and clamped her lips shut.
Mom glared at her for a few seconds to see if she was actually going to keep her mouth shut.
I looked from Mom to Elle and waited.
Mom sighed. “Okay. I just want to tell you that all I want is for you to be happy. That’s all I want for you and your sister.” That was it? “But I just want you to know what you’re walking into.”
<
br /> “Uh, okay?”
Mom rested her hand on my arm. “This is all new, Wendy. And I’m not talking about you and Slayer. I mean Slayer and Adley. It’s all rainbows and sunshine right now because they’re getting used to each other.”
“I know, Mom.” I wasn’t stupid.
“Wendy. Just listen to what I have to say, okay?”
I nodded, and she continued on.
“You’re walking into a ready-made family that was just made.”
Elle slapped her hand over her face. “Sweet Jesus, please bless this woman with the ability to say something that makes sense.”
Carnie chuckled but didn’t say anything.
Mom closed her eyes. “I’m saying this is new.” She opened her eyes and motioned around. “This house is new. Slayer having a daughter is new. Your feelings for Slayer are new. Everything is new and as much as I hope it stays this way, things will change. Slayer and Adley won’t always get along. There are going to be arguments. Attitude and sass on a whole new level as she gets older. Things will get hard, and I just want you to understand that before you get on this ride with Adley and Slayer.” She grabbed my hand. “I know that you love deep and you always want to help however you can, but I want you to know that Adley is not your responsibility. Slayer does not have a choice when it comes to her, but you do.”
“Mom,” Carnie gasped.
“That was better, but you came across as super bitchy.” Elle sat forward. “You think I can butt in and try to make this better?”
Mom sighed and nodded. “Yes, because when you explained it in the car, it did not come across as bitchy. It sounded so much better in my head before I opened my mouth.”
Mom held onto my hand, and Elle grabbed the other.
“Choosing to be a stepmom or stepparent is one of the most selfless things a person can do.” Elle squeezed my hand. “Slayer doesn’t get a choice on loving Adley and being her dad. You, you have that choice. You have the choice to be her mom. That’s why the love of a stepparent is so powerful because it’s a choice and not an obligation.”
“That is what I was trying to say.” Mom pointed at Elle.
Elle rolled her eyes and continued on, “I personally believe after seeing you today with Slayer and Adley that this conversation didn’t need to happen.”
“Shut. Up!” Mom yelled. “Couldn’t you have pulled your ear or winked or something to tell me to shut up when I started this conversation? You were the one who kept telling me that I needed to say something.”
“Whoa,” Carnie gasped. “I haven’t seen the vein in your forehead pulse like that since I drove the Camry into the lake.”
Mom slapped her hand over her forehead and silently fumed.
“Look,” I finally said. “I like where things are going with Slayer. I love the relationship I’m creating with Adley. No one has a crystal ball and can predict what is going to happen. Hell,” I laughed. “If we had that, Carnie never would have hooked up with Bobby and we wouldn’t be sitting here today. Carnie wouldn’t be shacking up with Freak, and I wouldn’t be sitting here having this ridiculous conversation with you two.”
Elle nodded. “I know she’s your daughter, Agnes, but she got her smarts from me.”
Carnie sputtered with laughter, and I dropped my chin to my chest. These two were absolutely crazy.
Mom and Elle barked back and forth at each other while Carnie pulled her phone out to try and take pictures of all of the cookies and treats we had made today.
“You guys are loud.”
I gasped and twisted to see Adley standing behind me. She wiped her eyes with her hand and yawned.
“You,” I gasped. “I am completely serious about tying a bell to you and your dad.”
Adley moved next to me and leaned into me. I draped my arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. “Did you sleep good?”
She nodded. “Yeah, at least until Carnie’s laughing woke me up.”
I chuckled and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “Welcome to the craziness of the Wilkes annual cookie baking party, Adley. You’re officially part of the family now.”
“Wilkes and Pressner annual cookie baking party,” Adley corrected.
I hugged her close and sighed. She was exactly right.
*
Chapter Fifteen
Slayer
“What the hell are you smiling about?” Clash asked
I turned my phone to Clash and Freak. “That.”
Carnie had just sent me a picture of Adley and Wendy. Except it looked like they had no clue Carnie had taken the picture, and that’s what made me smile.
They weren’t posing. Trying to look happy for the camera.
Wendy had her arm around Adley’s shoulders, and they both had their heads turned toward each other and were smiling. I would have loved to have known what was said to make them look so happy.
Freak nodded. “Nice, brother. Not only did you manage to get a pretty cool kid, but you managed to snag the perfect woman for you.”
I looked at the picture again. He was right about Adley. I was damn lucky. Wendy, I wasn’t sure about.
She was perfect with Adley, and God knew I loved kissing her, but I was worried that she could eventually leave. She didn’t have to stay with us. Hell, we haven't even talked about what was going to happen after the New Year. Initially, Wendy had said she would only stay through the holidays.
Christmas was only five days away, and before we knew it, it was going to be January.
“Church!” Wrecker bellowed.
I shoved my phone in my pocket. I was going to have to worry about Wendy and what we were doing later.
“You ever wonder what Wrecker would have done for a living if he wasn’t part of the Fallen Lords?” Freak asked.
I sat down next to Maniac, and Freak sat on the other side of me.
“Warden,” Maniac replied.
“Really?” I chuckled. I watched Wrecker stand in the corner quietly talking to Mykel Oakley.
“Yup. That's basically what he does now. He’s in charge, and we’re inmates that he keeps in line.”
I chuckled and couldn’t argue with that logic.
“I can see that,” Freak agreed.
Pipe was the last one to walk in, and he shut the door behind him.
Wrecker moved to the head of the table, and Oakley stood next to him.
“If only my guys came this quickly when I called,” Oakley marveled.
Wrecker grabbed the wooden gavel and handed it to Oakley. “Use that next time you need their attention.”
Oakley tested the weight of the gavel in his hand. “You really think pounding a gavel is going to get their attention?”
Wrecker shook his head. “It won’t until you start pounding heads with it.”
A slick smile spread across Oakley’s mouth. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
Wrecker grabbed the gavel from him and slammed it down on the table. He tossed it onto the table and scowled at each of us.
“I gotta start scowling more, too,” Oakley muttered.
“It’s key,” Nickel piped in.
Wrecker turned his scowl on Pipe.
“See,” Pipe whispered. “Shut me right up.”
“Did it?” Wrecker growled.
Oakley pressed his lips together and looked up at the ceiling.
“You think we can get down to the shit or is this funny hour for you?”
Pipe held up his hands. “Continue, bossman.”
Wrecker growled and pulled out his chair for Oakley to sit in. Then, Wrecker moved behind his chair and leaned against the wall. “This is out of my hands. I’ve exhausted every possible connection I have.”
Oakley steepled his hands in front of him. “I have not,” he hissed.
“From here on out, we’ll be taking point from Oakley.” Wrecker folded his arms over his chest. “Anyone have a problem with that?”
If that was the way we were going to find Brinks, then none of u
s had a problem with it.
“Jenkins has Brinks.” Oakley’s words settled heavily over the room.
“Then what in the hell are we doing just sitting here?” Boink growled.
Oakley sat back in his chair. “We’re sitting here because right now, we can’t get to him.”
“Then let’s find a fucking way to get to him,” Nickel interrupted.
Oakley glanced behind him at Wrecker. “Your club’s loyalty to each other is something I have never seen matched.”
“We’re family,” Wrecker replied simply. “We die for each other.”
Oakley nodded. “That’s good to know because I have a feeling before this is all over, there will be many casualties.”
*
Chapter Sixteen
Wendy
“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.”
I looked up from the tray of cookies in front of me. “Uh, yup.”
“Can we go shopping?” Adley asked.
I grimaced and grabbed a yellow and green frosted Santa Claus cutout. Carnie had left me with all of the odd colored cookies and took the ones that actually looked normal. “Uh, really?”
She had just said it. It was the day before Christmas Eve. The stores were going to be insane.
“The mall?” Adley suggested.
Oh, God. That was going to be even worse.
“What exactly are we going shopping for?” I asked.
“I don’t have a present for you or Dad.”
Oh. Oh. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of going to the mall.
“I’ll go tell Dad that we’re going to the mall.” Adley dashed up the stairs before I could even form a good excuse as to why we couldn’t go.
Five minutes later, Adley and Slayer walked down the stairs looking mighty smug.
“We’re going shopping.” Adley grabbed her boots from the front door and slipped them on. “Dad said there were a couple of things he needed to get.”
I pursed my lips. “Oh, really?”
Slayer grabbed my cup of coffee and took a sip. He sputtered and cringed. “I forgot you drink coffee like a girl.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grabbed a cup from the cupboard. “Get dressed, sugar. Let’s try to beat the crowds.”
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