I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from chuckling. I imagined Ally kept her parents on their toes. Listening to her gave me some idea of what I would be faced with when I started teaching at the elementary school.
“Well, I’m sure your momma will do the best she can to give you a sister, but sometimes little boys show up in spite of it all.”
“I think my daddy wants a boy.”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m sure he will be happy no matter if it is a boy or a girl.”
“I don’t think so. I heard him tell my uncles our house needs more tetesron. What’s that mean?” Ally wrinkled her nose as she asked, and I had to work hard not to smile. No way did I want the little girl to think I was laughing at her.
“Well... Um... I think he meant that if your momma has a boy, then it would even the numbers in your home. You know, two boys and two girls?” I explained and watched her eyebrows scrunch together, making me wonder if she understood.
“‘K, but I think it’s ‘cause boys pee standing up.”
Out of the mouth of babes. Maybe I wasn’t going to be a good teacher because the chuckle escaped me at her words and, by the serious look on her face, she didn’t think it was humorous.
“Sorry, sweetie, I didn’t mean to laugh. But why would you think that?”
“‘Cause Benji says boys are better than girls ‘cause they gotsa penis and can pee standing up.”
I had no clue who Benji was, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. However, I hoped he wasn’t going to be in my class.
Before I could dig a deeper hole by asking who Benji was, I was saved by the sound of a vehicle coming up the street. Ally and I both turned and watched as the truck pulled into Sue’s driveway.
“Crap,” Ally muttered, and I looked down at her. When she looked up at me, she grinned sheepishly.
“Ally! Does Sue know you’re out here?” Ally’s dad asked as he slid out of the driver’s side of the truck and walked around to the other side, opened the door, and helped Sami out. I’d met Sami and Carly briefly when they came by the house because Sami wanted to apologize for not being the one to drop the house keys and paperwork off to me.
“Gotsta go!” Ally yelled and started across the yard, then stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. “If yous want a baby, I gotta lot of uncles who could give yous one!”
“Um... Well... I’ll have to think about that,” I said and smiled. Ally smiled back, then took off at a run.
“Am I gettin’ a sister?!” Ally yelled as she continued across the lawn toward her parents.
When she reached her dad, he swooped her up until she sat on his shoulders. Ally’s laughter filled the air as I watched the interaction with the family. Sami smiled at Ally, then glanced over to me and said something to Ally that I couldn’t hear.
Feeling like an interloper on their private moment, I stuck my key into the lock on my car door and pulled it open. Before I could get into the driver’s side, Sami’s voice stopped me.
“River, good to see you. How’s everything going? Are you finally settled in?” Sami asked as I glanced up.
“Good to see you, too. Yes, I finally have everything unpacked and put away,” I answered as Sami reached my car.
Sami rubbed a hand over her stomach, and I followed the motion. Sadness tried to push through, but I refused to let it. Not having a child with Thomas had only been one bleep in the issues of our marriage. I had wanted something to love that would love me back, and he needed an heir to forward his career. Neither of us got what we wanted, which was probably for the best since the reasons for wanting a child weren’t the right ones. But even that knowledge hadn’t helped as each month passed and I received the negative result. I felt more inadequate as a woman, and he grew more bitter, more hateful, and placed the blame on me. But his final betrayal and the knowledge of it left me empty and was the last straw to break a marriage that probably shouldn’t have taken place in the first place. Sami spoke, and it pulled me out of those spiraling thoughts.
“That’s great. I hope Ally wasn’t bothering you?” The way Sami’s eyes lit when she mentioned her daughter showed the love for the little girl. It was also sad that I couldn’t remember seeing anything remotely close to that look in my own mother’s eyes.
Yeah, one more item for me to analyze later when I was alone.
“Not at all. She is so cute and funny. I bet she’s a handful. How old is she?”
“Five, going on twenty.” Sami laughed. “And you are being kind. The girl is nosey, and she doesn’t understand boundaries. Nor does she have any type of filter on what comes out of her mouth.”
“You don’t find many her age who do. Will she be in kindergarten this year?” I asked. Small talk I could do, it was the whole making of new friends that was foreign to me. One more thing to change.
“Yes. She recently finished preschool and is out for the summer. But she is looking forward to being in real school as she calls it.” Sami rolled her eyes, and I chuckled.
“Well, I’m glad she is looking forward to it. It will make my job a lot easier. That is if she is in my class. I’m the new kindergarten teacher at Shades Valley Elementary. I’m replacing Mrs. Staples who retired at the end of this school year. At least that was what I was told when they hired me.” I smiled, and Sami nodded.
“Yes, when we received the letter about pre-registration for Ally, it mentioned her retirement along with the hiring of her replacement. They didn’t give a name, though. So, congratulations.”
“Thank you. I’m looking forward to finally using my teaching degree.”
“I’m surprised you would move from the east coast to the west coast for a teaching position. Were there not any openings at schools in your area in Connecticut? That’s where you are from, right? I can’t imagine moving across the country. You must have—” Sami abruptly stopped mid-sentence, then grinned sheepishly as her daughter had previously done. “God, River, I’m so sorry. Feel free to ignore everything I said. Seems my daughter comes by her nosiness honestly. Either that or this baby is draining my brain cells from the part of my brain that controls manners and my mouth.” Sami grinned, rubbed her stomach once more, and shook her head.
“You’re fine. I didn’t take it like that. But to answer, I just needed a change in scenery.” The more we talked, the more relaxed I became. Everyone I’d met and spoken with since I moved to town had been friendly. With the exception of one, which I refused to focus on.
“It’s so nice getting to talk with you more, River. The time Carly and I stopped by, I was still fighting morning sickness. Thankfully that seems to be over.”
“Glad you’re feeling better. Do you know what you’re having?”
“Ah, see, now I know Ally talked your ears off. She has been relentless on having a sister. But she isn’t getting her wish. I had a sonogram this morning at Dr. Minton’s office, and the baby was more than cooperative, so definitely having a boy.”
“Congrats to you and Kane!”
Sami nodded. “Thanks. Though I wouldn’t have cared either way, it would have made it convenient since I have all the baby girl things from Ally.” Sami smiled. “With the cost of baby items, it would have been nice not to have to purchase everything over again. However, with this one, I won’t have to fight about clothing when he gets older. I never got to have the mother’s experience of dressing her daughter in all the cute girly things. Once Ally turned old enough to complain, it wasn’t worth the fight. I couldn’t get the girl in a dress. Now it’s jeans, biker boots, and t-shirts. Kane, on the other hand, will buy everything in sight for a boy and do it without complaint. Don’t get me wrong, he would be just as happy to be getting another daughter. He was more worried that with another girl he wouldn’t have any hair left.” Sami chuckled.
“So, it isn’t because boys can pee standing up?” I asked teasingly, then laughed when Sami’s eyes went wide.
“Oh my God, that girl. I don’t know what I’m going to do with her. I’m going to go ahe
ad and apologize right now for anything else she said.”
“No worries, we’ll call it even if you tell me the kid named Benji is older and there isn’t any chance he’ll be in my class, too.” I lifted a brow, and Sami laughed in earnest.
“Oh, River, I should go ahead and set up monthly or weekly visits with you,” Sami said and continued to laugh.
“Hmm...and I was looking so forward to teaching. I’m beginning to think I may have bitten off more than I can chew.” I chuckled along with Sami. I couldn’t remember ever talking with someone so easily. I had a feeling it was Sami. She was sweet and made it easy to relax around her.
“Better yet, I’ll send Kane and his brothers to the meetings since it’s their fault Ally is like she is. They spoil her unashamedly. But in their defense, she has them wrapped around her fingers and takes full advantage of the fact that not one of them can say no to her.”
“Hey, at least your life isn’t boring, right?”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Sami answered as the sound of another vehicle had us both turning. We watched together as it pulled to the curb in front of Sue’s house.
When the driver’s door opened, a dark-haired man with a goatee got out, then leaned into the backseat. As he stood from inside the car, he held a little girl with hair a few shades lighter than his. We continued to watch as the small child said something that made the man smile, then he placed his large hand over her face and rubbed down. The little girl laughed, leaned in, and blew a raspberry on his cheek, which had the man making gagging noises, and the little girl laughing harder.
“He is so good with her. He’s going to make a terrific dad.” When I glanced at Sami, I must have had a questioning look on my face because she chuckled and explained, “That’s Devil, and the little girl is Neely, his sister.”
“Oh, Ally mentioned Neely,” I said, and left out the rest Ally had shared with me.
“Yes, Ally and Neely hit it off right from the start when Devil brought her home.” I wanted to ask Sami more, but it wasn’t my place. Whatever happened to bring the siblings together wasn’t as important as how happy they looked with each other.
“Hey, hot momma, your old man in the house? You know I’ve got to congratulate him on creating a baby with a stem,” the man said as he walked toward us. His eyes gleamed with mischief and, between that and the smirk he wore, I didn’t need an explanation on why he was called Devil.
“You’re an as...butt, Dev.”
“Nice catch, Sami. And yep, Bailey tells me frequently.”
Sami snorted. “Kane’s checking to make sure Sue doesn’t mind watching Ally a little longer while we all go out to lunch,” Sami said and rolled her eyes before she looked at me. “River, this is Lance “Devil” Cummings, and the sweetheart in his arms is Neely. Dev, this is River Ramey.”
“Hey, River, nice to finally meet you. I’ve seen you around town and leaving the yoga place a couple times, but never got the chance to introduce myself,” he said, looked me over, and then when his eyes met mine, a slow smile spread across his face.
“Nice to meet you, too. And you, Neely,” I added, and the little girl smiled and laid her head on Devil’s shoulder. For some reason his perusal made me feel as if he knew something I didn’t.
“I would love to stand outside and talk to two beautiful women, but this one is ready for a nap,” he said and ran his hand over Neely’s hair. “Ready to go see Sue and Ally, squirt?” Once Neely nodded, Devil turned to Sami. “Luna and Ghost going to join us or are they heading back to Black Hawk?”
“They’ll meet us there. They were swinging by the Harley store first. Luna was complaining she needed a few things because some of her clothes were getting a little snug,” Sami said, then turned to me. “I forgot you already know Luna and Ghost. You’ve met Jag, too, right? Plus, you know Carly and me, and now Dev. So you’ve got a good start on meeting some of the club. Why don’t you join us for lunch and you’ll get a chance to officially meet Kane and a few others from the club? And there are always quite a few locals who come through for lunch.”
“While you ladies work on a plan, I’m going to take Neely in the house before she goes completely out. See you soon, River,” Devil said, winked, then turned toward Sue’s before I could answer.
“Hold up, Dev, I’ll walk with you,” Sami said, and Devil stopped. “What do you say, River, join us for lunch? Perry, the cook at Soft Tails, makes the best fried chicken in town and you can’t beat his burger and fries either. Unless you don’t like fresh and prefer the processed stuff the clown tries to push off as beef.”
“You’re having lunch at a strip club?” I flinched as the question came out of my mouth before I could pull it back. And I was appalled more than surprised that my tone of voice sounded like my mother’s.
As I worked on an apology, Devil’s laughter stopped me and when Sami spoke her lips twitched, “Yes, Soft Tails is a strip club and now a bar. Recently the club renovated the front to just a bar with food. The strip club will be in the back once they get the addition finished. Since the girls are waiting for the new place to open, a few are filling in as waitresses in the bar. And the others took time off to go on vacation or visit family and friends.”
“Sorry, it caught me off guard, and I really didn’t mean to sound like a prude.”
“Never been in a strip club, huh?” Devil asked with humor in his voice. It was hard not to feel relaxed around him between how he treated his sister and his easygoing, flirty personality. Enough so, I dropped some of the protective shield I had built over the years.
“Not since I stopped dancing to become a kindergarten teacher,” I said, and there was a moment of silence while Devil blankly looked at me until Sami started to chuckle.
“I wish I had gotten a pic of your face, Dev. Thank you, River, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him speechless.”
“Well, shit,” Devil said and grinned.
“Well shits,” Neely repeated, and both Sami and I cocked a brow at Devil.
“Shush, don’t repeat that, okay?” Devil’s reprimand had Neely snuggling her face more into his neck. With his free hand, he rubbed over her hair and down until it rested on her back and he patted. “You want us to get in trouble if Bailey hears you say that?” Neely shook her head, then Devil said, “That’s right, little sis, we got each other’s back.”
I wondered if there was anyone who dared to tell the big bikers that they evidently turned into softies with the little girls in their lives.
“No,” Sami said and laughed.
“Oh damn...um, did I say that out loud?” It seemed I was more relaxed around these people than I first thought.
“Oh damns.” When the words left Neely mouth, I palmed my face.
Devil chuckled. “Uh yeah, now you have to come to lunch. You’ll need to explain to Bailey that you’re to blame when that gets repeated in the house.”
“What? Neely agreed not to repeat what you said. You won’t say that naughty word, will you, sweetie?” Neely’s face turned to me, and she blinked sleepily, then her lips curved up. In that second, there was the resemblance to her brother that I hadn’t noticed before.
“Hey, you can’t horn in on my deal. Besides, you need to meet Bailey anyway. Not to mention, I could use the entertainment.” Sami smacked Devil’s arm, and he grinned down at her. “What?”
“Behave,” was Sami’s reply to Devil. And once again, I felt as if I missed something between the two.
“Geez, pregnancy is making you a little mean, Sami. Hope that isn’t what I’ve got to look forward to with Bay.” Dev cringed, and I laughed when Sami rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“I was on my way out to run a couple errands, so I guess I could meet you there. Is that alright?” If I was going to live here and be a part of the community, I needed to make an effort.
“That’s great. You know where the club is, right?” I nodded, and then Sami said, “Will twelve work for you?”
I looked at my watch.
“Yes, that will be perfect.”
“Okay, see you then,” Sami said and linked her arm with Devil’s, and they headed toward Sue’s house while I got in my car, backed out of my driveway, and drove down the street.
I knew the men and women were part of Black Hawk MC. My dad had told me about the local motorcycle club when I had decided to make the move. He’d even mentioned the house Sami had for sale when I told him I had no plans to live with him. Thankfully, he hadn’t argued with me because I would have given in to keep the peace just like I’d done my whole life with my mother. Instead, my dad had done what he always had over the years; listened without judgment and supported my decisions even if he hadn’t agreed with them. He had been and continued to be the one person in my life to love me unconditionally.
The parking lot at the post office only held a few cars as I pulled in and parked. I grinned as I got out of the car and thought of what my dad would say when I told him I was going to a strip club to meet some of the bikers and their women. Then, I frowned because my thoughts changed to the rude one I’d already encountered more than once. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be there.
I walked in and surveyed the lobby, then stepped behind an elderly woman who already stood at the counter. As I waited, I made the decision I wasn’t going to let one person keep me from meeting a good group of people, no matter how attractive he was or the way he smelled each time I was around him—all man. A real man, not the expensive cologne wearing type whose hands were softer than a baby’s bottom. His definitely weren’t. They were large, and the day he ran into me at Yoga Sensual, I felt the roughness when he accidentally touched me as he helped to pick the things up that fell out of my bag...and if I closed my eyes, I knew I would feel them on my skin as they traveled over my body. No doubt the man had plenty of experience with women, and I wondered what it would be like to have the undivided attention on my body from a man like that.
Jag (Black Hawk MC Book 5) Page 3