by Blair Grey
But the sleep was a welcome break from it all.
I was surprised the next morning to find Aaron up and showered before I came out of my room. I had assumed he’d be the kind of person who would sleep long into the morning or even into the early afternoon himself, and I wasn’t quite sure how to take it.
Already, I’d prepared to keep Sabrina in the spare room, keeping her happy and quiet as much as possible so he could get some sleep. Alcoholic or not, this was still his house, and I didn’t want him to feel like we were invading any more than we already were.
Hell, until I had his name as my own, I and my daughter were both on borrowed time.
“Good morning,” I said with a smile as we came out.
“Morning,” he replied. “You hungry?”
I looked at him in surprise. “Yeah.”
“I thought we’d go to that diner on the edge of town. It belongs to one of my buddies, Zach Painter. He makes damn good breakfast,” Aaron said.
Once again, I was surprised. This wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be, but I didn’t have any reason not to go with him. Hell, he knew I didn’t have any money, and I knew he didn’t have any food in the house. I had planned on eating the leftover pizza, but if he was going to take me out for real breakfast food, then I was more than happy.
“Sure,” I said with a smile. “Let me get Sabrina in something to go out in and we can go.”
He nodded and I hurried back to the bedroom, slipping her into a light jacket and shoes. Then, I picked her up and the two of us headed outside and piled into my shitty old car. But, for once, I didn’t care how old or shitty it was. I climbed into the passenger seat, Aaron climbed into the driver seat, and we were off.
A little too much like a real family.
12
Aaron
We pulled into the parking lot of the diner, and I was glad to see they weren’t overly busy. It was hit and miss on a Sunday, that was for sure. Zach had taken to working some Sundays during the month. Vanessa had taken on a job at the hospital, and she’d been working overnights on Saturday, so they were making their new schedules work together.
I was also glad to see his bike parked in the back. I wanted him to be the one to make breakfast for April. She likely hadn’t had anything so good in quite some time. I tried not to think about the fact she had next to no money, and I had plenty despite my bad habits, but it was something that did creep into my mind from time to time.
I waited as April pulled Sabrina out of the car seat in the back of the old vehicle, then held her on her hip as we walked inside. Without even thinking, I opened the door for her and let her pass under my arm and into the diner. She was petite enough she fit easily, and I noticed the light scent of a sweet perfume as she did so.
“I’ve never been in this one,” she said as she looked around the diner.
“You’re in for a treat,” I said.
“Do we have to wait to be seated?” she asked. I shook my head.
“Normally, but Meagan knows me and I always sit either with one of the MC guys or in the same booth,” I walked through the tables toward the booth on the same wall as the kitchen door. I liked that wall. I could see right into the kitchen from that spot, and Zach would see we were there.
“That’s Zach,” I said with a nod. “He’s the president’s son, and will likely be our president himself one day. He got this place when his grandfather passed. His father didn’t want it, but thought it would be a good idea for Zach to take over to deal with some of the shit he had going on when he got back from service.”
“He was in the military, too?” April asked in surprise.
“Most of us have been,” I said. “Spencer is really the only one in the immediate group who wasn’t. But, to be fair, he did do some time which is pretty much the same thing if you ask me.”
She nodded. I had a feeling she was wondering what it was Spencer had done to get locked up, but I wasn’t going to go into that. I didn’t judge Spencer for the fact that he had been in prison, and I wasn’t going to air his dirty laundry. It didn’t matter anymore. He had cleaned up his act, he was happy, and he had his shit together.
“Hey, you want the usual?” Zach called out from behind the counter.
“You know it!” I said. He nodded and went to work, and April looked back at me.
“What’s the usual?” she asked.
“Everything,” I said with a laugh. “It’s a huge breakfast, and it’s got a little of everything so you don’t have to pick and choose one thing over another. It’s a great thing to order in a group.”
“Do you come here often?” she asked in surprise. “He seems to know just what you want.”
“Being in the MC together we see each other a lot as it is,” I explained. “But when he’s the owner of the diner and I don’t cook at home, then I do come here enough for him to know what I want. If it’s not breakfast, it’s a burger.”
“I’ll have to try one of those sometime,” April replied. “I haven’t had a burger out to eat in as long as I can remember.”
“They don’t have good burgers in the bar here,” I said. “There’s really no point to ordering them anywhere if you aren’t going to get them from Zach.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she nodded.
Meagan, our waitress, came over with a smile. All of the members of the MC had had a crush on Meagan at one point or another, but I noticed one by one all the other guys had stopped flirting with her. Though I’d never really flirted with her in the past, I did take note she looked at April and Sabrina with an odd expression for a moment before smiling.
“Can I bring you a high chair?” she asked.
“I’d like that a lot, thank you,” April said.
“I’ll be right back, and coffee?” she looked from April to me.
“Please,” I nodded. We sat in the booth and April looked around. She seemed to be somewhat overwhelmed by the atmosphere, but also liked it.
“There are a lot of guys here with those vests on,” she commented.
I laughed. “This is our feeding trough you might say. Like I said, with Zach being the owner and the president’s son, we get a nice discount on the food, if we ever have to pay at all. Being a Sunday, Vanessa is really the only one missing from the group.”
“Vanessa?” April looked back at me, and I nodded.
“She’s Zach’s girl. The daughter of a rival president, but the two of them fell in love anyway. It was quite a thing when it all went down, but it worked out. Hell, it’s because of the two of them we are on good terms with that MC now.”
“Maybe they’d know something about what’s going on?” she suggested.
I shrugged. “Its’ hard to say. The politics within an MC can be diverse. You might know what’s going on with others, or you might not even know that there are others in the area. It’s really just the ones who pose a possible threat to us that we care about, which the Enemies once did.”
“The Enemies? They sound fierce,” April said.
I shrugged again. “They’re okay. I get along with the son of that president, and I don’t go picking fights with them. I’d rather figure out what happened to Tim than care about what they’re doing.”
April nodded. Meagan returned with the high chair first, then she went to get the coffee, and it wasn’t long before Zach appeared with the food.
“Oh my God!” April gasped at the sight of the platter. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was a little bit of everything.”
“You should see how much this guy eats,” Zach said with a nod toward me. I was shocked with how easygoing he was being. He and I had been at odds since the alcohol started to creep back into my life, but he clearly wanted to make a good impression for April.
Then again, I had heard the rumor Vanessa wanted kids, and though they weren’t pregnant right now, there was also the rumor it wasn’t going to be long. Perhaps it was the sight of Sabrina that made him so good natured.
&nbs
p; “Thanks,” I said. He leaned on the booth above April.
“Did you tell her?” he asked.
“Tell me what?” April turned to me with wide eyes.
“No, I didn’t tell her,” I said with a sheepish grin. “I wasn’t sure what to say.”
“Tell me what?” she repeated.
“You guys are coming to an engagement party with the MC tonight,” Zach said. “We never thought it was going to happen to Aaron, but here he is. A family and all.”
“What!” she gasped.
Zach laughed, but had to head back to the kitchen to work on more orders.
“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “I know this sounds big and scary and intimidating, but it’s really not. These are all good guys, and though I’ve been having some issues lately, they’ve been right there for me the whole time.”
“Okay,” she sounded uncertain. But, there was also a hint of a smile at her lips.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she gave me a flirty grin.
“What?” I pressed. “Come on, spill it.”
“I just didn’t think we were going to do anything like that,” she said. “I thought it was going to be a quick in and out of the courthouse, that’s all.”
“It’s got to be more than that,” I said with a laugh. “This is our wedding, after all.”
“Yeah,” she said, quietly. “This is our wedding.”
We turned our attention to breakfast, and I watched as she fed Sabrina bites of the food. She had to make them incredibly small, practically liquid before she’d give them to her daughter, but it was still nice to watch. Hell, I never thought I would like kids, but the sight her April tending to her daughter was quickly changing that in me.
I’d always thought kids were annoying and loud. But, except for the little cock blocking episode we’d had the night before, this one was alright. I liked Sabrina, and I hardly let myself imagine what it would be like to think of her as my daughter.
This was all going to be temporary, but we were going to make the most of it while it lasted. At least, I was. Hell, she’d all but agreed that having sex was a good idea, at least while we were together. I didn’t know what was going to happen after that, but I wasn’t going to ask, either.
I wanted to just focus on the now – what we were doing right now, with each other. There wasn’t any need to worry about what was going to happen after, though I knew this was bound to come to an end eventually.
Seeing the smile on her face as she fed Sabrina was enough. For the first time in God only knew how long, she was able to sit back and relax with her daughter, at a diner, and not have to worry about any of it. I felt on top of the world. This was more than just protection, this was taking care of her in a whole different way than I ever thought I would.
I wanted her to feel safe around me, and this morning, I felt April did.
She even seemed to be excited about the engagement party that night, though even I wasn’t sure what it was all the boys had planned. I just knew they were happy that I had finally done something with my time that was worth doing and away from the bottle.
They supported me quitting, and I was happy to try for the sake of April and her daughter. Hell, with all their support and this new woman and little girl in my life, I had a feeling things really were going to be different from now on.
At least, for a while. Until things got sorted out with Tim and the other MC.
But that was then. This was now. And right now, nothing could take this away.
13
April
I had to admit, I didn’t know what to expect going to this engagement party. I had no idea one was even being planned. Hell, I had no idea Aaron had even told his MC brothers that we were doing this whole playing house thing. But, if he wanted to make it special, that was up to him. I wasn’t going to argue with it. Not right now, anyway.
I put on the dress I planned to wear for our actual courthouse date, then I did my makeup as best I could. I had never been really good at makeup, but I felt that it would suffice. Hell, it was going to have to.
We were leaving in ten minutes, and I didn’t have the time to do it over yet again.
“You ready?” Aaron asked when I stepped out of the spare room.
“Just need to put my shoes on,” I said. He was staring at me, not bothering to hide it, and I had to fight to keep from blushing. I didn’t want to wonder what he thought about my look. I had a feeling I knew, and it confused me.
This entire situation was getting far more confusing than I thought it ever would. I thought we’d come in, he and I would sign the papers saying that we were married, then I was going to make sure Hanson never got his hands on my daughter.
That would be the end of that, and it would be done and over with quickly. The last thing I thought would happen would be that I would end up caring what Aaron thought all over again. This was quickly going from me just needing a place to stay, to wondering what he thought about my outfit and my hair.
I’d always thought he was hot, but knowing that this was only going to be temporary made it hard. I didn’t want to accidently fall in love with another member from the MC. It had been hard enough when things had come to an end with Hanson.
Though I hated him and wanted nothing more to do with him, I couldn’t deny the fact that the man had broken my heart when he told me he wanted nothing to do with our daughter, and I was just one of a long string of girls who had been in his bed.
That had to also be the case with Aaron, and I wasn’t going to be myself in that position ever again. This was going to be a means to an end, and that’s it.
“Alright, I’m ready,” I said. I wore modest heels that complimented my dress, and Aaron wore his typical MC gear. He looked good, I had to admit, though I quickly changed what I was thinking about. Hell, Aaron always looked good. He was hot, and he knew it.
The other night when we made out I could feel how strong and hard his entire body was. There wasn’t any fat there at all. Just pure, strong muscle. He was power under control, that was for sure. At least, I hoped he’d stay under control.
We dropped off Sabrina at Mama Rose’s house. Aaron hadn’t even realized she was still involved with the MC. When the first club had split, she had been dating one of the other members at the time. Though that relationship had fallen apart, Mama Rose had held her ground within the club.
“It’s good to see you again,” she said with a smile. “And how do you know April?”
“We’re getting married,” I told her. She looked like I could have knocked her over with a feather, but quickly recovered.
“That’s wonderful. It’s going to be so nice for little Sabrina to have a father in her life,” she said. I knew she was grasping to find the right thing to say, and I decided to save her from the awkwardness of the moment.
“Well, we’ve got to get going. We’re going to an engagement party tonight,” I said.
“If you aren’t going to be back to pick her up, just send me a text and you can come for her in the morning,” Mama Rose called out.
“I think we’ll be back,” I called over my shoulder, but Aaron ignored me.
“We’ll let you know!”
We got back in the car and he took the wheel. My heart raced. I was nervous about meeting the entire MC. Hell, I’d never formally met Tim’s. I knew who the guys were. Well, many of them anyway. I’d see them come around from time to time, and he would talk about them every now and then.
But, I only ever met them by chance or in secret – like Hanson. The two of us ran into each other at the bar one night on Tim’s birthday. He was making out with a girl near the bathrooms, and Hanson took the chance to introduce himself. Evidently it had been well-known in the MC Tim didn’t want any of them coming near me.
Most of them had respected it, and though they were free to hit on me, no one ever went further than that – except Hanson. He filled my head with the story of me being old enough to make my own
decisions. I could do what I wanted. I was an adult with a college degree, after all, why let Tim call the shots?
Though I really didn’t want to admit it, I liked what I heard. I wanted to be able to make my own decisions, and he was allowing me to do that. It was such a contrast from my brother, and I hated that I liked it.
“We’re here,” Aaron broke into my thoughts. “You were a million miles away.”
“Just nervous,” I said. “I’m not really sure what to expect.”
“They’re good guys,” Aaron replied. “I’m sure you’re going to fit right in.”
“I hope so,” I lied. I didn’t hope so at all. I really hoped I didn’t fit in, to be honest. I wanted this to be brief, and if they were going to make a big deal out of it in the meantime, that was fine, but I still wanted everyone to keep it lowkey.
We walked into the tavern and were met with a large round of applause. I was overwhelmed with how many people were there, and I wanted to turn around and walk right back out. I was an introvert at heart, and this was really the last thing I wanted.
But, Aaron had his arm around me, and the two of us joined the rest. He introduced me to many of the other men in the MC. Zach I recognized from the diner, but I was glad for the chance to meet Vanessa, the girl Aaron had mentioned several times.
She was beautiful, and looked good hanging onto Zach’s arm. The two of them were a perfect pair, that was for sure. There was a younger couple, too. I only met the guy – Nathan was his name. he didn’t seem to be that much older than me.
A young girl named Erika was with an older looking man named Adam. Adam was hot. Covered in tattoos, and I soon learned he was a tattoo artist. I noticed a couple of the men had prosthetics, and I figured that had to be from their time in the military.
Though I couldn’t see it, I figured Adam was missing part or all of his leg. Nathan had a prosthetic arm. Zach was complete physically, but he was definitely an asshole. I could see why Aaron liked this group. They were a lot of misfits who seemed to have a chip on their shoulder – much like him.
The only thing I noticed was that all of them seemed to have a bit of distance from Aaron. They were nice, but they didn’t seem entirely thrilled to be there. I wondered if he had done something wrong, or if it was just the way men like this interacted with each other.