Livi has never gone into detail about their conversation because Bella asked her not to. Since that day, they’ve become close and spend time together often. Trudy stopped Livi and me coming into the clubhouse one evening and thanked Livi. She said since she and Bella’s talk, Bella’s been more relaxed and is getting back to her old self. Whatever Livi said, it made an impact on Bella, and Trudy was grateful. Livi simply smiled and told Trudy she was happy to help anytime.
*~*~*~*
Lucas is an adorable little guy with big, curious eyes that follow every move Axel makes. We don’t know why, but he’s all about being Team Axel. He grins and lights up whenever Livi and James are around. He hangs close to Gunner when possible, and he’s affectionate with Ava and the twins. But let Axel enter the room and Luke drops the rest of us like a hot potato. Axel soaks this up and goes out of his way to entertain his new nephew.
The sign language classes are going well and most of us are getting good at it. Embarrassingly enough, Craig has surpassed everyone though. When he’s in one of his ornery moods, he refuses to speak and will only sign. He says it’s his way of making us better at signing, but I think it’s his way of showing off that he’s better at it.
Ava’s been an amazing advocate for Lucas. She’s relentless at finding him the best help for the challenges he will face. She’s paving the way for the little boy to have every tool he needs to live in a world that may see him as different. God help anyone who makes that mistake. Lucas may have Ava protecting him, but he also has a large family who will bust heads to make sure he’s treated fairly.
The doctors have told Ava that they may never know the exact cause of the profound deafness that Lucas has. There are several causes and any of them could be why. Drug or alcohol abuse during pregnancy, certain prescription drugs, premature birth or genetics are all a possibility. Regardless of why it occurred, Lucas is completely deaf. The doctors also told Ava that Lucas should have started receiving help before he was six months old and because he didn’t, his communication skills are going to be harder to learn.
While Ava and Gunner are fighting for Lucas to have a promising future, he’s not treated as different from the other kids. He has the same rules as the twins, and he’s expected to follow them. He doesn’t, he receives a time-out just like the girls do. Gunner has to leave the house when that happens because he can’t take the angry looks his twin daughters shoot at him. The girls take spots on each side of Lucas and serve the time-out with him, but their daddy bears the brunt of their anger through little girl glares. We enjoy the hell out of Gunner, an MC Prez, hiding out at the clubhouse to avoid the punishment times.
Chubs and Lucy showed up at the clubhouse with bags full of visual aids for Lucas one night. Lucy and Livi taped pictures to nearly everything in the clubhouse. The pictures depict what the item is with a hand forming the correct ASL signage and then repeating it below in fingerspelling. It was a brilliant idea, and all of us are learning the correct sign for everyday things. They bought books and DVDs to help teach the other small children how to communicate with Lucas. Even little Alex can now sign words like “hungry”, “sleepy” and of course “daddy”. All of us have made it into a fun game with the children to learn a new sign or how to fingerspell a word. Lucas has landed in a safe place and found a family who will always fight for him.
Looking around the clubhouse, I see almost everyone I love in one place. They’ve come together for one of our own as they always do. Blood isn’t always thicker than water but loyalty, love and respect trump everything.
Today’s the day Trigger finally gets to give Craig his bike. After much apologizing, Gunner returned the bike to Trigger. Lucy got over the bike incident immediately, but Chubs didn’t. It took time for him to forgive the guys for not giving Lucy better instruction before turning her loose with a bike. For being the most lovable guy, Chubs can hold a mean grudge according to Trigger. And Gunner wouldn’t give back the bike until Chubs was cool again.
Trigger’s trying to stay off the Aunts’ radar while Terry’s working hard to be on someone’s. Livi’s leaning her back against my chest currently teasing the hell out of James. The Aunts are holding court, Bella at their side while insisting Axel let them hold his daughter. Vex and Taja are sitting at a table in a corner, heads close, talking quietly. They had decided to try to get pregnant again, but it’s not happened yet. I see only good things for their future. They have already gone through the worst, so it’s time for their good.
The kids are playing with the pets. Mac is singing loudly while strutting himself up and down the bar. Duffy is sprawled next to Snots even though Snots hasn’t decided if he trusts the cat yet. Gee is pushing his skateboard around the room while wearing another t-shirt from Pooh. This one reads “Hammin’ Ain’t Easy,” and I snort at Pooh’s strange sense of humor. Loki’s son, Ava’s other dog, Cain, is sticking close to Lucas as he usually does.
Craig has moved on from keeping tabs on Bella. Instead, he’s now taken on the role of big brother to Lucas. When he thinks the adults are pushing too much learning on Lucas, he’ll take him by the hand, announce that they’re going to go do “boy stuff” and walk out. Apparently, boy stuff involves secret paths and forts, ways to avoid adults and lots of dirt. More than once, Ava’s been horrified at just how dirty Craig has helped Lucas become. But the boys are best friends, and Petey swears it reminds him of Gunner and Axel when they were that age. Lord help us all if another duo like them is what we have to look forward to.
The Devil’s Angels MC is thriving and our membership growing. Our families are increasing, and our businesses doing well. We’ve recently added a new one to our enterprise. Rex convinced the club to let him open a security company. He manages the day-to-day while Pigeon, Reeves and Horse install the security systems. James helps them when he’s not at the clubhouse or working a shift with Livi. All in all, it’s a great time to be a Devil’s Angel.
Epilogue
Cash
Livi’s been quieter than usual the last few days. I don’t know the cause, but I’ve been waiting for her to talk to me about it. We’re solid as a couple, and I know that when she’s ready, she’ll speak up.
I’m currently scrubbing my nearly spotless stovetop while Livi and Snots entertain Liam on the living room floor. Livi has never said a word about my constant cleaning, but I do see a grin sometimes when I walk past with my cleaning supplies, in alphabetical order in their tote. She also goes out of her way to keep things as neat and orderly as possible. I know she does that to ease my OCD tendencies, and it’s much appreciated. It’s easy sharing a home with someone who loves me enough to let me be myself without criticizing my quirks.
Liam is sitting up now and becoming more mobile. He doesn’t crawl though. If he wants to get somewhere, he drops to his side and rolls his way across the floor, adjusting his direction when necessary. Using a table or chair, he can pull himself to standing. It won’t be long and he’ll be walking. Nothing will be safe at that point. He’s alert, smiles and giggles a lot and is generally a happy baby. He’s still a bit of a night owl though. Livi doesn’t hesitate to spend time with him even if it’s during the dead of night though. I often wake up to an empty bed and find her singing softly while rocking him back to sleep. Luckily, I had the good sense to hook up with a woman who knows the words to proper songs for babies. No more Steel Panther or Aborted song lyrics for my son. I’ve been banned from singing to him until I learn better songs. I agree it’s probably for the best for Liam’s emotional health.
“Cash.”
I turn to find Livi standing near the table, a strained look on her face. I set my scrubber down, rinse my hands and while drying them, turn to face her.
“What’s up, Kitten?”
“I need to tell you something, but I’m not supposed to share. I’m sorry I haven’t said anything sooner but telling you could cost me my job.”
“Whatever it is, it’ll stay between us. I’d never put you in a bad spot, baby.”
“It’s about Chubs,” Livi says quietly.
My mind freezes for a moment. I thought whatever had been bothering Chubs was in the past. He’s not been acting differently for quite a while now. He and Lucy are tighter than ever, and even Gunner has quit worrying about him.
“What about Chubs?” I ask carefully.
“A couple of FBI Agents have been pressing me to help them convince Chubs to leave here, Denver and the club, with them. They want to keep him in protective custody. They’ve been trying to get me to keep tabs on him for them, but I’ve refused to help them in any way. They’ve stepped up their game the last few days. They’re threatening to compel me to do as they want by going to my supervisors. I don’t know what to do, but I will not help them make Chubs do something he doesn’t want to do. If I don’t, I may be fired or possibly charged if they can come up with something to use against me. It’s not hard to set up a cop, Cash. It happens more often than you’d think. If they did that, they’d use me as leverage against Chubs. He’d never let me go down to save him,” Livi says in an anguished voice.
I cross the room and pull her into my arms. I’m trying to absorb all that I just heard, but it’s difficult. In one minute of time, Livi has flipped my world upside down. Holding her tight, I ask the first question that comes to mind.
“Why do they want Chubs so badly?”
The End, for now…
