Page 8 of Broken Warrior
Tate nods and picks up the tray, her movements fluid and light as she pads on bare feet toward the hall. “I’ll be fine, Spider, and if I’m not, I’ll come get you right away.”
Then she disappears just as James comes flying into the room, dressed in play clothes and bundled up just like his mom asked.
“You ready?” He grins up at me as I stab my smoke out on the heel of my boot. “I am.”
“I can see that.” I push open the door and smile the biggest I have in a while as James runs out toward the garage, my big ass following close behind.
Tate is not yours. James is not yours. They are not yours and never will be.
Then why the fuck does it feel like they already are?
CHAPTERTWO
TATE
As quietly as possible,I tip-toe out of Nadine’s room, pull the door closed behind me, and blow out the breath I’ve been holding since she fell asleep. I won’t bother locking the door, I’ve paid enough attention to know that Spider doesn’t lock it unless she’s having a rough day, and since whatever episode she was having seemed to pass, it should be fine.
That woman,wow. She is a pistol.
The first few weeks we stayed here, James and I only saw Nadine maybe a handful of times because her nurse still came whether Spider was here or not. I could tell right away that she has some form of Alzheimers or dementia, I took care of Gino’s Nona—not by choice per se—right up until she passed and she had a form of dementia so severe she was mute and wheelchair bound the last year of her life, so I saw the signs in Nadine as soon as we met.
And when Shelley went on vacation two weeks ago, well, my suspicions were confirmed by the way Nadine reacts to her son.
I’ve wanted to help for a while now, but I get the feeling Spider doesn’t like asking anyone for anything and gets even grumpier if you offer. He’s not mean about it, but he’s definitely argued with me over everything I’ve done since living with him, and it’s exactly why I’ve taken to doing all of it under the radar as best I can.
It’s obvious Spider doesn’t ever do things for himself, even insignificant things that most people don’t think twice about, and I get the feeling his rather selfless nature is both just a part of who he is and completely self-imposed.
There’s an underlying darkness hiding behind those ice blue eyes, a hollow aspect inside a beautiful shell. We’ve been here two months and I don’t even know Spider’s real name let alone anything else about him, not really, and while I also believe that is a part of who he is too, I think he’s hiding more than his secret identity. And not just from me, but everyone else.
Spider is a bit of a mystery to me and I doubt I’ll be able to crack it any time soon.
I just wish I could stop thinking about him all the damn time.
With a sigh, I shake my head and push off the door, silently making my way to the kitchen in order to get started on dinner.
Spider let me order a huge crock pot the other day and tonight I plan to make a pork roast with all the fixings.
So far, today has been a good day.
I woke up before James and made some tea, then started on the book Dori lent me, some rom-com about a hockey player and a ventriloquist that she says is hilarious and super sexy. I definitely laughed out loud a few times already and I have a feeling I’m going to learn quite a bit when I get to the sexy parts. I’m using the books Dori lends me as learning tools because I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to being an adult.
When my sweet boy woke up and exclaimed he was accident free again, we high fived then I helped him get dressed before setting him up with Disney+—courtesy of Spider—and a coloring book so I could shower.
It all felt so normal, so safe, even more so when I made breakfast and had our handsome protector join us.
And Spider issohandsome.
Hell, who am I kidding? Spider is the hottest man I’ve ever seen, and sharing space with him makes me nervous and excited all at once.
More importantly than intimidating the hell out of me or turning me on in a way I’ve never even come close to feeling before, Spider makes me feel so safe and protected, so cared for despite his gruff exterior and it’s started to put crazy thoughts in my head.
Like never wanting to leave his farm.
We have to at some point though.
I may be naive and inexperienced when it comes to pretty much everything, but I’m not stupid enough to believe that a painfully attractive single man in his thirties is ok with a broken single mom and her sweet little boy shacking up with him any longer than necessary. I’m actually afraid we’ve already overstayed our welcome and that’s why I want to talk to Spider about the bar he and the other guys are always going to. Maybe I can get a job there so I can start making my own money and then we can move out on our own sooner rather than later. If I had steady work I might even be able to take over Dori’s lease when her and Zak move into their house.
Before I started dancing at Valetti’s club I waited tables there. Well, I walked around almost naked and brought drinks to guys waving twenties at me, so I’m sure I could handle working at a biker bar. It can’t be that different. If not, maybe there’s a strip club close to Sabine Woods. It’s not that I want to dance for the rest of my life but it’s all I know how to do and it’s good money. Really good money if I don’t have to give it away to anyone like I did with Gino. I could easily pay for an apartment for me and James, probably even put money toward getting my GED and going to college. I could take the bus or borrow Dori’s Jeep until I can buy myself a car, and I’m sure she’d let James sleep over the nights I worked so I didn’t have to pay a sitter.
