“No, dumbass, Jolie! You kissed her in front of Manny and Neely.”
Ah, God, I fucked up the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m wondering if I can fix it. I say as much, telling Aaron my doubts.
“Well, I guess you can lay one of those worries to rest because here comes Brady.”
After the waitress brings Brady a beer, he pulls a sealed envelope out of the inner pocket of his coat and lays it in the center of the table.
Working up the nerve, I reach out, placing one blunt fingertip on the envelope and pulling it toward me when the app on my phone that monitors TJ’s SIDs booty lets loose an ear-piercing alarm.
Chapter 16
Neely
I sink to the floor when Toby slams the door between us. When I hear his truck fire up, deep, wracking sobs shake my body. What am I going to do now?I love him.I love him, and he doesn’t want me, want us, anymore. How am I going to explain this to TJ when he gets older? How will I help my child understand when it makes little sense to me?
I sit there until the crying jag has dissipated, until my head is so stuffed up and snot keeps blocking my nose, so I have to breathe through my mouth. My body aches like I’ve aged a hundred years as I push myself off the floor and shuffle to the bathroom.
In the mirror, my reflection is red and blotchy as it dejectedly stares back at me. No one has ever accused me of being a pretty crier. My burning eyes are bloodshot, and the blue-gray irises almost appear green under the harsher lighting of the bathroom. I blow my nose and splash cool water over my heated cheeks and swollen eyes.
Wandering back into the living room, I begin gathering up the few things of mine and TJs set out for convenience. The brightly quilted throw I found and fell in love with from the market. One of TJ’s pacifiers and an extra burp cloth from the arm of the rocking chair.
It’s almost surreal how quickly this place has become a home.
The crunch of gravel and the sound of an engine cutting off in the driveway cause my heart to flutter. Has he come back? Is he still angry, or has he forgiven me?
Hurrying to the door, I throw it open, but it isn’t Toby standing there. “Sheila? What are you—”
“I’m here for the baby you stole from me, you stupid bitch! You and Janessa ruined everything. Where is it?” she screeches and pulls a gun out from behind her back.
This can’t be happening. Where did I leave my phone? I can’t let her near my son. My pulse pounds in my ears as terror washes through me.
“H-He’s sleeping.” I know it’s a stupid thing to say as soon as it leaves my mouth. I cry out as the fist holding the gun cracks across my cheekbone, confirming it.
“I don’t care if he’s fucking sleeping. Get him. That kid is worth a lot of money, and if I don’t deliver him, we’re both going to be sorry. Now move.”
Sheila pokes the gun into my kidney as I turn toward the bedroom. I listen as she rants and raves about not killing me the first two times and how this time I wasn’t getting away. Lord, how do I protect my baby? She’s crazy enough to kill me, and then what will happen to him? I slip into the room TJ and I share, the soft glow of the nightlight illuminating his sweet little face.
“Good God, he looks like a rat! What’s wrong with him?” Sheila’s voice is so loud, TJ startles. His little arms and legs jerk, and he lets loose a frightened wail. “Well, don’t just stand there. Shut him up.”
Picking him up, I accidentally knock the SIDs monitor off his foot. The alarm goes crazy, and so does Sheila. I huddle on the floor, wrapping myself around him as she screams while waving he gun at us. I try to reason with her, explain how delicate he is as a preemie, but I realize the futility of it when she thrusts the barrel of the gun against my forehead and demands I hand him over.
“H-He needs a special formula,” I try again, clutching him to my chest. “Let me at least pack a bag for him and grab his car seat so he’s safe and comfortable. He’ll travel better.”
I keep him sheltered in my arms, my body between his and hers, not that it will stop a bullet, but rational thinking has flown out the window. Stuffing diapers, wipes, a blanket, and some tiny outfits into his diaper bag, my mind jumps from one scenario to the next as I try to think of something, anything, to stop her.
“Th-The bottles and formula are in the kitchen.”
When I hit the end of the short hallway, I freeze and then burst into tears. Toby, Dr. Sulivan, Aaron, and three cops are spread out in the living room. Sheila screams, and I dive between the rocker and the fireplace, huddling over TJ as bullets fly past me.
And then Toby is there, crushing both TJ and I in his arms.
“Fuck! I thought I lost you… lost you both, and I never told you I love you.” His voice shakes around the confession.
So I say the only thing I can think of in the moment. “Language… and I love you too.”
Chapter 17
Tobias
Six months later
“I can’t believe you’re abandoning us and moving to Tennessee permanently,” Ezra comments.
I rub circles on my son’s back as he drools all over the collar of my shirt. Sometimes, neither can I, but Neely’s club sisters and work are there, and these women in the Witch’s Ridge MC… their mission is important. Not only will we be closer to my mom and TJ’s grandma, who’s living in Florida for the time being, but we’ve also broken ground on a new house and business in Ridgetown.
“Yeah, well, I can’t believe you Curtis boys have decided to tie the knot on the same day in a shared ceremony. Manny better watch out. All the single ladies in town will be gunning for him now.” I kiss TJ’s brow when he wiggles. “Next thing you know, you’ll be popping out one of these.” When I look at Ezra, he has a smug, satisfied grin on his ugly mug. “You sly ol’ dog you, congratulations.”
