I opened the shoebox to see letter after letter unopened, some looking only weeks old, all with my mother’s chicken scratch on it: Wrong address. Return to sender.
My heart hurt.
“How could she?” My voice shook as tears stung my eyes.
Rave sat quietly as I tore through the box, getting down to what looked like files of legal papers dating up until my sixteenth birthday.
“You fought for me?”
His head fell as tears started to drip slowly down his cheeks. “There wasn’t much I could do after your mom claimed I beat her that night I ran off. I got about thirty minutes down the road before cops were cuffing me and throwing me in jail for three days. There’s so much to tell you, sweetheart. But please just know that the moral of all this is I never wanted to leave you with her. I wanted to protect you and I failed.”
“I was so wrong all these years.” My head was spinning, trying to take it all in.
His hand landed on mine and I laced my fingers through his, gripping with all my might.
“All those years wasted.” He coughed a little. “And look at you.” He tried to smile. “You’ve turned into such a beautiful woman. Abel is quite taken with you, and that says a lot.”
I wiped the tears from my cheeks. “So what now?”
He leaned back in his chair. “We make up for lost time.”
We sat and talked for hours, about the good and the bad. He told me how he’d actually been part of another chapter of the Unacceptables back in Arkansas and that was how he’d found his way to North Carolina. I went on to tell him about how my mother had spiraled out of control. I even told him that I used to be a stripper. I could tell the words stung, but he listened and didn’t show judgement.
When I heard Raine’s light footsteps trotting down the stairs, I felt like no time had passed with my father and me.
Raine bolted for him. “Pop!” she yelled, jumping into his arms. “Have you met my friend Crickett yet?”
He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Yes, we’re becoming fast friends too.” He winked at me as she bounced Miss Gilda on the table.
“Good. We need to keep her around. She’s pretty and nice. I like that.” She beamed at me and grabbed my hand. “Will you make me Captain Crunch again? You do it the best with the perfect amount of milk.”
Raine started dragging me into the kitchen and I glanced over to Rave. “Thank you.” I breathed as relief flooded me. It wasn’t the scenario I had pictured for all those years, but slowly I was realizing that the situation I had stumbled into was probably better.
He pursed his lips slowly as he nodded. “See you later. I need to head in to the shop.”
Abel made his way down the stairs, catching Rave at the front door. I strained to eavesdrop on their conversation as I grabbed the fixings for Raine’s breakfast.
“How’d it go?” Abel’s hands were dug deep into his packets as he glared at Rave.
“Better than I expected.”
Abel’s shoulders relaxed. “Good. Heading down to the garage?”
Rave nodded and Abel slapped him on the back. “I should be heading up there in a few hours, we’ll see how the day goes. Tell Ronda to cover Crickett’s shift again this morning.”
“Will do.” With that Rave was out the door and I was happily sipping coffee at the breakfast table while Raine chattered away about how happy she was that it was Saturday and she didn’t have to go to school.
Abel poured himself a cup of coffee and topped off my mug, even adding in a little extra sugar for me. “Hey, Raine?”
She looked up at him with wide eyes, chomping on a mouthful of cereal. “Yeah, Daddy?” I laughed as milk spilled down her chin while she spoke.
“How about Crickett and I take you to the park over on Elm today?”
She perked up in her seat and started bouncing as her cheeks got red. “That’s the one with the really big slide!” The excitement that was pouring out of her was intoxicating.
“It sure is. Finish your breakfast and brush your teeth.”
Raine scarfed down the rest of her food and bolted up the stairs to get ready. I rinsed my mug with her bowl and started to load the dishwasher when I felt Abel’s hands run up my arms.
He gently kissed the top of my head. “Are we ok?”
I turned into his arms, wrapping mine around his waist. “Yes.” Our lips slowly brushed together for the faintest touch of a kiss. “Sorry I freaked out last night.”
He chuckled a little, pulling away to dig his cigarette box out of his jeans pocket. “You’re not the only one that was freaking out. I thought I was losing you right when I finally had you.”
I rested my cheek on his warm, bare chest. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
He let out a slow sigh. “Good.”
“Am I ever going to be able to work again?” I questioned, pulling away from him to close the dishwasher. “My boss might get pissed if I keep missing shifts like this.”
He lightly smacked me on my ass before putting a cigarette between his teeth. “I think he can handle it.” With a wink he started to head for the front porch. “Want to join me?”
I followed him out onto the massive front porch, taking the lit cigarette from him before he lit his own.
“She’s really taking to you.” Abel motioned toward the front door.
We leaned against the railing, Abel’s arm wrapping around my shoulders. “I’m taking to her like a bee to honey. You got one freaking amazing kid there.”
His lips dusted the top of my ear. “You’re freaking amazing.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re insane.”
“How do you figure?” Abel shifted to look at me as smoke blew out from the corner of his mouth.
“I’m a fucking basket case. I ran away from home to find a man that I can barely remember and wound up here in the middle of family drama and an MC. Pretty nuts, if I do say so myself.”
“Don’t you believe in fate?” His blue eyes were soft as he laced our fingers together.
“Don’t start getting all soft and mushy on me, Abel Hellock. Aren’t you supposed to be some sort of badass?”
He laughed a little. “Yeah, something like that.” He threw his half smoked cigarette on the floor and stomped it out. “Let me go throw a shirt on, Raine will freak if I’m not ready when she is.”
Right then she came clambering down the stairs, swinging open the front door. “Daddy! Get ready! Miss Gilda and I want to scream down the slide again.”
Abel tossed me the keys to his truck. “Start her up for me? I’ll be down in a minute.”
Spending the better part of the late morning and early afternoon at the park with Raine and Abel was the perfect lighthearted fun I needed to relax from the night before. We all ran, swung, slid, twirled, and screamed until Raine was begging for pizza and ice cream.
“One or the other,” Abel teased, carrying Raine back to the truck.
“Fine! Pizza.”
I hopped into the passenger seat and Abel made the throaty diesel engine groan to life.
He grabbed my hand, a huge grin plastered on his face. “How does pizza sound to you?”
I glanced back at Raine as she buckled the seatbelt. “I think it sounds like a delicious idea!”
“Yay!” Raine cheered from the backseat.
We got a large pie delivered to the house and after we ate, I put Raine down for a nap.
Abel was sitting on the couch with two glasses of whiskey on the rocks resting on the coffee table.
“Double fisting?”
He glanced up at me from the box of Rave’s letters and paperwork that was sitting open. “I figured you might need a stiff drink after I saw all this.”
I sighed and sunk into the couch next to him. “Thanks. You couldn’t be more right.”
I took a nice slow sip, letting the amber liquid coat my throat.
“Weren’t you supposed to head into work at some point today?” I propped my feet
up on the coffee table and threw a blanket over my lap.
“Yeah, but this was way more fun. Sometimes you just need to play hooky.”
I didn’t know how to ask what I wanted to, but I needed to know. “Abel?”
“Yeah babe?”
I stalled, rubbing my thumb over the edge of my glass, staring at the amber liquid swirling around the ice. “What happened to Raine’s mom and yours?” I finally spit out.
“Crickett, it’s just hard to talk about.” His eyes glassed over and his finger ran around the rim of his glass as he evaded the growing elephant in the room.
I grabbed his hand. The contact caught his attention and his gaze snapped to mine. “I know it’s hard to talk about. We don’t have to.”
He took a deep breath, chugged down his whiskey, shoved off the couch, and started to pace. “No, it’s time I finally talk about it with someone. Rave and I are the only ones that know the real story. It’ll be good to get if off my chest.”
While pacing he finally dove into the story. “It goes back to when I was fifteen. My parents split when my mom left my father for Rave. He had been here for a few years at that point and had just started running the bar with my uncle, Rich, my mother’s brother. My old man was the fucking president and that shit really didn’t fly but my mom marched to the beat of her own drum. They didn’t get married until I was eighteen, and Rave finally moved in. I guess he wanted the dust to settle with the club a little bit before he stepped on my old man’s toes completely.”
He poured another three fingers of whiskey in his glass before continuing. “Raine was born shortly after their wedding. Her mom, Colleen, was seventeen, and her folks had kicked her out when I knocked her up. She moved in here and everything was fine. We were one big family. Rave and I even started to get along. It was rough in the club but everything seemed to be smoothing out.”
He paused and looked at me, his hands shaking. “I don’t think he was a bad person. I think he was driven mad from jealousy and a broken heart.” Abel cleared his throat, then took a long swig. “Raine was about a year and a half when it happened. I was working late at the garage and Rave was helping me. He had left his bike in the driveway and rode with me in my truck. I think Rave was the target but just happened to not be home. Anyway, my old man went into our house and shot my mom while she was cleaning up the dishes from dinner. I think Colleen took him by surprise. He shot her too before killing himself. The rest of the night is a fucking blur. The cops came to the garage and my world crumbled. The guilt that has buried itself inside of me and Rave will never go away. In one moment the only two women I’d ever loved were taken by the monster sperm donor who was the president of the club I had grown to love. It was all going to hell in a goddamned handbasket.”
I was paralyzed. I had no words. Nothing.
“Abel, I…” He sat down next to me, burying his head in the nape of my neck. I wrapped my arms around him. “I wish I knew what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. It’s all in the past. I’ll never get over it, but it is what it is.”
Chapter 9
Over the next few weeks we all started to finally get into a groove of normalcy. I started working again, Abel was spending more time at the garage than the bar, and Rave was becoming an afternoon regular for me. I even started picking Raine up from school so she could do her homework while I finished out the day shift so Able could work late.
“Hey, Crickett right?” a surly voice came from the bar top while I was cleaning some glasses.
I looked up to see, Rich, Abel’s uncle. I had seen him from time to time, mostly when he was going in and out of the back room or coming in to talk to guys in the back by the pool tables.
“Yes, sir. What can I get you?”
He sat down at the empty seat in front of him. “I’ll take Old Crow and Seven Up.”
I made his drink and awkwardly stood in front of him, not knowing the first thing to say to strike up a conversation with the president of the club. I always thought of Abel as being my boss, but this was his boss and that made me nervous as shit.
He took a sip. “Ah. That hits the spot. I just wanted to properly welcome you to our little family here. I’ve been pretty busy since you arrived and I didn’t want to seem rude.”
I wiped the bar next to him, just to seem like I was staying busy in front of the big boss. “Thanks. I understand. You have a business to run.”
Holt walked through the front door and Rich turned to him. They nodded at each other and Holt came behind the bar.
“Well, I better get to the table. Crickett, mind staying a little late today? We might need Holt to go on an errand later.”
I shrugged. “Sure, I just have to grab Raine from school. But it shouldn’t be a problem.”
The front door swung open and Abel strode in with Raine on his back.
“Never mind.” I pointed to my two new favorite people in the world. “I don’t have to go anywhere.”
Raine’s eyes got wide when she saw Rich and she raced into his arms for a big bear hug.
Abel leaned on the bar. “Can I see you for a second?” His face was stoic.
“Sure?” I glanced over at Holt. “I’ll be right back.”
Abel led me over to the small room that we used as a liquor closet and locked the door behind us.
“Is everything ok?”
He didn’t waste any time. He threw me against the wall and crushed his lips onto mine.
“I have been thinking about this all day.”
I could feel how ready he was pressing hard into my lower stomach. He pulled at the button of my shorts, letting them fall to the floor.
“Abel is this really a good idea?”
He gently bit my neck, running his hand up my shirt to unclasp my bra.
“I think it’s one of the best fucking ideas ever.”
I fumbled with his zipper. I had to admit that the forbidden-sex-in-the-workplace thing was pretty thrilling.
He went to grab for his wallet and his head fell as he sighed. “I forgot a fucking condom at home.”
“That’s ok, Abel. I want to feel you.”
“Do you really want to feel all of me?”
I knew what he was getting at and I was still nervous, but he said he was clean and in that moment the need to please him outweighed my nerves.
“Yes, I want to feel just you.”
“Are you sure you’re fine with this?”
“Yes.” I stared into his eyes.
He lifted me into his strong arms and I tightened my legs around his waist. Abel pulled my thong to the side and thrust into me, making me gasp.
“Hush. We have to be fast and quiet.”
I bit down on the top of his tattooed chest as a groan escaped.
“Abel. Right there.”
The tip of his dick was massaging my g-spot perfectly; the fast part was not going to be a problem. My body started to shake in his arms as my climax started to build. His hot breath quickened on my neck as he pressed my back harder into the wall.
“Come for me babe.” He growled in my ear and that was all it took.
An uncontrollable wave of ecstasy crashed over me while his cock pulsed inside me. With a sigh his head fell onto my shoulder.
“Fucking amazing,” he whispered, setting me back down on my feet. “I will not ever be able to fuck you with a condom on ever again.”
I kissed his shoulder as he started to let me out of his arms. “Good.”
We straightened out our clothes as Abel kissed me on the cheek and breathed, “Follow my lead.”
As he unlocked the door, he yelled, “This isn’t over. We will talk about it later.”
I jumped right in, storming out of the liquor closet, arms crossed. “Yeah, whatever, Abel. I’m over it.”
I got back behind the bar with everyone’s eyes darting from me to Abel.
“Trouble in paradise?” Holt chuckled with a swift wink.
“You could call it that, I guess.” I st
arted wiping off the bar and the club members started filing into the back room. Abel glanced over at me with a quick grin as he mouthed, “See you later.” I nodded and felt blush dust over my neck and cheeks.
Raine scooted down the bar to be right in front of me. “Was Daddy being mean to you?” Her brow was creased and her eyes looked like waterworks were about to start spraying the whole place.
I grabbed her little hand. “Of course not, Raine. He and I were just playing around. Your daddy is a very nice man.”
Her lips pulled into a soft smile. “Yeah, he’s great. Can I have a soda?”
I poured a Dr. Pepper and started quizzing her on her vocabulary and spelling for her test the next day.
After about thirty minutes with no one coming in, Holt and I were both helping Raine with homework, trying to pass the time.
“I really don’t see why Rich wanted you to stick around.”
I shrugged after taking a sip from my water. “It’s really no big deal.”
He started burning one of the ice troughs. “It’s just a waste of your time, that’s all.”
Abel came busting through the back door. “Holt. We need to see you. Now.” His face was gruff, and his tone and posture matched.
I got overly nervous for Holt as he looked over to me with concern dancing across his face. “I guess it is a good thing that you stuck around.”
“Crickett, why don’t you take Raine home? We won’t be too long and this place is dead.”
She hopped off the stool and I grabbed the drawer to count it out.
Abel grabbed it from me. “You should really leave now babe. I’ll take care of this and bring your tips home tonight.”
I was screaming inside to know what was going on, but I just grabbed Raine by the hand and walked her out of the bar.
“Can we have chicken fingers for dinner?”
A light rain tapped onto the gravel parking lot as we started to jog for my car. “As long as you eat some carrots with them.”
I strapped Raine into the backseat and started off toward the house. I hated the jumping, squeaking, skipping wipers, but it was starting to really pour and I needed to try to see the winding road. Even though it was annoying, I would rather the obnoxious noises than being pelted in the face while on a motorcycle.
The Unacceptables Series Box Set Page 7
