He appreciated the gesture, it grounded him like nothing else could.
“Open your next one,” she tilted her head towards the one sitting on his left. “I hope this one isn’t a disappointment after that one,” she teased.
He gave her a look that said she was totally crazy. When he pulled back to the top to the box, a Holy Fuck, Babe escaped his mouth.
She blushed. “Do you like it?”
“Who in the fuck took these pictures of you?” he asked, as he opened the leather bound photo album of his wife wearing little more than bra and panties. Each shot was tastefully done and he loved the look in her eye as she looked at the camera.
“One of the reasons Layne got Jess the camera is so she can take her own pictures for book teasers she uses on her Facebook page. She’s taken pictures of most of us. She doesn’t use our faces, but I asked if she could take these pictures for me, for your gift. I think she did awesome.”
He cleared his throat. “I don’t think I’ve had a sexier gift in my life.”
She beamed. Those were exactly the words she’d wanted to hear.
Meredith opened the bigger box Tyler had set in front of her. “You might go for what’s inside the package, but I definitely go for size.”
He shook his head at her. “Can’t take you nowhere.”
“Sure can’t,” she giggled when she got the lid off.
“I hope those are acceptable,” he let his gaze wash over her. “I seem to recall you telling me a week or so ago you needed more. I hope that means I can rip the rest of them off you.”
Inside the box were a variety of lacy, scraps of material that could be called panties in some circles. They ranged in cuts and colors. After the pictures she’d given him, this actually gave her self-confidence a bolster. “I think that could be arranged, Mr. Blackfoot. I do love when you go all Native American Warrior on me.”
His eyes flashed. “Whenever you need it, I’m your man.”
She didn’t even have to think about the truth of that statement.
“One more,” he pushed the other gift towards her, “Any guesses?”
“With you?” she asked, cocking a brow. “Never. You always keep me guessing.”
She dug her fingernails into the paper, ripping it open and pushing the top of the box back. When she did, she gasped as she saw a wooden box with a picture burned into the lid of Addie and Caelin.
“Did you do this?” She tried to talk around the lump in her throat.
“I can still be artistic when I wanna be.”
She had no doubt about that.
“Open it,” he encouraged her.
When she did with shaking fingers, she gasped again as she saw it was a jewelry box, and inside was a ring. It held the birthstones of their children and one for the month they were married.
“Since you don’t wear a wedding ring, I was hoping you’d wear this,” his voice was soft as he asked her the question.
The two of them loved their necklaces and had never felt they needed rings to express their love. But this, she would wear it, every day with pride.
Grabbing it up, she went over to his side of the coffee table, straddling his waist. “Put it on me?”
He groaned when she situated herself. “With pleasure.”
Their eyes connected as he slid it on her finger and she’d never loved him as much as she did in that moment.
He captured her lips in his, kissing her with all the emotion he had, and she groaned, twining her arms around his neck. As it got out of hand, and she started moving her hands up beneath his shirt, Tyler pulled back.
“As much as I’d love to do this; we have kids getting up in probably the next three to four hours.”
She groaned because she knew he was right. “Rain check?”
“Tomorrow night baby, that body is mine.”
She shivered, looking forward to it.
Three hours later as they were awoken by Addie’s shriek and the cry of Caelin wanting out of his crib to investigate, they were both glad they’d taken the time to sleep.
“You get breakfast, I’ll get them?” he nuzzled her neck. “And coffee. I’m gonna need to mainline coffee.”
She didn’t laugh, because she was going to need to mainline it too. But as she stood at the kitchen, waiting for breakfast to finish, and taking her first sip of coffee, she knew there was nowhere else she’d rather be. Tyler sat on the floor, playing with their kids, laughing at Caelin as he tried to get his toy to work, Addie in his lap, putting sticker earrings on his ears. Unable to resist the perfect scene before her, she ran to get her phone and took the picture.
No matter how hard the struggle was from day to day, these were the moments she knew awaited her. These moments were more than she’d ever hoped or prayed for, and they were all thanks to the love she and Tyler Blackfoot shared. And that, that was a miracle in and of itself as she remembered how they’d met.
Grabbing her iPhone, she walked over to him, to show him the picture. “You want me to send this to you?”
He grinned as he looked at it. “No, I’ll send it to myself.”
She watched as he did just that, and then grabbed it, ready to take another picture. When the lock screen appeared, she put in her passcode, only to find out it didn’t work. The memory of the first time they’d really spoken ran through her. She remembered with great clarity the way he’d changed her passcode when she’d gotten a photograph of evidence she shouldn’t have been privy to and she’d had to seek him out to get it fixed. She couldn’t help put poke him in the chest.
“You’re cute. Change it back.”
He laughed, juggling the kids in his lap. “I got you out of it, didn’t I?”
Neither one of them could argue with that.
Part Seven
Rooster & Roni
Chapter Thirty-Six
“I’m tellin’ you, you’re insane,” Denise Walker told her sister-in-law, Sharon Hancock, as the two of them sat in the office at Walker’s Wheels. They were supposed to be going over inventory, but Sharon, known to everyone as Roni, was laying out all her troubles and Denise was telling her how crazy she was.
“I’m not,” Roni shook her head. “I think he misses it.”
The he in the conversation was Roni’s husband Rooster, member of the Heaven Hill MC, former Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy.
“What makes you think he misses it? I mean from what you’ve told me, there’s nothing screaming out at me that says we’re gonna lose Rooster to the other side.”
How did she explain this to someone who had the kind of relationship Denise did? Roni’s brother, Liam worshiped the ground Denise walked on; she would never be questioning her husband like this. Roni had to admit though, she’d never questioned her husband like this either, but she couldn’t deny in the past few weeks things had changed.
Because of the time of year, it being so close to Christmas, the shop wasn’t as busy as it normally was. People put off repairs to cars so they could pay for Christmas gifts, which meant Rooster’s paycheck sometimes suffered. Then they’d hit the Murphy’s Law trifecta when their water heater, washer and dryer, and heating unit had all gone out in the same week. Add to that the busy life with their toddler son Carter, they were beyond stressed sometimes.
And when they’d noticed their savings account dwindling and realized they wouldn’t have enough money to complete the washer and dryer purchase that this situation had even presented itself. Neither one of them wanted to ask the club for money, even though it would have been okay if they had. Neither wanted anyone to know they were running this tight. Other guys who needed the shifts just as badly as Rooster did would give up their rotation for him, and then Roni would feel guilty because they’d be taking away from another family who probably needed that income just as much as they did.
Then, out of nowhere, a call had come from an old cop friend, asking if Rooster would be interested in doing some private security during the holidays. Rooster had jumped at the
chance and honestly, Roni had felt like it was an answer to a prayer. But the reality of it was different than she imagined it would be. Gone was the guy upset about the fact he couldn’t pay for things they needed as a family and in his place was someone who walked around with a smile on his face, especially when he wore his security uniform. Roni couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Rooster missed his old life and was sorry he’d given it up to be with her. The thought had crossed her mind more than once, and that’s why she’d voiced her concerns to Denise today.
“He’s happier than he’s been in a while, when he leaves the house to go do the stuff for the security team, he’s got a smile on his face. When he comes home he’s in a great mood…” she trailed off because she realized she sounded like a brat. The fact of the matter, was she was kind of pissed she wasn’t the one putting a smile on his face.
“What’s wrong with that?” Denise asked, tilting her head to the side.
“I’m gonna sound like such a bitch, but this is the truth. I want me and Carter to be the people putting the smile on his face; I want the club to make him happy. I worry maybe he missed the law enforcement side of things. He’s hanging out with people he knew from those days. What if he decides that’s what makes him happy and this life doesn’t anymore?” she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and tried like hell to tell herself she was crazy, but in reality it didn’t feel that way. She was really worried about this.
“Roni,” Denise grasped her sister-in-law’s hand across the desk, giving her a patient look. “If you want to know how he’s feeling, you’ve got to ask him. Don’t make assumptions. You know how you’d feel if he started jumping to conclusions about you.”
Yeah, Roni did know how she’d feel. She’d say some smart-ass remark about how he couldn’t read her feelings without talking first, and then she’d set him down and let him have it with both barrels. Rooster though, he was the quiet one of them; he didn’t let much get to him and he sure as hell didn’t feel the need to fight it out the way she always seemed to. “I’m scared to ask,” Roni admitted. “What if I don’t like the answer?”
“And what if you do? What if the answer makes you love him even more? Maybe he’s just excited that he’s being able to provide his family with the things you need. All those appliances you mentioned falling apart. That’s not easy to replace, you said so yourself. What if he’s feeling like the best husband and father in the world because he’s found a way to handle your financial situation? Do you really wanna take that away from him?” Denise questioned. “I just think you’re looking for something that isn’t there, and you know I’m telling you the truth.”
Roni tried to tell herself Denise was right, she was looking for trouble that probably wasn’t even there. She knew that half the time she had ninety-nine problems and ninety-seven were all her imagination, but something about this felt off. “I just don’t know,” Roni put her hands in her hair and set her elbows on the edge of the desk. “I feel like he and I are drifting apart.”
“Because you’re not being honest with him,” Denise pointed out.
“But what if I really feel he’s the one not being honest with me?” she questioned.
“You’re never gonna know until you ask, and that’s not gonna happen until you get yourself out of your own head.”
Roni mulled the situation over, knowing that what her sister-in-law said was true. She couldn’t keep assuming things about Rooster, she couldn’t keep letting her imagination run wild with things she thought he was doing or thinking or feeling. It was time for the two of them to have a conversation. Lord, she dreaded that discussion. They’d been married for years and they hardly ever fought but when they did; it was a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish. It tore both of them apart to argue, but sometimes they had to in order to get to the bottom of things.
“You want me and Liam to keep Carter tonight?” Denise asked carefully.
“No,” she shook her head. “Rooster’s gettin’ home, so late he’ll be asleep anyway. And if I want to have it out with him, I’m gonna have to meet him at his truck, because he’ll smile that sexy smile, and tell me I’m bein’ crazy. I’ll give in, and we’ll go to sleep with nothing being resolved.”
The two women were quiet for a moment, before Denise tapped her nails on the surface of the desk. “I’m only telling you this because I know it’s sometimes hard for you to see what’s right in front of you, but prepared to be wrong. I think you’re wrong about your husband, and if you are, you’ll owe him an apology for even doubting him. I think he’s like the rest of us, real life gets in the way and you struggle with how to deal with it. Sometimes you’re just running from one thing to another, putting out fires to deal with everything that pops up and has to be dealt with right away. And sometimes boxing up the stress to deal with the work that needs to be done is what helps us survive.”
But that was the issue at hand. He should be coming to her; they should be working through it together. Maybe that’s what hurt more than anything. He wasn’t coming to her with his problems. She felt the stress too, wondered where in the fuck they were going to get the money for everything that seemed to be breaking down around them. Wondered how they were going to pay the credit card bills at the end of the month, because they’d gone a little overboard on Christmas gifts for Carter and their nieces and nephew for Christmas. It wasn’t as if he had the market cornered on being worried and stressed for their family.
They should be going through the stress together; they should be helping to hold each other up. Instead it seemed as if he were taking it all on his shoulders and shutting her out. That didn’t fly at all with her, not after how she’d grown up watching her parents behave with one another.
“I’m gonna do it, tonight I’m going to confront him and see what the fuck is going on,” she nodded her head, decisions made.
Denise squeezed her hand. “Good luck with that. We’ll see if the two of you ride into work together tomorrow.”
With any luck, Roni hoped they would.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Rooster yawned so wide his jaw popped as he made his way along the backroads of Warren County. Glancing at the dashboard, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes as he saw the green numbers flash two AM. It had been a long fucking day, and he was going to have to get up and do it again tomorrow. In five hours to be exact.
That was okay though; he didn’t mind working hard for his family. Didn’t mind how his knees ached from standing, how his head hurt from the loud noises of everyone talking around him, how his stomach clenched because he hadn’t eaten dinner before he left. He would do it for Roni and Carter. He would kill himself with the hours he was keeping before he gave up and let them feel like he wasn’t taking care of them.
But Lord, he was tired. Tired as hell. One more week, he kept telling himself. One more week and Christmas would be over, the security gigs would be done and then things could go back to normal. Tightening his grip on the steering wheel, he tried to think about how things had gotten this way.
The perfect storm, he realized. A slow-down for work due to the holidays and then every major appliance they owned bit the dust at once. He’d almost cried when their heater had gone out. They’d woken up to a cold house and Carter had come running in their room shivering. That memory alone was enough to give him nightmares. He never wanted his son to be cold, never wanted him to know what it was like not to have heat on a chilly night. It made him feel like the shittiest parent in the world, even though he knew he couldn’t have predicted their unit would go out on one of the coldest nights of the year.
And Roni, fuck but he missed her. Missed going to bed at the same time as her, missed waking up excited for the day. Right now it was all he could do to drag ass out of bed. He didn’t truly start waking up until his work day at the shop was almost over. Some of the guys had been covering for him while he caught cat naps on the couch in their break area. It’d been rough, but he only had one more week to go and he’d be h
ome free.
Roni was killing him though, she kept looking at him like he was about to break, like he was about to lose his mind. He wasn’t sure what was going on in her head, but he knew eventually they’d have it out. His wife wasn’t one to let things stew for very long. He was pretty surprised at how long she’d allowed them to stew so far.
As he turned off the main road and into their complex of townhouses, he checked the clock again. Two-thirty. Fuck was it even worth it to eat? He was contemplating a protein bar when he caught sight of their front door opening and saw the silhouette of his wife walking towards him.
Parking the truck, he took it out of gear and prepared to face off with the most important woman in his life. For a few seconds his heartbeat sped up and he worried something was wrong with Carter or someone else they cared about. As she walked, his headlights caught her face and he realized she was pissed. She’d obviously had enough and she was ready to have it out. Seeing her face, he knew this wasn’t going to be easy; it was going to leave them both raw. Putting a hand to his sternum he rubbed to ease the ache there, before placing his hand on the doorknob and letting the cold air in.
He could tell by the way Roni stood, her posture, the way she had her hands on her hips, the look in her eyes, she was ready to read him the riot act. Why, he had no idea, but he dredged up what little energy he had left to fortify himself as he opened the door and stepped out of the truck.
“You look like you’ve got a mad on,” he said by way of greeting to her.
“You’re damn right,” she answered as she folded her arms over her chest. “I decided to meet you out here since Carter’s asleep inside, and I’m sick of tip-toeing around the issue.”
Funny, he hadn’t been aware there was an issue. Apparently she had, because she was as mad as he’d ever seen her. “Care to fill me in on why we have an issue and why you’re mad as hell?”
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