Finding Needles (Charon MC Book 10)

by Khloe Wren

  Barbara came up to us holding Ashlynn’s hand. “Before we go in, let me point out your neighbors.” She turned and started pointing to different houses. “Across the street, that one is Mac and Zara’s place, then Taz and Flick, Eagle and Silk. I think the one three doors up there is Tiny and Mercedes.” She looked down at Ashlynn. “And who lives right next door, sweetheart?”

  “Ariel!”

  I looked at the house and remembered it from the morning we’d dropped by to pick up Ashlynn on our way to Rocky Gully. That’s why the street had looked sort of familiar. Ashlynn was nearly jumping out of her skin. I had the feeling she wouldn’t care what the inside of the house looked like, it was next door to Ariel, and to her, that’s all that mattered.

  “I didn’t realize this place was on the market.”

  Barbara shrugged and started walking up to the front door.

  “Technically, it’s not. The couple who lives here happened to mention to Scout a while back that the place was getting too big for them to keep up with and did he know anyone who might be interested. Apparently word is getting out that the Charons are buying up everything on this street.”

  “If we’re the sixth ones to buy in, then yeah, I’d say people would be starting to notice.”

  Ryan sounded as shocked as I felt. Barbara was buying us a house. Unreal.

  She knocked on the door and an elderly man greeted us and let us in. The next twenty minutes was a blur as I tried to shake free from my shock while he took us on a tour of the four bedroom, two and a half bathroom house. I could see how it would be too much for the couple. Their kids were long gone and it was a lot to take care of.

  “The yard isn’t all that big because we have a little cottage out there. Our youngest lived there for a while after her divorce. She moved out a while back though, so it’s empty. If you want to go check it out, I’ll let you go on without me. I don’t have the energy I used to.”

  Barbara certainly didn’t have that issue. I wasn’t sure who was more excited, her or Ashlynn. “Thank you, Donald, I’ll take them out and have a quick look around before we come back in and let you know if we’re going to go ahead with the purchase.”

  The man nodded then headed toward the living room, where his wife was most likely still sitting in a comfy looking recliner like she had been when we’d walked through the room earlier. Barbara didn’t say anything else until we were all inside the cottage. It was sleek and modern, full kitchen along with a bathroom, one bedroom and a small living area.

  “Ashlynn, how about you go play in the yard for a bit and let us adults chat?”

  “Okay, Daddy.” She was out the door and doing cartwheels on the lawn in no time flat.

  “Guessing it gets her seal of approval then.” After watching his daughter for a moment, he turned back to his mother. “Okay, Ma, lay it out. What’s the deal here?”

  “Donald and his wife aren’t the only ones rattling around a house that’s way too big for them. If you and Bess want to live here in Bridgewater, I want to move here too. There’s nothing holding me in Rocky Gully other than a few friends who I can still go visit easily enough if I’m living here. It’s not so far away. But I’ve missed out on so much of Ashlynn’s life. Of yours too, Ryan. I want to be a bigger part of your lives going forward. I promise I’m not going to be in your faces all the time. I’ll mind your privacy, but I was hoping I could live out here while you make the main house your home.”

  I looked around me again. “This is a lot smaller than your place, Barbara. Are you sure you want to go from what you have to this in one step?”

  “If I decide it’s too small, I can always find something bigger. But I really don’t need all that space. Kenneth was the one who was all about image and I did get caught up in it along with him, but recent events have made me rethink all of that. People—family—are far more important than surrounding yourself with the biggest, prettiest things you can find. So, son, Bess, what do you say?”

  Ryan turned to look me in the eye before looking back to his mother. “Can you go out with Ashlynn for a minute? Let us talk this over.”

  She came and gave us both a quick hug. “Sure. Just holler when you’re done.”

  As soon as the door was shut I turned to face Ryan. “Your mom bought us a fucking house!”

  He chuckled and pulled me in against him. “Yeah, looks that way. What do you think? Did you like the house? And be honest about having my mother living this close. I know she’s trying, but I’m sure there will be days we both wanna strangle her.”

  Looking up into his face, I gave his beard a tug until he looked down into my eyes.

  “Ryan, I love you so damn much. There’s no way we could afford to buy this place on our own at the moment. If having your mother, who I happen to adore most days, living in our backyard is the cost of us not having to live at the clubhouse long-term, that’s fine with me. Plus, it’s like live-in babysitting.”

  He growled low and shook his head. “You’re too fucking perfect, woman.”

  Then he took my mouth, kissing me deeply for a few minutes before pulling back.

  “I love you, Bess, so fucking much. Let’s go make Ma and Ashlynn’s day.”

  With a wide grin, I let Ryan take my hand to lead me outside and into the sun. In more ways than one.

  Chapter 13

  Elizabeth

  Tuesday morning I found myself back at Marie’s Cafe. The older kids were all at school, so it was only the babies here with a few of us old ladies. I still wanted to giggle every time I called myself that. Such a silly sounding title that had such a serious meaning. The cafe was busy and Cleo wanted nothing to do with the playpen. I turned to Flick, who was breastfeeding Lolly.

  “Do you think Zara would mind if I go grab Cleo?”

  Flick’s eyes went wide. “Would she mind? You’ll probably get a free slice of pie for it!”

  With a chuckle, I stood and stepped over to the pen.

  “Hey there, Cleo, wanna come sit with me and Aunty Flick while your momma works?”

  Her angry little face was red and tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was really mad. But when I leaned over the side, she was arms up, ready to go. Wrapping my hands around her ribs, I lifted her up against me. She wrapped her legs around my waist and clung to my shirt as she snuggled her face in against my shoulder, no doubt wiping all sorts of snot and tears on me, but I didn’t care. My heart melted and my eyes teared up as the smell of baby wafted up at me. She was more toddler than baby, but still had that smell, the softness.

  I wanted a baby so much, I ached for it. I pressed my cheek against Cleo’s soft hair as I turned and went back to sitting with Flick and Marie at our table.

  “You have the magic touch, honey.”

  I smiled at Marie. “She’s such a little doll.”

  Flick scoffed. “A Chuckie doll, maybe. The little tike is glaring at her momma over your shoulder like she’s telling her off.”

  “I never had a doubt that’s what she was doing, I’m just making the most of getting cuddles.” I inhaled against her hair. “Babies just smell so good.”

  “Oh, honey, you got it bad.”

  I gave Marie a sad smile. “I know. But it is what it is. Ryan mentioned we could try surrogacy, or look into adoption. Maybe even fostering. But I think I want some time with just Ryan and Ashlynn to get settled before we start all of that.”

  “Good idea, because once you have a baby in the house, you’ll end up with no alone time with your man. But let us know when you are ready. We’ll work out a way to get you what you want.”

  Sounded like there was more to Flick’s words than what she was saying, but I didn’t have time to ask her anything before Cleo started bouncing against me, making me fumble to get a good grip on her so she didn’t fall off my lap.

  “Dada, dada!”

  Marie scoffed. “Told you she’s shameless when her daddy comes in.”

  “Hey, ladies. Baby girl, you causing your mama trouble at
work again?”

  Mac leaned over and took her from me and she instantly went all big eyes and smiles for her father.

  “Oh, that’s like some kind of super power right there.”

  Mac chuckled at my words. “Yeah, it sure is. You are a shameless daddy’s girl, aren’t you?”

  She giggled. The child who was screaming down the shop ten minutes ago was now all sweet smiles and giggles for her daddy. I shook my head.

  “Well, I’m gonna take her for a walk up to the gym with me, give Zara and you ladies a break for a while. Catch you all later!”

  I frowned as he strode back out the door. “Do you all just have your kids with you all day? Even when you’re working?”

  Flick was now burping Lolly over her shoulder. “Yep. We keep talking about setting up a daycare but none of us knows the first thing about how to get it done.”

  Marie scoffed at the younger woman. “No, we know how to set it up. None of us wants to run the damn thing. We’re either too busy already, or have no desire to change that many diapers every day.”

  I chewed on my lower lip as I wondered about something.

  “Barbara wanted to help underprivileged kids, that’s how Godfrey lured her in. I know none of the Charon kids are in that category, but she might be interested in heading up the place. You’d open it to the public to, right? It wouldn’t just be for the Charon kids. So she might get to help those kids she wanted to. We could have some kind of program for those that can’t afford to put their kids into care or something.”

  Marie sat up straighter in her seat, readjusting Joey to do so. “It would be open to the public, although Charon kids would get the first priority. Can you ask Barbara if she’s interested? Like, really interested. Because we have to get something set up. It just isn’t working having the older ones in with us at work. Raven’s running around now, so Rose takes him so Eagle and Silk can both work, but I know she struggles to keep up with him if they have him for a few days in a row. Bulldog’s arthritis doesn’t help matters.”

  “Sure, I’ll ask. No time like the present, right?”

  I pulled my phone out and dialed her number.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Barbara, you have a minute to talk?”

  “Give me five and we’ll have all afternoon to chat.”

  I frowned, “Um, what do you mean?”

  “I’m just heading into town now. You’re at that cute little cafe, right?”

  “Marie’s Cafe, yeah. Why are you in Bridgewater again?”

  “Well, your parents wanted to see you, dear.”

  “Oh.”

  “See you in a bit!”

  She hung up but I didn’t move.

  “Ah, Bess, you okay, honey? You’ve gone a little pale.”

  I looked at Marie. “Barbara will be here in a few minutes. With my parents.”

  “Why did that make you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

  “I haven’t spoken to them since everything went down. I kinda yelled at them before running out of the house.”

  Marie reached out to pat my hand. “It’ll be fine, honey. They wouldn’t be coming to meet you in public if it was something horrible they wanted to say to you. And Flick and I will stay right here to make sure you’re fine.”

  I was speechless for a bit. I’d been in the club for all of a minute but these women had my back and were prepared to go to bat for me. I’d never had friends like this—well, except for Ryan.

  “Thank you.”

  The door opened and I turned to see Barbara lead my very nervous looking parents in. The morning rush had finished, so it wasn’t quite so crowded in here at least. I stood as they got closer and gave Barbara a hug first. She leaned in to whisper in my ear.

  “Be gentle with them. I promise they’re not here to cause trouble. Your father even shut the office down to come.”

  Wow. Dad never closed the office. With a pat on my shoulder, she moved on to greet Marie, Flick, and the babies. I didn’t look. Instead, I watched my parents. Mom came up to me first and pulled me in to a tight hug.

  “Honey, I wish you’d told us sooner what happened to you. Barbara came over earlier and we had a long chat about everything. We had no idea. We would have helped you through it.”

  I returned her hug. “There was nothing you could have done, Mom. I just wanted to put it behind me.”

  She pulled back and held my shoulders. “But you didn’t. You got stuck and I had no idea how to help you get past it. I’ll be forever grateful for Ryan for finding a way to help you.”

  Then she moved over and Dad awkwardly stood a few steps away from me. My confident, proud father looked anything but in this moment. Not able to stand it, I went to him, wrapping my arms around his waist to hug him. He instantly wrapped me in his embrace, resting his cheek on my head.

  “I’m sorry I broke the rules, Dad. I’m sorry I lost my temper and yelled at you and Mom, and I’m so sorry I never told you about what happened.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, I’m the one who’s sorry. Rules are important, especially at work, but not more important than the life of someone we care about. I spent some time with the FBI yesterday, they wanted to see the files you had checked. As I pulled them out for them, they said that you not only saved Barbara’s life but countless others.” He pulled away and held my shoulders, looking me in the eye. “Honey, I’m proud of you. So damn proud. Your job is safe, it will always be safe. If you want it. I can understand after everything that happened if you didn’t want to work in law anymore.”

  “Come and sit down, meet a couple of my and Ryan’s friends. We’ll talk about it. I have some ideas I want to run past you three.”

  “Us three?”

  I nodded as I helped Dad shift a table over to the one the others were sitting at, so we could all sit together. I had to chuckle that Barbara had already managed to take the now sleeping Lolly off Flick’s hands.

  “Yep, you, Mom and Barbara.”

  “You mentioned on the phone you had a question for me.”

  Marie sat straighter. “May I start off, Bess?”

  I shrugged, while trying not to laugh at Dad’s attempt to not react to Marie calling me Bess. “Sure, go for it.”

  “Barbara, as you saw on Saturday, we’ve been having a bit of a baby boom in the club for the past few years and we now find ourselves with a whole lot of kids who need to be looked after so all of us parents can work. We keep talking about starting up a daycare in town, but we never quite get around to doing it. Mainly because we don’t have anyone to take on running it.”

  Marie stopped and looked to me, so I took over.

  “Ryan mentioned that you wanted to work with kids. I mean, it’s not exactly what you wanted to do, I know. Most of the kids would be from Charon MC families, but it would be open to the public too, and we could add programs for underprivileged kids to get in without the fees or something.” I shrugged. “Endless options, really. So I was wondering if you’d like to head it up?”

  Barbara sat still for a minute, clearly thinking things over. “I’m would love to, but I’m not sure I could keep up with all the kids by myself.”

  Marie reached out and patted her hand. “You wouldn’t be alone. Employees shouldn’t be hard to find—it was a trustworthy manager we were struggling with finding.”

  “That’s the other thing I was thinking.” I glanced over at my dad. “I don’t want to work in law forever.”

  He nodded. “As I said, I completely understand if you don’t, after what you’ve been through.”

  “And you really don’t need someone full-time anyway. So, I was thinking I could work for you part-time while I go to college, or night school or something, and get my child care certification. Then I can help Barbara run things. Get my baby fix and work at the same time.”

  Holding my breath, I looked around the table and blew it out in relief as everyone was grinning at me. Just like Ryan had told me they would when I’d run my idea past him last night.
/>
  Marie whipped out her phone and before I could ask what she was doing, she had it to her ear.

  “Hey, honey. How soon can you get yourself, Mac, Keys, Arrow and Nitro over here?” She rolled her eyes. “Nothing’s wrong. Calm the hell down. Bess has an idea to run past you all.” Another pause. “No, it can’t wait. This has waited long enough.” Now she shook her head. “Yes, he can come. It’s not a secret project or anything. Just come over here, please?”

  She hung up with a sigh. “Men make everything so much harder than it needs to be.” She gave my dad a wink. “Present company excluded, I’m sure. We all need to head over to the clubhouse. Apparently they can’t discuss club business in here, even if it isn’t a secret project.”

  All the officers of the club were coming to hear my idea. This should be interesting. And kinda scary as hell.

  Needles

  “Yo, Needles, we’re needed over at the clubhouse.”

  I put my wrench aside and grabbed a rag to wipe my hands as I turned to face Scout. “What’s up?”

  “No fucking idea. The girls have some idea they want the club officers to hear about. Figured since it was your woman who had the idea, you’d want to come along too.”

  I grinned, knowing exactly what this was about. Bess had run it past me last night and was worried about how the women would react. I knew how they’d react. They’d fucking love it.

  “You’re grinning like you know what this is all about. Spill it.”

  “Bess had some ideas on making the Charon MC child-care center come to life. She was planning on talking to the women about it today. I’m guessing she has.”

  Scout relaxed. “That explains Marie wanting to rush us. She and Rose have been talking about this thing for ages now. Be good to get it up and running. Way too many kids and not enough grandparents to watch ‘em.”

  We cleaned up and headed for our bikes.

  “I’m surprised Bridgewater doesn’t already have one, actually.”

  Scout nodded. “The school has an out-of-hours program, but it’s got seriously limited space, and that doesn’t cover the littles. It’s been something the town needs for a good, long while now.”