by M. N. Forgy
“Was that Daddy?”
Bending down, I take Halle’s hand and look her in the eyes.
“They found Daddy hurt really badly,” I begin to tell her and her innocent face rips me to shreds. I have to remind myself that Kace was not the father figure I wanted for Halle, that he used her as a pawn and cared nothing about her.
“Is he dead?” she outright asks, and I nod.
She inhales a breath and then starts to dribble her basketball.
“Baby?” I try to get her attention, to make sure she’s okay.
“Hey, do you wanna go to the park?” she asks with doe eyes. I look to North, confused by Halle’s reaction. I just told her that Kace was dead.
“Yeah, maybe we can go later,” North answers for me, and Halle turns around and dribbles the ball all the way to the kitchen.
“Kids are weird, man, but that aside, people react differently to death. Maybe it hasn’t hit her,” North offers.
Crossing my arms, I nibble on my nail watching Halle make a bowl of cereal.
“Or maybe she knew her daddy didn’t really love her,” I say aloud. He never did show her affection like the other fathers did. Hugs, kisses, sneaking her ice cream after dinner even when she refused to eat her corn. He just didn’t care, he looked through her like she didn’t exist until the day we got divorced. He never did want kids though, he even wanted me to get an abortion but my parents forbid it, not that I was going to do it anyway. The day I found out I was pregnant with Halle was the scariest and best day of my life. Like a blessing in disguise.
Huh, kind of like my divorce with Kace.
Being on my own I’ve learned I might still be that naive, timid girl, but there is a woman of a stronger magnitude inside of me. I’ve seen her, and she’s one nobody wants to reckon with.
I think all women have that potential harboring inside of them, it just takes the one asshole to bring out their true colors.
North grabs the door, rocking it back and forth.
“I’m going to fix this and then head to the club, let them know the cops found Kace,” North informs, taking his eyes from the hinges to me. “Why don’t you spend the day with Halle, make sure she’s okay.”
Hands on my hips, I nod in agreement. I’ll take her to the park with the nice basketball courts, maybe there I can gauge her mood a little better.
Eleven
North
At the club I find Chaos playing pool with Sly, I grab a beer from the bar and take a seat on a bar stool. The smell of leather and cigarettes instantly making me relax after this morning’s events.
“Cops came to Aspen’s place today.” I breathe out heavily.
This grabs both men’s attention and they look at me with wide eyes. “They found the body,” I continue.
“This a problem?” Chaos asks, his body splayed across the pool table as he gets ready to take a turn.
“I don’t think so, they seemed to believe he was just a drunk at the wrong place wrong time.” I shrug, taking a pull from my beer.
Chaos strikes, nailing almost every ball into a pocket, causing Sly to curse under his breath.
“Let me know if that changes.” He straightens, giving me a curt nod.
“Have you found a place for the kid when Aspen is working yet?” Chaos asks, and I furrow my brows.
“No, I was waiting until the authorities found the body of Kace, didn’t want Aspen acting any different,” I explain my actions, but can’t gauge whether having the kid at the club still pisses Chaos off or not.
“Do you remember Honey Bee?” Chaos looks to me, scratching his chin covered in hair.
“Yeah, she used to work the club through college.”
“Well, it’s summer, so she can’t be teaching, see if she wants to watch the kid while Aspen works,” Chaos suggests and I point at him with approval.
“Good idea!”
Sliding off the stool, I decide to go clean my motorcycle up, it’s been awhile since I’ve shown my other woman some care. Just as I’m about to hit the threshold of the front door Chaos calls my name and I turn.
“Bring Aspen by the club, I wanna meet her.”
Shit.
Aspen
I took Halle to the park and we played basketball with each other, she really is good at it, but she wouldn’t say much about her dad. She doesn’t act sad but doesn’t act happy either. She’s the same child she was two days ago.
My phone pings and I pick it up with my spare hand, making sure to keep my other on the steering wheel.
It’s North, he wants me to come by the club.
My brows furrow with uncertainty, I’ve never been to a motorcycle club before. I wonder if they know about Kace. Wait, of course they do. North doesn’t give me a chance to reply before he sends the address to the club.
I glance over to Halle who is laying on her arms on the windowsill, watching the town pass us by. Maybe having some men who are here to protect her wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
I follow the directions until coming to the club, it’s an old firehouse just like the word around town has it. North is shirtless bent down rubbing a cloth along the back end of his motorcycle when he spots us pull in. Parking next to him, I instantly become nervous about being here.
He grins and walks over to my side of the car, leaning in the window. His eyes looking me up and down.
“You look good.”
I blush, running my hands down my white tank and ripped up jeans.
He opens the door to my car and my face falls.
“Come on, the guys wanna say hi.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I look around nervously. The sun shines behind the clubhouse making it look holy, but the shadow the building casts down upon us is cold and alarming if anything.
“Me? Why, are they mad about the cops showing up?” I whisper low enough so Halle can’t hear me.
He shakes his head, but it still doesn’t do anything to convince me that being here is okay. Halle climbs out of the car with her basketball in hand, her eyes squinting from the falling sun as she looks the place over.
“Are you a firefighter, North?” Her innocence showing itself again.
“We don’t usually let little humans inside, but someone special wants to meet you,” North informs her and her face lights up.
“Probably because he heard I’m pretty good at basketball, if I get on the team, he’ll wanna come,” she says, so sure of herself. I can’t fight back a smile at the thought of an entire motorcycle club coming to watch a little girl play basketball. It’d stop the bullies from picking on her for wanting to play ball though.
North presses his hand on the small of my back, ushering me forward.
“Come on, some of the guys are inside.”
My fingers start to tingle and my chest feels heavy with nerves as we walk across the lot and into the clubhouse.
The smell of leather and smoke is what I notice first and then the big burly men around a pool table.
“Guys, this is Aspen,” North introduces me and goes behind the bar to grab a beer. I give a little wave, my face flustered from all the attention.
A man with a beard and scraggly hair places his pool stick on the table and struts over toward me and Halle, his cut naming him Chaos.
“This is Chaos, the club president,” North informs me, and I give a smile in return. He’s big and scary, the kind of guy you’d lock your car doors if he walked by.
“So you’re the girl,” he states with a rugged tone. He holds his hand out and I return the gesture, shaking his hand.
“Look, Mom, they have a pole just like they do at your work!” Halle points the fireman pole out and I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole as the other guys begin to laugh.
A man with tattoos up his neck walks over to Halle and I tense, he’s intimidating looking. I search his cut, finding his name is Sly, the treasurer. Whatever he just said makes Halle jump with joy and run across the building and up the stairs.
North chuckles as if he knows exactly where she’s going, but it doesn’t ease my apprehension any. A fit of giggles can be heard beside me as I see Halle slide down the fireman pole.
“Can I do it again?” she asks Sly, and he shrugs as if he doesn’t care. There she goes, running across the clubhouse to slide down the pole again.
North slides up beside me and leans in.
“Relax,” he whispers. Inhaling a deep breath through my nose, I let it out between my lips and try and tell myself to calm the hell down. Nobody is of threat here, in fact, they’re just like North if anything.
“So, North was telling me you didn’t have a sitter.” Chaos crosses his arms, tilting his head to the side. I snatch North’s beer, needing something to help with the butterflies in my stomach and take a large gulp as I nod.
“We had a girl who danced at the club to put herself through school, wanted to be a teacher. I talked to her today and she said she’d love to watch Halle while you work nights,” Chaos informs me, and my brows furrow with the information.
“Why?” the question comes out before I can snatch it back.
“Why what?”
“Why’d you do that for me?” I ask, I mean it’s a fair question. I don’t even know him and he’s doing things for me that close friends would do for one another.
He raises his hands up in the air and stretches his arms.
“Friend of North’s is a friend of ours, babe,” he explains.
I take another pull of North’s drink. I’ve been good my whole life and was only met with evil. Then I toe the line of being something I was told was morally wrong my whole life and find the most genuine people you could ever meet. It’s a mind fuck if anything.
“Thank you,” I mutter, still in awe of everything this club has done for me and Halle.
“No problem, you’ll love her. She’s a good gal,” Sly says with a shrug of his shoulder.
“Isn’t that right, North?”
My heart sinks as Sly jabs at North, I have to remember I’m basically in a man cave where they give each other shit. I have to act like I’m unfazed, even if I do want to turn around and glare at North for being a manwhore.
“Don’t know, sloppy seconds is more your style, isn’t it?” North winks, giving a nod in Sly’s direction..
“Hey, I heard if she’s a dancer then she’s your type no matter what.” Sly laughs, and I try and keep my shit together and not get jealous.
Beer in hand, I give a small smile before remembering I’m not a dancer anymore, I’m a house mom and I still have to face Valley when North gives her the news that she’s been replaced.
“Aspen is on the books for Thursday, so we will make sure everything is all set up by then,” North changes the subject, snatching his beer back from me. I’d fight him over it, but it’s probably a good call he took it. I still have to drive home.
Outside, North grabs me by the wrist, turning me and pushing me up against the firehouse. I turn my head, looking the other way.
“What?”
He smiles.
“You’re jealous.” He says rather than asks.
“About what?” I play dumb, but my insides feel like they’re being torn out just thinking about how many dancers at the club North has been with.
“I had a life before you, a lonely one and I did my best to live it,” he says, and I finally meet his eyes. I don’t want him to apologize for his past, that wouldn’t be fair of me.
“I’m not a dancer anymore, what if a new girl starts—”
“She’s not you. I’ve seen girls come and go and none of them have come close to you, Aspen,” he cuts me off, and I feel myself relax in his hold.
“Did you know Aspen is a place in Colorado, and North is a cold place. It’s like you two are both cold!” Halle cuts in, reminding me that she hears everything. North grins, letting me go.
“Can’t have the beautiful Colorado mountains without the cold, can you Halle?” North plays off Halle’s poetry, I playfully slap at North.
“She won’t always be around to save your ass, you know.” I raise a brow as we walk back to my car. He gives me that playboy look that makes me instantly melt, and grabs my ass.
“You can’t be mad at me.” He lays on his charm, and it occurs to me how right he is.
I’m falling for a King and there’s no turning back.
Twelve
Aspen
Two Days Later
Pulling up to Honey’s house, it’s a simple white house with black shutters and a bunch of green bushes planted perfectly by the front door. I talked to her a few times over the phone and she has the voice of a kindergartener teacher for sure. Very friendly and excited about everything. She would have been a real treat to see dancing at Centerfolds.
Taking off my seat belt, I look to my daughter. “You ready?”
“You sure I can’t come with you?” She pokes out her bottom lip, not liking the idea of staying with a stranger.
“Yes babe, my place of work is not for kids.”
“It’s just dancing, Mom, it’s not like you do bad stuff there,” she argues, obviously not seeing any of us woman dance naked on the pole… yet.
“Enough, you’re going to make me late,” I snap, opening my door and getting out, she does the same, a basketball in her hand. She tucks it under her arm, her gray sweatpants are pulled up to her knees because she’s hot and wouldn’t listen to me about putting on shorts, and the white shirt she’s wearing has ketchup fingerprints on it from lunch. I sigh, wishing she would have changed but if this woman is a teacher, she should know how dirty they can be.
Before we even reach the front door, it opens and out steps a short woman about my age. Her hair is cut short, and the white dress she’s wearing is about as innocent-looking as you can get.
No way this chick was a stripper. She bends over, her hands between her knees as she gazes at Halle with wide eyes.
“Oh my gosh, you are just too much!” she squeals with excitement. Honey looks up to me, and shakes her head with her hands now on her hips.
“I just miss my students so much in the summer, it’s a real treat to get to spend time with a kiddo,” she tells me.
Halle looks up at her, doing that squinty face thing she does, her blond hair a mess from sweating.
“Do you like basketball?” Halle asks.
“Do I like basketball? I have a hoop on the back of my house,” she tells Halle, and just like that, she stole the soul of my daughter. Halle begins to run behind the house before I call her name and stop her.
“Hugs!” I remind her, and she rolls her eyes coming back for lovin’. I snatch her up and hug her hard.
“I’ll be back early in the morning, okay?”
“Yes Mom, I know,” she says, kissing my cheek before running off to find the hoop.
Honey looks to me, a smile on her face.
“She’ll be fine, promise. Call anytime you wanna check up on her,” she offers, walking backward to catch up with Halle.
Biting my lip, I sigh and nod. This is good for Halle.
Turning around to get back in my car, I tuck away the mom feels and remember today is the day I am replacing Valley. North said he let Valley know yesterday he was letting her go so I didn’t have to come into a confrontation with her today, so that helps my anxiety a lot, but still. I’m a mom to a bunch of strippers and I have no clue what I’m doing.
Pulling into the strip club parking lot, I’m one of the first here, which is what’s supposed to happen. I unlock the building, turning the lights on and make sure everything is in working order for the girls.
The front door opens, the setting sun letting in more light than there is in the whole building as Ariel walks in.
“Hey babe!” I wave at her, checking the tail of Bad Bunny’s bottoms. She keeps telling me it’s too floppy, so I’m going to try to sew it on tighter for her before she gets here.
>
“I cannot believe you’re the house mom!” Ariel smiles with excitement, coming farther into the club. She’s wearing booty shorts and tight black tube top, a black bulky purse over her shoulder.
“Tell me about it, I don’t have a clue what I’m doing,” I confess, shaking the material in my hand to see if the tail flops.
“No, I think it’s perfect for you. I’ve seen you with Halle, if anyone can be a mom to the girls… it’s you. Valley would have never fixed the tail of Bad Bunny’s panties.” She giggles, making me laugh. I look over my shoulder to the clock over the bar, it’s about time for the girls to start arriving, I better get myself together.
Cleaning up my sewing mess off the bar, I head to the locker room, Ariel right behind me.
“You think I’ll make it to a dancing position now that there’s a spot open?” she asks, opening her locker and shoving her purse inside.
I pull out my red strappy heels that’ll go with my white jumpsuit, the front dipping down past my belly button.
I sit on the bench they have placed in the middle of the room, and tug my flip-flops off and place my shoes on. “I don’t see why not, did you tell them you’re interested?” I make conversation.
“Oh, they know.” Her eyes widen, conveying she’d told them a hundred times she wants to dance.
Standing up, I laugh. “I’m sure you’ll get it.” I take a step toward the vanity room and my ankle goes sideways, a loud snap echoing through the locker room.
I fall to the ground, hissing and holding my ankle.
“Oh my God, Aspen! Are you okay?” She falls to all fours and is by my side in seconds.
“What the fuck?” I cry out, tugging the heel off. The straps, they’ve been cut!
Ariel looks the shoe over before finally snatching it. “Someone did this intentionally!” she hollers, holding the shoe like it’s the murder weapon in a game of clue.
Bad Bunny comes running into the room half naked, her panties with the bunny tail in one hand.
