by Marla Monroe
Scope could tell that Tag was a little leery for some reason. Considering the type of club it was and how controversial that type of lifestyle was, he couldn’t blame him. The man hadn’t seen or heard from him in eleven years. A lot could happen to someone in that time. A lot had.
“I’d appreciate an introduction if you don’t mind. Gunner and I’ve bought a house on the east side of town and plan to settle down here. It would be nice to have somewhere safe and, um, discreet, to go without having to make a long drive.”
Tag didn’t say anything for a second. Scope wondered what the other man was thinking, and if he was seriously trying to decide if he trusted Scope enough to sponsor him. Or maybe it was sponsoring Gunner that worried him. He had never heard of the man.
“Look. You don’t have to step up on this if you don’t want to. Or, if you aren’t comfortable with Gunner, just set me up with an interview then I can get him in later. He can still come as my guest, right?”
“Yeah, he can, but that’s not necessary. I’m just trying to think when a good time is. I might need to call Max and Sawyer to set up a time. I’m not sure of the daytime schedule there. Can I call you back at this number in a few minutes?” Tag asked.
“Sure. I’d appreciate it. Talk to you soon.” Scope hung up and tossed the phone on the pillow next to him before leaning back against the headboard to think.
Getting back into a club sounded right. It would help him relax and ease back into the laid-back life of Perkins City at an easier pace. Then he was wondering about Darla and how she would react to being dominated by him and Gunner. She was a natural submissive and would look stunning in a silver collar against her darker skin.
First he had to find out if she was married or not then he could figure out how to coax her into his and Gunner’s world. They were as much of a team here as they had been back in the Marines. With his need to pleasure a woman until she was putty in his hands and Gunner’s need to control it all, Darla wouldn’t know what hit her. He prayed she would be willing to experiment to see what she enjoyed. He could live without most anything in his life, but didn’t want to live without the peace it gave him to coax orgasms out of willing women.
Only now, I just want all of them to come from one woman in particular. God help me if she’s married. Fuck, and there’s her kid.
Chapter Three
“Mom, can we go to the ball park this afternoon? I want to play catch with some of the guys.” Tommy’s hopeful face pulled at her heartstrings so hard that she gave in and nodded.
“Okay. Give me thirty minutes to finish up and we’ll go,” she told him. As much as she wanted a nap, Darla couldn’t turn down her son’s request. He rarely asked for anything.
“Okay. I’m going to get my ball and glove and go outside to wait,” he told her.
She smiled as he raced back to his room. God she needed a nap. Working like she’d been doing was getting to her. They could squeak by with her only working at Rizzoli’s, but it didn’t provide the extras that her son needed, much less wanted, sometimes. Like a new baseball glove for his birthday. The one he’d gotten when he’d turned six was really too small now, and since it had been a cheap one, it wasn’t holding up very well either.
With a sigh, Darla finished cleaning the refrigerator and wiped down the counter. After drying her hands and smoothing on hand lotion, she grabbed her keys and purse. Just before she walked out the door, she remembered that they would need something to drink while they were there. More importantly, Tommy would need something like Gatorade to keep from getting dehydrated playing in the sun.
“Ready, sport?” she asked as she locked the front door.
“Yeah. Thanks, Mom.”
She smiled. Her son was amazing. Despite growing up without a father and making do with secondhand things when all the other kids he knew had the latest in clothes and toys, he was thankful for everything and so sweet to her.
“We’re going to stop at a convenience store on the way to get something to drink. Be thinking about what flavor Gatorade you’re going to want,” she told him.
“Purple!”
Darla laughed. “That’s not a flavor, son.”
“I know. It’s a color, but I don’t know what flavor it is. It’s not quite grape but it’s not berry either.”
She laughed. “Okay. Purple it is.”
When they pulled up outside the store on the way to the ball field, Tommy waited until she’d gotten out and was next to his door before he jumped out. Even though he didn’t hold her hand anymore unless they were around traffic or in a huge crowd, he still waited on her for a lot of things. She couldn’t have asked for a better son.
“What are you going to get to drink, Mom?” he asked her as they headed for the cooler in the back.
“Water. I don’t need to replace anything like you do. I’m not getting all hot and sweaty,” she teased.
“And stinky. You always say I stink when I get that way,” her son said with a wide grin.
“Yep, that, too.”
“Darla?” The voice sounded familiar.
She turned and was surprised to see Chester—no, it was Scope—and his friend Gunner. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks for some reason. It had done the same thing the other day when they’d walked into Rizzoli’s.
“Oh. Hi, Scope, Gunner,” she managed to get out without stammering this time. “Um, this is my son, Tommy. Tommy, say hello to some friends of mine.”
Tommy stepped from behind her and held out his hand, his face serious like it always got when he met new people.
“Hi. Great to meet you,” he said when Scope shook his hand.
“You, too.” Scope looked over at Gunner. “This is my friend, Gunner.”
Darla watched as Gunner squatted down to Tommy’s level and held out his hand with the same serious expression her son had.
“Pleasure to meet you, young man. How old are you?” he asked.
“I’m eight. It’s nice to meet you, too.” Tommy stepped back after shaking gunner’s hand. He took her hand and looked up. “Do you want me to get our drinks, Mom?”
“That would be great, Tommy.” She watched him walk the rest of the way to the coolers before turning around.
“You’ve got a nice-looking son, Darla. He has your eyes,” Scope said.
“Thank you. He’s a great kid,” she told him.
“Got them, Mom.” Tommy returned with the purple Gatorade and a large bottle of water.
“Where are you guys going with that?” Scope asked.
“Mom’s taking me to the ball park to play catch,” Tommy told them.
“Your dad must be working then,” Gunner said.
Darla didn’t miss the odd expression Scope sent Gunner’s way. Before she could answer, Tommy did.
“Nope. Don’t have a dad. Mom said he wasn’t good enough for me.” He looked up at Darla. “I’ll take these to the counter, Mom.” She watched Tommy walk toward the front.
“I think I agree with your son,” Scope told her, a frown flowing across his mouth.
“Yeah, well. I didn’t want him to think it was his fault or anything. Besides, Tommy is a great little boy and only deserves the best.” She pasted on a smile over the bitter pain that still, after eight years, tore at her. “I better be going. Nice running into you two. Have a good day.”
Darla hurried up to the counter to pay for their purchases. It wasn’t that she still pined over Mason’s loss. It was that he’d turned his back on Tommy. Her son deserved a father and the best life she could provide for him instead of just scraping by all the time. She hurt for him.
“Okay, let’s go, honey. Do you know who’s going to be there to catch with?” she asked, just to make conversation so she wouldn’t look back to find the two men.
“I know Jeremy will be there, but I don’t know who else,” he told her.
Once they arrived at the park, she followed along behind her son as he made a beeline toward Jeremy, one of the boys in his classroom
at school. She liked Jeremy and his parents. She hoped his mom would be there so she’d have someone she knew to talk to. Otherwise, Darla was sure she’d think about Scope and Gunner. Those thoughts were off limits to her. She wasn’t the type of woman they would go for. Not only was she poor white trash, but she had a son. Neither one of them would ever want to take on someone else’s child.
She was lucky to find that Jeremy’s mom was there with him. When she climbed up on the bleachers to sit close by, Peggy smiled and waved her over.
“Hey, how are you doing? I haven’t seen you in forever, Darla,” the other woman said.
“I’m doing fine. Joe must be working today. He never misses a chance to bring Jeremy to the park,” Darla teased.
“Yeah. They’re doing some overtime at the shop. A trucking company liked their work so much that they brought all of their trucks over for overhauls and are going to start using them for all of their service.” Peggy sighed. “I’m glad for the hours and the work since he’s had to come home early a few times when they didn’t have much of it, but I miss him, too.”
“I’m sure you do. Won’t it get better after they finish all the overhauls?” Darla asked her.
“Joe said it wouldn’t, because the company has over two hundred trucks and at least twenty or are always needing work of some type. He said the boss is already looking for more help.” Peggy looked over toward where the two boys were throwing the ball back and forth.
“Maybe he will find someone soon then. I know it must be hard when you’re used to him being at home more.” Darla patted the woman’s hand.
“I don’t know how you manage by yourself, Darla. I mean I only work part time, and keeping up with the house and Jeremy is more than I can do sometimes.” Peggy shook her head.
“It’s not always easy, and Tommy misses a lot because I can’t always take him places when I’m working. That’s one of the reasons we haven’t been here as much. I hate it that he loses out on opportunities to be around other kids his age.” She sighed. It was a constant worry of hers. Where did she draw the line at working more? He needed clothes and things, but he also needed time with other kids.
“You’re doing an amazing job with him. He’s one of the best behaved and nicest kids I’ve been around. You should be very proud of yourself, too.” Peggy squeezed her shoulder. “You need some you time outside of work, honey. Why don’t you plan to bring Tommy over to our house next time you’re off from work? They can play and you can get a manicure or your hair done or just take a long nap. It would be good for you, and Tommy is no trouble at all.”
Darla had to fight to keep from tearing up at the other woman’s generosity. She knew it was a genuine offer and that made it that much harder to control her emotions. She’d had so many offers of help that had turned out to be solely for show and to “do their Christian duty.” It had soured her on accepting help from most anyone. After her parents had died several years back only a few months apart, Darla had been left to raise her son completely on her own. Those who’d used her to make themselves feel good soon found out she wasn’t going to help them in their efforts any longer.
“That is so kind of you, Peggy. I appreciate it. I’ll see what is going on the next time I’m off. I know the boys love to play together. Maybe we could do that for each other sometimes. Then you could have a day or an afternoon to yourself,” she suggested.
Peggy’s eyes lit up. “I think that’s a great idea.”
Darla relaxed, and the two women visited while the boys played nonstop. Despite the constant chatter between her and Peggy, Darla still managed to slip in thoughts of Scope along with his friend Gunner. It worried her, a lot.
* * * *
“Well that answered the question of if she was married or not,” Gunner pointed out as they carried the beer back to the truck.
“I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t someone want to be with her?” Scope asked. “She’s gorgeous, sweet, and obviously a good person and a hard worker.”
“Some guys don’t appreciate what’s in front of them. You know that, man. Look at the guys we served with. Some of them played around when they had good women waiting on them at home.” Gunner started the truck and backed out of the parking space to head toward home.
“So how do you feel about her now that we know she’s not married?” Scope asked his friend.
“She’s a sweet girl. You should go after her,” Gunner said without looking his direction.
“That’s not how we’ve worked in a long time. We share. I like to make the women come and you like to control them. We work well together. I’m a pushover and you’re the voice of reason. Are you going to start letting women walk all over me again?” Scope watched the expressions flit across his face before Gunner’s normal bland look settled in place once again.
“I thought she was a keeper. Are you saying you just want to mess around with her then move on? She’s not like that, man, and you know it. Don’t play with her emotions if you’re not serious about her. She deserves more than that.”
Scope smiled. “Sounds like you care about her, to me.”
“Fuck you, Scope. Stop analyzing everything I say. She’s obviously a good person who’s gotten the raw end of the deal and still managed to make things work with a good attitude. Why would you want to fuck that up?” Gunner asked in a snarl.
“I don’t. I want us to take care of her like she deserves,” he told his friend.
“Yeah, well, I don’t think we deserve someone like her. She’s not someone to take to a fucking club. She’s someone who needs to be coddled and treated like a queen.” Gunner pulled the truck into their drive, a snarl still on his face.
“Why can’t we do both? What makes you think she wouldn’t enjoy playing with us as well as being taken care of? She’s obviously been doing it all for a long time. Don’t you think it’s about time she has someone taking over the slack?” Scope really wanted that. He wanted Gunner with him on it, but if he couldn’t eventually convince the other man then he was going to go after her alone.
She was worth any amount of walking on he took from her. She had always been a caring girl, and it looked like that hadn’t changed since he’d left. It pissed him off that she’d somehow ended up with a loser who got her pregnant then walked away. He’d love two minutes alone with the guy. That would be all it would take for him to know he’d fucked up big time.
Yeah, Gunner was right. Neither one of them deserved someone like Darla, but she did deserve more than she was getting now. They could give that and more to her. He smiled. He already liked her son because it was obvious he was a good kid. He minded his mom and was polite. The thought of taking Tommy to the ball park and playing catch with him sort of felt good to him. Honestly, he hadn’t thought about having kids even once in his life, especially since he’d been in the marines.
“Are you getting out or do you want to sit in the truck and daydream all day?” Gunner asked as he stood outside the truck with the door open.
“I’m getting out,” Scope said. “Think we can finish up the rest of the dry walling today? I’d sure like to get the contractors in here to finish up.”
“Probably. They’re going to charge extra since you changed up some of the original plans. You know that, don’t you?”
“So. I want it right. It just took me a while to figure out what that was. You like the changes. I can tell.” Scope smiled at his friend.
“I don’t care one way or the other. I just want this finished. We both need to start looking for work soon or we won’t have any savings left,” Gunner snarled.
Scope wasn’t really worried about that. They hadn’t spent more than a dime all the years they were in. Gunner had a knack for investments, which meant they were both much better off than well-to-do. They’d bought the house outright and paid for most of the reconstruction they were doing in cash. They’d agreed to take out a modest loan to pay for the major changes to save their cash and give them some interest to use to write off
on taxes. It worked for them.
A lot of guys returning from overseas didn’t have a lot of useful experience or marketable trade and suffered for it. He was thankful that he’d spent the first part of his time in working on diesel engines. It meant he would be able to find some type of job around big trucks. Gunner had some experience in working on trucks, but better than that, he had a head for numbers and was an expert when it came to investments. His only problem was that he didn’t have a degree in accounting or anything.
They’d talked a lot about his options. Scope thought he should go to school and get a degree, but Gunner wasn’t too thrilled by the idea of going back into a structured environment that required you to conform to their rules. It was one thing when you trusted the man telling you what to do to stay alive and another to follow directions from someone he didn’t respect. He’d decided he would just look for a mechanic position and not worry about it. Scope thought that was a bad idea but couldn’t convince his friend to try college.
After stowing the beer in the fridge, both men got to work on the drywall. While not a difficult task, it was messy, causing them to cover all the doors in the area with sheets to keep the dust from coating everything in the house. Neither of them much liked housework, but they both liked a clean house. Prevention was their policy. Scope was all for that.
It was nearly seven that night before they finished the last piece of drywall and had cleaned up the mess. Gunner pulled down the sheets and took them out back to snap the dust from them, while Scope started on dinner. By the time he had spaghetti on the table, Gunner had the first load of sheets in the washer.
“I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight,” Scope said. “I’m just about worn out.”
Gunner only grunted and didn’t bother answering him. They both knew that more than likely Scope wouldn’t sleep well. He hadn’t in a long time.
“Did you say something?” Scope asked with a frown.
“Nope,” the other man said.
