“He’s always hungry.” The Hispanic woman smiles at me. “I’m Jenna, and this is our home.” She extends her hand in greeting.
When I reach out, she pulls me into a hug, surprising me.
“Come in and get comfortable. I’m making green chicken enchiladas for dinner. I hope you’re hungry.”
“Oh, love, she cooks amazing,” my mom whispers beside me as she rubs her belly. “I’ve gained at least five pounds being here in, like, a day.” My mother laughs, and my heart feels like it will burst. When was the last time either of us could relax?
It was before Dennis Williams. That is the last moment of peace I have had, and as my mother, I am sure she knew and was in knots over it.
A man comes from the back and embraces Boomer in a manly half-hug backslap. He wears a leather vest like Boomer with patches. Boomer is around six-foot tall, and this man is just as tall with dark hair slicked back and a tattoo under his eye of what I think is supposed to be a diamond.
“Ruby,” he says, turning to me and extending his hand.
I shake it and notice his knuckles have the word ‘Vida’ inked across them as he pulls away.
What is it like to have a man who is that devoted?
He walks to his wife and immediately kisses her passionately without a care in the world that he has a house full of people and kids around.
“I’m hungry,” he growls then whispers in her ear, making her blush.
“Dinner will be ready soon.” She pulls away and moves to the kitchen. She looks over her shoulder at me. “Make yourself at home. Your mom and boys have been staying in my Maritza’s room. We don’t have a lot of space, but what we have is yours as long as you need it.”
I take it all in. Minute by minute, second by second, I soak it all up: sitting down to a meal with my sons, getting them ready for bed, reading to them, and then lying down for night time snuggles.
Lying on the floor—Wesson asleep on my right, Colt on my left—we are all together in a bed made of blankets. This is the best moment of my life, outside of their births. I look to the ceiling, at whoever has shined their light on me.
“Thank you,” I whisper to the angels above.
I could have read for hours, but I stopped once I was two books beyond their steadied breathing. So what if they were out like a light? I could freely read to my boys, so I did. Tugging on their pajamas, I note I need to find a job quickly since these two have had a big growth spurt since I left them a year ago.
Pain fills me and I push it down.
No looking back. I have to focus forward. I can’t think of the time I lost with them. I have to live in the joy that I have a future with them now. It wasn’t promised, and two days ago, I never thought it would come, yet here I am.
I walked through hell and found my way through. I hit rock bottom and climbed my way up from the depths of despair.
I sigh and squeeze my boys closer to me. I have everything I need right here, right now, and I’m free to simply be.
I don’t sleep. Instead, I count their breaths and count my blessings to be here with them once again.
When Dennis found me, I didn’t think I would see them ever again. I made peace with giving up my life to give them a future. Now here we are, all together.
The next morning, I get up to find Boomer slept down the road at the Hellions’ compound. Apparently, they have little apartments there for the guys. I am a little on edge that he left us, but it’s obviously with people he trusts.
Vida is making omelets with Ruby’s arms wrapped around her from behind as he whispers in her ear. She smiles, and I feel the love they share.
That is what I wanted for my boys. I wanted my kids to have a home where their dad loved me so much he couldn’t take his eyes off me, didn’t want to keep his hands off me—in a loving way—and there would be no angry disputes. I wanted a house full of love.
Ruby and Vida have made that for their kids, RJ (Ruben Jr), Mariella, and Maritza. They have given them a foundation made of love and loyalty.
My sons didn’t get that start in life, but they will know, without a doubt, their mom and grandma will give anything to keep them safe. They will know the love we have for them. Most of all, I’m going to show them that, even when we are broken, we are not defeated, and we will fight to thrive again.
Never give up and never give in.
Chapter Eleven
Six Months Later
~Boomer~
If I thought moving on was hell before, nothing compares to knowing you have feelings for someone, but you are no good in their life.
Pamela is doing well in Haywood’s Landing.
I should be happy about this.
Should be …
She has a job at the garage where Roundman and the guys look out for her and give her a steady paycheck. Ruby and Vida got her set up in a doublewide three doors down. She has set it up nicely for her mom, her, and the boys.
Wesson started kindergarten alongside Colt. With them being in hiding last year, they held the oldest back. It was smart.
Things are good for her, so why do I feel the loss? It’s not like we had some long-standing love affair.
She had so many secrets; did I really ever know the real Pami? I would like to think I did. I would like to think we had a connection. Was it love? I don’t know. Our circumstances weren’t conducive to allowing us to find out.
Now the time for that has passed.
I tip the longneck bottle to Corinne so she knows I need another as the front door to Ruthless opens, and I hear one of my brothers telling someone to get out. Looking to the left, I see red.
“Keri, you were warned,” I say as she moves toward me.
“Boomer, let me explain.”
“You betrayed Pamela. Nothing to explain.”
“It wasn’t like that. He sucked me into his story. I thought he cared. I thought she had post-partum depression and ran away.” She looks down. “I’ve been down the rabbit hole, Boomer. I know the pain of loss. I have secrets, too.”
“I don’t give a shit, Keri. The club doesn’t give a shit. Loyalty, look it up. Your secrets might have mattered one day. Your pain might have mattered, too, but the moment you gave up any information on anyone even associated with the Hellions, you lost that. Lick your wounds somewhere else and learn your lesson.”
“I messed up. It all worked out, though.”
“All worked out!” I yell, pushing off the bar stool. “Pamela was almost shot by the father of her children. How the fuck do you think that worked out, woman?”
Corinne comes around from behind the bar. “Time to go, ho.” She pushes on Keri’s shoulders.
Keri slaps Corinne’s arms away. “Get your hands off me!”
“Nah,” Corinne says with a smirk. “See, these boys won’t put their hands on a woman, but me … I wanna get you out front and beat the shit out of you.”
“W-what?” Keri stammers.
“You gave up Pamela. You put her in danger. It wasn’t your business. We’ve all got issues, Keri.” Corinne waves her hands wildly through the air. “Not one person is innocent in life, but even if their only mistake is a white lie, a lie is still a lie. He didn’t find you out-front and scare you. No, you let a little money tossed your way allow you to get sucked into a crazy man’s game to torture a woman he claimed to love. You turned your back on her without even giving her a chance to explain.”
Corinne starts poking Keri in the chest. “You fucked up. You were told not to come around here, and yet, here you are. You’re not deaf, and you’re not dumb, so you’re just a plain pain in the ass. Your days of sucking dick are done. Your days of a good time with any of the Hellions are done. You were told, yet you come in the bar I work at and rile up the boys I serve and just piss me off in general. So take a hike before I get you outside and give you a lesson you won’t soon forget.”
“I … I … I,” she stutters. “You’re a bitch.”
Corinne laughs in her face. “Tell me
something I don’t already know.”
Keri steps back and drops her head to look at the ground in defeat. “It was a mistake.”
“Yeah, it was. Want a cookie for owning it? Nothing you can do will change it, so move on. That’s what the rest of us are trying to do,” Corinne adds.
I decide she has it under control, so I slide back on my stool and finish my beer.
Move on. That’s what the rest of us are trying to do. Truer words haven’t been spoken in a long damn time.
I have spent weeks at a time out on the road. I have joined Rex and Tripp on transports and sometimes just hit the open road alone. Every mile between us only makes the pain feel sharper.
“Always have been on her side,” Keri huffs at Corinne.
“I’ll always have her back. You should look up loyalty in the dictionary. You wouldn’t want your secrets shared with a stranger. Instead of thinking you were helping, maybe you should have asked Pam yourself.”
Anger fills the room, and Keri puffs up her chest in defense. “Whatever. Don’t turn her problems on me.”
“Don’t come around here, and you won’t have to worry about it. You aren’t wanted, and you aren’t welcome, so leave before I have to have someone take the trash out or do it myself.” Without another word, Corinne turns on her heel-covered foot and heads back to the bar, never missing a swish of her hips.
Loyalty. That is the Hellions.
Family. My brotherhood.
Why do I have all these people who care and still feel like something is missing? Oh, that’s because a certain purple pussy is missing. It’s not just the sex, either; it’s her smile, her laugh, and simply who she is; the way she feels against me, the way she soothes something deep inside of me that I didn’t know was broken until she came along. Now she’s gone, and I feel empty inside.
Corinne puts another longneck in front of me after she pops the top. Her blonde hair is pulled back from her face tonight, making her blue eyes stand out even more.
“She’s good, you know.”
“Who?” I ask, not following.
Corinne looks directly in my eyes. “Pamela, she’s good. Thanks to you, Boomer, she’s good.”
“We all have a path to follow. She has her happily ever after. I didn’t give it to her; she found her own way there.”
“Boomer, you gave her the only bright moments in her darkest days. When the truth came out, you accepted and adapted. You didn’t judge her. You didn’t question her. You simply took care of her. She’s solid now thanks to you.” She taps the beer bottle. “It ain’t much, but that one’s on me.”
“Thanks,” I begin, but she shakes her head.
“None needed. You gave the only true friend I’ve ever had a real life again. Take care, Boomer, and maybe take a ride sometime soon to the coast.” She adds the last bit with a wink before taking off with a perfect sway of her luscious hips.
Too bad I know there isn’t a passion-fruit-purple pussy under that denim skirt she’s rocking. My dick only seems to want to come to life when it can be near a polka dot pussy that was molded just for me.
Maybe I should take a ride to the coast.
I tip up the drink and take a long pull. Would Pamela be open to a visit? I have called a few times and make it a point to text every day to check in. Everything between us seems closer than before.
She comes alive when she talks about the boys, about her new home, and about her life, a life she has built without me. How would she feel about me showing up? Would I remind her of what happened to Dennis?
I haven’t seen her in so long. Maybe it’s better if I stay away. After all, she has had this time to heal and rebuild, and I don’t need to stir up bad memories.
Corinne is back in front of me, tapping a bottle opener to the glass of my longneck. “Don’t think, Boomer. Go ride,” she encourages. “I know our girl. She needs to reconnect, and from the looks of you over the last few months, so do you.”
A simple ride to see a friend has a definite appeal.
~Pamela~
“Good morning,” I greet Amy as I make my way into work.
My time is split between cleaning the apartments for the guys, cleaning a few houses, the offices, and working with Amy in the garage reception area.
She is nice enough. We aren’t close, but from what I gather, she isn’t terribly close with anyone except Frisco and maybe Sass. I don’t ask questions, because I know all about wanting to leave the past behind you. I just know she has panic attacks sometimes.
Whatever brought her to the Hellions was traumatic, and I’m glad she has Frisco and the club to keep her safe now.
Who would have thought I would have found safety in a motorcycle club? Who could believe that earning my place on my back would get me the chance to have a life with my boys again?
It happened. Here I am. I have my kids, my job, and I have my own place. I may not have a white picket fence, or in Hellions’ form, a black picket fence, but I have a new start. My bed may be lonely at night because I long for the tall, scruffy, bearded man who gave it all to me, but that’s okay since no one else measures up.
I miss Boomer. I miss him every second of every day. It seems odd that he ‘claimed’ me so I could be in this world and have the safety of the club, but he’s not with me. The occasional call and daily text isn’t enough. I don’t want distance between us. I also know his life is in Catawba. Besides, my kids are good here, settled. I can’t just take that away for me to take a chance on a man who may not want a family with me anymore. Now that he knows the truth, he may not think I’m so great anymore.
I worry about him, though. I worry about whether he is sleeping okay, if he’s eating well, and I will be honest, I worry about who he is sleeping with.
Corinne says he hasn’t taken anyone home that she has seen. She also says he seems a little sad and maybe haunted. Whether that is by what he had to do or not, I don’t know.
I don’t have the balls to ask.
Frisco walks in from the bays, smiling and carrying two cups of coffee. He sets one on my desk.
“Morning, Pamela.”
I nod and smile. “Morning, Frisco.”
He kisses the top of Amy’s head innocently before setting her coffee in front of her. “Gonna be a good day.”
“Sure,” she whispers to him unconvincingly. “Every day is a new opportunity,” she chimes the practiced sentence she tries to live by.
“I’m through the door if you need me,” Frisco says, heading back out. “Have a good day, Pamela,” he calls out without looking back.
Amy watches him leave, not commenting further.
The way Frisco takes care of her reminds me of Boomer. It makes me miss the nights he would take me home and simply hold me so I could sleep.
I miss the way he seemed to know exactly what I needed without me having to say anything. I miss the way he smells, the way he talks, and my goodness, the way he touches me.
It’s all gone now. I need to let it go.
I have my boys, my mom, and we are safe. I need to be happy with where I am in life. I don’t need more.
Keep it simple, sister. I have what I need in life: my boys safe and healthy. I can’t ask for more.
The day passes by quickly as Amy and I work together to keep parts ordered and appointments scheduled for the garage. It’s late afternoon when the front door chimes, and as I look up, I swear my eyes are deceiving me. I blink. His beard is still there, and a cocky smile stretches across his face.
To hell with it! Boomer is here, right in front of me. I’m not going to waste a moment questioning.
I take off from behind the counter and rush to him. He stands in front of me, and I take the biggest risk I have taken since the day I left Dennis. Reaching up, I wrap my hands around his neck and pull him down to me.
My lips brush softly against his, and he growls before opening to me. Timidly, I kiss him before his hands come around and cup my ass firmly as he takes over and devours my mouth. R
ather than a simple hello, we are embraced in a loud, sloppy kiss, and I want nothing more than to keep it going.
He pulls away slowly. “Miss me?”
I smirk at him. “I won’t even try to deny it.”
“Good. This mean we’re done playin’ and you’re gonna be mine?”
It’s like a bowl of ice cold water is dumped on my head, and I pull away.
His grip tightens.
“Boomer,” I whisper.
“Keep it simple,” he says, and I stifle a laugh since I was just reminding myself of that. “You wanna give this a chance? See what we could be?”
“Yes,” I whisper, trying not to look at him.
“One step at a time.”
“It’s not that simple—” I start, but he puts a finger over my lips to quiet me.
“I know you’ve got the boys, Pami. When the time comes, we will tackle that, but first, we gotta do you and me together.”
“Boomer, you live in Catawba.”
“No, I live where the road takes me, and it took me here to you.”
I open and close my mouth like a fish with no words coming out. What are you saying? I want to ask, but I can’t make the sounds work.
“I haven’t had much to believe in throughout my life, but I believe in us. I believe in you. I wanna see where this goes. I’m willing to come here for that chance. You just gotta decide if you’re gonna give it to me.”
I bite my bottom lip. This is crazy. Regardless, I nod my head because, once again, I can’t get the words out.
He believes in me—he really does—and I believe in him. I believe in the man he is and the values he stands for. I believe in the things he can teach my boys just by being the man he is and setting a good example. I believe that, when he loves, it’s with his whole heart and mind. I believe that Nathan ‘Boomer’ Vaughn is my hero, my savior, and my love. I believe, with him beside me, I can have no fears, and I can face whatever life gives me.
“Words, Pami. I want words.”
“Yes, Boomer, I’m gonna give it to you,” I add with a wink.
Simple Ride (Hellions Ride Book 6) Page 8
