“Yeah I talked to her this morning but I’m not sure where her head is. Madison and Avery showed up early this morning after being attacked last night. Madison took off because of the cat and mouse game she and Wall keep playing. She’s still pissed and rightly so but, she flipped out when I told her he had been shot. I’m sure she’ll be to check on him soon.”
“That boy of mine really needs to get his head out of his ass just as badly as your sister needs to come off that stubborn shit. I’ll be dead before they finally get their shit together and give me some grandbabies.”
“Let’s hope not. I just wanted to give you a heads up in case someone let it slip before she gets over here to see him. I’m headed over to handle my own shit with Avery.”
“Good! Don’t waste time boy. Life can change in the blink of an eye,” Queenie said with a voice full of sorrow.
I left Queenie with Wall to go out the back door of the club house. If I went through the bar area, I’d be stopped for idle bull shit and that wasn’t happening. Not right now; now was time to make shit right with my woman. I climbed on my bike and took off through the path towards the big house. The ride that takes all of two minutes seemed like a freaking eternity. I was like a kid on Christmas morning instead of racing to see what was under the tree I was racing to the best present of all, Avery.
I pulled up to the back door and shut the bike off planning on just walking in through the kitchen door as usual but I heard the sound of a small boy. What the fuck is going on around here? Did the girls have a friend over? I thought they had more sense than to bring people in with the shit falling down around the club. I tore up the steps and threw the door open slamming it back against the wall ready to give the girls shit for being so careless.
“DADDY! MOMMA DADDY’S HERE,” little blonde haired boy sitting on Doc’s lap at the table yelled. My heart stopped. Why the hell is the little boy calling me daddy? I thought he was making a mistake until he raised his little face to me and I saw my eyes staring back at me. Everything happened so fast it took me a minute to comprehend. The little boy broke free from Doc and ran towards me grabbing my leg just as Avery and Carrin rushed in the room.
“Oh shit! Hunter come back over here with Aunt Carrin while momma talks to daddy for a minute baby,” Carrin asked.
“Daddy can I stay here with you? I’ve been waiting all day. Momma said I would get to see you at dinner but yous’ here now,” the little boy named Hunter asked me.
“Hunter please go with Aunt Carrin so I can talk to daddy baby. He wasn’t expecting you. Remember how momma told you it was a surprise,” Avery spoke up. My head snapped to get a look at her. The look on her face was pleading with me not to let my temper go.
I knelt down in front of the little guy to look him in the eye when I spoke. “Yeah kid, I need you to go with your Aunt Carrin so I can talk to your momma for a minute.” I didn’t want a child to see what was coming.
Avery
I watched as Axle knelt down to talk to his son. He wasn’t screaming but his voice was clipped and I knew it was coming. This was not how I wanted this to go. I wanted to talk to him first before he met Hunter. I wanted to make sure he would want to be in his son’s life before he met our son.
“Okay daddy. I’ll go watch cartoons with Tivie but will you play wif me after? Aunt Carrin says der’s all kinds of stuff to play wif outside.”
I waited for another clipped response from Axle but he said nothing. He nodded at my son as he stood back up. Hunter took that as a good sign; me not so much. With my son running to take Carrin’s hand I got a good look at the rage that had overtaken the man standing before me. I could hear Carrin talking to Hunter as they walked back towards the den but I was too focused on Axle to pay attention to what was being said. The two of us stood starring at each other as my dad laid a warning to Axle before leaving the room.
“Remember what I said earlier son. Listen to what she has to say before you start jumping to fucking conclusions and no matter what you keep that beast of a temper contained. You lay a finger on my girl and I will end you, club be damned.”
After my father made his retreat, which I’m sure was just out of ear shot, I walked cautiously over to one of the stools at the kitchen island. I waited for Axle to sit but he stood still. “I never wanted you to find out about him this way. I need you to let me explain but I don’t want you raising your voice and scaring him or Octavia.”
At his silence I began to tell the story of the last five years again with my head hung low. No matter how strong I thought I was I couldn’t face the look on his face as I told him the biggest secret I had. Half way through my tale I heard Axle pull a stool out to sit at the end of the bar. I didn’t let it distract me as I continued pouring out my soul to him. I told him everything that I could remember. At some point in my story the silent tears started. When I was done I was emotionally drained. I needed him to say something. I needed him to tell me he would forgive me and we could be a family. I didn’t care if he told me he needed time to figure shit out. I was okay if he told me that we couldn’t be together but he would want to be a part of his son’s life. What I couldn’t take would be him telling me to fuck off; that he wanted nothing to do with me or Hunter. That would kill me but I wouldn’t let him know that.
The longer he stayed quiet the more the emotional mess was turning into anger. I felt myself getting angry at his silence. He needed to man the fuck up and deal with it. If he couldn’t then I would be on the next plane to California. I’d let Layla know I was headed out to their new place on the pacific coast and wait for them until they returned next week. Fuck him! I’ve made it this far in life without him, Hunter and I will be just fine.
With my inner bitch pushing forward I finally got the nerve to look him in the eye. His face wore no expression at all. He sat at the end of the bar looking right at me with a blank stare. That pissed me off. “I understand if this is a shock and I’m not asking anything of you. I just wanted you to know. I wanted you to meet him before you wrote him off without a cent. We’ll be just fine without you.”
That caused him to snap out of it. “Shut the fuck up Avery. I’ve listen to your shit now you’re going to listen to mine. You’re going to sit your ass right there and keep that sassy fucking mouth shut while I lay this out for you.”
Okay maybe the inner bitch stepped back a bit at his tone. He was pissed but I could tell he was trying to keep his self in check. Not sure if it was because of my dad in the other room or the fact he didn’t want to scare Hunter but I was grateful none the less. I wasn’t going to poke the bear just yet. I nodded my agreement so he would start “laying it out for me”.
“It will be five years next month that you left me without so much as a note. I thought you were out chasing your dreams because you felt I wouldn’t support you. It took me a while to realize that you were right. If you hadn’t taken off like you did I would have only ruined your dreams by keeping your ass contained. That’s why when you finally took my call almost a year and a half after you left we came to an agreement remember.”
“Yes I remember,” I asked but sealed my mouth again.
“I sat here around this club burying myself in work trying to keep my mind off of you. I’ve only ever wanted you. I can still count on my fingers how many times I’ve slipped up and buried my dick in Diamond. I never gave that bitch one reason to show her that I would return any feelings she had for me. She might have overheard me call Kimmie to have a property patch made but it wasn’t for her. It was for you. It’s only been you. I wasn’t kidding when I told you I loved you or that I wanted to build a life with you. I wanted it all with you but now you ruined it. Not anyone else. I can’t stand the sight of you right now. Tell my son that I will back to see him tomorrow, ALONE!”
When he went to leave everything in me told me to go after him and beg him to stay. I wanted to talk this shit out but I couldn’t make myself get off the stool. My pride wouldn’t let me. I watched the man I loved w
alk away from me without so much as a good-bye. By now I was crying crocodile tears. I knew I was a sloppy mess but I didn’t care. I thought my heart was broken five years ago but it was nothing like this. A hand on my back startled me but I couldn’t bring myself to acknowledge my father.
“Give him some time to cool down baby. He’ll come around. Don’t worry about dinner. I’ll call Momma Bear and let her know things didn’t go as well as we had hoped. Why don’t you go lay down for a bit? Hunter is asleep in the den you can go curl up with him.”
At my dad’s advice I went to the den and curled up on the overstuffed couch with my little boy. I’d sleep for a while and give Axle his space. If Axle didn’t show to hang with his son tomorrow though I was booking a one-way flight to California. I didn’t need this shit and neither did Hunter.
I awoke not aware of my surroundings. When I looked around I was no longer in the den but in a bedroom. It wasn’t a bedroom that I remembered though. I looked around for Hunter and he was nowhere to be found. The clock on the bedside table said it was ten o’clock. By the looks of things, I’ve been asleep since yesterday afternoon because the sun was shining in the window telling me it wasn’t ten o’clock at night. I could hear voices from outside the window. It took a few minutes for it to register that Hunter was outside. I jumped out of bed to go after my son. How the hell did he get outside? When I opened the door I realized I was in one of the upstairs bed rooms. Rushing down the stairs I was brought to a sudden halt. Madison was standing in the doorway of the kitchen with two mugs of coffee.
“Chill out and drink a cup. Hunter is fine. He’s outside playing on the swing set,” Madison said.
“I know we’re out in the country and right next to the club house but he has no business being outside by himself, Madison. My little dare devil gets in to trouble in a blink of an eye.”
When I went to go around Madison she moved in my way again as she spoke. “He’s not outside by his self, Avery. We’re not that stupid. Axle is out there with him, Tivie and Zeus.”
“Axle’s here; outside with him?”
“He showed up about an hour ago and had breakfast with us. Hunter informed him that mommy was sleeping because she was really tired and uncle Hawk had to carry her upstairs last night.” Madison had a sly smile on her face. What was this bitch up to?
“Okay, well I’ll just sit in the kitchen with my coffee if that’s okay?”
“No it most certainly is not okay. For one Axle needs some time with his son and I’m sure he’s fully capable of looking after him for a few hours. Two, you can’t keep wearing my shit and Hunter’s clothes have been washed twice already, so we need to go pick up the essentials for you two. You’re going to throw that cup of joe back, then you and I are going to ride up to the mall to get a few things to tide you over.”
“Madison I don’t have the money for that. I texted Layla to have someone ship me some clothes and my wallet but it’ll be a day or two before it gets here. I’ve got fifty bucks left from the money Layla gave me when we left in the middle of the night. I’ll go with you but I’m thinking we need to just hit the thrift store in town so I can grab Hunter a change of clothes.”
“You will most certainly not pick up shit from that damn nasty ass thrift store for my nephew to wear,” Madison declared.
“Fine I’ll call dad about borrowing a few bucks to go to the Walmart and get a few things. I’m fine. I’ll wash the jeans I had on the other night and I should still have clothes at mom and dad’s. They’ll be a little snug because my body surely isn’t the same as it was before Hunter but they’ll do until I get my things here.”
“You don’t need to borrow money from your dad. When he saw Hunter in the same clothes from yesterday Axle said he would give me his debit card this morning and told me to take you shopping. He needs some alone time with Hunter and you need clothes,” she must have sensed I was about to argue because she cut me off quickly. “You’re going and you’re going to let him pay for it.”
When I took the cup of coffee from Madison she was smiling at me. I sipped my favorite beverage and sat on the bottom steps of the stairs. She stood looking at me like she wanted to say something but remained quiet. I wasn’t going to ask what was on her mine so I chose a safe topic. “Is the tooth brush you gave me to use still in the down stairs bathroom?”
“Naw honey. Late yesterday afternoon Zeus flew in here like a man on a mission. It appears that he and Carrin have finally got past the ghost of Brookes’. They moved their stuff in to the downstairs bedroom. So now they’ll be sharing a room, that way you and Hunter will each have your own rooms on the second floor. With you two here it helped Carrin get over leaving Tivie in her room upstairs. While you slept I willingly nominated you for kid duty overnight.”
“I don’t mind but, they didn’t have to do that. Hunter and I could have shared a room or we could always stay with my parents while we’re here.”
“Girl they were already planning on moving down to the down stairs bedroom. It’s a little bigger and has its own bathroom. Plus, Carrin is a screamer honey. They did us all a favor,” Madison said trying not to laugh.
“Okay well once I get my things here I want to pitch in. I’m not sure how long we’ll be here but I can’t live here for free.” At my words Carrin’s voice carried into the conversation.
“You will not worry about pitching in bitch. Get your ass settled first. This house is paid for and the only house bills we have is electric, cable and cell phones. We all have our own phone plans, we split the electric bill and the guys take care of the cable and groceries. They wanted the highest fucking cable package available so they took responsibility for it as soon as we moved in. Then we made a rule that if the girls had to be the ones doing all the grocery shopping then the guys would be footing the damn bill. Those fuckers will eat you out of house and home which means we’re at the damn store at least once a week.”
“Damn you girls have it made,” I said laughing at Carrin’s outburst. “I still want to help clean or something. I don’t know how long we’ll be staying but if it turns into a permanent thing I’ll be looking for something else.”
“The fuck you will. This house was bought for my family and you my dear are my family. Besides you better plan on being here a while. You’ll see what I mean if we ever make it outside to Athena’s truck,” Carrin said picking her purse up of the coffee table.
“Speaking of which you better hurry your ass up. Athena will be back anytime from the shooting range and she’ll be ready to head out. She might not be in full-time military anymore but she still runs on their time schedules. That girl has to plan her whole life out by the minute,” Madison told me.
“I heard that bitch,” the girl of the hour said as she walked in the front door. “Honeys’ I’m home,” Athena said causing us all to laugh.
“Okay, tell me were my tooth brush and my jeans ended up and I’ll be ready in a few,” I said to the group of girls who were now obviously waiting on me.
“Everything was put in your room last night. You got ten minutes to get your sexy ass ready or we’re going shopping for you,” Carrin said sternly.
I took that as my que to hurry. I raced upstairs to make myself presentable. With a minute to spare I was back in the living room. “Let’s get this over with. I haven’t been shopping in over three years.”
“What do you mean you haven’t been shopping in three years? You been living under a rock or something,” Carrin asked me?
“No not under a rock, just a tour bus. I ordered everything online and would have it shipped to the next venue or where ever we were vacationing in between tours. We didn’t have room for a lot of possessions so there wasn’t much need. They had a roadie in charge of doing all the shopping to stock the bus,” I answered her.
“Well, honey you better be ready. We might not get to shop for all the luxury shit all the time but we make several trips to the supermarket. Heaven forbid the right cereal or chips not be in the cupboar
d. Those grown ass men around here can pout worse than a two-year-old,” Athena warned me.
“Well let’s get this show on the road, shall we,” Carrin said getting us moving to the back door. I followed the girls outside. From the deck I could see two big ass scary bikers pushing the kids on the swing. Axle was actually smiling at a story Hunter was telling him. It quickly changed when Hunter broke off from his story to yell to me. Before Axel could slow the swing down, my son had jumped off landing on his feet running towards me.
“Momma yous’ awake,” Hunter cheered as he ran into my waiting arms.
“Yeah little buddy. Thanks for letting mommy sleep. I was really tired. I’m sorry I wasn’t up to get your breakfast this morning. You could have woken momma up,” I said to my son as Axle approached from behind.
“It’s ok momma. Daddy came to have breakfast wit me. I finished all my juice and cereal. Daddy said I couldn’t come outside until I ate it all.”
Axle was now standing right behind Hunter. I looked up at him as I spoke. “Thank you for doing that. He tries to skate on anything healthy. I normally have to bribe him.”
“It’s all good. I’ve got him babe. You going with the girls for a bit.” Axles tone was a mystery. It wasn’t raging rude like it was yesterday but it still seemed forced.
“Yeah, I’ve got to pick up a few things to tide us over until our stuff from the bus is shipped here. I guess my fat ass is stretching your sister’s clothes out,” I said still starring in his eyes.
Axle reached in his wallet and pulled a credit card out reaching it out for me to take as he spoke. “You’re not fat babe. Not by a long shot. Get what you guys need. There’s enough money in that account to buy a new car if need be. I would prefer you didn’t though,” he said trying to joke. “I’m going to spend some time with my son but when you get back we need to talk,” Axle stated in his neutral tone. Before I could answer he leaned over and placed a small kiss on my cheek. The next thing I knew Axle had Hunter thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes carrying him back towards the swings.
Coming Home: Dominant Devils Book 2 Page 11
