by Amy Davies
Magnum is close by, watching her every move. Knowing my brother, he’s planning on putting his baby in his old lady as soon as, but I also know Risky, and that girl is loving her life right now. She will give Prez a baby soon, but not yet.
“Hey, Opal. Can you say Opal?” Risky greets me, and then tries getting Drix to say my name.
I smile and limp over to them. Drix starts clapping his little chubby hands, giving me a toothy smile. Sitting on the stool stiffly, I tickle his bare feet and his giggles fill the room.
He is one tough kid. He was taken a few weeks ago and you wouldn’t have thought it by looking at him now. Hendrix is Edge’s nephew, but he has custody of him because his parents are a pair of cunts. Drix’s father is Edge’s brother and a complete waste of space. Drix is better off with Edge and the club anyway.
“How are you feeling, brother?” Magnum asks, leaning in to kiss Risky then taking the stool next to me, taking a pull from his beer.
“Okay. She did her job,” is all I say.
Jodie is amazing at her job; I can only imagine how many soldiers she has helped with their injuries. I was lucky enough to not be badly hurt when I served. While I was waiting for my cast to be taken off, I looked into her.
Being the VP at the club, I have to know everything that is going on and with who. So, when Preach told me that I was putting my riding days in the hands of an old friend, I checked into her military career.
She did two tours before falling pregnant, and then she stepped back from the frontline and stayed stateside. She moved from combat medic and became a physical therapist.
Fingers snap in front of my face, and I blink and focus on Risky. I frown at the cheesy smile on her face.
“What, or should I say who, has you getting lost in that head of yours, Opal?” She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I chuckle and tap the bar. That move shows her that I want a beer. Plus, it gives me a few minutes to gather my thoughts and give her an answer.
“You making my old lady serve you, brother?” Magnum asks, smiling at me.
“Hold him,” Risky says, sliding Drix across the bar to Magnum, who takes the toddler and tickles his feet.
I watch my brother hold the kid, who looks dwarfed by Prez. This big fucker holding this tiny kid, who is small for his age thanks to his bitch of a mother, seems at ease with the kid, making him giggle.
“Here. Now speak,” Risky says. I wink at her and down the bottle in one go. Beer and painkillers will help me relax, and maybe some time with Dezi.
“Nothing to say, Risk. I met her, she talked about my routine, and she kicked my ass. Simple as that. She did her job,” I explain. What I do leave out is how fucking hot she looked stretching my ankle out and looking down my body.
“Is she pretty?”
Her smile gets bigger. Damn this woman, it’s like she can read minds. I scoff and nod to the ice box full of beer, making Risky roll her eyes at me, but she gets me another beer.
“Yeah, she’s alright. Not exactly ugly, you know.” I shrug. She gives me a knowing smile. Just by the look in her eyes I can tell that she knows I find Jodie attractive. Risky has a talent like that, reading people.
Hands slide over my back and shoulders and I turn my head to see a smiling Dezi.
“Hey, how was the first session?” she asks and brushes her dark hair over her shoulder. I give her a smile and reply, taking the beer Risky slid to me.
“Good. I ache but that proves that it worked.”
“Surely if you’re hurting then he did something wrong,” Dezi states. I hear Risky cough, and as she leans her elbows on the bar, I know whatever is about to come out of her big mouth will piss Dezi off.
“His PT trainer is a woman, and apparently, she is pretty.”
I scowl at Risky, who just winks at me before stepping over to Magnum and Drix. The little shit.
“Shouldn’t you have a man handling your case?” Dezi asks. She looks at me with narrowed eyes, clearly pissed off. Why the hell do women have to be jealous without knowing the damned facts? I hate drama. I like the easy life.
“Nope. As long as they know what they’re doing it’s fine. Plus, she’s an Army medic; she knows what she’s doing,” I tell her and take a pull from my beer. I can feel the tension leaving my body; the alcohol mixed with my painkillers are doing their job.
“I don’t like another woman having their hands on you, baby,” she whines again, and I shake my head at her. This isn’t Dezi. She is usually a grounded woman, but lately she’s become clingy. Edge thinks it’s because she sees Risky with Magnum every day, so she wants that.
“Not your ‘baby’, Dez. I’ve told you this before.”
“But, Opal, I—” I cut her off.
“I am not having this conversation with you again, Dez. You don’t own me, and I don’t own you. You have known from the beginning, when you started coming around, that this was a fun time and that’s it.” The hurt flashes across her face and my gut tightens, but I need to set things straight.
“You don’t mean that. I thought there was something here. I know what you said the other day, but I thought you needed time to cool off.” I can hear the hurt in her voice, and I hate it, but this needs to be done. Again apparently.
“You’re a good girl, Dez, and yeah, we had fun, but you knew it was nothing more,” I tell her gently, hoping she can hear the sincerity in my voice.
“Had?” she asks. Sighing, I turn to face her. I take her hands in mine and smile at her.
“Yeah, ‘had’. It’s time to end this completely. I know that you’re growing feelings for me and me stringing you on isn’t fair on you.” I stand, leaning in to kiss her forehead, before walking out of the room. It doesn’t go unnoticed that you can hear a pin drop in the room behind me.
Once I get to my room, I lock the door behind me, strip down to my birthday suit and lie on my bed, letting the mixture of strong painkillers and alcohol take me into a restful sleep. Ready for another day of fucking torture by a beautiful, amber-eyed pixie.
Six
Jodie
Why are men so freaking infuriating and pig-headed? Today was Opal’s second PT session and he still hasn’t turned up. I think in the back of my mind I knew this would happen. After sending a text to both Opal and Preach, I get to work on trying to cheer my son up.
His father was supposed to call him before school this morning and he didn’t, so I know that when he comes home, he will still be a little upset. Roy was never one for good timekeeping, including the day I went into labor. He actually had the cheek to bitch at me about keeping my legs closed and the baby in there until he arrived. Tucker was six hours old when Roy decided to arrive.
Checking my phone again, I sigh, seeing there are no new texts. Huffing, I turn to walk into the kitchen and clean up the breakfast dishes. I have no patients today, only Opal—if he can be bothered to actually keep his appointment.
Once I’ve cleaned the kitchen and finally gotten my head around the fact that Opal has missed his appointment, I huff and rush upstairs and strip out of my work clothes.
Standing in my bedroom in my matching navy lace bra and thong set, I pick up my phone and send a text to one of my best friends who lives in this area. She was also a deciding factor to move here.
Me: My day is clear. Wanna meet up for cake? I need cake.
Estelle: Oh yes please. I’ll meet you at Coffee Cove.
Me: Awesome. See you soon.
Stepping into my walk-in closet, I pull out a simple off the shoulder pinstripe dress and slip my feet into my pretty white sandals. Luckily for me, I always do my hair and makeup before my day starts. Being in the Army and in the desert, you don’t get to do your hair or makeup. You are covered in sand and dust and getting burnt by the sun. So, I made a promise that I would make an effort every day to look like a girl when I got home, and I do, every day.
I check my hair and makeup before walking downstairs, picking up my large purse and keys, and heading out to my garage, where m
y baby sits. When I decided to set up Next Step, I chose to not only invest in the property. I went one step further and bought myself my dream car. A white Mercedes Benz C300 convertible, with black interior.
Starting her up and hitting play on my playlist, I head over to meet Estelle at Coffee Cove.
Pushing the glass door open to Coffee Cove, I am hit with the most amazing smell of coffee and pastries. I groan as the roasted and sugary smell invades my senses.
“Food-gasm, right?” comes a sweet voice. I look at the front counter and smile at the woman standing behind it. She’s wearing a pink tie-dye cropped top and maxi skirt. Her blond hair is wild and wavy, but it suits her. She has that mixture of hippy and a surfer girl look going on. Her smile fills her face, and her eyes light up.
“Definitely, and I haven’t put anything in my mouth yet!”
“That’s what she said,” she replies, and we burst out laughing.
We both stop laughing but our smiles stay in place. I step closer to the counter and look up at the menu. So many items sound so good.
“What can I get you? I’m Farrah, by the way,” she asks and introduces herself.
“I’m Jodie. Nice to meet you, Farrah. That’s a very pretty name.”
“Thank you. My parents are both pot smoking hippies and love uncommon names. My brother’s name is Leaf. He’s three years older than me,” Farrah explains.
I love unusual names. I loved Heath, but Roy put his foot down about naming the baby Tucker, which I do love also.
“Oh, I love it. My friend is arriving soon—” The bell above the door stops my sentence. I turn to see a glowing Estelle stepping into the coffee shop.
She is simply beautiful, wearing a mint green polka dot dress that shows off her cute little baby bump. Her long dark hair shines in the sun as it flows down her back.
“Oh my God, look at you. You are glowing. Damn, I wish I looked half as good as you look right now when I was pregnant with Tucker,” I tell her and pull her in for a hug. She does really look stunning.
Estelle and I met in college before I left and joined the Army. We kept in touch during my tours and when I came home. When I told her I was looking at starting fresh, she told me about her office here in Fort Lauderdale, so I got the ball rolling about starting Next Step here.
“Oh hush. You are naturally beautiful, and you know it,” Estelle tells me, pulling back but keeping her hands on my shoulders.
“Phfft. Standing next to you two, I look like an old lady. I have not aged well; the desert has done nothing good for my skin,” I joke, waving my hand between Estelle and Farrah.
“Desert?” Farrah inquires, tiling her head.
“Jodie here served two tours in Afghanistan,” Estelle tells her, full of pride.
Farrah’s face brightens with her smile and wide eyes as she walks around the counter and pulls me into a hug. “Thank you for your service.”
“Anything you want is on the house. Military don’t pay here,” comes a booming voice from the back of the café. My head snaps in the direction and I see an older gentleman walking toward us. I let out a little gasp and look at Farrah, who is smiling at me, and then back to the man.
He is well over six feet tall, built with very broad shoulders and a trim waist. He has a gray trimmed beard and his hair is a mixture between gray and white, with some black flecks running through it.
“Oh damn,” I hear Estelle say next to me. I tear my eyes away and look at her. She is fanning her flushed face. Yeah, she’s thinking the same thing as me: damn this man is hot.
“Jodie, Estelle, this is my grandfather, Kenny. Gramps, these are my new friends,” Farrah introduces us, giving us a knowing smile.
“Grandfather?” I almost choke on the word. No way on God’s green Earth is this man her grandfather.
“Ladies,” Kenny greets us. I can feel my face heating up as I keep staring at the man. How on earth can this man look this good and be old enough to be Farrah’s grandfather?
Damn, he looks like a very well-aged Kevin Costner, with shorter hair.
“How old are you?” Estelle asks Farrah. Then she slaps her hand over her mouth like she’s shocked that question just slipped out. Farrah and Kenny laugh, while Estelle blushes to high heaven.
“I’m twenty-nine and this old man is sixty-eight. Looks good, right?” Farrah asks, wiggling her eyebrows at us both. I smile at her and turn back to Kenny, who is smiling at us.
“Wow. You look military,” I state, and he nods at me.
“I am. I retired. I did my bit for this country, now I get to enjoy my days kicking little shits asses who like to think they are hard enough to carry guns or drugs.”
“I’m sorry?” I ask, having no clue what he means.
“I run a youth program. They get in trouble but instead of juvey, they come to me for their community service and learn how to make coffee, bake, and the art of running a business. It helps get them back on track with their life and education,” Kenny explains. I am in complete awe of this guy; he is amazing to take on such a task.
“That’s amazing. I work with wounded soldiers all day, so I can understand the need to carry on helping once you step away from duty.”
“What do you do?” he asks me.
“I’m a physical therapist for wounded soldiers. I have a private clinic on my property, so they don’t have to have others watch their progress.”
“Fucking A.” He grins at me and nods in approval. I smile at him and he steps behind the counter.
“Right, what can I get you beautiful ladies?”
“Can I have a peach iced tea and a slice of that apricot pastry please? Estelle?” I tell him and turn to my friend.
“I’ll take a bear claw and a watermelon iced smoothie, please. This baby is liking everything watermelon,” Estelle explains, smoothing her hand over her stomach.
“You got it,” Kenny says with a wink and gets to working on our drinks, while Farrah gets us our pastries. My mouth waters at the sight of the sweet perfection. “Ladies, go and take a seat and I’ll bring these over to you,” he tells us.
“Thanks, Kenny,” I say, and we move through the café and over to a white square table with black chairs.
We sit next to the window, watching people walk past and go to the small takeaway window that is set up here. I love that idea. Looking around, I take in the white walls and woodwork. The flooring is a dark wood. The counter by the door, and the one that runs alongside the one wall is a lovely sage green.
“So, how’s the new patient?” Estelle asks, distracting me from the decor.
“I’ve only seen him once. I pissed him off by wounding his pride and he hasn’t turned up for the next one, which is why I’m here with your beautiful self. The thing is, I never got that kind of vibe from him.” I shrug as Kenny brings our order over to us.
“Enjoy, ladies.” With another wink, he turns and walks away.
“That man is too good looking for his own good,” Estelle says, fanning her face, and we giggle.
“I have to agree. Anyway, enough of the ogling. How are things with you?” I ask, then take a sip of my drink, moaning as the flavor hits my taste buds.
Moaning around a mouthful of her bear claw, she smiles at me. Once she’s finished chewing, she takes a drink before answering, “Work is great. I have two new clients; one wants a new holiday home and the other wants two large properties. One for an animal foster clinic and one for a business.”
“Well that’s great. I am so happy for you, Telle.” I reach across the table and cover her hand with mine.
She is such a strong woman, always has been. She had to be considering how her parents act and treat her. Estelle is from a large, well-known family that own a lot of realtor offices. She convinced her parents to let her have her own office here in Fort Lauderdale.
What she didn’t gamble on was her fiancé leaving her when she told him she was pregnant. He moved back to New York, leaving her with a brand-new office and a baby on t
he way. To make matters worse, her parents turned on her and blamed her for getting pregnant, as if she did it on purpose and her ex had no hand in the deed.
I hate them and she knows it. Even when we were in college, they treated her like she was an inconvenience to them, even after she did everything they wanted; it was never enough for them.
“Thanks. As for the baby,” she runs her hands over her bump affectionately and the smile on her face gets a dopey love look, “bump is happy, growing every day. Oh, and good news…”
“What?” I ask, eating the last bit of my pastry.
“I’ve settled on a name.” Her face beams with pride and love.
“Well don’t keep me in suspense, woman,” I tell her, unable to keep the smile off my face. Finishing off her drink, she keeps her eyes locked on me, making me wait. Shifting in her seat, she leans forward, making me that little bit more excited.
“Not telling you.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I sit back in my seat, huffing and folding my arms across my chest, acting like a child.
“Oh, don’t pout, Jodie, it’s beneath you,” Estelle says, laughing.
“No, it’s not. You’re being mean.” Looking across the room, I get Farrah and Kenny’s attention. “Guys, I’m taking applications for a new BFF, and she is no longer allowed delicious pastries from here,” I explain.
“I’ll be your new friend, Jodie. What does it entail? Giving each other a bikini wax? Underwear sleepovers?” Kenny asks, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
“You wish.” I wink at him and help Estelle to her feet.
“I do actually.” He gives me a very devious smile.
We walk over to the front counter. A young boy around sixteen is standing close but cleaning the coffee machine.
“I bet you do. Well, I have to get home and read over my notes and type them up,” I groan. I hate that part. “Thanks for the yumminess. And it was amazing to meet you both. We will definitely be back.”
