Then, right after Bardot entered the world, Wyatt’s son was born with a heart defect. Suddenly, my cousin faced a problem he couldn’t bully or whine his way out of. His son, Warrior, wasn’t a badass to show off to the world. For the baby’s first year, his parents’ egos took a back seat. Wyatt and DeAnna matured a lot once their perfect world wasn’t so perfect anymore. Though I’ll always hold a grudge against him for a lifetime of bullshit, I can admit he isn’t the same man I once threatened at the hot dog stand.
While Warrior struggles that first year, Bardot flourishes. Early on, she bonds with Sequoia. Anders’s youngest daughter is a little dictator, and Bardot acts as her enforcer. Watching them stand up to kids twice their age is endlessly entertaining.
Noel is a tricky child to understand. Clingy with Monroe at times, yet easy-breezy when around other kids. He isn’t shy or a pushover. He’s no leader, either. Sometimes, he’ll sit next to Monroe and stare at me nearby. I always sense him claiming her and refusing to share.
Unfortunately for my little man, Monroe and Bardot give zero fucks about his greediness. As for me, I’ll never push him when he gets in those possessive moods with his mom. The kid doesn’t trust the world like his sister does. I’m not sure why or if it’s something he’ll work out over time. I just know I can’t be the reason he feels unsafe.
The only time he doesn’t trust his mom is in the pool. I think he feels she’s too small to keep him safe. When I hold him, he’s up higher, farther above the danger. Whereas Bardot is fearless, Noel is always searching for the safety exits.
There are times when that boy sits in my lap and watches me as if I’m the most fascinating thing in the world. I remember feeling that way about my dad. I don’t know if Wheels ever noticed my gaze on him or felt the love I do from my boy.
Becoming a father stirs up many old resentments. But it also awakens the good memories I had of my dad. Little things I’d long forgotten, like when we’d sit out on the front porch and share a soda while watching people ride by. There’s nothing profound about those moments. Yet, doing the same things with my kids makes my father feel alive again.
“Maybe you focused on his failings to make it easier to deal with losing him,” Monroe says one night in bed.
Monroe’s right. Like a lot of young men, I embraced my resentments toward my parents. Then, Dad died, and I held on to the bad shit. Just enough not to mind him being gone. Now, I see him clearer and miss him more. With Monroe in my life, I’m no longer afraid to face the pain.
Years ago, all I wanted was to run from Elko and the Executioners’ expectations. I felt a target on my back, placed there by the club and even my family. Some of those fears were real, others imagined, but I dreamed of living in a place where I wasn’t Conor Jessup.
Then, Monroe stumbled her way into my life, and the universe whispered, and dibs were called. Now, no matter what awaits the Executioners in the future, I’ll be ready.
THE END
DAMAGED SERIES-RELATED BOOKS READING ORDER
Note: These books are written so they can be read as standalones, but the list below is the preferred order regarding character introductions.
Damaged 1-7 (Sunday Morning is a prequel while In the Wind takes place a decade after book 7)
Ramsey Security 1-3 (book 3 links the most to the other series and introduces Angus Hayes)
Junkyard Dog
Serrated Brotherhood MC 1-3
Rawkfist MC 1-3
Right Amount of Wrong (second generation Damaged novel)
White Horse 2-4 (second generation)
Reapers MC: Ellsberg Chapter 1-3 (second generation)
Reapers MC: Conroe Chapter 1-3 (second generation) (bks 1 & 2 take place prior to Ellsberg bk3)
Reapers MC: Shasta Chapter 1-3 (second generation (bk1 takes place before Ellsberg, bk 2 & 3 take place before Ellsberg bk3)
EEMC 1-3 (Bk1 follows Shasta Chapter Bk3)
***The Little Memphis MC, Rawlins Heretics MC, and Spent Shell series, along with my standalone books, are currently unconnected to the Damaged timeline.
ABOUT BIJOU
Living in Indiana with my three sweet sons, three wacky cats, and one super mom, I love horror movies, Call of Duty, StitchedTogetherPics, and sitcoms canceled before their time.
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