They say most accidents happen close to the home. At the time, I hadn’t realized just how close we were to Avery’s house when we were hit. I hadn’t even been back by the place where it happened. I don’t know if it was a coincidence or if passing by had something to do with it, but as soon as I saw the bridge, I remembered.
“Did either one of you learn anything fun today?”
“I did!” Riley said excitedly and raised her hand in the air. “We learned that a starfish’s mouth is on the bottom. Isn’t that gross?”
“Why is that gross?”
“Because mermaids put them on their boobies!” she said in horror.
I couldn’t hold in my laughter. “What are they teaching you at that school?”
“They teach us all kinds of—”
Riley’s words faded as I glanced in my rearview mirror and my eyes landed on the truck barreling toward us. It was going to hit us if I didn’t do something, but my options were limited due to all the traffic. I laid on the horn to alert the car in front of me and jerked the wheel to swerve out of the way. I watched in horror as the truck moved closer and made contact with my rear quarter panel. The truck started to spin and then we were hit again causing the truck to roll.
“It was a truck,” I blurted, still in a daze from the sudden memory.
“What?” Copper barked.
“It was a truck that hit us. I remember. It was a black Dodge Ram,” I said and shared the details of what I recalled. “It was almost like the maneuver police officers sometimes use when they’re trying to stop a vehicle they’re chasing. He hit me and made me spin out; then, he rammed me again which made us flip.”
“He? You saw who it was?” Copper asked excitedly.
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t mean anything by that. It could’ve been a man or a woman.”
“But you’re sure it was a black Dodge Ram?”
“One hundred percent,” I affirmed. “That would also explain the police reports and witness statements, as well as why there was no visible paint from the other vehicle on my truck.”
“When we get back to Avery’s, we need to call down to the station and have this added to the reports so they can start looking for the truck that hit you.”
“I don’t know why, Prez, but I think we should keep this new information to ourselves for right now. Let’s see what Spazz can find first before we tell anyone else.”
“What are you thinking, Savior?”
I shook my head. “I honestly don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have.” Something wasn’t sitting right with me. Even though a truck that looked exactly like mine hit me, at least one witness should have said the wreck involved two black trucks, not just one. And I was completely ignoring the other detail about a black Silverado being responsible for Claire’s injuries.
Copper let it drop as he pulled into the school’s car line, but I continued to play the accident over and over in my mind. I could clearly see the truck coming up behind us, but I couldn’t remember any details about the person behind the wheel nor could I recall any distinctive features about the truck.
“You’ll make yourself crazy if you keep doing that,” Copper interjected.
“Doing what?”
“Trying to force yourself to remember something. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re sitting over there trying to make yourself remember who was driving,” he said knowingly. “Fact of it is, you probably didn’t see who was driving. Once you noticed what was happening, your mind would’ve focused on getting you and the kids out of harm’s way.”
I sighed in frustration. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But, damn it, now I want to know who was responsible more than ever.”
“We’ll find out who it was. It may take a little longer than you or I’d like, but we’ll find the son of a bitch, and then we’ll make him pay.”
I hoped he was right.
“Kellan! Mr. President!” Riley squealed. “You surprised us!”
“We did! How are you doing today, princess?” Copper asked.
“Great! We had a holiday party today with cupcakes and lots of candy. Today was our last day of school before holiday break,” she shared.
Braxton climbed in next. Once he was situated, a teacher placed a large box in his lap and quickly closed the door.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Mrs. Tolbert said someone needed to take home Sir Stingsley. I raised my hand and she picked me!” Braxton said with a broad smile on his face.
“Aren’t you a lucky boy? What kind of pet is Sir Kingsley?”
“Not Sir Kingsley,” Riley corrected. “Sir Stingsley.”
“He’s a scorpion!” Braxton exclaimed.
Suddenly, an uneasy feeling washed over me. “Does your mother know about this?”
Braxton nodded his head exaggeratedly. “Yes, she does. I asked her and she said yes.”
I highly doubted that. Braxton and Riley both had a bad habit of asking for stuff at the most inopportune time, resulting in Avery agreeing to something without realizing it or remembering it. In any event, the teacher should have spoken with an adult directly before sending a four-year-old home with a scorpion. “Does Sir Stingsley live in the box?”
“No, he lives in a glass box, but Mrs. Tolbert put it in this box because some of the other teachers are scared of him. And she put his food in the box, too. The other teachers don’t like that either.”
“I don’t even want to know,” I mumbled as Copper laughed.
“Do you want me to go back to the school?” he asked.
“You can’t take him back!” Braxton cried. “No one else’s mom said they could bring him home. And if no one takes care of him, he’ll die!”
“Fuck,” I cursed. I didn’t know what to do. I knew there was no way in hell Avery agreed to allow a scorpion with scary food to spend Christmas break at her house, but Braxton was adamant that she said yes.
“If it turns out she didn’t agree to this, Sir Stingsley can hang out at the clubhouse with Slither and Squeeze. Bronze won’t mind feeding it whatever it eats,” Copper said quietly.
“You sure? Because I’m almost one-hundred-percent certain Avery didn’t consciously agree to this.”
And I was proven to be correct moments after we walked through the front door. “Mommy, tell Kellan and President that you said I could bring the class pet home for Christmas,” Braxton demanded.
Avery’s forehead wrinkled. “I don’t remember agreeing to that.”
“Uh-huh. You said ‘yes, fine, whatever,’ when I asked you.”
“What was I doing when you asked me?”
“You were in the bathroom putting those sucky things on your boobies.”
Avery’s face turned bright red and I could tell things were about to go south fast. “Braxton, go upstairs and play while I talk to your mom.”
Avery whirled around to face me. I held my hands up in a placating manner. “Hear me out, sweetness. I didn’t think you’d be okay with this, but when I mentioned going back to the school, Braxton got really upset. Copper said Sir Stingsley could stay at the clubhouse with the snakes. Bronze can feed him and take care of him during the break.”
She exhaled slowly. “Okay, can you take it over there now? I cannot handle having a scorpion in my house. I just can’t.”
I laughed, as did a few of the brothers. “Yes, we’ll take him over right now. Do you think Braxton would want to tag along and see the snakes?”
“I’m sure he would love th—”
Avery was cut off by Riley’s panicked scream. It didn’t even occur to me that I was supposed to be taking it easy. I bolted for the stairs, taking two or three at a time, and ran as fast as I could to Riley’s room only to find it empty. “Riley!” I bellowed.
“Help! Get it out!” she screamed repeatedly.
I found her in Braxton’s room, screaming and running in circles while she wildly swatted at her hair. I caught her and lifted her flailing body into my arms. She was screamin
g and crying and I couldn’t understand a word she was saying, but then my eyes landed on the dark mass in her hair and I knew what the problem was.
“Riley,” I said sternly. “Be still so I can help you.”
“What is going on?” Avery demanded as she entered the room and reached for Riley.
“Don’t,” I warned.
“Why no—? Oh fuck! It’s in her hair!” Avery screamed which caused Riley to start screaming and thrashing all over again.
“Please!” Riley sobbed. “Get it out!”
“Avery! Sit down and hold her,” I ordered. I didn’t intend to sound as harsh as I did, but I couldn’t get it out of her hair until they both calmed down. “If you two will stop screaming and be still for just a minute, he’ll let go of her hair. Just be still and be quiet for a few seconds, okay?”
Avery sat quietly while she tried to hold Riley yet keep her at a distance. Any other time I would have laughed at how ridiculous they looked. “You’re going to feel my hand moving your hair so I can get him. I promise I won’t let him crawl on you. And then he’s going to spend Christmas break at the clubhouse.”
I continued to talk to Riley, and Avery, while I waited for the little bastard to open his pincers. Finally, he dropped into my hand and I quickly put him in his box. “He’s out. You’re okay, princess.”
“I’m sorry, Riley,” Braxton cried. “I just wanted to show you.”
I reached down to pick up Braxton while Avery was trying to calm Riley. Just as I had him in my arms, a sharp pain shot through my stomach that had me dropping to my knees.
“Kellan!” Avery gasped. “Copper! We need help!”
Copper appeared seconds later and took in the scene. “How about you two kiddos head downstairs for a minute. I hear there’s some cupcakes in the kitchen.”
“Can we, Mommy?” they asked in unison.
“Yes,” Avery answered immediately.
Copper was already helping me to my feet when River entered the room. “I’m okay,” I said even though I didn’t know if that was true.
“What happened?” Copper asked.
“I think I overdid it running up the stairs and then picking Braxton up. It didn’t even occur to me that I wasn’t supposed to lift him. I just need a minute. Once the pain goes away, I’ll be fine.”
“Let me check your abdomen and make sure everything looks like it should,” River suggested.
“Okay,” I agreed and yanked my shirt over my head. River stepped forward and pointed to Braxton’s bed. “Lay down on your back.”
I eyed the tiny bed and looked back to her. “You have got to be kidding. How about the floor?”
“That’ll work.” Once I was stretched out on the floor, she ran her hands over my stomach and carefully pressed around my incision and over my liver causing me to grimace. “Does that hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t feel great either,” I admitted.
“So, it’s tender?”
“Yes, but that’s nothing new.”
She nodded and got to her feet. “I think you’re fine, but if anything feels off, you should call the doctor,” she said seriously.
“I’ll make sure that he does,” Avery vowed.
I also got to my feet and pulled my shirt back on. “Let’s go back downstairs. I’m sure we scared the hell out of everyone just now.”
“Please, get that thing out of my house,” Avery said desperately.
“I’ll take care of it,” Copper promised and picked up the box containing Sir Stingsley and his scary food.
“Thank you!” Avery exclaimed before following River downstairs.
“Listen, brother, I know you’re chomping at the bit to track down who was responsible for the wreck, but try to put it on the backburner for right now and enjoy Christmas with your family.”
“I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try,” I replied.
36
Avery
As expected, our Christmas was very different than any other year, but it was wonderful in its own way. Kellan’s grandfather drove up to Devil Springs Christmas morning to spend the day with us. With my parents already staying at my house, we both had all of our family under one roof, with the exception of the newest member.
After watching Riley and Braxton open hundreds of gifts and wondering where in the hell I was going to put them, we had lunch and headed to the hospital to visit Sienna. I knew my mother was heartbroken that she couldn’t go, but she hid it well, and my dad opted to stay home with her in case she needed anything. She was able to get up and down to the bathroom with her walker, but that was the extent of her mobility.
Mack offered to drive us in his truck. I couldn’t wait to be able to drive again. I hated having to rely on other people to take care of basic needs. It wouldn’t have been an issue if Kellan was able to drive, but with both of us on restricted activity, we didn’t have a choice but to rely on others for a few weeks.
The NICU only allowed two people to visit at a time, so Kellan and I went back first. We found our little girl resting quietly with what looked like a handmade Santa’s hat on her head and a matching stocking covering her body. “Oh, how cute!” I squealed and immediately reached for my phone to take several pictures.
“Where did that come from?” I wondered out loud.
“One of our volunteers makes them for the babies. She makes pink and blue ones for the rest of the year, but she brings in the Christmas ones on the first day of December every year,” one of the nurses shared.
“Please thank her for me. This was such a wonderful surprise. How’s our girl this morning?”
She frowned. “I don’t have Sienna today, but let me get her nurse for you.”
A few minutes later, our favorite nurse, Karen, came over with an update. “Miss Sienna is doing great. She’s steadily gaining weight and her lab work looks good. She’s still requiring some oxygen support, but that’s completely normal. Later this week, we’ll start trying to feed her some of the breast milk you saved and see how she does. All in all, she’s on track to go home in the next few weeks.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief. Every time we asked for an update, I subconsciously held my breath and waited for bad news. “Thank you,” I breathed. “I can’t wait to bring her home, but I want her to be ready.”
“We won’t send her home before we’re sure she’s ready,” Karen promised. “I’ll leave you two to visit, but call me if you need anything.”
Kellan chuckled. “Isn’t it funny how she’s so small, yet she looks like she’s grown so much?”
“I know. I was a little scared to hold her the first time because she was so small. Neither Riley nor Braxton were little babies and she seemed so fragile compared to them,” I confessed.
“She’s definitely a strong girl. Isn’t that right, peanut?”
“My dad calls me that,” I said softly.
“I know. I’ve heard him and I like it. Is it okay if I call her that?” he asked sincerely, causing my heart to swoon.
“I love you,” I said and kissed his cheek.
“I love you, too, lil’ mama,” he replied and pulled me close.
We stayed for a little longer before rotating out so everyone had a chance to visit with Sienna. Mack was happy to take Riley back, and Braxton wanted to go with Kellan. He’d become quite attached to Kellan over the last few weeks, which had me slightly concerned. Both Riley and Braxton had already been through a significant loss at a young age, and I didn’t want them going through something like that again if things didn’t work out between Kellan and me. But, Kellan was going to be a part of our lives in some way or another because he was Sienna’s father, and I truly didn’t think he was the kind of person who would snub my children if our relationship failed.
“What are you thinking about so hard over there?” Kellan rumbled from beside me causing me to startle.
“Just how much my kids adore you,” I hedged.
He cocked his head to the side for a moment bef
ore a knowing look washed over his face. “We’ve got to get to the clubhouse, but we’ll talk about this later,” he said.
Crap. He was far too good at reading my body language.
We arrived at the clubhouse for Christmas dinner. According to Savior, it was something they had been doing every year since the club started. I wasn’t used to eating Christmas dinner somewhere other than my own house, but I was extremely thrilled not to have to cook for once.
When we walked inside, I gasped in surprise. “Mom! What are you doing here?”
She smiled. “When we finally got you out of the house, a few of these fine young men came over to help transport me here so we could enjoy Christmas dinner together.”
I turned to face Kellan’s friends. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank us. It was all him,” Bronze said and pointed to Batta.
Batta shrugged. “While they were discussing the best way to get her in the truck, I just picked her up and put her in the seat. Did the same thing when we got here.”
Mom smiled broadly. “He sure did.”
“Mom,” I groaned.
“What? You can’t tell me that man’s size isn’t impressive,” she retorted.
Batta rocked back on his heels and stuck his thumbs through his belt loops. “It definitely is,” he said and it was obvious he was referring to the size of something else.
“Knock it off, boys; it’s Christmas,” Leigh ordered. “And it’s time to eat.”
“Jenna!” Riley squealed and ran toward a little girl standing behind Batta. “Mommy! Mommy! It’s Jenna!”
“Riley!” the little girl yelled with just as much enthusiasm.
“Mommy, can we go play?”
“Maybe after we eat,” I said hesitantly. We’d been to the clubhouse a few times before, but I wasn’t sure if it was okay to let my kids run freely through the place. For one thing, I didn’t want them walking in on anything I wasn’t planning on explaining to them until they were much older.
Savior (Blackwings MC - Devil Springs Book 3) Page 17
