by Bijou Hunter
Stella shrinks at the sight of him—smile gone, strength depleted, and light dimmed. She’s different now. This version of her brings out the worst in me. I’m ready to pound on my own pop for making her miserable.
I leave my chair for Pop, grab a spare one from a nearby table, and sit closer to Stella. Him on one side, us on the other. If Pop wants to make a point, that’s fine, but I’m more than capable of making one too.
“Stella, this is my father and the Reapers’ local president, Cooper Johansson.”
“Hello,” she says in a shallow voice, sounding out of breath.
Leaning close, I whisper loud enough for him to hear, “He’s harmless.”
“Oh, I’m a fucking pussy cat,” Pop growls as he flips the chair around and sits against its back.
“Does Mom know you’re here?” I ask and reach over for my plate.
“Did you tell Stella that I needed to talk with her and her friend?”
“Rae. That’s her friend’s name.”
“We need to discuss what happened.”
“Okay,” Stella says, straightening in her chair and pushing back her shoulders. I’m proud of her tough stance. My pop scares the toughest men when he unleashes that “I’m going to fuck you up” look. For Stella to hold his gaze shows some sexy inner strength.
“If you had messaged me,” I say and wrap an arm around her shoulders, “we could have arranged to meet up at Red Castle after Stella and I finished our meal. Now you’ll need to wait. Or, hey, order something. The more, the merrier.”
Pop shoots me a frown I’ve seen a million times—the “shut up, Colton” look. I only smile because he can’t bring me down from the high Stella provides.
“Let’s step outside and talk,” Pop mutters when he realizes I’m not backing down. “Let Stella finish her food.”
“I am finished.”
We notice her plate is half-full and assume she’s lying. I don’t care, though. I wave over the waitress who doesn’t flirt with me in front of Pop. She brings a to-go box for Stella as I devour what’s left of my food. Pop watches us with his dark gaze. I know he won’t let up.
“Stella, why don’t you order something for Rae and Kori while Pop and I talk outside? When I get back, I’ll pay, and we can ride to the motel.”
Her gaze is unreadable. I suspect she didn’t hear what I said. She’s hiding in her head now. I hand her the menu and tap the paper. “Pick something for your family, and I’ll be right back.”
Stella stares at my hand before her gaze slides up my arm to my shoulder and finally finds my face. She smiles because I smile. We’re like that now. It just is what it is, and there’s no explaining our connection.
“I’ll be back,” I say, standing up and leaning over to kiss the top of her head.
Pop grunts because I’m busting his balls, and I smile because I don’t care. I seriously doubt he tripped over himself to bow down to his father either. Oh, yeah, I’ve heard plenty of stories about Pop from back in the day. He can save his “dutiful son” lies.
I follow him out of the restaurant to the suffocating hot day. Pop barely gets out the door before cussing.
“For fuck’s sake,” he growls, yanking me away from the restaurant. “Less than twenty-four hours ago, that woman was busting up your club brother’s bike. Now you’re taking her out for a very public meal. Do you do this shit just to drive me to an early grave?”
“Pop, I know this might come as a shock, but not everything is about you. I like Stella, and she, of course, likes me. I’m not pretending otherwise.”
“She’s a stranger. Rod is your brother. Does that shit mean nothing to you?”
“I know it’d be easier to let shit die down if I didn’t date Stella. We could forget what Rod did and let him keep doing whatever he wants. His pop is your old-time friend. Rod grew up here. You knew him as a kid,” I say and add quieter, “Just like Gary Lee.”
“Watch yourself.”
“Why do you act as if we have moral absolutes in the club when we don’t? We protect our own above others. Stella’s friend is a nobody. You’re going to take his side and not hers. Or he’ll get a slap on the wrist, and you’ll feel tough. Then, in the end, he won’t care because he knows there are lines he can cross and still live another day.”
Pop erases the space between us, but he isn’t looking for a hug. Glaring into my eyes, he growls, “So now you want to kill him?”
“If he weren’t in the club, you'd want to kill him too. Since he’s one of the Reapers, he can come to the house and hang out with your woman.”
Pop backs off and starts pulling the poor dad role. “This girl has got your head all twisted around. She can be lying, and you’d never see it.”
“I’d know if she was lying. Women lie to me all the fucking time. I’m not a child, and my dick long ago stopped running the show. I like Stella, and I won’t pretend otherwise. Unlike how Rod and his pop pretend he doesn’t hurt women.”
“Now it’s women, plural.”
“Do you really think that was his first time?” I mutter, hating how naïve Pop acts when one of his boys misbehaves.
“I don’t want to discuss this in public.”
“Then why did you show up and make a stink in public?”
“Because you’re embarrassing the club, not to mention the family.”
I smile because he can’t possibly believe those words will hurt me. He shot his wad far too early in my life with these disappointment-ploys. Now he can no longer guilt me. Not when I know Mom will assure me that I’m the cat’s meow and Gram will promise I’m the dog’s bark. My grandmother doesn’t approve of cats.
“You can follow us back to the motel and talk to Rae. Talk to her kid too since she was standing outside the room when it happened. Talk to Stella and whoever else you need to. Since you can’t be sure who’s lying, you’ll give Rod a mini ass-whipping for show and life will move on. You can run shit like you always run shit, and I can date the only girl who’s ever gotten me this wound up.”
“Why her?” he asks, wearing a bearish frown.
“Why Mom?”
“Your mother glided into a room. She was fucking perfection,” he says and adds in a cross voice, “Still is.”
“I bet a lot of people, maybe even Pop-Pop and Gram didn’t see what you saw, but they loved you enough to get the fuck out of the way.”
Pop exhales loudly and rolls his eyes. “I saw other guys spanking the shit out of their kids, and I couldn’t do it. Now I think I fucked up.”
“Too late,” I say and turn away so he can get a clear view of the ass he never whipped.
Inside the restaurant, Stella looks deflated like one of those Christmas figures when the air’s been turned off. I slide into the chair next to her.
“If anyone gave you trouble, tell me their name, and I’ll pound them into the ground.”
“What if it’s a lady?”
“I have sisters.”
Stella smiles at my comment. If the world deflates her, I’m the guy pumping her back up. She orders a single meal for Rae and Kori to share, claiming they won’t be able to finish two and the fridge in the motel doesn’t work well anyway.
“I’ll find a better place for you to live. That motel shit isn’t working for me.”
Stella narrows her eyes and gives me a half smile. “The world doesn’t revolve around you.”
“Who says?” I ask, laughing at how her words mirror the ones I told Pop outside.
“Not me.”
Stella glows for the few minutes. We look at each other, waiting for the food and pretending my pop isn’t stewing in his juices outside. There’s peace in her eyes, such a contrast from yesterday where I only saw pain, rage, and exhaustion. Today, she has me, though, and I refuse to let Pop or the club keep us apart.
THE UNWANTED
Rae’s and Kori’s interest in the chicken tenders and mashed potatoes totally distracts them from Cooper’s arrival. They take the food, sit on the be
d since this room doesn’t have a table, and dig in with the plastic forks we have left over from our trip to the Dollar Store back in Prestonsburg.
I shove my leftovers into the back of the fridge, hoping the food stays cold for a few hours.
Behind me, Colt and Cooper stand at the doorway. I don’t know how they plan to do the questioning. I also have no clue how Rae will respond. She really doesn’t like men and makes no effort to pretend otherwise.
It’s why working as a maid is such a good job for her. Her supervisors and coworkers are women. They seem to understand she isn’t chatty, won’t gossip, and rarely smiles. Men take her behavior as a challenge and keep pushing her to act normal. I can’t imagine Colt pushing her buttons, but his father looks ready to irritate someone.
“Can we talk?” he says to me and then glances at Rae who ignores him while she tears the chicken into pieces for Kori.
I ought to be embarrassed by how focused they are on the food. Except I remember how I nearly drooled when the waitress placed the homestyle meal in front of me. It’d been so long since I got to eat something so good. We eat junk, day in and out. At least back at the trailer, we could cook little meals. When I think of what we gave up, I’m struck by searing guilt. I’m why we’re in Ellsberg. I pushed Rae to take all our saved up cash and invest it in the move. I’m the reason we live in this shitty motel where Rod hurt her and stole from us.
“It’s okay,” Colt says, and I realize I’m nearly in tears.
Exhaling uneasily, I know it’s not. I make bad decisions because I’m not particularly smart. The only people who’ve ever loved me are Rae and Kori, and they’re suffering now. Their current enjoyment of a decent meal comes from Colt’s generosity. I figured I’d share my leftovers, but he was wonderful enough to remember them.
“We were in that room over there,” I say, walking to the doorway where a frowning Cooper still stands. “Number ten. Rod’s girlfriend was in room fourteen. I don’t know if she’s still there, but he had to walk past our room to get to hers.”
Despite feeling intimidated by standing this close to Cooper, I point across the U-shaped motel. He squints as the sun bounces off the pool between us and the old room.
“Did you talk to him before that day?”
“I never talked to him at all. Even at the bar, Colt kept him away.”
“Did Rae talk to him before that day?”
“Rae doesn’t talk to men,” I say when she ignores him. “Or people really. She wouldn’t even acknowledge his girlfriend who gets very friendly when high. She knocks on doors to tell people she loves them.”
Catching Colt nodding, I assume Rod’s girlfriend is known for her stoned behavior.
“So Rod walked into your room?” Cooper asks when the silence goes on for too long.
I look at Rae who sighs and swallows her food. “He stopped at our open door and asked what I was doing. I said I was folding clothes. He came inside. He asked if I had a boyfriend. I said no, and men are gross. He told Kori to go outside. She said no. He said it louder in the way assholes say stuff when they want to scare kids. I knew he wanted to hurt me and I told her to go outside. She went right outside the door and said she wouldn’t go any farther. There’s a pervert who lives nearby, and Kori isn’t allowed to be outside alone. After she went outside, Rod tried to kiss me. I said no.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this in front of the kid,” Cooper mutters.
“Why not?” Rae says. “Rod made me suck him off in front of her.”
Kori swipes the page on her tablet, uninterested in our conversation. Her stomach full, she’ll likely nap since we didn’t sleep well last night with all the noise from the rattling air conditioner.
Cooper gives Colt a look that means something that I don’t understand. Rae closes the to-go box, scoots off the bed, slides the leftovers into the fridge, and returns to her spot next to Kori. The men don’t move, and I feel a little lightheaded from the heat rushing through the open door.
“And he took your money,” Colt says, startling me with how loud he sounds after so much silence.
“He felt up my tits, and that’s where I hide the money.”
Cooper grunts a hard breath, sounding angry enough for me to back away. “I’ve heard enough.”
I move toward the bed as he heads for the door with Colt behind him. Rae relaxes back on the bed and starts reading as if nothing happened. Fortunately, Kori doesn’t look up from her book either. Sometimes, she rages at people because life makes no sense to her. She’s only really happy when she reads. They both are, and they have no interest in what happens next with Colt and his father. If we end up back in the car, they’ll just read their books there. If we moved to a mansion, they’d still just want to read. Real life can’t compete with their books.
After signaling for me to remain in the room, Colt shuts the door. I appreciate the reassuring smile he flashes, but I’m still nervous. Has Cooper realized I’m bad news? Will he forbid his grown son from seeing me? Will Colt listen? Is my good fortune over already?
THE HEIR
Man, oh, man, I haven’t suffered through such a tense situation in years. Not since Pop tried to figure out what to do with Gary Lee. Back then, I thought my father ought to make a big move. I feel the same way with Rod now. While the locals fear Pop, I’ve never gotten the sense the club guys do.
I sure as hell don’t. My father hasn’t gone fuck-shit crazy on anyone in far too long. Being president means having your balls in neutral apparently.
I’m not even particularly anxious when he storms out of the motel room and marches to our bikes.
“I won’t be around for dinner,” I say and sigh. “Man, it’s fucking hot.”
“You need to watch yourself with this girl.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t blow me off.”
“You always talk shit about the person your kid dates.”
“This isn’t about that,” Pop says, wiping the back of his neck and frowning up at the sun. “I don’t want you making enemies in the club.”
“I don’t care about that shit.”
“You ought to.”
“I don’t like a lot of the guys in the club.”
“Damn it, Colton, you can’t say that shit.”
“I’ve always said that shit. Why are you freaking out now?”
Pop unkinks his shoulders and looks constipated. “I’m not freaking out. I just want you to respect your club brothers.”
“The ones worthy of my respect, get it. That doesn’t mean I like them all.”
“What’s your deal?”
“The guys I was tight with were my cousins. I like River and Shane too, but they're all gone. I’m stuck with Rod and Scarlet’s ex as my wingmen, and they suck.”
“We’re not talking about this here.”
“Okay, then see you later,” I say, stepping back.
“I want you to come with me.”
“I’m not done hanging out with Stella. Didn’t you notice the part where I didn’t even tell her goodbye?”
“Then tell her.”
“Why are you so pissed off?”
Pop doesn’t answer, exhaling roughly instead and doing one hell of an impersonation of a raging horse.
“Wait, you believe Rae, and that’s pissing you off.”
“It’d be better if she was a grifter.”
“Easier, you mean.”
“Yeah, dumbass, that’s what I mean,” he says, looking pained.
“Be gentle with your son’s feelings,” I taunt before backing away from him. “You do what you need to do, Pop. Just remember I love you enough to be disappointed if you don’t do what I’d prefer.”
“Colton Kirk Johansson.”
“Kisses,” I say, laughing as I return to the motel room where Stella stands in the same spot as when I left. She must find something reassuring on my face because hers lights up.
“Is everything okay?” she asks in barely above a whisper.
&nb
sp; “Five by five, good-looking. So, this is where you sleep?”
“Yes.”
“One bed.”
“I sleep on that side and Kori is on this side with Rae in the middle.”
“That means she stays extra toasty,” I murmur, hoping to put a happy spin on their cramped living arrangement.
Stella smiles at my comment but seems edgy. I study her flushed face and admire how she makes “sweaty mess” look fucking awesome.
“I need to run a few errands, but how about I come around later and take you out for dinner?”
“You don’t have to.”
“Baby, I know. If it were something I had to do, I’d probably pitch a fit and refuse to do it. I’m spoiled that way.” Once I get a smile out of Stella, I continue, “I can also check your car. It might be something simple like a dead battery. I’ll bring my truck so I can try jumping it.”
Unaccustomed to people helping her, Stella looks around nervous as fuck. I tug at her tank top until she smiles again. “Tell me ‘thank you’ and say you’ll be waiting with bells on.”
“I don’t know what that bells thing means.”
I lean down to kiss her lips softly—since a really sloppy kiss might be considered inappropriate with the kid nearby. Stella’s lips pout when mine abandon them.
“It means you’re super-duper fucking happy about me returning.”
“Yeah, then I’ll be wearing a million bells on.”
“Listen to you and your dirty talk,” I tease as I shuffle out the door. “I’ll be back around six.”
“I’ll be here.”
Stella follows me outside and then to my hog. The girl doesn’t want me to leave. Or maybe she wants to come with me. Either way, I hate to disappoint her, but I need to make sure Pop doesn’t go off half-cocked after I flashed my fantastic ass in his direction.
“One last kiss,” I say, wrapping an arm around her thin waist before caressing her upturned lips.
Stella grips my sweaty shirt like my niece Thisbe does her pop’s when he’s leaving for work. I wonder if my sweetie will cry and crawl into a cabinet too.
