Sylvie movies farther into the house, just missing Sean coming around the corner. I frown at the sight of him wearing his uniform and wonder if the asshole sleeps in the damn thing.
Sean sees his dead wife, spots me, and lifts his weapon. Sylvie puts a bullet in the back of his head before I have a chance to fire.
“You were too slow,” Sylvie says to me as Sean flops face-down on the ground.
Pissed, I mutter under my breath, “Don’t pull this shit when we take Patrick, or I’m holding a grudge.”
“Your mom’s right. You are a cutie,” she says, giving me a wink before disappearing down the hallway.
A little part of me worries she’ll kill Sean and Ainsley’s two small kids. The Majors are fucking hardcore, but I’m nearly a hundred percent sure they don’t kill children.
“Sound asleep in cribs,” she says, returning to the kitchen.
In the distance, sirens blare as the town’s single fire engine shows up for the fire Bubba set. There’ll be another one soon from Tommy’s handiwork.
“What’s next?” Sylvie asks as we move through the falling snow.
“One last stop,” I tell her.
The darkest part of me really wants to visit Marsha’s house. I think I might even be able to kill the bitch. But that’s not part of the plan. Neither is my final stop, but I get the urge and can’t stop myself.
Georgia’s old house is smaller than I expect. I move through the dark rooms, searching for Rebel’s. In a dresser next to his little bed, I find his comic book collection. He only took three when they ran. I could have replaced the others, but I needed him to have these.
I quickly make a mental note of the home’s features. I want to be able to picture it in the future when she talks about where she lived. Now the house needs to burn.
I drop the Molotov cocktail near the fireplace where Georgia fell and lost her son. This house was her hell for nearly ten years. I can’t imagine the pain she suffered inside these walls.
Sylvie and I disappear into the increasingly heavy snow. Fires throughout Milkweed will keep the town busy for the rest of the day. On a burner phone, I call Sheriff Moore and tell him Jeanine and Sarah Hegseth are orphans. Someone can pick up the kids and take them to Grandma.
That’s why Marsha gets to live. Not for Rebel or because I’m a wuss. She lives because someone has to take care of Sean’s daughters. Hopefully, she’ll do a better job with them than she did with her sons.
Denver picks up Sylvie and me on the road out of town. Then I grab a ride with Bubba and Butch to the older brother’s house. We don’t talk about today. There’s no need to gloat or high five about our success. Milkweed needed to suffer. We spilled blood. Problem hopefully solved. But it won’t truly be over until Patrick Hegseth is dead.
THE DOORMAT
Jack left last night to “deal with Milkweed.” I know what he plans to do. No part of me feels any pity for the people in that town. They could have let Rebel and me go. Instead, they killed Ron. Now they’ll pay the price.
“We plan to hit them early in the morning,” Jack explained. “Sylvie and her brothers did recon weeks ago. We’ll finish this, and you won’t have to worry anymore.”
Jack must know my mind flashes to Patrick because he kisses me hard and temporarily steals away my fear. When his lips leave mine, he stares into my eyes with his electric blue ones.
“He won’t be a free man for long,” he promises.
Before he leaves, he explains that Tucker will be staying in his RV while he’s gone.
“Why?”
“With all the guys out of town, I worry about local troublemakers getting ideas.”
“What about Aaron and his boys?”
“They’re back in Ellsberg. Pop was hanging around at the pub, so I asked him. Are you not okay with him keeping an eye on you?” Jack asks, wearing a scowl.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. You look nervous.”
“I don’t want you to leave me.”
Smiling, Jack nuzzles my nose. “I know, but I need you to be safe. Our baby will be here soon. Rebel is excited about the holidays, but I’m afraid for him to leave the farm. You can’t go on the girls’ day spa shit without worrying about Milkweed. After I get back, you’ll be free.”
No matter what Jack says or how sure I am that he can handle Milkweed, I cry like a baby once he leaves. Rebel thinks something is wrong, so I pretend I’m just hormonal. He still remains close all evening and sleeps in the guest room with me.
“Is Ryder kicking?” he asks as we crawl in bed.
I smile at how quickly he’s taken to his brother’s name. “He’s been going wild all night.”
“He knows you’re hormonal,” Rebel teases.
We sleep well despite my worries. My body doesn’t care what’s happening in the world. When it wants sleep, it gets sleep.
The next morning, I wake to find a message from Jack promising to be home by dinner. Though relieved, I won’t be able to settle down until he returns.
After lunch, I end up on the porch alone. I stare at the road and wait.
“Don’t worry about Jack,” Tucker says, walking up to the porch. “He’s got badass blood running through his veins.”
Nodding, I don’t say anything while he joins me on the bench.
“Are you feeling okay?” Tucker asks.
I consider not answering, but then say, “Hell yeah.” He smiles at my words. Of course, he doesn’t understand. “Jack said I should say ‘hell yeah’ instead of ‘I’m sorry.’”
“Makes sense. Jack seems excited about his son.”
“Don’t you want to know why I’m sorry?” I ask.
Tucker frowns, clearly confused. “Sure.”
“I’m sorry that I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Why the fuck wouldn’t you want to talk to me?”
His words are filled with anger, but his tone sounds more tired than enraged.
“Scarlet and Phoebe are amazing people. If you could turn your back on them, what chance do I have with you?”
“I don’t know what people told you,” he grumbles, “but I didn’t turn my back on anyone.”
Rubbing my belly, I sigh. “I think it’d be nice for my baby to have a grandfather who cared about him. I never did. Rebel never did either. But if you can decide Bowie and Lemmy aren’t yours, then my sons could be next. I survived by playing things safe. Sure, I got lucky with Jack, but usually safe is the best way, and you aren’t safe.”
“Well, that’s not even fair. You don’t know me.”
“No, but I know your son. And Scarlet and Maddy and Phoebe. They all love you, and I’ve seen plenty of videos where you seem to love them. I know I didn’t grow up with the best family, so maybe I don’t understand how people like you act.”
“It’s complicated,” he says, rubbing at his jaw like Jack does when stressed.
“Only because you make it that way. Jack says he’s like you, and he doesn’t make things complicated. So, either he’s wrong about being like you, or you’re choosing to make things complicated.”
Tucker waves off my words, but he doesn’t leave. His gaze remains locked on the dogs running in the yard.
“Do they talk shit about me? Is that where this is coming from?”
“No. Well, Jack does a little, but Scarlet gets sad when someone mentions you. Phoebe seems like she understands why you act the way you do.”
Tucker studies the cold day. A storm is heading our way, but we remain outside and wait for Jack.
“You know, I was there when Phoebe and her brother were born. Known her all her life. I have no problem with Phoebe.”
“She says you know you’re wrong, and you want to fix things, but you don’t know how to, so you just keep doing what’s easy.”
“She says that, huh?” he grumbles.
“She says you don’t like admitting you’re wrong because people think you’re stupid. If you say you messed up, people
will think they were right about you.”
“Sure.”
“But the people who love you here don’t care if you’re stupid. They don’t care if you mess up. They mess up too.”
“You come up with this all on your own?” Tucker asks, suspicious of me now.
“Sure. I’m used to hiding in the background and watching people. I notice things, and I was curious about you from the first day. Like why Maddy wore her ring, but no one mentioned you. I thought you might be dead.”
Tucker shakes his head, clearly wanting to leave. “I don’t know why I’m talking about this with you.”
“Because you’re worried about Jack, and you don’t want me to worry about him. If that weren’t happening, you’d walk away like you do when you see the twins.”
“You got a smart mouth.”
Tucker’s trying to intimidate me, and it’s working, but I don’t shut up. Mostly because I think Phoebe’s right about him. Tucker dug himself into a hole and wants to climb out, but he thinks it’s smarter to pretend he likes where he’s at.
“I find it hard to believe you think I have a smart mouth when Scarlet’s your daughter. I’m blah compared to her.”
Tucker scratches his leg and shrugs. “Jack doesn’t need to be with a woman like his sister. They’d kill each other. Blah is better for him.”
Hearing his compliment, I fight a smile. “Jack said when he’s not sure how to be around Rebel, that he tries to think of stuff you did with him.”
“Said that, huh?” Tucker mumbles, clearly surprised his son thinks of him as a good father.
I think about Tucker’s sister. Before I met Bailey, people warned me that the more insecure she got, the louder she became.
Is Tucker insecure? People do think he’s stupid. Gram Jodi told me that her second-born son would have been happier if he stopped trying to be like his brother. But he always chose to live in Cooper’s shadow.
“Sissy told me that Lily’s dad was mad when he found out she got pregnant with Dash’s son.”
“Hell yeah. The Mullens are trash,” he nearly growls and then shrugs. “Not Sissy and Dash. They’re fine, but there’s always an exception to the rule,” he babbles and then adds, “Sissy’s kids are fine too.”
“Is your brother still mad about Lily and Dash?”
“No.”
“But she kept their relationship a secret.”
“Yeah, but now they have kids, and Cooper can’t be a dick anymore.”
“Is he weak when it comes to his kids?” I ask, lowering my voice. “Because that’s what they say when he’s not around.”
Smiling at the idea of people ragging on his brother, Tucker smiles. “Fuck yeah, he is. Cooper’s a pussy with his four.”
I don’t respond because the questions in my head won’t sound right out loud. Does Tucker want to be a pussy like Cooper? Or does he think he’s better because he’s willing to cut his daughter loose in the way Cooper couldn’t?
Tucker frowns at the dogs who take off running for the backyard where Rebel and the girls jump on the trampoline. Maddy watches the kids. I wonder how she remains so happy even when her husband isn’t in her life. I’ve known Jack for less than two months, but the thought of losing him is too painful for me to even consider.
“Do you think Cooper loves his kids more?” Tucker suddenly demands, and I flinch away from him.
“How would I know? I’ve never even met him.”
“Well, he isn’t perfect.”
“No one is.”
“No, they aren’t,” he grumbles, scratching at his wrist where there’s a tattoo of Maddy and his kids’ names. “He makes plenty of mistakes.”
“Everyone does.”
“I’m not the bad guy.”
“Well, you’re a biker who kills people.”
“Who told you that?”
“You’re wearing your vest.”
“No, I mean about killing people.”
“I heard you killed one of those men that used to run the Rossiya Motel. He made you angry, and you killed him, and his friends just stood there because they were scared of you. The girls from the Rossiya hated those men, so they like to tell that story.”
Tucker smiles. “Yeah, I remember killing that fucker but that doesn’t make me a bad guy.”
“Well, it doesn’t make you a saint either.”
“Cooper’s killed people.”
“I’ll be honest that I don’t really care about him. I probably will one day, but I can’t even picture him.”
“He’s an uglier version of me.”
I smile at his expression. “Since all your family lives here, do you spend a lot of time with Cooper?”
“Sure. Some of my time anyway. I also spend time with my mom. And Animal.”
“You like him better than Phoebe.”
“It’s not a competition.”
“No. Scarlet made her choice. The contest is over.”
Tucker doesn’t like my comment and frowns full of irritation. “And Animal gets left behind.”
“Why can’t he find a new wife like Scarlet found someone new to love?”
“He’s hung up on her.”
“I can see that. She’s beautiful, fun, and tough.”
Tucker loses his anger and sighs. “She was too much woman for Animal. Even if the stuff with Phoebe didn’t happen, they wouldn’t have made it.”
“I think it’s funny when Phoebe bosses Scarlet around since she’s so much smaller.”
“She always knew how to keep Scarlet in line.”
“I can do the same with Jack.”
“Really?” he asks, surprised.
I shake my head, and he chuckles. “Maybe I’ll learn, but he doesn’t do anything that I need to change.”
“He will. The boy is spoiled. I wanted him to be happy more than I wanted him to be sensible.”
“Is that how you were raised?”
Tucker’s smile returns. “Yeah, my parents never let me go without.”
“I never had the luxury of spoiling Rebel, but maybe that’ll change.”
“He’s a good boy.”
I share his smile. My plan to keep Tucker at arm’s length isn’t working. I’m too curious about his family, but I can’t forget how Scarlet looked when he arrived last night.
It’s a look I never wore because I always understood my mother’s love came with conditions. Scarlet believed her father would support her no matter what. When he didn’t, she lacked the experience to deal with that kind of rejection.
“If you walked inside and told Scarlet you were sorry, I bet she would forgive you,” I blurt out. “I think she’s been waiting to forgive you for a long time.”
“Because I’m the bad guy,” he grumbles, irritated again.
“If you get her forgiveness, does it really matter who’s to blame?” I ask, rubbing my belly where the baby kicks hard. “If you got to come inside and spend time with your grandbabies and daughter and son and wife, does anything else matter?”
Tucker frowns ugly at the road as if he’s thinking about leaving. “What about Phoebe?”
“Are you asking if you need to be nice to her or if she’ll be nice to you?”
“That second one.”
“Phoebe isn’t the one holding a grudge.”
Tucker stands up and looks out at his Harley. I still think he might bail. Or he might hang around until Jack returns. Either way, I don’t expect him to pat me on the head and walk into the house.
As much as I want to wait outside for Jack, my curiosity is too strong, and I sneak in behind him as he walks to the kitchen where Scarlet and Phoebe prepare pizzas for dinner.
The women freeze at the sight of Tucker. I linger back, afraid to spook anyone.
“People call me an idiot,” Tucker says, kicking at the floor like a scolded kid. “There’s no denying I’ve been a damn fool with you.”
“Yeah,” Scarlet mumbles.
Phoebe glances at her wife, clearly worried
she’ll get her hopes up. I feel the same way. I keep getting the feeling that Tucker will run for the door.
Instead, he walks over and opens his arms for Scarlet.
She melts into his embrace and bursts into tears. Phoebe’s crying too. Tucker reaches out and gestures for her to come closer. Soon, he’s hugging both of them while they cry in his arms.
“I just couldn’t get out of my own damn way,” he says while Scarlet grips his jacket. “I’m sorry, girls.”
Feeling guilty for watching their private moment, I back out of the room and return to the porch.
Behind me in the house, Tucker fixes what his stubborn ass broke years ago. At one point, Maddy and the twins enter the kitchen, and I hear Tucker talking to the boys. He can’t simply apologize away the hurt he caused, and he’ll never get back the time he missed with his family.
But the most important step is the first one. I thought about running from Milkweed for years, but the unknown remained scarier than my comfortable misery. Over time, I stole money, planned my escape, and prepared Rebel. Still, I was afraid to go.
But once I was gone, the unknown wasn’t nearly as frightening as returning to the miserable life I’d known.
That first step led me to Jack and the baby kicking my bladder and the people inside the house and those in Conroe who care if I live or die. Now Rebel can be his own person. He’s free because I didn’t settle for the known.
I wear a smile long before Jack rides down the road. Nothing will keep him from returning to me. Hope is no longer my enemy. It didn’t doom my son. Hope is what pushed me to run when I saw my chance. Hope kept me going when the Hegseth family closed in on Rebel and me.
Hope is why I find myself in Jack’s arms and why I’ll never leave them.
THE HOTHEAD
My first thought on finding a shivering Georgia waiting for me on the porch is that she shouldn’t be out in the cold. I often get the urge to hide her, so she’ll be warm and safe from the world. That’s something I’ll need to work on because my woman’s coming out of her shell. The last thing she needs is for me to shove her into a new one.
Heart Like Mine (Reapers MC: Conroe Chapter, #3) Page 24
