Page 11

Zoe

Sleep clung to me.

That kind of deep, demanding sleep that kept pulling you back under each time something threatened to jolt you awake.

It was the kind of sleep I hadn’t gotten since Lainey.

Lainey!

I shot awake, bleary eyes disoriented as I looked around the unfamiliar room.

Sun streamed in through the windows, making my heart trip into overdrive as my head whipped over to find a… playard.

How had a playard appeared?

I shot upward, kicking the recliner closed and rushing toward the crib. Only to find it empty.

“Lainey,” I whimpered, turning toward the door only to have it push inward.

And there was a pretty woman in a flowing floral skirt with an abundance of beads at her wrists and what looked like a smudge of paint across her white tank top.

Lainey was nestled in her arm.

“Oh, hey, Mama,” she whispered, giving me a huge smile. “Sorry, I meant to have her back before you woke up.”

“Who are you?” I asked, my voice tight.

“That’s Jade,” Coast said, coming up behind her with a platter in his hands. “Levee’s woman. She likes babies. Stole Lainey from me as soon as we made our way downstairs for a bottle.”

“What… what time is it?” I asked, my mind still sleep-foggy.

“Little after seven,” Jade said.

“Seven? In the morning?”

What time had I passed out? Ten? Maybe even earlier.

I’d slept for over eight straight hours?

“Did Lainey cry?” I asked, my stomach twisting at the idea of not being there for her.

“She knocked out until just about half an hour ago.”

“When I stole her, gave her a quick change, and convinced Coast to let me feed her. I love babies. I want a million of them. And yours is a complete angel.”

“She is,” I agreed as Jade walked over toward the playard to gently place her down. “Okay. I’ll leave you guys alone. But if you ever—ever—need a babysitter, Coast can give you my number. For free. I would pay you,” she added with a little laugh.

“Think she might actually mean that. About paying you,” Coast said, coming in and kicking the door closed. “Got you some breakfast.”

“You… what?”

“Breakfast,” he repeated. “Eggs, pancakes, sausage. Breakfast shit. And a coffee. Figure you gotta drink it as a single mom.”

“I think I’m half coffee at this point,” I agreed.

“This is, unfortunately, take-out. Normally, Eddie cooks for us. And it’s always banging. But he’s sick, so we’re stuck with the local chain place. It’s alright.”

“I… you didn’t have to get me food.”

“You’re here, aren’t you?” he asked. “If you’re here, you eat,” he added, putting the tray down on the end of the bed.

I actually still felt stuffed from all that pizza. But the scent of syrup had my belly rumbling regardless.

“Okay. Thanks,” I said, taking the tray over to the recliner with me. “I can’t believe Lainey slept that long. She never goes more than four or five hours.”

“She got a little fussy two hours before she woke up. Fished the pacifier out of the bag and she settled right back down. Your dark circles look better already.”

“I don’t remember the last time I got eight hours of sleep.”

“I know a thing or two about not sleeping,” he said, fishing one of the sausage links off my plate. “But the body’s gotta catch up here or there.”

“Apparently,” I agreed, cutting into my pancakes after pouring the syrup over them.

“Feel better?”

“Actually, I feel foggier than before,” I admitted.

“Yeah, get that. I feel like I function better with four hours than eight.”

“Why don’t you sleep?” I asked. “I mean… single mom, baby, various life stresses,” I said, waving toward Lainey, then myself. “What about you?”

“Carried over from my childhood, I guess. No one really notices it around here since we’re all up most of the night.”

He was being deliberately vague. He didn’t want to open up. And there was no reason some part of me really, really wanted to pry.

“So, this is your… clubhouse?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, but what does that mean?”

“Biker clubs have a clubhouse,” he explained.

“Right. I noticed the bikes on the way in. So, you all live here?”

“Some of us do. The older members have moved on to their own places. They pop by here and there to hang out or work or whatever, but it’s just the four of us—no, six now—living here.”

“And you just… party all the time?”

“A good part of the time.”

“And you mentioned work.”

“Yeah, we work for the club.”

Normal people elaborated on that question. Coast not doing so made me think that whatever “work” he did for his biker club was maybe not all above board.

My mind flashed back to his casual carrying of a gun in that alley.

That certainly felt like someone who did, you know, illegal things.

I probably should have been panicking to be in a clubhouse full of criminals. But, well, these so-called criminals had treated me better than anyone else had in years.

“What did you do before Lainey made you need to do gig work?”

That was a tricky question.

But I could give him a partial truth.

“I was a dancer.”

“Like on a pole or in a tutu?”

The way he said that made it sound like he would feel the same way about me regardless of which answer I gave. Which was incredibly endearing.

I obviously didn’t know Coast well, but he seemed to be completely without judgment.

“Tutu. Sort of. I’ve been a ballet dancer pretty much my whole life. And I… managed to make a living out of it for a while.”

The particulars of that, I certainly didn’t want to get into.

“Were you any good?”

I let out a choked laugh, finding his lack of decorum charming. “I like to think so.”

“Cool shit. You wanna get back to it one day?”

“I think I would like to maybe teach one day. Maybe when Lainey is old enough to be in school or in classes herself.”

“Yeah? Gonna get your boss bitch thing on?”

“I guess so. It would be nice. I mean, obviously, that’s nowhere in the near future. But a girl can dream.”

“How’s the gig work going?”

“It’s… going. Some days are better than others. The dog walking has been the best. Both for Lainey and money. I don’t have to keep hauling her around in her seat or in a carrier. She loves the dogs. We get fresh air. It’s a win-win. And no one can stiff me on tips with the dog-walking gig.”

“People fucking suck sometimes.”

I never used to think that way. I’d been a sunny optimist, someone who always saw the good in others, who gave everyone the benefit of the doubt.

Sometimes I missed that girl.

Until I remembered what all that positivity and trust got me.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Thanks for this,” I said, finishing the last of my food and reaching for my coffee.

He shrugged that off.

“You wanna take a long, uninterrupted shower?” he asked. “Know a thing or two about that too. You can borrow something to wear. It’ll swim on you, but shouldn’t fall off. Not that I’d mind that,” he added with a devilish smirk.

“She’s starting to get up,” I said, seeing Lainey’s legs start to kick.

“So, I’ll take her to go see the tortoise.”

“You have a tortoise?”

“The club has one,” he said, getting up to go scoop my daughter up again. “You wanna see a tortoise eat some flowers while Mom washes her greasy hair?” he asked.

“Gee, thanks,” I said, wincing, but knowing he was right.

“Coast!” a woman’s voice called from a floor below, making him cross the room to open the door.

“Yeah?”

“Jade told me there’s a baby,” the woman called. “I need to smell her head.”

My lips curved up.

“That’s Che’s woman. This is their playard,” he said, nodding toward it. “They’ve got a bunch of kids.”

“By all means, then, let her smell Lainey’s head,” I said.

“Bathroom is in the hall. I made Dixon clean the shit out of it for you. Take any clothes you want,” he said, waving toward the dresser. “We’ll be downstairs when you’re done.”

It felt wrong to let someone take my baby away. Hell, it felt wrong to have time alone at this point. But Coast had been great with her. And who better than a mom of a bunch of other kids to keep an eye on her while I just took a quick shower?

That quick shower, though, ended up not being so fast.

I’d grabbed a tee and Coast’s tightest pair of shorts with an elastic waistband, then made my way into the hall bathroom, where I found Coast had set out several items for me: a razor and toothbrush—both still in their packaging—soap, shaving cream, lotion. You name it, he’d somehow thought of it.

And, well, when you had all those luxuries, who could blame a girl for using them?

I felt more human than I had in months by the time I stepped out of the steamy bathroom in my loose borrowed clothes.

I stopped in the bedroom to grab my shoes and Lainey’s diaper bag, then made my way downstairs, feeling a little awkward walking around someone else’s house.

“She’s out front hooting at the construction trucks across the street,” a male voice said, making me turn to find an absolute giant standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

The guy had to be at least six-four with dark hair and eyes and a lot of tattoos.

“Oh, thanks,” I said, giving him a smile.

“Want another cup of coffee? Candy made it, so it’s not toxic sludge.”

I felt a little guilty making anyone else watch my baby for even another minute, but coffee really did sound good.

“Okay. Thanks. I’m Zoe.”

“Kylo,” he said. “Lainey is adorable.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll keep her.”

“Fuuuuck you, Benny,” came a croak from behind me. But when I turned, all I saw was the big blue bird from the night before.

“Rude, man,” Kylo said, handing me a cup of coffee and gesturing toward the cream and sugar on the counter. “He’s a rescue. We’ve come up with all sorts of stories about who Benny was and what he did to get so much hate.”

Kylo went into the fridge, pulling out a food storage container, then scooping a bunch of what looked like chopped fruits and vegetables into the bird’s bowl.

“I know, buddy,” he said to the bird, who eyed the food dubiously.

“But Remy gave me another lecture about the junk food. So you’re on a chop and pellet and occasional nut diet for now. ”

“He’s gorgeous.”

“He is,” Kylo agreed.

“Is he a club pet, like the tortoise?”

“I guess so. He did belong to Remy. Along with a dozen other animals. But he said parrots really struggle with big changes, so when he moved out, he thought Mackie would be happiest here.”

“Where he can con people into giving him snacks.”

“Exactly.”

“I know. Not cool,” Coast said, coming in from the front of the house with a crying Lainey in his arms. It was one of her half-hearted cries that said nothing was actually wrong; she was just being dramatic.

“What happened?” I asked, trying to ignore the strange tugging sensation in my chest, seeing my little girl against his chest.

“The dump truck drove away,” Coast explained. “She had some definite feelings about it.”

“Oh, no. How dare they do their job, huh?” I asked, holding out a hand.

“Nah. Finish your coffee. She’s good. If she has a bald spot on her head, it’s from Saskia sniffing her so hard.”

“Well, you can’t blame her,” I said, sipping my coffee. “Thanks for entertaining her. I really needed that shower.”

“Yeah, you did,” he agreed, giving me a smile.

“That’s the longest I’ve ever been away from Lainey,” I admitted.

“Figured as much. Feel good, or were you stressed about it?”

“Why not both?” I asked, getting a chuckle out of him.

“Fair.”

“Thanks for letting me crash. And taking her for a bit. It was like a vacation.”

“Kinda sad, Zo,” he said, shaking his head at me. “But I get it. Anytime you need a break, Jade wasn’t kidding about watching Lainey. Pretty sure Sass would challenge her to a duel over who got the right first, though.”

“Does Jade have kids of her own?”

“Not yet. But I’m sure that’s coming soon. For now, she just likes to temporarily kidnap everyone else’s babies.”

“She seems really sweet.”

“Could give you a toothache,” he agreed. “She and Sass made me write down their numbers for you,” he said. Reaching in his pocket, he passed me a piece of paper with hastily scribbled names and numbers on it. “And wanted me to press that they would happily watch Lil’ Bit here at no charge.”

I took the paper, trying to squash the disappointment that he hadn’t included his number.

I mean, not that I could call him.

He wasn’t offering babysitting services.

And I certainly wasn’t in the place to start dating again.

In fact, I was reasonably sure I would never be in the place to date again. I wasn’t sure I could trust my judgment with men any longer.

“Thank them for me,” I said, stuffing the number into Lainey’s diaper bag.

“Thank them by letting them babysit,” he said as I reached for my daughter, suddenly feeling weirdly teary-eyed and wanting to get out of the clubhouse before I did something humiliating like cry in front of Coast.

“Thanks again,” I told him. “We should be getting out of your hair.” I’d probably already missed out on a bunch of delivery orders that could have brought in some decent money.

“You’re not in my hair,” he said. “She’s been good.”

“She usually is,” I agreed. “I will wash your clothes and drop them back sometime this week,” I told him as we walked through the house.

“No rush. Toss me the keys. I’ll get the car going while you get her strapped in.”

Unbidden, my mind flashed to him doing so every time we had to go in the car, so Lainey never had to be uncomfortable.

God, what was wrong with me?

I never fantasized about a man in our lives.

“Thanks again. For everything,” I told him as I closed Lainey’s door to find him standing there.

“Got nothing to thank me for. Drive safe. Be good, Lil’ Bit,” he said, knocking on Lainey’s window as I got in the front seat.

There was a strange ache in my stomach as I reversed out of the spot then pulled out of the driveway.

I was halfway down the street when there was a ping on my phone.

There was an update on my trip detail for the clubhouse.

The estimate for this trip was $95.05 including an upfront tip—and the customer tipped you even more after delivery. Nice job!

My heartbeat tripped into overdrive to find the trip earning went from the projected $95.05 to a staggering $295.05.

Coast had added on a two-hundred-dollar tip. Extra. On top of what he’d already included when he’d ordered. On top of giving me two meals, a night of sleep, and an uninterrupted shower full of pampering.

I was blinking back tears as I pulled into the lot of our motel, thinking maybe I needed to accept that there were actually some really good men out there. Regardless of what my experience before had shown.

“He’s a good guy, huh, Lainey?” I asked as I pulled her out of her seat to carry her inside. “I was starting to lose hope that those existed. But I’m happy to be wrong.”

I was so busy looking at my girl’s adorable face as I pushed the door open that I missed it until I stepped into the doorway.

Then my heart plummeted.