Page 14 of Property of Stone (Kings of Anarchy MC: Pennsylvania #1)

Chapter Eight

When her mother’s text stated she’d arrive in the next few minutes, Taryn checked dinner one more time before heading outside to meet her.

She wanted to make sure her mother’s initial shock of seeing her temporary home—and who she’d be sharing it with—didn’t cause her to lock her car doors and speed away with Taryn’s son in tow. All in the name of Wren’s best interest.

On the outside, the situation might not seem ideal.

On the inside… shit. She had no idea how the situation would play out. Not yet, anyway. She’d only finished moving in this afternoon and hadn’t even spent one night under Stone’s roof yet.

Time would tell.

In the meantime, she had to make sure everything appeared hunky dory to her mother.

For Wren’s sake.

Hers, too.

“Hi, Mommy!” Wren’s Spiderman lunchbox bounced against his hip as he ran to her. She squatted down, opened her arms, and grunted when he hit her full speed.

She pressed a kiss to his forehead and ruffled his hair. “How was school, little man?”

“Good,” he answered in a sing-song voice. “Paulie tried to kiss Debbie when we were at recess.”

“Oh no.”

“Yeah, she didn’t like it so she pushed him down and he cried.”

Good. “Oh no,” she repeated. “Did he apologize?”

Wren shook his head. “No. Mrs. Tuttle told Debbie to apologize to Paulie.”

What?

“Debbie’s mommy came and was maaaaad . She was all red in the face and shaking her finger at Mrs. Tuttle.”

Good.

Taryn got to her feet but tipped his face up toward her. “Did you learn anything from that?”

Wren squinted up at her. “Not to kiss girls.”

That would work.

“You must always, always, always ask permission to touch anyone first, and if someone doesn’t want to be kissed, then you don’t kiss them.”

He swung his lunchbox around. “Okay.” His eyes landed on the house behind her. “This where we’re gonna live, Mommy?”

“Yes, for now. And, look! It’s got a pool!”

He bounced on his toes. “Yay!”

She turned toward her mother. “Thanks for picking him up from school.”

Her mother’s worried green eyes shifted from inspecting the back of the house to her. “Of course. We had fun at the playground. ”

“Gramma said not to throw rocks at the squirrels.”

“I agree with Grandma. How about you don’t throw rocks at all?”

Wren pouted.

Suddenly, her mother’s spine snapped straight when her attention was drawn to something beyond Taryn. Shit. Shit. Shit. Taryn guessed her mother wasn’t looking at something, but more like someone .

“He’s behind me, isn’t he?” Taryn whispered.

“By he, do you mean a tall man full of tattoos with a scruffy beard and even messier long hair?”

“That would be him.”

“Why, Taryn?”

“It’s not like that. This is only a temporary pit stop in the rat race of my life.”

Her mother pursed her lips as she inspected him head to toe.

“Remember me, kid?” Stone asked Wren when he stepped up beside her.

With her son’s little hand shading his eyes from the sun, he peered up at the much taller man. “ Noooo .”

That could be a good thing. He was still dealing with some PTSD from that day over a year ago, despite the therapy. Unfortunately, seeing his father, the only male figure in his life, beat the crap out of his mother would stick with him for a long time.

She’d also be working for a long time on fixing her mistake of meeting Vic to exchange Wren without anyone else accompanying her.

All due to that goddamn court order.

If she had canceled, Vic would’ve made her life a living hell. He looked for any excuse to take her back to court for custody. That meant she had no choice but to take the risk .

One that obviously hadn’t paid off.

She didn’t want Stone reminding Wren of that day all over again. She bugged her eyes out at the biker in an unspoken warning. “Of course he doesn’t. You only met for a minute that busy day.”

His dark eyes flicked to her before dropping to Wren. When he lifted his gaze back to her, he gave her a single nod in understanding.

Thankfully, the man could pick up on clues. She gave him a pointed smile. “Stone, can you take Wren inside, please? I’ll be in in a minute.”

He stared at her for a long minute before once again giving her a nod of understanding. “Ready for dinner, Baby Bird?”

Taryn closed her eyes and pushed a breath through her nose. Did he call Wren that on purpose after she asked him not to?

Men.

But she forgave him quickly when he offered his hand to her son and he guided Wren to the house.

“Did you call me a baby bird?” her son asked.

Taryn could only see the outline of his profile as the man glanced down at her six-year-old. “Ain’t that your name?”

The sound of Wren’s belly laugh warmed her heart. “ Nooooo ! My name is Wren.”

“That’s what I said.”

“No, it isn’t!”

“Must need your ears cleaned out, Baby Bird.”

Taryn’s smile disintegrated the second she turned back and saw her mother’s expression locked down tight.

Great. Here comes a lecture in three…two…

“Taryn, have you thought this through?”

“Thought what through? ”

Her mother flapped her hand around. “Whatever this is. I know you’re struggling to take care of the house, but this…” She shook her head.

“He offered me a place to live with my son for free, Mom. In exchange, I only need to help with his daughter.”

The things you have to do when you’re desperate...

“He might not be charging you rent, but I’m sure it will cost you in other ways.” She focused on the back door through which Wren and Stone disappeared. “How do you even know him?”

Shit. Her mother only knew a man stepped in to stop Vic that day, but because of the violence involved, she figured it was best not to tell her it had been Stone. Especially since Vic ended up in the hospital afterward for quite a while.

Knowing Stone had the potential to be that violent—even if only when pushed—would make her mother freak out and insist that Taryn not share the same roof.

Yes, his reaction had been a little over the top—even though she only saw the results afterward in light of her being knocked out—but at least he’d been brave enough to step in to help her.

“He was the one who stepped in to help me when Vic…”

Her mother lifted a hand. “Understood. But, Taryn, take it from me, you shouldn’t rely on a man. And this feels a lot like that.”

“Mom, I think I already learned that lesson.” A few times over.

“Are you sure about this? I’m worried about you, Taryn. I’m worried about my grandson. He seems like the opposite of a good man.”

Taryn sighed. “Are you going by facts or perception?”

“Well, he looks”—her mom flapped a hand around again—“ unkempt.”

Unkempt?

He looked more together today than that first day she sought him out at the old school. But then, he didn’t have a hangover today and hadn’t just shared a bed with two women.

In fact, he looked damn good today. A tight, black tank hugged his amazing physique. The man certainly did not have a typical biker body. At least according to what she saw on Google. She figured they’d all look more like Patch.

“He doesn’t look respectable.”

Because he wasn’t. “Looking respectable and being respectable are two different things, Mom. You know who looks respectable but, in reality, isn’t? That’s who you should be worried about, not Stone.”

“Stone,” she huffed. “What kind of name is that?”

“A nickname. That’s all.”

“Well, I don’t like it.”

“Then, I won’t call you that. Remember, this is only temporary.”

“I can take Wren.”

Taryn’s heart skipped a beat. “No. I want him with me. And not only that, he’ll have Sunny. She’ll be the sister he never had.” Or at least she hoped so. There was no telling with Sunny’s attitude whether she would be kind to Wren or not.

Her mother clicked her tongue.

Taryn shook her head. “Please don’t turn into Grandma.”

Her mother squeezed Taryn’s arm. “I know my apartment is small, but if this turns out to be not as you expected, don’t hesitate to come stay with me. We’ll figure it out. You didn’t put the house up for sale yet, did you?”

“I’m meeting the agent this week.”

Her mother sighed .

“It’s for the best, Mom. The house is too much for me to handle, especially with only one income, and I’m worried Vic will show up at the door after he’s released. He blames me for his conviction and incarceration.”

“He deserves more time than what he got.”

“I won’t argue that.”

“But he’s a good example of some of the bad choices you make.” She turned her eyes back to the house. “Please be careful.”

“I will. Do you want to join us for dinner? I made Million Dollar Pasta.”

“Another time. I’m meeting the girls to play Pinochle tonight.”

She gave her mother a hug. “Well, have fun. Say hello to the ladies for me and thank you for dropping off Wren.”

Her mother squeezed her so tightly Taryn could hardly take a breath. “Please be careful, Taryn. A mother worries.”

“I know, Mom. I’m a mother, too.”

The gut punch from a tiny foot had Taryn’s eyes popping open. For a second she had no idea where she was. Until it hit her…

This was not her house. Or her bedroom.

Or her normal life.

She twisted her head to see Wren sleeping sideways in his favorite Sonic the Hedgehog pajamas and taking up too much real estate in Stone’s king-sized bed. How could a six year old, only weighing in at about fifty pounds, take up that much space?

After dislodging Wren’s other foot from under her chin, she unplugged her cell phone from the charger, glanced at the time, and groaned.

It was way too early.

However, she had a private dinner scheduled today so she might as well get up, plan breakfast, then start prepping the ingredients for her event later and loading whatever she’d need into the car.

She had no idea how Sunny prepared for school in the morning, other than maybe eating breakfast. Taryn needed to figure out her daily routine, too.

Stone’s daughter had picked at the pasta last night, wrinkling her nose dramatically after every bite she pretended to force down.

Stone scarfed down the contents of his bowl in under a minute, then went back for seconds.