Page 12

I glanced across the bar towards April. She was standing next to Riley ordering at the bar. Sandy wasn't working tonight, so it was one less issue to worry about. I was grateful because I didn't want a repeat of the other night playing over again.

"You're staring," Cayden nudged me in the ribs, and I quickly looked away back towards the group. It was just Cayden, Owen, Miles, and myself with the girls tonight. Ashley and Laura smiled at us.

"You really just can't keep your eyes off her, can you?" Ashley asked, leaning onto Owen. "It's so sweet. You really do love her."

"I remember those days," Laura said, looking at Miles, who looked offended. His jaw dropped open slightly as he stared at her.

"I still look at you like that." He wrapped his arm around Laura, pulling her close. "I think I'm blessed every morning. I get up and am grateful every time we go to bed."

Laura smiled ear to ear. He pulled a hand up, poking him on the nose. "I know. I just wanted to see the look in your eyes."

I glanced back at Riley and April. She was more relaxed tonight, which was good. I knew April enough to tell the difference between when she was forcing herself and when she was actually having a good time. I knew her fake smile, and tonight, her smile was real.

"You think she's getting settled now?" Owen asked, taking a swig out of his drink. "It's been almost two months now. I know the transition can be difficult sometimes."

I shrugged. "A little, but I think it's going to take longer to fully let herself think she's part of this place now. I know that it took me a while before I felt like I belonged here."

I glanced at her and saw how carefree she was looking tonight. I knew she used to be so much more when we were younger. She was down for anything and everything. She was adventurous and wild. And now.

I knew she double-checked the front door. I knew she tensed up when I arrived home and didn't announce myself. I saw how her eyes scanned a space when we went out or how she swallowed when she was nervous.

I hated how much she'd changed; I knew it was because of Ivan. Just saying his name made her go a little paler, and her shoulders tensed up. Her eyes bounced around, looking for him, and she looked utterly defeated. I hated it. I hated how much she changed, how different she was.

I curled my hands into fists, pissed we still hadn't found him. How was it that he could just pop in and pop out without us noticing him? Had we all become lacking? Or was he just that sneaky? I wanted to know where he was, but there was no sign of him. It was like he disappeared into thin air.

April and Riley turned, each holding two beers in their hands. April laughed, and her face lit up. My shoulder relaxed slightly as she spoke. She looked happy.

Ivan wasn't here, so I wasn't going to let the thought of him ruin tonight. She was having a good time, and I wanted it to continue that way. I wanted both of us to have a fun time.

"I got us beers," April said as she swung back into her seat. She leaned into me heavily, sighing as she did.

I glanced around the room, seeing that people were noticing us. I knew they always looked at our group in general when we went out because of everything we did for the town, but tonight, they were watching us—watching our relationship.

I knew that people would be looking, and we needed it. Once people saw us, word would start to travel, and Ivan would get the news. I had no idea how he was going to react, but hopefully, he would get that she was taken.

I wrapped an arm around her, tucking her even closer. I kissed the top of her head as I reached for my drink. I inhaled her scent, having missed it over the past few days. She's been leaving the house so early that her smell wasn't in the bathroom when I got up.

"So, April, how has working at the school been going? Is Rebecca nice? I hear she can be a hard ass sometimes."

April laughed, shaking her head. "No, she's actually pretty reasonable. She handles the students extremely well, and she's been pretty lenient with me, not knowing as much as the person in my position would need to. I'm really enjoying myself. Which kind of surprised me because I didn't think I was going to."

Laura tilted her head onto Miles's shoulder. "What are you going to do when she comes back? Is there any other position open there?"

April waved her hand, unsure. "We haven't gotten that far yet. I still have another ten weeks to figure that out. She had mentioned that the middle school principal might be looking for an assistant, but that's still in the air. The lady running it right now is still thinking about retirement."

Laura rolled her eyes. She ran her tongue over her teeth, shaking her head. "Oh, Jesus, she needs to retire. She is just a cranky old bitch."

Riley raised an eyebrow at this. "How would you know?"

Miles scratched behind his ear. A nervous laugh left him. "We had to pick Micheal up from school a couple of months ago because he got in trouble."

This was news. I felt my eyebrows raise at this. "What did he do? Micheal? We're talking about the same kid, right? The kid that knows more manners than your husband?"

Laura laughed, and Miles rolled his eyes. "low blow, man."

Laura patted Miles on the arm and looked at me. "Yeah, he punched a kid."

"Oh shit," Ashley said, looking stunned. "Like actually punched him?"

"Another kid was picking on him and Miles here," Laura glanced at him before looking back at us. "Told him to punch the kid if he continued. Because that's the style of parenting we are doing now."

Miles shrugged. "He deserved it. If he didn't want to get his ass beat, he shouldn't bully."

Laura turned to Miles. "We should not be teaching our son to punch people. He can't do that when he gets older."

Miles scowled. "Laura, he shoved Micheal into a locker. He deserved it. And he hasn't bothered him since. I think we can say a lesson was learned."

I shook my head. "So, you guys had to get him at school? And the assistant wasn't nice?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah, and the assistant was just a bitch. I mean full ass chewing my ass out."

"Wow," Ashley snorted. "You must really not like her to speak like that."

"She told me that I needed to do a better job at teaching my child what was right and wrong. Miles had to restrain me from punching her. Mind you, my son has never gotten in trouble. I would understand if this was his tenth time in the office, but it was his first. She clearly just an unhappy, cranky bitch that needs to retire."

Miles smirked. "And everyone thinks I'm the problem in this relationship." He pulled Laura close, kissing the top of her head.

Laura sighed. "Everything was fine. We spoke with the principal, but that assistant needs to be done. I've heard she's not nice, and kids hate her. You'd be a much better fit."

I glanced at April, who just looked shocked by the story. I pulled her closer, wrapping my fingers around hers. I was happy she was working and that she enjoyed her job. She was finding something else to do besides being at home.

"Comfortable?" I whispered to her.

She nodded, resting her head against my shoulder. "I am. It's nice and calm tonight." I felt her other hand reach up, rubbing down my chest. It sent a shiver down my spine, and I looked back towards the ground, trying to act like it didn't bother me.

"How is that fundraiser going with Wendy?" Riley asked Ashley.

"I need to move around," Cayden said, getting up and stretching his arms out.

"Game?" Owen asked as he got up. Cayden nodded, looking towards me. "Want in?"

I shook my head. "Maybe in a bit." I wanted to enjoy this closeness I had.

Cayden shrugged, and they moved over toward the dartboard in the back. April rested her hand on my thigh, and my cock jerked. I glanced at her, but she wasn't looking at me. She was talking with the girls like her hand wasn't just a few inches from my dick.

I knew tonight we were putting on a show, but if she wasn't careful, we were going to have a problem on our hands. When we had sex the other night, I knew emotions took over more than anything. I had wanted her so badly I didn't even think about the aftermath. And I just figured she was using it as tension release. We had been talking about it just seconds before we bounced each other's bones.

After a while, it was getting late, so we headed home. April sat in the passenger seat with her window rolled down, taking the wind. She looked happy.

"Did you have a good time?" I asked, tempted to take her hand.

She looked at me, nodding her head. "Yeah, I did. I think I drank a little more than I should have."

I glanced at her, confused, as I got to a stop sign. "You're not drunk, so why is that a problem?"

She shrugged. "It was with Ivan."

I ground my teeth together at his name.

She looked back outside the window. "He always said it wasn't ladylike to drink. Would get so mad if I had a drink when we went out."

I pulled the truck forward, exhaling slowly. "There is nothing wrong with having a drink and enjoying yourself, April. I hope you know that."

She nodded. "I knew there were a lot of things that I did that were fine but unforgivable to the pack."

"Like what?

She shrugged. "I wanted to go to college instead of pushing out babies like a machine. I wanted to work, but Ivan never wanted me to work full-time because his needs and the house required my attention. He was the breadwinner."

"The pack has always had that old mindset. I never understood it."

She snorted. "The pack has fucked up rules and regulations."

"You're not wrong about that. Why did you stay there for so long if you knew better?"

She shrugged again. "It just sort of fell that way. I married Ivan, and things slowly changed, more than I had expected. I thought I was happy because he got me away from my parents." She sighed. "That was until I found him fucking another woman in our bed."

I looked at her, shocked. "Wait, what?"

She nodded. "Yeah, mid-thrust, actually. It's a sight I'll never get out of my head." She scowled. "He said it was because I hadn't gotten pregnant yet, and the pack needed us to be parents."

I tried not to look shocked, but I couldn't help it. "And he's trying to get you back?"

She nodded. "I did everything for him, and I doubt another woman does things the way I do. It wasn't always bad. We got along well before…"

"Before what?"

"Work became stressful, and talk about kids.”

I ground my teeth together.

"Did you ever get pregnant?" I knew it was a personal question, but I couldn’t help but ask.

She shook her head. "No. We had thought I had once, but it was a false positive. Not even Riley knows about that.

"Why didn't you?"

"A guess a small part of me never wanted to…I didn’t want to think about what would happen if I did.

I shook my head. "You guys weren’t together that long.”

"Ivan wasn't a fan of waiting. He was getting frustrated that I wasn’t getting pregnant. Which led to me witnessing him filling a woman. He was impatient."

I parked the car, looking at her stunned. "Jesus Christ."

She shrugged. "It happens."

I scowled at her. "April, that is bullshit. What happened to you was unfair. You can feel hurt."

Her eyes softened slightly, and she smiled. "Thank you for that."

We got out of the truck and headed upstairs. April leaned onto me as we walked, and she stumbled slightly. As I unlocked the door, she leaned closer, her hands pulling at the top of my jeans.

"Do you want to do something for me?"

"Depends on what you're asking," I said, pushing the door open. The apartment was dark as she stepped inside.

"You wanna come to bed with me?" she asked, her fingers tugging at my zipper.

My body tensed up, and I grabbed her hand, stopping her. She frowned, looking hurt. I wanted nothing more than to sink myself into her, but April was not thinking straight. Us fucking before was a mistake, and I wouldn't let that happen again.

"April, you've been drinking. It's not a good idea."

She pulled her hand back, and I quickly cupped her face. "You need sleep."

She swallowed and nodded her head. "You're right."

I took her down the hallway, helping her into bed. I pulled her shoes off, and just as I was about to ask if she needed help getting dressed, she was out. Her chest rose and fell softly, and she looked peaceful.

I turned the light off and slipped back into the hall. I leaned against the door and sighed heavily.

My heart hurt at all the information she told me. I hadn't realized how much she'd been carrying alone.