Page 18 of Scythe (Devil Daddies MC #2)

W innie stared at the door into the garage. The motorcycle had roared away fifteen minutes ago, but she kept hoping that the door would reopen, and Scythe would come back in. He hadn’t wanted to leave her, but Lucien had called. She’d assured him repeatedly that she would be fine without him.

I miss him already.

As much as she loved teaching, hanging out with Scythe was a much bigger thrill. Winnie forced herself to go grab one of her outfits from Scythe’s closet. He had insisted on unpacking her clothes and putting them in drawers and on hangers before he left.

She liked that he wanted her to be with him. He’d talked over breakfast like the decision had already been made for her to move in permanently with him. Crossing her fingers, she continued to get dressed. Staying here with Scythe would be a Little girl’s dream.

Remembering work, she sighed and grabbed her laptop.

Sure enough, an email from Lorraine had arrived stating Winnie hadn’t left lesson plans for the sub.

Before she could panic, Winnie found a message from Abby, who’d checked with the substitute before school and had given her a copy of Winnie’s detailed notes for the day.

Winnie messaged her thanks to her bestie on her phone before replying to her principal’s nasty email and copying the human resources department director.

She attached her previous email to Lorraine in the office and Mandy in HR, along with the timestamp of when each had opened the documents.

She also responded with the message, “I’m sorry, the district email system isn’t working.

Thank goodness I left several copies with teachers around the building, just in case.

Let me know if the sub runs into any other problems.”

She rolled her eyes as she closed her laptop and stowed it away.

Hopefully, Mandy would have something to say to Lorraine.

She’d have to deal with her when she got back.

Lorraine was going to be pissed when her deception and attempts to prove Winnie had not fulfilled her professional responsibilities flopped.

Pushing that out of her mind, she focused on the tasks at hand.

Not bothering with makeup, she headed out in the garage for her car and discovered the remote control attached to her rearview mirror and a house key.

She smiled at Scythe’s efforts to care for her.

A couple of minutes later, she realized she was daydreaming about how swoon-worthy her boyfriend was.

Daddy. She corrected herself. Scythe would be proud of her.

Her first stop that morning was at the small chapel her mother had chosen for a cozy service. She’d already talked to the minister but wanted to take over a printed sheet with a few facts about her mother so he could personalize her memorial service on Friday.

With that finished, she drove to her mother’s house.

All the lights were on at ten o’clock in the morning.

Wondering what was going on, Winnie let herself into the house, finding chaos.

Cabinets stood open with items falling out of them.

Someone had tossed everything from clothing to potholders across the carpet.

The contents of boxes spilled over on the sofa cushions and coffee table. Had someone broken in?

“Belinda? Are you here?” she frantically called from the doorway.

Her stepsister appeared in the living room. Her hair was frazzled and dark circles were under her eyes. Winnie knew immediately she hadn’t slept well.

“Are you okay?” Winnie asked, walking close. “Did someone rob us?”

“Are you kidding? There’s nothing here to steal. Just a lot of pictures, mementos, and crap,” Belinda spat.

“You did this?”

“Parents are supposed to leave you a ton of money, right? I can’t find where my dad or your mom stashed anything! All that’s here is the money from the guns.”

“I have the will here. We’ve gone over it before,” Winnie told her, waving the folder her mother had put together before she got too ill to move around.

“They had to have some investments or a nest egg to fall back on. Are you hiding something from me?” Belinda accused.

A shiver of fear ran down her spine. Belinda was out of control. “No, Belinda. We can sit down and go over their assets. Your dad’s life insurance went to fix the car of the person they hit in the accident. Mom only had this house left. We’ll have to sell it to pay off the loan.”

“What happens to the money leftover from the sale of the house?” Belinda demanded.

“We’ll have to use any extra to pay for the funeral and mom’s last expenses. Whatever is left, we’re supposed to split,” Winnie told her.

“What do we do with this junk?” Belinda asked, pointing to the many boxes she’d dumped.

“Keep what’s important to each of us and get rid of the rest. We could have an estate sale. Someone might like the furniture,” Winnie said.

“I want all of that. What are you going to do, throw me out in the street with nothing?”

“Of course not. Belinda, have you had any sleep? Everything will seem better after you rest. These are decisions we’ll have to make after the will is settled and we have time to figure out what we want to do. None of this goes quickly. I promise we’ll talk every step of the way.”

Belinda stopped frantically looking around. Her shoulders dropped into a less tense position. “You promise?”

“Of course. We’re sisters,” Winnie stressed. “Mom loved you. We won’t get much after all the medical bills and her final arrangements are paid, but whatever happens, we’ll do this together.”

“Okay,” Belinda said and exhaled heavily. “I came home, and you were gone. The house was dark and abandoned.”

“I’m sorry. I’m going to stay with Scythe…. Hopefully forever.”

“The motorcycle guy? He’s handsome, but really? A biker and a second-grade teacher? How’s that going to look?”

Winnie hesitated for a minute, searching her heart. “I don’t care what anyone thinks of our relationship. I care about how it feels.”

Belinda seemed to consider her answer before commenting, “Maybe I need to spend some time at Inferno. That dress seemed to work magic for you.”

“I got lucky, Belinda. But it’s a fun place.” Winnie smiled at her and added, “It’s going to be a big change for both of us, Belinda.”

Her stepsister sighed dramatically, cluing Winnie in that she’d solved the conflict for now. More sparks would fly in the future, but hopefully, they could resolve those as well.

“I know,” Belinda said sadly. “We’re the only ones left now.”

“But that’s the good part. We still have each other,” Winnie said with a smile and walked forward to hug Belinda.

“Yeah.” Belinda scanned the house, taking in the mess she had made. “Want to help me put this stuff away?”

“Let’s do this,” Winnie agreed.

In an hour, they’d restored most things to their rightful places.

Belinda headed to her bedroom to sleep as Winnie went through the folder for what felt like the thirtieth time.

She made some phone calls to relatives and canceled some credit cards.

Finally, she packed a few more clothes and keepsakes from her room.

If Belinda was ransacking different areas, Winnie wanted to grab those items precious to her. Winnie could store them in her trunk if her stuff took up too much room in Scythe’s tidy house. Slamming the trunk lid down with all her force, she managed to secure everything she wanted to keep.

Heading back in the house, Winnie checked off the tasks she’d needed to complete from her list. She left a note on the table telling Belinda to call if she needed to talk and asked her sister to order food for the house in case the relatives visited.

Hopefully, with something special to do, Belinda wouldn’t freak out again.

Crossing her fingers, Winnie headed to the lawyer’s office.

Why didn’t I go to the bathroom at the lawyer’s office? She squeezed her legs together and kept driving. Giving herself a pep talk, Winnie reminded herself she was almost to Scythe’s. Just a few more minutes. Winnie pressed down on the gas, hoping she wouldn’t attract the attention of a cop.

She came in hot to the gate to the Devil Daddies complex. Lurching to a stop at the entrance, Winnie swallowed hard as a heavily tattooed biker emerged from the gatehouse to check her out. When he stopped at the side of her car, she squeaked, “I’m Winnie.” And then she remembered to say, “Scythe.”

The stony-faced man’s face transformed as he smiled. “Winnie. I’m glad to meet you. I’m Pirate.”

“Hi, Pirate. It’s nice to meet you too. Am I okay to go inside?”

“Definitely. Let me raise the gate. Enjoy your evening.”

Winnie drove through with a carefree wave while inside her heart was beating a thousand times a minute. Pirate. All he needed was an eye patch. Or a parrot.

An image popped into her mind of the dangerous-looking man with a parrot on his shoulder, and giggles erupted.

She was laughing so hard as she pulled into the driveway.

She was afraid to get out in case she wet her pants.

When the garage door went up, Scythe stood in the middle of the open space.

Just seeing him, blew her wavering control to pieces.

Winnie shifted into park and threw open the door. Rolling out of her car, she laughed harder at the surprised expression on his face. That was it. She lost control. Standing by the side of her car, a torrent of pee raced from her to stream down the driveway.

She was almost hysterical now, as her amusement blended with mortifying embarrassment. Winnie covered her face with her hands and hoped to disappear. Scythe was at her side immediately. He wrapped his arms around her, shielding her.

“Scythe,” she whispered frantically. “Let me go. I’m wet.”

“I don’t care.”

His tone was final. He really didn’t give a fuck. When she finished peeing, Scythe kissed her head and asked, “You okay?”

“Yes… I wish the ground would swallow me up.”