Page 3 of The Secrets We Keep (Sovereign Sons MC: North Carolina #1)

SOPHIE

I roll over on the thin hotel mattress and groan as I pull myself into a sitting position. I think I got the worst night of sleep of my life last night. I knew that I didn’t have much to spend on a hotel, but the only room I could afford was in the shittiest hotel in town.

Luckily, the sheets were clean, and the bed was free of bedbugs.

I hate that I can’t afford somewhere better for me and Asher to stay.

I wipe the sleep from my eyes and turn around to check on him, finding him sprawled across the mattress, sleeping soundly.

I bite back a laugh at the image of my son. He could fall asleep anywhere.

I quietly grab my bag and head into the bathroom to freshen up. The bathroom isn’t the cleanest, but I manage to take a shower and brush my teeth without touching anything too grimy.

I walk back into the bedroom and find Asher watching cartoons on the small television. He smiles sleepily at me .

“I need you to get your teeth brushed and get dressed so we can head out, okay?” I tell him softly as I sit on the bed beside him and brush back his wild hair from his forehead.

“Okay, mama,” he murmurs as he rests his head on my shoulder.

I don’t rush the moment because I know that as he gets older, these moments will be fewer and fewer. After a few minutes, I gently nudge him with a laugh.

“This isn’t brushing your teeth,” I scold him playfully.

“I’m going, I’m going,” he grumbles as he rises from the bed and heads into the bathroom.

I already got him to take a shower last night before we went to bed, so he doesn’t need to deal with that dirty thing again.

I turn off the television and the lights in the room after searching around for any of our belongings before we leave the room.

This isn’t a place where I would feel comfortable leaving anything out, and since we’re only here for the night, I want to make sure we don’t forget anything.

I need to go by my father’s lawyer’s office today to see if the asshole left anything for me. Other than debt. If I end up responsible for any of his debt, I don’t know how I’ll pay it.

I take a deep breath and turn toward the bathroom door when I hear the toilet flush.

Asher appears a moment later with his pajamas in one hand and his toothbrush and toothpaste in the other.

He walks over and hands them to me so I can put them in our bag and then sits down to put his tennis shoes on.

When he’s done, we walk out of the room and down to the reception area. If you can call it that. There’s one man sitting behind glass and two lawn chairs beside a vending machine. Like I said, it’s not the classiest place I’ve ever stayed.

I clasp Asher’s hand in mine while I check us out and then hurry toward my car. When we climb inside, I feel like I take my first full breath since we got here. I can go figure things out with John’s lawyer and then get us back on the road. Out of Silver Springs.

I make sure that Asher is buckled in and then head toward Lenny Thompson’s office. Lenny has been the lawyer for the club since I was ten years old. He was always kind to me.

It takes us a few minutes to get there as we navigate the little bit of church traffic. It’s a beautiful summer day in Silver Springs, the kind of days I used to love growing up here.

“It’s so pretty here, mama,” Asher says from the back seat as he gazes out the window.

“Yeah, it is,” I say through the tightening of my throat.

I didn’t think that being here for my father’s funeral would make me miss this place even more, but it has. Seeing Asher where I thought I would raise all of my kids just makes me even more homesick.

I pull into the parking lot of Lenny’s office and turn off the car. Asher and I hop out and he walks to the front of the vehicle to walk beside me. I hold the door open for him and usher him inside, following closely behind him.

“Good morning! I’ll be with you in a second!” A sweet voice calls out. Beautiful green eyes widen when she takes me in. “Sophie!” Wren Dixon squeals before she barrels into me, engulfing me in her sweet scent. “You’re back!”

We pull back from our embrace and I give her my first genuine smile since I arrived back in Silver Springs.

Wren was my best friend in high school. Her dad was a member of the club, so we basically grew up together.

She is even more stunning than the last time I saw her.

Her chocolate brown hair hangs down her back in waves.

Her green eyes are even more piercing. She has curves for days and a killer style in a black pencil skirt and gray silk blouse, along with six-inch black heels that make her a little taller than me.

“Only for John’s funeral,” I tell her with a wince. “We’ll be heading out after we speak to Lenny,” I say as I pull Asher closer to my side.

She blanches at that. “I’m so sorry, Soph,” she murmurs softly. “Who is this cutie?” She changes the subject as she sets her sights on Asher.

“This is my son Asher,” I tell her with a smile. “Asher, this is my friend Wren. ”

He gives her a shy smile with a little wave.

“It’s nice to meet you Asher,” she says as she returns his smile. “Would you like to sit out here with me while your mom talks to Lenny?” Asher looks to me for permission and then follows Wren into the waiting area. “He’s ready for you, Sophie. You can head on in,” she calls over her shoulder.

I take one more look at Wren and Asher before knocking on Lenny’s door and opening it.

He stands before me in a gray suit, the jacket abandoned on his chair, and the same warm smile he always wore.

His dark grey hair is cut short on the sides and longer up top, like a pompadour.

He’s a handsome man, even at sixty-five.

“Sophie! How are you doing, sweetheart?” He asks as he walks over to give me a hug.

“I’m good, Lenny,” I murmur into his shoulder. “How are you?”

“Same as always,” he chuckles as he pulls back. “You’re here about your dad?” He asks in a more serious tone.

“Yeah,” I clear my throat. “I highly doubt he left me anything of worth, but I’m sure he stuck me with all of his debt,” I grumble as I take a seat in one of his oversized leather chairs.

His office looks just like I remembered it. Warm toned leather chairs, mahogany desk and bookshelves. I was surprisingly here a lot when I was younger, but that was more to deal with my mom’s estate, than things for my father.

Lenny grimaces as he walks around his desk and takes a seat, opening up his laptop to pull up John’s information. “I’m afraid you’re pretty accurate,” he says making my stomach drop. “But John didn’t leave you a thing, not even his debt.”

My eyebrows raise at that. “What?”

Lenny’s eyes soften. “The club has been doing really well and paid off all your father’s debts before he died. About a year ago, actually. Everything that he had has been left to the club, specifically to Grayson Williams, which is pretty standard for the club.”

My eyes widen. John left everything to my ex-boyfriend. “I saw that Gray is the new president,” I hedge softly.

“He is,” Lenny murmurs. “He was named vice president when his dad stepped down from the club and John has been prepping him to take over as president one day. Although, I doubt your dad thought it would be this soon.”

I sigh and shake my head. “So, I don’t have any bills I have to pay? Nothing that’s going to come back and bite me in the ass?”

“No, sweetheart,” Lenny smiles. “You’re free and clear of him.”

Lenny always knew what a piece of shit my dad was. With the amount of time he spent around the club, he couldn’t deny it. He’s also close friends with Kurt Williams and knew that I spent a lot of time at their house, even before I dated Gray.

“Good,” I say around the lump in my throat. “Well, it was good to see you, Lenny,” I tell him as I raise from my seat and head toward the door.

“You too, Sophie,” he murmurs softly. “Good luck.”

I don’t look back because I know I’ll end up crying. I just push through the hall and into the waiting area, finding Asher and Wren there.

“You ready to head home, buddy?” I ask as I get closer.

He looks up and nods his head eagerly, standing up and striding over to me. He turns back to Wren with an easier smile than before.

“Heading out so soon?” She asks as she stands up, smoothing out her skirt.

“Yeah,” I grimace. “I got what I needed and now I have to get back to my job. I didn’t exactly tell them I was taking the day off today.”

She strides over and wraps me in her embrace, almost pulling a sob from me. “You’re always welcome here, Soph,” she murmurs into my ear. “Be happy.”

I swallow the lump in my throat and nod, knowing that she feels the action. We pull apart and I wipe away the errant tear that escapes. “It was good to see you, Wren. ”

“You too,” she says with a weak smile.

“Bye!” Asher calls out as we walk out of the door.

We get in the car and head down the main road toward the interstate. My phone rings so I pull over and take it out of my purse, wincing when I see it’s my work.

“Hello?”

“Sophie, where the hell are you?” Craig yells down the line. “You were supposed to open today and now we’re two hours behind!”

“I’m sorry,” I wince. “I had a family emergency and had to leave town.”

“Well, don’t bother coming back. You’re fired!” He growls.

“What? You can’t do that. I’ve never missed a day of work!” I rush out.

“I don’t have time to deal with this,” he hisses down the line. “You’re replaceable and I can’t rely on you. You’re fired.”

That’s all he says before the line goes dead and I’m thrust into the silence in the car.

I blink back the tears in my eyes as cars drive by us.

What the hell am I going to do? Asher and I were already living paycheck to paycheck as is, this is going to ruin me.

I can’t afford the apartment we rent week to week without my job.

All the furniture was included in my rent, so it’s not like I’m leaving anything of ours behind .

“Are you okay, mama?” Asher asks softly from the back seat.

“Yeah, baby,” I choke out. “How about we get some lunch?”