Page 17
Tusk
L ast night, I got to meet my daughter for the first time and have wild sex with the woman I love. Life doesn’t get any better than this. Having Brittany back in my life has tilted my whole world back into alignment.
This morning, we all go to the clubhouse to have a relaxing breakfast. Afterward, Brittany and I are going to link up with Zen so she can give him all the information he needs to start tracking Silas Harper and the fundamentalist religious sect she left behind all those years ago.
The prospects bring us coffee and Brittany some juice because she doesn’t want to drink caffeine while she’s breastfeeding. Sunlight shines through the windows, making the normally dimly lit bar area bright and cheerful. Tex, Clara, Brittany, and I are squeezed around a big table.
The scent of coffee is strong, mingling with the aroma of bacon and freshly toasted bread. I stretch and put one arm around Brittany. When she turns to look at me, I flash her my best smile. Across the table, Stephanie sits in a booster seat beside her mother, the picture of polite grace as her good hand carefully puts together a small wooden puzzle her mother brought to keep her occupied. Her brother, Steven, is active in his seat, a bundle of boundless energy. His puzzle has been shoved to the side, untouched. When he reaches forward, Tex moves his hot coffee out of the way and slides his juice box closer so he can reach it. As he sucks on the straw, I see him eyeing the large fish tank across the room.
I joke with Tex, “Best keep an eye on your son. He’s got his eye on that fish tank.”
“I noticed that,” Tex says grimly. “You don’t have to tell me about my own son. Every time I take my eyes off him, he’s into something. Last week, I caught him trying to ride the neighbor’s dog like a fuckin’ horse. Good times, let me tell you.”
Clara laughs. “I had to go out and explain to him that leash laws were for pets, not children. And if he didn’t want his dog playing with our kids, he needed to leash him.”
Just then, Levi walks up. He’s Tex’s teen son, wearing a prospect’s vest and carrying a huge platter of food. “You should buy him a pony, Dad.”
Tex rolls his head back and stares at the ceiling, counting to ten under his breath.
“I’m not joking about that. I loved the pony you got me when I was little.”
“Look, Levi, we lived in Texas and had space for horses. Where am I supposed to put a damn pony—in my pocket?”
Levi flashes him an unrepentant grin. “Miniature ponies make great pets, and you can keep them in your backyard. I bet Stevie would love one. I already priced them out, and you can get one for around a grand.”
Tex just stares at Levi like the teen has lost his mind.
Levi takes a step back and grins, “You don’t even have to get them fitted with horseshoes.”
Tex growls, “Out.”
Levi races off towards the grill laughing, and his friend and fellow prospect, Evan, stops by with plates and flatware. Glancing to my right, he quickly snaps his eyes closed. “Do you… uh… need anything else?”
“Not right now,” I tell him, wondering why he’s acting so weird. I turn to dole out the plates and see Brittany preparing to breastfeed our child. A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth when I realize Evan thought he wasn’t supposed to see that. Like anything to do with breasts is top-secret.
Once we’re all settled with food in front of us, I make sure my woman is fed while she nurses our baby. I don’t want her food to get cold. I remember my own mother making sure everything was perfect for us to eat, to the point that I don’t think she ever got to eat her own food warm the whole time I was growing up. I carefully scoop a bit of eggs into her mouth and slowly feed her bacon until she needs more time to chew.
Of course, Stephanie is taking tiny mouthfuls of her warm applesauce, intent on minding her own business. Steven, on the other hand, is kneeling in his seat, turned towards his father. Instead of eating, he reaches out to run his hand reverently down the leather of Tex’s cut, like he’s just noticing it for the first time.
Tex gives him a lopsided grin. “You like leather, don’t you, son?”
The toddler doesn’t answer. Instead, he remains focused on his father’s cut. The fingers of one hand wrap around one of his patches. He tugs, and when it doesn’t come loose, he uses both hands to try to pull it off. Of course, that patch is sewn tight. It ain’t coming off unless someone cuts it off. Steven eventually looks up at his dad with questioning eyes.
Tex explains, “That’s my club patch. It means I’m part of a group of men who ride motorcycles and have each other’s backs.”
Just when I think there’s no way the toddler can wrap his mind around what Tex is telling him, the kid’s eyes drift over to me. I can tell by his expression that he’s putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Either that, or he’s eyeing up my bacon.
I tap the patch on my cut and jerk my chin at him. “Yeah, I’m a club member too. One day, when you’re all grown up, you might be one too.”
Tex snorts a laugh. “Yeah, but you gotta earn your patch, just like the rest of us, ‘cause we all know Rider ain’t gonna let no slackers slip in without a proper bout of prospecting.”
I chuckle, because he’s not wrong about that. Rider is strict about prospects earning their patch.
Steven leans forward to look past his mother and says something in gibberish to his sister. Whatever he’s trying to tell her, she gets it because she bursts out giggling, almost spitting out her applesauce.
We adults all look at each other with bemused expressions because, really, who can know what’s going on in a child’s mind?
Levi must have been watching from the sidelines because he comes over and squats beside his half-brother. Steven’s face lights up when Levi hands him a sticker with the Savage Legion’s logo on it. The boy snatches the sticker and holds it right in front of his face so he can see every detail. His expression is nothing short of gleeful.
For the first time ever, Stephanie makes an indignant sound. Levi immediately goes to her and holds out another sticker, identical to the first one. “I’d never forget my little sis,” he says, pressing the sticker into her hand. It immediately goes into her mouth, so Levi gently pries it from her sticky fingers, wipes it on his jeans, and props it up against the coffee pot so she can look at it while she eats.
I hear Clara and Brittany oohing and aahing over how cute it is that the toddlers are already showing an interest in the club their father holds so near and dear. They’re complimenting Levi on being such a great big brother. And me? I gotta admit that Tex has built a nice little family for himself.
Now, it’s time for me to do the same by introducing Victoria to my boys and making sure they get to spend time with Brittany and their new half-sister. I already sent Gina a message on the parenting app we’re supposed to be using, letting her know that all communication needs to go through the app from now on and that she needs to have the kids ready by noon—because it’s my weekend.
As for encouraging the boys to warm up to their new sister, the wheels in my head start turning, figuring out the best way to make that happen.
Taking a sip of my coffee, I realize that before I can enjoy any long-term domestic tranquility, I’ve gotta solve this problem with Brittany’s family and the man who hoped to make her his bride. Because I don’t want us to start our life together with that shit hanging over us.
I’d already texted Zen everything I had on the man wanting to get his hands on Brittany. I also asked her to make a list of everything she could think of—not just about Silas Harper, but also about her family—to help Zen find a way out of this mess.
The minute we finish eating, I tell Tex, “We’re going to meet up with Zen, and then I’m picking up my boys so they can meet their new sister. I guess we’ll catch up with you later this evening.”
“I hope your boys don’t end up jealous over the new baby. That was one of the things Clara and I worried about with Levi. Turns out, he’s too old and independent to feel threatened by new babies.”
Clara puts her hand on his arm and chimes in, “I think he sees the twins as a cool distraction for his father and me—so we don’t focus all our time and energy on him. He likes to think he’s a grown man already.”
“He’s got a baby face and no beard. Until he sorts that shit out, he ain’t gonna pass for a grown man.”
Tex chuckles, then looks me dead in the eyes and says, “Do not tell Levi that. He’s really self-conscious about not having a beard. He’s even been researching ways to make his little bit of chin stubble grow faster.”
I jerk my chin at him. “I ain’t stupid enough to tease your boy over shit like his manhood.”
Tex relaxes. “I didn’t think you were. Just thought I should warn you—he might freak the fuck out on you if you start teasing him about the beard thing.”
I just shake my head. “You’re a little tightly wound. You know that, don’t you?”
“Try living my fuckin’ stressful life for a goddamn minute, why don’t you? I got an underage teen who thinks he’s a man, two toddlers, a best friend who took forever to get his shit together, and a wife who thinks I betrayed her trust over trying to help him.”
I know he expects me to argue that I’ve got my shit together, but I just grin and say, “Back up to the part where we’re besties.”
Tex grumbles, “Fuck off with that shit. Don’t y’all have somewhere important to be right now?”
“No,” I lie. “I’ve got all the time in the world to harass my BFF.”
He points to his watch. “Tick tock, you deranged fucker. Better get your asses to Zen’s office before he gets tired of waiting for you.”