Page 15 of Wyatt (The Black Roses MC #5)
He nods again, and again, when I get to the end, he’s still awake.
“One more?” he asks with pleading eyes.
“Okay. Just one though, and then you need to close your peepers and get some sleep.”
This time, when I get to the last page, I look at Colby and he's out cold.
Carefully, I stand so I don't wake him up and signal for Pepper to follow me out of the room, shutting the door behind me.
When I get into the living room, I begin cleaning up the mess we made. It’s not really that bad, and I’m done in less than ten minutes. Maizie won’t be home for a while still, so I turn on the TV and start watching some baseball highlights to pass the time.
About half an hour later, the headlights from her car illuminate the living room through her front window.
I open the curtain and watch her get out of the car and make her way up the front porch.
Heading into the kitchen, I open the cupboard above the fridge and pull down the bottle of wine Lucy told me she keeps there.
I grab a glass from the cupboard and pour her a healthy amount, then walk back into the living room as she slides the key into the lock of her front door.
I take a seat as she opens the door, and when she sees me on the couch with the TV playing quietly in the background, she smiles.
“How was he?” she asks as she sets her things down on one of the overstuffed living room chairs.
“He was great. He and Pepper played, then we ate pizza and watched the same movie almost three times.”
Maizie releases a breathy laugh. “ Cars ?”
“Yup. I was digging those talking cars. Especially the judge. Kind of reminds me of Ozzy.”
Maizie bursts out laughing and sits on the other end of the sofa. I hand her the glass, and she looks at it then back to me. Her expression is soft as she takes the glass from my hand and sips.
“Ah,” she breathes out and leans against the cushions. “I could get used to this.”
I want you to get used to this.
“My services are at your disposal.” The corner of my mouth tips up in what I would like to think is a charming smile.
Maizie shakes her head and chuckles. “You never know. I might need you here again.”
Shrugging, I watch as she takes another sip. “Anytime. I mean it, Maiz. Colby’s an awesome kid.”
“Yeah, he is pretty great.”
“You’re doing a hell of a job raising him.”
She swallows and blows out a breath. “Thank you. Honestly, that means a lot. It’s not easy doing this alone. I worry that I’m screwing him up all the time, and I’ll have nobody to blame but myself.”
“Trust me. He’s far from being screwed up, Maizie. Sometimes having one parent is better than having two who are bitter and angry that they’re forced to be together to raise a kid neither really wanted in the first place.”
Her head tilts to the side as she studies me. “You sound like you're talking from experience.”
I shrug. “My folks weren’t exactly going to win any parenting awards. When my dad lost his job, my mom about damn near lost her mind. He started drinking and cheating, and she started gambling. They stayed together a lot longer than they should have for ‘the sake of our family.’”
“You seemed to turn out okay, though.”
“That depends on who you ask, I guess.” I let out a humorless laugh.
“They got divorced when I graduated high school. He lives right down the street from her in a little duplex with another guy in the other unit. And somehow they still find the time to make each other miserable at every turn. They don’t really have a reason to interact at all since I’m not around, but I guess toxic cycles are hard to break.
And they love trying to drag me into their shit. ”
“When was the last time you spoke to them?”
“Yesterday, actually. I went to visit my mom and she was complaining about my dad and his new flavor of the month and how the entire neighborhood is talking about it. Then I went to see him, and he was talking about my mom spending her entire paycheck at the casino and trying to get him to pay more in alimony because the cost of living went up.” I shake my head and roll my eyes.
“According to him, one of the neighbors saw her at the casino.”
Maizie leans her head against the back cushion of the couch and brings her knees up, resting them next to me. “What do you do when they’re like that?”
“I nod along and try to stay neutral. No use getting on either of them about their shit at this point. Not that they’d listen. Then I slipped an envelope of cash into my mom’s mail slot and came home. And I’ll probably do it all over again next month when I make my way out there.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Jesus, I’m sorry, Wyatt. That’s really shitty.”
I shrug. “It is what it is. I could write them both off, but then who knows where they'd end up. My mom would probably be homeless, my dad would feel bad and offer to let her move in, and the whole thing would start all over again.” I resist the urge to pull her feet into my lap and run my hand over her tired calves.
I think back to all the times my dad would be between girlfriends, and he’d end up staying with my mom. They said they were going to try to work things out, but sure enough, she’d be throwing his shit on the lawn a couple weeks later.
“Well, I think that despite everything, you’ve turned out to be a pretty decent guy,” she says, smiling as she reaches over and rests her hand on my knee.
The heat from her palm travels up my thigh, and I shift in my seat—because if I don’t, she’s going to see just how much that simple touch is affecting me.
Her hand falls away, and a second later, her face curls into a grimace. She grabs her T-shirt and pulls it over her nose.
That’s when I smell it.
“Jesus, Pepper,” I say as I pull my own T-shirt over the lower half of my face.
Pepper looks up from his place next to the couch, completely unbothered by the stench he’s gassed us with.
“God, what do you feed him?” she coughs out.
“He hasn’t had dinner yet.” Then I think back to the amount of food I thought Colby shoveled in his mouth.
I let out a chuckle and wipe at my watering eyes. “Pizza.”