"Call if you need anything." I tell mom for the millionth time.
"I know. Go away." She hands Shane his other flip flop as I leave to deal with the lawyer one last time. He keeps being a prick about my dad's will. And I have to get shit settled with him before I can talk to the bank.
"So what's the problem?" I ask the lawyer, aka weasel face Daniel Kelley from high school.
"He owes the bank money from taking a mortgage out on the house." He explains. Great so that's why. Well, shit, it might save me a ducking trip to the bank after all.
"They can have the house. What else?" I ask.
He exhales. "Nothing. Just his safety deposit box." He shoves an envelope at me. I take it and get up.
"When does the house have to be empty by? And do I just leave the keys under the mat?" I ask sarcastically. Of course dad owes someone freaking money.
"I'll have the bank call you." He answers briskly before also getting up and leaving.
I shove the huge yellow envelope in my purse as I step out into the sun heading for my car. "Missy." His voice sets me on fire, but turns my veins into ice at the same time. I don't look at him or I'll probably do something dumb. Instead, I rush to my car like the day before. He grabs my arm and turns me around to face him.
He hasn't changed a bit. Doesn't even look older. Same soft dark hair, same dark eyes. Same dark smile.
"Let go of me, Shank." I order.
"First time hearing that from you." I hear the humor and lust in his words. I shove at his rock hard chest with little effort.
"How did you know I was here?" I ask him. He grabs my chin and lifts my face to his.
His deep brown eyes much like our son's bore into my green ones. He lifts a hand and tangles it into my wild red hair. "I saw you yesterday and a friend said you'd be here today." He says vaguely. I roll my eyes. Behind him are a few other members, just watching like this is a show.
"How long are you in town? Maybe we could ..." He trails off. Rage boils in me and I use every shed of force I have and shove him away from me.
"Fuck you, Shane. And stay away from me while I'm here. Think you can manage keeping your dick in check for another fucking day or two?" I spit and grab the door handle to my car and open it. He slams it back shut with one hand.
"Look, as much as I wish this was about the two of us, it's not." He grabs my arm again to face him.
He knows about Jr! Cold panic races through me and I open my mouth only to close it again when I can't think of a thing to say.
"Your dad." Ok, that's not what I was expecting.
"What about my dad?" I ask.
"He owes us some money. But since he's dead, the debt falls on you." He informs me casually.
"Excuse me? From what? How much?" I ask. I can't believe this shit.
"Gambling. $30,000. He paid the majority of it with the house." So that's what the mortgage was for.
"I don't have that kind of money! I have a ki-" I cut myself off. Fucking shit.
"And if I don't pay it?" I dare ask.
"You don't want to know, babe." He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, affection in his voice.
"Shank, I don't have that kind of money." I tell him honestly, my voice soft with emotion. Both for the memory of us and fact that I seriously don't have 30 grand.
"Well, better figure it out. I won't save your ass. No matter how sweet that shit is." All affection is gone. I groan. Fuck my life. He backs away and gets on his bike, his already snug jeans straining around his muscular thighs. Prison did him wonders.
"Stop by tonight, babe, to talk more." He promises before taking off down the road. Tonight? Why the fuck does he keep calling me babe?
"Mom, can you keep him over night? Thank you!" I leave her a voicemail and hope she gets it. She probably thinks I'm going crazy. Keep him, no. Bring him back. Bring him back, no keep him. I rush back to the house to take all traces of my son and set it up in my old room.
Mom sends a text saying she'll keep Shane over night and to call if I need anything. Don't suppose she has $30,000. Ugh, even if she did, she had stopped paying dad's debts a long time ago.
Around 7, the sound of my doorbell interrupts my pacing. I wait a few seconds to answer the door so I don't look like I've been waiting 3 hours for him to come. Even if I have.
He and 2 others walk in as I open the door. One of them being Lynol, the president. And the other the familiar guy from the day Shank got out and the store.
"This is the prez, Lynol and this is Panik." He motions to the two behind him. Panik?
"Well, for once in her life, Lacie didn't exaggerate." I grin over at Panik. He grins back.
"You're the friend in town." Its not a question. I nod. "Well, Missy, it's nice to meet you. Considering the circumstances." Formal killers. Who knew.
"Fuck off." Shank shoves his shoulder.
"Knock it the fuck off." Lynol orders. "What are you doing to get us that $30,000?" Lynols hard voice is directed at me, cutting the shit.
"I don't know. I don't have that kind of money. I could take out a loan, but I doubt they'd give me that much." I start pacing in front of the bar again. My earlier panic and anxiety resurfacing.
"You're a doctor, right?" Lynol asks.
"A nurse. We don't make that much." Plus I have a kid, I want to add. They stay silent for a minute. I catch Shank watching my ass while I pace.
"Then you can work it off. Be on call for the club for a year and we're equal. We need one on call. One that won't ask questions." Panik offers. Lynol nods.
"3 years. $30,000 is a lot of fucking money." He amends. And just that quick, the decisions been made. Shank starts to shake his head in disagreement, physically displaying my answer
I shake my head, too. No. Not with my son. I don't want him around this life. Liars and murderers. Extortionists!
Before I can verbally reject, my front door swings open and an energetic Shane bounces in, then stops dead in his little tracks and mom stops mid sentence. Damn, should have locked the door.
"Missy?" She looks to me.
"Shane, come here. Mom, you said you would keep him." I scold her while reaching out for Shane, not knowing what else to say or do. Shane runs up behind me, holding onto my waist.
"He needed clothes!" Mom snaps back at me. She places a hand on her hip and looks at the men in the house, eyes stopping in Shank. I peer over at him too. Everyone seems to be watching him. Yeah, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the resemblence.
He stares at my son with hard eyes. "That better not be my fucking kid." He glares even harder at me. My jaw drops. But before I can get a word out, my mom speaks.
"Missy! A biker?!" She yells, instantly making a scene.
"Shane, go to your room, now. Feed your rabbit, okay. I'll be in in a minute." I turn down to my son. He looks on the verge of water works.
"Mom? I'm scared." His lower lip wobbles.
I crouch down to him. "Don't be. It's all okay. I promise. Now, feed Mr. Jingles." I kiss his chubby cheek and pat his butt in the direction of the room I set for him. He glances one last time at the big grown men before going.
"Keep your voices down." I tell them getting back to my feet.
"Where the hell do you meet bikers, Missy?" Mom snaps.
"Prison." I snap back. Her hand shoots out and slaps me in the face.
"Shameful. Slutty." And then she leaves.
I rub my cheek and glare at Shank. His friends look a little uncomfortable and mumble something incoherent before scurrying out.
"Is that my kid?" Shanks voice is low and hard.
"He has your name, doesn't he?" I ask sarcastically. He grabs my arm like earlier and pulls me to him.
"Stop. He's in the next room, Shank. And he's already scared." I pull away.
"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice goes flat.
"I was going to. The day you got out. That's why I was waiting for you. But then you grabbed that girl. Your fiance." I spit out the last part. He releases my arm abruptly.
"We need an answer by the end of the week, babe." He walks towards the door.
"Of course. So you don't care whether I stay or go. Take your son or not." I laugh. But there's no humor. He turns and glares again.
"You're not taking him anywhere. I meant whether you pay the debt off with cash or favors or die. Kid stays here." And then he leaves.
I can't believe that just happened. And in less than like 10 minutes.
I take a deep breath and then go into Shane's room. He's laying in my old bed with a book in his lap.
"Hey, honey." I sit in the edge of the bed. He sits up and looks at my face.
"Your face is red." His little hand reaches out to touch it.
"Yeah. Grandma got mad and hit me. Never too old to get in trouble." I tease him.
I don't hit my kid. He listens pretty well enough already anyways.
"Oh. Was that man out there my father?" He asks. He's so smart for a 6 year old.
"One of them. The one that looks like you." I answer honestly.
"Is he coming back?" He asks again, hopeful. My heart breaks. How do I answer that. Shank hadn't even bothered to stay and meet him. Just left and said shane stays here.
"I don't know baby. But we might be sticking around here for awhile." I answer. He nods, but doesn't say anything. He needs time to process. We both do.
"Now, no more questions. Go to bed." I take the book from his hands and lay it on the bed stand beside him then tuck him in.
💛×💛×💛×💛×💛×💛×💛×💛
Lace directs me the next day as I drive to the club's hangout. Clubhouse. What the hell ever. A prospect let's us in when he sees Lace. She goes right for Paniks open arms and disappears into a room with him.
I clench my son's hand tighter. "Mommy, you're hurting me." He whimpers. I release him then pull him up into my arms. If I let him go he might find fucking drugs left on a damn table or something.
"Oh my god, he looks just like Shank. Hi, I'm Margo, but you can call me Go-Go. I'm Lynols old lady. Oh how cute." The woman from the grocery store comes up to me and gushes over Shane. I smile genuinely at her.
"Thank you. I'm looking for your husband? He made me an offer...?" I trail off not sure how much I'm supposed to tell her. She nods.
"He told me. I'll find him. My daughter and nephew are in the room over there. They're 7 and 8 if you don't want him to hear." She points to where two little kids play with Legos and watch tv.
I shake my head. "I don't plan on being long." I answer honestly. She nods then disappears, presumably to find her old man.
"Missy." Shank appears beside me.
I move a step away. Shane watch Shank and Shank watches Shane. "Shane, this is your father, you gonna say hey?" I don't know what else I'm supposed to say. I never really planned for this day and didn't have much time to think last night.
"Hi." Shane hides his face in my neck.
"Hey, buddy." Shank mumbles, unsure of what to say.
"Mommy, can we go home?" Shane asks. Shanks face falls completely.
"In a few, honey. I have to talk to someone. Why don't you tell your dad about ... Mr. Jingles. I bet he really wants to know." I look over at Shank. His eyes are still on our son. Softer than I have ever seen them.
"Who's that." He asks his son.
"My rabbit." Shane answers.
"A rabbit?" Shank looks at me. I glare.
"He's afraid of dogs and allergic to cats. So we got him a bunny and he named it Mr. Jingles. Like from Stephan King." I tell him. He nods.
"Shank. Missy. Little Shank." Lynol appears before us.
"Don't call him that." I snap. He holds his hands up, but sends Shank a pointed look. Shank puts his hand on my hip and squeezes hard before letting go.
"You told Margo you wanted to talk to me." Lynol asks. I nod.
"Yeah. I accept the offer. I don't have $30,000 and I also think it'll be good for Shane. I just have to find a place and get my stuff from the city." I shift Shane in my arms.
"Great. How much time do you need?" He asks. That's it? Very negotiable people.
"Well, I'm here if you need me till Saturday, then we're headed back to the city for a while so I can pack and quit. Find another job here. A place to stay." I list off all the shit I need. He smiles fondly, catching me totally off guard.
"You remind me of how I found Margo. A kid, no job, no home. Its fine, you say you'll do it, I believe you. You go back on your word, well...let's hope it doesn't come to that." He glances behind me at Shank then stalks off.
Shank follows me to my car and waits while I buckle in Shane. "What now?" He watches our son through the window. I shrug.
"I don't know. Gotta have dad's shit boxed before the end of the week. The banks taking the house. After last night, my mom isn't gonna let me stay with her. I'll figure it out. I always do." Shit, pregnant and alone, I moved 5 whole states and started over.
"You got enough to find a place?" He asks.
"Yeah. Should be fine for awhile." I say unsure. He watches me for a minute.
"He doesn't like me." He refers to Shane.
I laugh. He only glares harder. "No. You're new. He's shy. Really shy. That's another reason I decided to stay here. Shane needs his father. He's a bit of a mamas boy." I inform Shank. He almost grins at this.
"I see that. You baby him too much." Shank grunts.
I glare at him. "Don't tell me how to raise my son." I snap. He glares back at me. Our moment gone.
"Our son. And I'm just telling you the truth. You keep babying him like I've seen you doing and he's going to be sheltered from reality and what then. What happens when it's time to leave home?" He growls. I exhale.
"You're right. That's why I decided to stay here. Well, aside from the fact you didn't sound like I had a choice last night. Only reason I kept him away was because I thought you already had a family and I didn't want to be the other woman who just shows up with a kid and ruins everything. Even though I was the other woman." I mutter the last part. He doesn't object the statement either and that burns. I didn't mean shit to him.
Bikers have their old ladies and others have ass on the side. I fell into the latter category. I shake my head and take a deep breath to keep unshed tears from falling. Abruptly turning and grabbing my car door I call over my shoulder back at Shank, "You know where to find me." Then climb in and pull out the gate a lean muscular guy opens for me.
I'm my rearview, I glance to see Shank just standing there. Shane's eyes catch mine and I smile brightly. Only there isn't a bright side this. Least not one I can see.