Chapter 7
Tracey
W hen I woke up the next morning, it took me a minute to realize I was safe in Alvin’s bed.
Only he got patched in by his club and everyone calls him Axel now.
There was a story behind that name, but we hadn’t had a chance to discuss it.
Hopefully, we’d have an opportunity to jumpstart our friendship properly in the coming days and weeks.
The girls were under the blankets with me, one on either side, still sleeping soundly.
I cracked my eyes open to see the sun was just beginning to rise.
I could see it barely outlined around the edge of his blackout curtains.
The bed was warm and cozy, making me want to turn right back over and sleep a bit more.
I closed my eyes again, thinking back on what an awful day yesterday had been.
Memories rose in my mind of Bryce hitting me with his fists.
A few days before that he’d slapped me across the face, and I foolishly thought he was spiraling after his mother’s death and let the alcohol get the better of him.
But yesterday morning, he hadn’t even been drinking. He was stone cold sober.
My hand came up to cup my still swollen cheek. I knew early on that Bryce wasn’t the nicest man in the world, but I truly never thought he’d go that far. Raising his fist to me was the final straw, and hurting our daughter—even if it wasn’t intentional—was unforgivable.
At least I had a way out, thanks to Axel.
He volunteered to let us stay with him for as long as needed and to cover the costs of a very expensive local attorney who specialized in divorce proceedings.
I didn’t expect that from him. If I’m honest, I didn’t think my old friend had that kind of money.
He was so down-to-earth, unassuming, and really gave off those average guy next door vibes.
I felt fortunate that he agreed to help us out when I called.
So far, he had been a pillar of strength in our time of need.
Jill’s eyes popped open first and she immediately crawled over me to reach her sister, waking her in the process. I moved over to give them room and turned on my side to talk to them.
“How is your arm feeling, Jenna?”
Before she could answer, Jill pulled the sheet up to cover her sister’s cast. I reached over and covered her hand gently with mine.
“Covering it up won’t make it hurt less, sweetie.
” Shifting my gaze to Jenna, I told her, “If it’s hurting right now, I can give you some more cherry drink medication. ”
She nodded and made a motion with her good hand as if she were drinking medication from a tiny cup, tipping her head all the way back.
I couldn’t help but smile. The twins looked so much alike that some people couldn’t tell them apart.
I could though. Jenna was just that little bit smaller than Jill, and her eyes were a slightly darker shade of blue.
Jenna also talked more and was a bit more daring.
Jill, on the other hand, was protective of her sister and it came out in odd ways, like thinking that covering up her cast would make her arm hurt less.
I sat up. “We need to get up and get dressed, so we can get your medicine.” They both started crawling out of bed.
Jill jumped down first and helped her sister off the bed.
I quickly washed them off in the shower, careful to keep Jenna’s cast dry.
We got dressed, brushed our hair and then the three of us headed downstairs.
I could hear Axel’s voice as we came down the steps.
He seemed to be talking to his club brothers.
Something about patrolling the area. He ended the call and stuffed the phone back into his pocket as he saw us in the doorway leading to the kitchen.
He was standing there barefoot, in a t-shirt and jeans.
He tilted back his head, giving me a quick chin jerk.
It was the most masculine greeting I’d ever gotten from a man.
“Morning,” I whispered, as we entered the room.
Jenna clutched the sling at her chest. Jill just stared at him with wide eyes. When Axel stepped out to greet them, Jill pulled Jenna back a step. This was what fear looked like on my girls.
I quickly knelt down to talk to them at eye level. “Look, there’s no reason to be scared of Axel. He’s a nice person and we’re safe here,” I told them gently. “We’re going to be living here for a while.”
Axel stooped down and extended his hand to them, Jenna stepped forward and tentatively shook his hand.
Jill plucked up her courage and did the same, only she didn’t let his hand go.
Instead, she began fiddling with his watch.
Jenna moved closer and put her ear to his watch, saying “tick, tick, tick.” They both started giggling.
By way of explanation, I murmured, “All of Bryce’s watches are digital. He’s quirky that way.”
Axel grinned, “This is an antique. It was a gift from a friend.”
Tugging his hand back, he addressed the girls, “I have cartoons ready in the living room, and there’s food ready if you’re hungry.”
Jenna looked up at him when he stood. “Cherry drink.”
He shook his head, “I don’t have cherry soda in the house, but I can get some if that’s what you want?”
I clarified, “She wants her children’s ibuprofen. It’s in a cherry liquid suspension.”
His head came up fast, “Oh God, that arm must be hurting her.” He scrambled away and came back with the bottle I had left on his kitchen counter last night. Giving it to me, he said, “You’d best do it. I’m not sure of the dose.”
Jenna eagerly took her medication, and we sat down at the table. “You made breakfast?” I said. In all the years I’d been with Bryce he’d never so much as made himself a slice of toast.
“I’m not just a pretty face,” he joked as he started getting out the plates.
I rose to help him, but he cut me off. “Sit yourself back down, sweetness. You got table service today.” With that he gave the dish towel he was holding a shake like a waiter in a fancy French restaurant which caused my girls to giggle.
“Would madam like the house wine, or would she prefer an orange juice?”
That got another giggle from Jenna, who’d clearly forgotten her pain. She and her sister chimed in unison. “Orange juice, please.”
After getting the girls settled, he brought me a coffee and set down a platter of toast, sausage, and scrambled eggs on the table.
This was the most stress-free morning I’d had in forever. And Axel made it all look so effortless.
Digging in, I told him after swallowing a few bites, “This is really good. Where did you learn to cook?”
“The Dark Slayers MC. The prospects are responsible for cooking for the brothers, among other duties.” Pointing to the eggs I was eating with his fork, he made a little circular motion. “I add a tiny dab of garlic butter to the eggs once they’re done cooking. It gives them a little zip.”
I found myself smiling at him. “I never would have thought of that. It’s perfect, not too heavy-handed.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I reluctantly pulled it out only to see that Bryce was furiously sending me nastygrams. Scrolling through my messages, it looked like he had been at it all night.
Most of them were demanding I return home with the girls.
He occasionally veered off into cursing and insulting me before making more demands.
I just shut it off and put it facedown by my plate.
Axel raised an eyebrow, “Bryce?”
I nodded and slid the phone over to him. “I guess since I’ve made my problems your problems, I should at least keep you in the loop about what’s going on with him.”
He scrolled through the messages, frowning. “Don’t worry,” Axel said tightly, “I have a divorce attorney coming to talk to you this morning. You were adamant yesterday that you wanted one.”
I nodded, unable to stop cramming my mouth full of his delicious breakfast.
Breakfast went smoothly, and again Axel told me to sit while he cleared away all the dishes. I could get used to this.
“Everyone ready for dessert?” he called out.
“Dessert for breakfast?” Jill said.
Jenna slid out of her chair and walked over to the oven and looked through the glass window, before saying, “Smells good.”
Axel jerked his chin towards the oven. “Cinnamon rolls.”
“Don’t tell me those are homemade,” I said, as Axel pulled out a pan of the most perfect looking cinnamon rolls I’d ever seen.
He chuckled, “You give me too much credit. These were made by that little dough boy.”
By now Jill was out of her seat too. Axel held the pan down for them to see. “Want to try one?”
They nodded, whispering to each other excitedly. If there was one thing Axel knew, it was how to make kids happy. He took everything in stride. Something about that made me even more comfortable being around him.
A minute later we were gorging ourselves on his fresh-from-the-refrigerator-section cinnamon rolls.
Axel polished off his in no time. He sat across from us and sipped coffee, seemingly content with how the morning was going.
His eyes flicked from the girls to me and back again before saying roughly, “They look just like you. Seeing them, I can almost imagine what you looked like at their age.”
There was very little about Bryce in their delicate little faces.
Trying not to think about my soon-to-be-ex, I changed the subject, “Did you say your prospects were outside?”
He nodded, “I sure did. We can’t take a chance on Bryce showing up here while I’m out. Until your divorce is filed or we get a restraining order, they’ll head him off at the pass if he tries to show up here, harassing you like he did on your phone.”
The girls finished eating last. I cleaned them up while Axel rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. I knew every morning couldn’t be this carefree, but after yesterday, we all needed a stress-free morning.