Chapter Two
Aspen
It was him.
I couldn’t believe he was here. Why did he leave Arkansas?
On the opening day of my flower shop, a woman named Rachel came in. She stayed for over an hour talking to me. She told me she was an old lady for one of the bikers in town. That was when I learned the Silver Shadows had set up another chapter.
I didn’t ask about the club. There was no reason for me to know who the president was or how many brothers there were. I’d only met a few of them anyway. I’d never asked whether he was one of them. It was safer not to know.
I should have called Val and asked her to move me somewhere else.
Should have made her aware that a small piece of my past was so close.
But there was a reason I didn’t. I knew how clubs worked.
And I knew that my husband’s club wouldn’t step foot in Diamond Creek with another club already established here.
Besides, the Death Dogs were in Arizona.
Almost a thousand miles away. I was still safe.
Except I wasn’t safe.
From my husband, yes, but the one time I’d ventured out to finally try and make some friends, my life took a turn I never expected.
All I’d remembered was talking to a man at a table. The next thing I knew, I’d woken up in the hospital, and the doctor told me I’d been raped. That was three days ago. Earlier today, the man I had been talking to at the bar, the man who I assumed raped me, had broken into my home and tried again.
If Haizley and Gunner hadn’t been there to hear me scream, he would have succeeded. Now I was at the Silver Shadows’ clubhouse. If only my father could see me now. This was where he’d always wanted me. Except he wouldn’t. He didn’t know where I was.
Banshee nodded once, stepping aside, and we all stared as he stormed out the door.
“Shit, that was hot,” Amber whispered. I continued to stare at the door, unable to say a word, so I nodded. It was hot. I’d always thought Banshee was hot. It had been seven years since I’d seen him last, and if it was possible, he was hotter.
Haizley and Amber accompanied me to church with Deputy Blackwater, and the doors closed behind us. Hours later, I’d told them everything I knew, and Gunner had worked with me to get a sketch of the man who attacked me.
Haizley and Amber took me upstairs and got me settled into a room.
Amber offered to stay the night with me, and I accepted.
She ran to her room and grabbed a few things before Haizley left.
I hadn’t slept alone since I left the hospital; Haizley had been staying with me.
I was glad I didn’t have to sleep alone tonight, and I wondered how long Amber would stay with me.
Haizley said goodnight, and she would see me in the morning. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked around at the sparse room.
“I know it’s not much.”
“No, it’s perfect, actually. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sleep in my home again.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. How was I even supposed to feel? I didn’t remember the attack at the bar. The doctor told me a nurse from the hospital was there that night and found me passed out on the bathroom floor.
Haizley called me a survivor. I didn’t feel like I’d survived anything. I didn’t even feel like anything had happened to me.
Until today.
Before today, I’d been living with something someone told me I’d experienced. Today, I was living with something I’d experienced. I wasn’t sure which was worse. Knowing or not knowing.
The next morning, I woke up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. Next to a woman I had just met. I looked over at Amber, who was still sleeping. She’d woken up with nightmares, the same as I had. I’d comforted her the way she comforted me. It helped to feel useful.
“You’re staring at me.” Amber chuckled and peeked an eye open.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Neither of us got much sleep last night,” she said, sitting up against the headboard.
“No, I guess we didn’t.” I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. “What causes your nightmares?”
She scoffed. “That is a long story, but I will definitely tell you about it. First, let’s get some breakfast.”
She hopped out of bed and turned back to look at me. “I’m sorry, do you want to go first?”
“No, go ahead. I just want to lie here for a few more minutes.”
While Amber was in the shower, I thought about Banshee again.
He was just as handsome as I remembered.
He’d be forty-five now. Would he still think I was too young?
Was my age the issue, or the number of years between us?
I knew he recognized me when he called me baby girl.
Would he tell King who I was? Would he call my father?
More importantly, would he call my husband?
There were so many questions I didn’t have answers to. Questions I couldn’t ask without telling everyone who I was.
Once we entered the room downstairs, everyone fell quiet. I hated being the center of attention. When Haizley walked over, it seemed to signal that everyone could go back to what they were doing.
“Are you hungry?”
I nodded, and Amber quickly volunteered to get me some coffee. She disappeared into what I assumed was the kitchen, and Haizley and I sat at one of the tables scattered around the room.
Something cold nudged my hand, so I looked down and found a dog. My hand rested on his head, and the longer I sat there petting him, the more relaxed I felt. Every time one of the brothers tried to sit with us, the dog growled. Until Banshee sat down next to me.
“Hey, baby girl, did you sleep okay?”
I shrugged, then dropped my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t reveal who I was to anyone. I should call Kytten. Have her move me somewhere else now that I knew he was here.
“You having nightmares?” he asked.
“A few. They aren’t too bad.”
He hooked his finger under my chin, the same as yesterday, and waited until I looked in his eyes.
“You’re safe here.”
A week had passed since I had moved into the clubhouse. Amber no longer slept in my room, though the nightmares were still there. I counted it as a win that I felt safe enough to be alone.
I’d been meeting with Haizley multiple times a day to talk and tell her how I was feeling.
Amber shared her story with me, and I felt guilty for feeling so lost. What I went through was nothing compared to what Amber had been through.
Though Haizley tried to convince me that trauma wasn’t a contest.
I had gotten comfortable with most of the brothers. Maureen, the sheriff’s wife, came to the clubhouse every morning for breakfast. She brought her dog, Tucker, and every day he sat with me at the table.
I felt safe with him. He slowly allowed the brothers to sit with us, and I spoke with each of them for a few minutes. Mostly, I just listened. It was hard to talk about myself without telling them who I was.
I still wasn’t sure if Banshee recognized me, but I hadn’t heard him call anyone else baby girl.
Jack stopped by the table to talk to Haizley about meeting his brother. Trying not to listen, I looked around the room, searching for Banshee. Only, he wasn’t there.
“Everything okay?” Haizley asked.
I whipped my head around and asked, “Huh? Oh, yeah.” I dropped my eyes to the dog, unsure of what I was feeling.
“Hey, talk to me.”
“It’s nothing,” I dismissed, shaking my head.
“It’s not nothing if it has you feeling down. There is no judgment here, Aspen. You can tell me anything.”
“Well, it’s just that...” I looked around the room again before taking a deep breath. “It’s just that, usually, Banshee sits with us in the morning for a little bit.” I shrugged, hoping she wouldn’t read too much into it.
Haizley smiled, and I knew she had the wrong idea. I wasn’t thinking about him in that way. Was I? I mean, there was no question he was hot. But I’d been through too much with men to even consider another one. No matter how safe he made me feel.
“He must have had something to do early this morning. I’m sure he’ll be around for lunch. Or dinner.”
“Yea.”
Tucker lifted his head and barked before running to the door and bouncing around excitedly.
“Tucker, come,” Maureen called. The dog turned and made it halfway before changing his mind and running back to the door. His excited barks went up in volume until the door opened and Banshee walked in with another dog that looked similar.
Tucker bounced around, his butt wiggling almost uncontrollably. The dog with Banshee began acting the same.
“Sit!” he said firmly.
Immediately, both dogs sat at Banshee’s firm command and looked up at him, waiting.
“Tucker, Mom.”
Tucker whined but didn’t move. Banshee looked at the dog, his hands on his hips.
“Tucker, Mom!” he said more firmly. Tucker whined again but slinked back to Maureen and laid at her feet. His head rested on the floor between his front paws, and he continued to whine.
“What the hell is going on?” King barked.
Banshee walked toward our table, ignoring King, and the new dog followed.
Squatting down in front of me, he said, “Baby girl, this is Diesel. He’s Tucker’s brother.” Banshee looked at the dog and then hitched his chin toward me, and Diesel moved closer, nuzzling his nose under my hand.
Then he walked away without another word.
King hollered, “What the fuck is going on? When did we become a fucking animal rescue?”
“Calm down, little brother,” the sheriff admonished. “Maybe now I can keep my woman at home in the morning.”
“Declan!” Maureen smacked his stomach.
“I’m sorry, Sheriff. I didn’t mean—”
The sheriff held his hand up, cutting me off. “That wasn’t directed at you, Aspen. I’m just busting his balls. He needs to loosen up.”
“Don’t worry, Aspen. I’ll still be here in the mornings.” Maureen winked. “Especially now, so Tucker can play with his brother.”
“TWO DOGGIES!” Charlie came screaming into the room, and my heart jumped into my throat as both dogs ran toward her.
“Can I have a doggie, Daddy? Please?” Charlie was on the floor with the dogs, who both rolled around on their backs in front of her.
“Banshee, what the fuck, man?”
“Charlie, we talked about this. No dogs until the house is done,” Sam reminded her.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, the new dog is for Aspen. He’ll be living here in the clubhouse.” Banshee winked at the little girl, and she ran over and hugged him.
“Thank you, Uncle Banshee.”
Banshee lifted the little girl up in the air, and she laughed. I watched him in awe, a small smile tugging at my lips. He would make a wonderful father. I sat up straight. Where the hell had that thought come from? I shook the thought from my head; it didn’t belong there.
The world around me fell away as I concentrated on the dog Banshee got for me. He was so sweet, just like his brother.
“Are you ready for your session?” Haizley asked.
Stocks walked by our table, and Diesel growled. He made me uncomfortable, but I wasn’t sure why. He’d never said anything inappropriate. He barely even looked in my direction, but still it was there, and Diesel must have felt it.
“Could we maybe skip this morning’s session? I think I’d like to try to take a walk outside by myself. Well, with Diesel. Is that okay?”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Haizley smiled.
“But could you sit outside while I do? Maybe read a book or something? Just in case.”
She reached over and took my hand. “Of course. How about you sit here with Diesel, and I will run upstairs and grab my book?”
As soon as Haizley came back, we walked outside. She sat in a chair and opened her book, while I took a walk. Diesel stayed in step with me. I didn’t venture far, but for the first time in almost two weeks, I felt like maybe I was getting my life back.
And it was all because of Banshee.