6. Autumn #2
I’m just finishing up the food and plating it up when he comes back. He smells fresh and minty, strongly contrasting with when he came home last night and the scent of motor oil wafted through the air.
He takes the plate I push toward him and sits at the table. “You said that you start classes soon, right?” he asks.
I nod, cutting up some of my sausage and eggs for Winnie. “Yeah. I can take more of my classes online, but need to take one on campus for my scholarship.”
“Yeah, I remember now. Any day works for me. My schedule is flexible since I own the shop and what not.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You own the shop?”
“Well, the club loaned the upfront money, and I paid it back. It’s in my name, though.”
That’s impressive, and I understand a little better why they are all so loyal to each other. “That’s amazing. I’ll check the classes and get back to you. I hope you don’t mind if I bring Winnie to the library. They usually have laptops for rent there and a children’s section.”
Dodge frowns. “I don’t mind the library every once in a while, but if you need a laptop, you can borrow mine. I barely use the thing anyway.”
The offer makes my stomach turn. He’s already done so much for me; it seems ludicrous to keep taking more from him. He must sense a denial on my lips.
“I really don’t use the thing, Autumn. If it helps you stay home with her more, then by all means, take it.”
I swallow down the growing emotion in my throat, then clear it. “You’re worried about me being out with her?”
He winces. “This town…they never really got to know any of us and assume the worst. If they find out you got a club kid with ya, they might not treat you kindly.”
My mouth drops open. “That’s horrible.” I look over at the innocent little baby as she happily smashes all the food between her chubby little fingers and into her mouth.
Dodge shrugs, laughing a little into his cup of coffee. “Yeah, but we fucked everything all up. This used to be a snotty little town full of rich pukes, and none of them could believe we had the cash to buy up as much as we did. We bring down value, as they say, with our cuts and loud bikes. ”
“Wow, that’s—just wow. Thanks for the heads-up because the first person who was rude to me would not have liked the result.”
His eyebrows raise. “Oh yeah? What would have happened?” The flirty tone makes my cheeks flush. “You throw some hands?” he continues teasingly.
I shake my head. “No, of course not, especially if I had Winnie. Just a strongly worded response.”
“Oh no, anything but that. You’ll have them shaking in their boots.”
I can’t hold back my grin as I push at his shoulder.
“Stop, I just mean that I wouldn’t have been prepared and know to stay low.
To ignore them and get Winnie home. Plus, I remember Daisy saying something about the police constantly pulling you all over.
I don’t need to draw attention to Winnie if I cause a scene because of someone’s underhanded comments. ”
Dodge grins, sending me another one of his tormenting winks. “I got you. And I appreciate it.”
It’s been torture. Weeks of pure agony being so close to this ungodly hot man who loves his baby so much it makes my ovaries fucking scream.
After the first week, we settled into a routine with my classes and his job like a well-oiled machine.
No pun intended. But every morning it gets a little harder to tear my eyes away from his perfectly sculpted body.
And last week, I had to grab a fresh shirt for Winnie while he was showering and heard a moan that set my blood on fire.
It’s been on repeat in my mind ever since.
“Morning, sleepy,” he says one morning as I walk into the kitchen.
I startle a little, not having registered the smell of coffee and food while I walked down the hallway. Winnie chirps happily in her highchair. I walk over and kiss her head.
“You two are up early,” I say, walking around the counter to make a cup of coffee. “I didn’t hear her wake up at all.”
Dodge slides the creamer over. “I was already up to pee. Got her before she could really sound the alarm.”
I frown a little. “I don’t mind waking up with her. ”
When I lean against the counter, Dodge moves over me, and I hold my breath at his closeness. He reaches above my head, grabbing a few plates as he stares down at me. “I don’t mind either, and you don’t have to work so hard, Autumn.”
I swallow down the wild beat thrumming in my throat. I want to reach out and touch him. When he steps back, I feel the tension drain from my body.
“It doesn’t feel like work,” I tell him, voice a little hoarse.
He smiles, plating up our food and handing me a small one that I assume is for Winnie. “Can you cut it up into the right sizes for her?”
I do it, watching him like a predator determined to keep its prey in sight. He moves our plates to the table, then our coffees, only stopping to kiss his daughter on the top of her little blonde curls. It’s a stab directly to my womb. Open and ready for business it screams.
I squeeze my eyes shut briefly before giving Winnie her plate, and then sit across from Dodge. I can’t take a bite while I work up the courage to ask him what I want.
Blowing out a breath, I take one last sip of coffee and then clear my throat. “Can I ask about what happened to her mom? ”
Dodge’s fork freezes midair, and then he slowly sets it down as he finishes chewing before grabbing a napkin to wipe at his mouth. “Why?”
It makes my heart shrivel. “I just…wanna know. There’s no photos of her, you don’t talk about her, so it’s hard to pinpoint if she died or?—”
His eyebrow raises. “Or she left with no remorse?”
I nod, dropping my gaze to my food.
He sighs, leaning back in his chair. “She tried for a couple weeks, and decided she didn’t want to be a mom after all. She wanted to bounce. I wanted her to sign over her rights.”
“But she didn’t? Were you guys together long?”
Dodge shakes his head. “No, she was…one of the club girls. Messed around a few times, the condom must have broken. She said it was mine, so I believed her and helped her through the pregnancy. We got a test done to confirm when I wanted her to sign.”
“And now Winnie is just yours.”
He nods with a weak smile. “Yeah. She ended up overdosing before we could work it all out. ”
That breaks my heart, and I glance over at Winnie, knowing she’ll never get to know her mom. I know all too well what that feels like.
He clears his throat. “What about you? Got folks missing you back home?”
My mood drops, and my smile falters. I poke the food on my plate, knowing he’s going to think about me differently once I tell him, but I guess it’s inevitable. What’s the difference between now and weeks from now?
“Uhh. No. It’s just me. My dad bounced as soon as I was eighteen, basically leaving me broke and homeless. Never really knew my mom. Been trying to figure it out ever since.”
Dodge sets his fork down, wiping his mouth as he stares at me. “Shit, Autumn. I’m sorry.”
I shrug. “It is what it is. Nothing can be changed about it now.”
He nods, that pity I hate to see when people learn of my past still lingering in his eyes. “Did you ever try to find any other family that could help?”
I shake my head. “No, and I know this is a little crazy to some, but I never cared to find out. Like if they’re dead, I can’t bring them back, so what’s the point, you know? And if they knew about me and didn’t care, that’s almost worse, and why would I want to know those types of people?”
His jaw tightens and he rubs ?it. “Not looking to defend them, but they might have had their reasons and not have been horrible people.”
“Maybe, I just don’t care to find out.” I press my lips into a thin smile.
He nods. “Yeah, fair enough.”
“Is it just you and Winnie then?” I ask when there’s a brief silence. I want to know more about him.
Dodge sighs, looking over at his daughter. “Got my pops, but he’s as reliable as a broken clock. Used to have a cousin but haven’t seen him around for a while. Just us, basically.”
I try not to frown, not wanting him to see the same pity that I hate. “Do you think, like if you found the right woman, you’d want more kids?”
His brown eyes lock with mine and his tongue sweeps over his lips. “Yeah, I’ve always wanted a big family. ”
Nerves flutter in my stomach at his question, and I’m not sure why. It’s not like he’s asking me to make a family with him.
“And you? You want a family someday?” he asks when I don’t reply right away.
“Uhm…yeah. I’d love a big family too.” My cheeks heat with a blush, and I drop my gaze back to the food.
We both startle when Winnie smacks her tray, then laugh, glancing at each other again before I turn to help Winnie eat a few more pieces.
“Is that why you chose your degree? Because you want a big family?” he asks.
I shake my head. “My degree is more to help me prepare if I want to become a teacher or social worker. I’m not sure what I want to do just yet, but I want to help people, help children.”
It’s a sobering topic to discuss over breakfast, but it’s life.
Dodge cocks his head to the side, his eyes roaming over me, then to his daughter. “Well, you are definitely meant to be with kids, either in a classroom or a horde of your own. ”
A blush works over my cheeks, an image of the table overrun with children that suspiciously look like a combination of me and him.
“What’s that look for?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I say a little too quickly. It makes it seem dirtier than it is.
He grunts. “Mhmmm.”
I clear my throat. “What about you? You say you want a big family, but what’s the plan? We—uhh, you couldn’t fit many more babies in here.”
His eyes flash with desire at my slip-up, and I refuse to acknowledge it.
“There’s a neighborhood I got my eye on. Just haven’t made the purchase yet. Better to keep saving up.”
My eyebrows raise. “You’re just ready to purchase a house whenever the need arises?”
Dodge chuckles. “Baby, we may be a bunch of dirty bikers, but we know how to get things done. Especially when we have our sights on something we want.”
It feels like a warning, a prelude to what’s coming. Do I know what that thing is? No, but my stomach tenses in anticipation.