Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Zeke jerked awake when the door crashed against the wall.
“Jesus, Zeke! You’re pathetic!”
A flip of a switch had him wincing and slapping a hand over his eyes to block out the sudden bright light from the bare bulb hanging over the bed.
He really needed to do something about that. But just then, he agreed with Vi. Even though his plan to stop being a pathetic asshole was starting tomorrow.
“If you’re trying to get back with Kyra, this isn’t the way to do it.”
As if he had a chance. “She don’t want me.”
He peered through his fingers to see Violet digging a finger into her cheek and twisting it back and forth.
“Gee, I wonder why? Maybe it’s because you’re a damn man-ho.
What woman in their right mind wants to be with someone who can’t keep their damn dick in their pants?
Worse, one who keeps sticking it in sweet butts. I hope you had your rabies shot.”
For fuck’s sake, he wasn’t the only asshole in the room. “Fuck you, Vi.”
“No thanks, cuz,”—she shuddered—“that would be incest.”
He propped himself up on his elbows, dislodging an either passed out or sleeping Cherry, groaned loudly, and flopped back down. “Whatya doin’ here?”
“Not inspecting you for crabs, that’s for damn sure. Do you have another blanket to throw over you once Cherry stops being your current one? I really don’t want to see your junk. Again.”
Cherry lifted her head and cleared her throat. The one he came down once. Or twice. He wasn’t sure. Things got a little hazy after finishing off the bottle of Jack. “Hey, Violet.” She sounded like a fucking frog.
“Cherry, get dressed and get lost.”
With a grumble, the sweet butt extracted herself from their tangle of limbs and, without caring Vi stood in the open doorway, got up and moved around the room completely naked while gathering her clothes. “Do I have time to—”
Vi cut her off with, “Nope. You’ve never been shy before. Just take your clothes and go. I don’t have all day to deal with this idiot’s nonsense.”
“Love you, too,” Zeke groaned.
As soon as Cherry slipped out the door, Vi stepped inside the room, slamming the door shut.
He grimaced and rubbed at his temple. “Why you gotta do that?”
One side of her mouth pulled up in an evil grin. “Do what?”
“Slam the fuckin’ door.”
“To punish you for being stupid.” She bent over, bravely picked up something off the floor, and when she straightened, she threw his jeans over his lap.
“What time is it?”
“Time for you to sober up and get your shit together. No reason to get trashed in the middle of the day. Unless…” Her brown eyes narrowed on him. “Did Kyra talk to you yet?”
He sat up more slowly this time so everything didn’t spin, including his stomach. “Whatdya think?”
“And?”
He scraped a hand through his hair to get it out of his eyes. “And what?”
“Where do you go from here?”
“Don’t fuckin’ know, Vi.”
“Thought she talked to you.”
“Yeah, Vi, she did. Thanks to you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Someone woke up on the bitchy side of the bed this mornin’.”
She went to sit on the edge of the bed but stopped short, made a face, and planted her hands on her hips instead. That was probably a safer choice. His sheets most likely had more mysterious DNA than a crime scene.
Vi asked, “What details did you work out?”
“Not much. She told me Ledger’s mine.”
“Did she ask you for financial help?”
“Nope.”
“Did she ask you to be involved in Ledger’s life?”
“Nope.”
“Did you offer?”
He hesitated.
“Did. You. Offer?” she asked more loudly than necessary.
She was a fucking sadist.
He thought back to what they actually discussed. It was all a little fuzzy. “She said somethin’ ‘bout takin’ it slow.”
“What do you mean slow?”
“She don’t want me tellin’ my own fuckin’ son that he’s my own fuckin’ son.”
“What?”
He groaned. “Don’t need to fuckin’ screech, Vi. Jesus.”
“You mean never or just for now?”
“Never fuckin’ screech.”
“Not that, dummy. About taking it slow!”
She needed to stop yelling so his pickled brain didn’t explode. “For now. ’Til we get to know each other and ’til I prove myself.”
She blinked. “Well then, you’re screwed. Especially if she wants you to prove you’ll be a responsible father.”
“Thanks for the fuckin’ vote of confidence. Supposed to be on my side.”
“I am on your side. But I’m also on Ledger’s side. She’s doing the right thing by protecting her son from an idiot.”
He blew out a breath. “He’s my son, too. Just ‘cause I’m an idiot don’t negate the fact he’s got my goddamn blood runnin’ through his veins.”
Her eyes bugged out. “Did you just use the word negate?”
He squinted up at her. “I use it wrong?”
“No, you used it right. That’s why I’m a bit shocked.”
“Guess I ain’t such an idiot.”
“Don’t worry. One big word doesn’t negate the fact you’re still an idiot.”
He groaned. This time not from his pounding head. “How the fuck am I gonna tell my parents?”
“You just open your fucking trap and tell them. You’ve never had a problem running your mouth before.”
“Gonna be pissed and thrilled at the same time.”
“Add in a sprinkle of disappointment. In both you and the lost time they could’ve been spending with Ledger.”
“That shit ain’t my fault.”
Her head tipped to the side. “You sure about that?”
He sighed. “Not sure I should tell ‘em now, anyway. Ky wants me to take it slow, but no fuckin’ way my parents ain’t gonna demand to meet him if I tell them.”
“Damn. That’s true. But if you keep it from them and they find out later that you did…”
“Between a rock and a hard place, cuz.”
“Nothing new. Zeke,”—her tone became way too serious—“do you truly want Ledger in your life? Do you want to be responsible for someone other than yourself? Side note: you’re not really good at being responsible for yourself.
You really need to think this through before you enter this kid’s life and fuck it up.
Or decide being a father isn’t for you and leave him in the dust.”
His cousin was always his voice of reason. When she wasn’t busting his balls.
He flopped back onto the bed and flung an arm over his eyes.
Did he?
Yeah, he did. Especially since Kyra came along with him.
“Hey,” Vi said softly at the same time she nudged the mattress.
“Like I already mentioned, you’ve got a whole army behind you.
That boy will want for nothing. The same as us growing up a part of this club, he’ll be protected and loved.
So will Kyra. Not to mention, when you fuck up, there will be plenty of others to step in. And, cuz…”
His arm dropped to his side.
“It’s guaranteed you’ll fuck up. No parent is perfect. You just have a steeper hill to climb.”
His ass was turning numb. Sitting on a fucking wooden bench in the bright sunlight in the middle of the afternoon wasn’t his idea of a good time.
But he agreed to it anyway since it was the first step in getting to know his son. Ky had told him to meet her here at the park and of course, the hell if he was saying no.
He adjusted his shades and spread his boots wider to get more comfortable.
A week ago, he never would’ve guessed he’d be here: watching his son run around and using the playground equipment with his former woman watching his every move to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.
The afternoon sun made Ky’s hair appear more blonde than usual. Even though she was too far to see the blue in her eyes, he could still see they were covered with sunglasses to protect them from the glare as she pushed him on a swing.
Ledger’s pure laughter was loud enough to reach Zeke’s ears.
He rubbed his chest. Why the fuck did it ache so damn much?
Did they normally do this kind of shit?
He tried to picture himself doing the same thing that Ky was doing. Playing with his kid on a playground.
Like a normal parent.
Not that he’d ever be “normal.” Normal was fucking boring.
Maybe they’d have to build a playground on club property, or maybe even in the DAMC’s over-55 senior community that would be better named a retirement village. He was surprised the OGs hadn’t traded in their badass bikes for golf carts already.
At least one of those two locations would be more secure than having his kid out in the open where anyone could cause shit or possibly snag him.
Hearing “Are you a parent?” had him turning his head toward the source of a high-pitched, whiny voice.
He frowned when he saw a finger being jabbed in his direction.
“Why are you sitting here alone and watching children? Are you a pervert? I’m going to call the police. You don’t belong here.”
For fuck’s sake. He couldn’t even sit in a fucking park in peace.
He wasn’t even near a kid. Not even his own.
The bottle-blonde woman—not even a five on a scale of one to ten—had one of those double strollers. The kind someone owned when they had popped out twins or was squeezing out rugrats one after the other.
He shrugged. “Go ahead. Call the pigs. Ain’t doin’ shit wrong. Last I checked, this is a goddamn public space.”
The woman gasped and slapped a hand to her chest. She was about to catch some fucking flies in her gaping hole, maybe even bust a blood vessel.
Good.
Nosy fucking bitch.
“No need for that language,” she hissed.
“No fuckin’ need for you to be flappin’ your lips at me.”
“You look sketchy.”
“And you look like a cunt. Feel sorry for the man who knocked you the fuck up.”
She gasped again.
He smiled, then sat back and crossed his arms over his cut and turned his attention to the natural blonde on the playground who was not a five.
Fuck no. Four years and one kid later, she was still a fucking twelve.
“Well, I…you…” the woman sputtered before shrieking, “Pervert!” and rushing away.
The bitch thought that was an insult? Fucking amateur.
His fingers itched to light up a cigarette or joint, but Kyra might have a problem with Ledger seeing his old man smoke.
Not that he knew Zeke was his old man. Yet. But Zeke was determined to rush that along. It would probably help his case if he was on his best behavior.
A snort exploded from him.
His attention locked on Ky—and her ass—again as she helped Ledger climb up the steps to a big, green plastic slide. After he slid to the bottom, laughing the whole way, she squatted down and said something close to his ear.
The way his son looked at his mother made his heart ache even more.
Zeke remembered a time when he looked at his own mother the same damn way.
Sophie probably wondered where their parenting went wrong. Or maybe she knew and that was why Zane was a much better son than he was.
Zane had been their second opportunity to do it right.
When Ky stood, she was gripping Ledger’s little hand.
His chest got even tighter with each step they took as she led his kid over to him.
Should he sit? Should he stand? He didn’t know what to fucking do besides slide his damp palms down his jean-covered thighs.
He stayed sitting so he’d be closer to Ledger’s level, but sat up straighter when Ky stopped in front of him. His gaze dropped from her solemn face to his kid.
It was clear as fucking day. He should’ve seen it the day at the jubilee, but Ledger had not only been wearing face paint, Zeke’s brain had been focused elsewhere.
Holy fuck.
He could clearly see no DNA test was needed.
Staring at Ledger was like staring at himself in the mirror at that same age. His parents—Ledger’s grandparents—were going to shit a brick. If they didn’t fucking clobber him with one first.
“Ledger, do you remember this man? We met him at the fair.”
Shit. That meeting hadn’t gone so well.
Ledger nodded. “Mommy, he made Gwen bleed.”
Damn right he did. And he’d fucking do it again.
Zeke closed his eyes and pulled in a breath.
“You said I shouldn’t hit people.”
“That’s right, buddy. Hitting people is wrong.”
Depends on the reason.
Zeke opened his eyes and plastered a smile on his face. “Your mother’s right. Hittin’ people is wrong.” Damn, was that difficult to say. “Hi, Ledger, I’m…” At a loss on how he should introduce himself, he glanced up at Kyra.
“Ledger, this is Zeke. I’ve known him since we were in school together.”
“That was a looooong time ago, Mommy.”
“It certainly was.”
“You’re old now.”
Kyra rolled her lips under.
Ledger turned his attention to Zeke. “Why’d you make Gwen bleed?”
How the fuck did he answer that?
“He lost his temper,” Ky answered for him, then her narrowed eyes locked with his. “He promised to never do that again.”
Ledger tugged on her hand. “When we goin’ home, Mommy? I’m hungwy.”
“Soon.”
“Sorry I scared you the other day, my man.”
That pulled Ledger’s attention back to him. “Buy me more cotton candy. It was yummy.” He rubbed his little pot belly.
“Ledger, that’s a bribe. And no, you’re not getting more cotton candy. You were wired for at least an hour.”
Ledger’s forehead puckered. “What’s that mean?”
“You had a lot of energy. Do you want to sit next to Zeke?”
“Why?”
Kyra answered, “To get to know him.”
“Why?”
She opened her mouth, then shut it.
Zeke decided to wade in. “How ‘bout I take you to get somethin’ to eat?”
Ledger’s face lit up. “Cotton candy?”
“Your mommy said no cotton candy. How ‘bout a burger and fries?”
“Mac and cheese.”
Was his kid negotiating? “Damn, you drive a hard bargain, lil dude. Okay, how ‘bout mac and cheese?” He glanced up at Ky. “Guess you haven’t introduced him to Bangin’ Burgers yet.”
“He prefers chicken nuggets.”
“Chicken nuggies!” Ledger yelled, jumping up and down while yanking on her shorts. “Mommy, I want chicken nuggies!”
“Then you’re gonna get chicken nuggets, kid.” He glanced up at Ky. “You good with that?”
Even though she shrugged, her face told him otherwise. Good thing she didn’t want to disappoint their son.
And neither did Zeke.