Chapter 15 #2
With a confused expression, Sophie glanced over her shoulder at him.
“He don’t know yet.”
“He doesn’t know…” Her smile fell. “Why not?”
“Bein’ careful,” was all he said because he didn’t want to mention Ky’s name in front of Ledger.
Her eyebrows stitched together. “Does he know who you are?”
“He’s Zeke!” Ledger chirped. “He said I could get a cupcake!”
Her lips continued in a downward curl. “Zeke…”
“Mom,” he warned.
“Zeke,” she breathed with her expression full of disappointment.
Nothing new. He was used to seeing that when she looked at him.
“Soon,” he assured her.
“Can I get a cupcake?”
“Sure, kid. Gonna get you one.” Zeke strode through the opening in the counter and stopped behind the long display case. “Which one you want?”
“What’s your favorite flavor?” Sophie asked in an unmistakably thick voice.
Goddamn it. He didn’t like this any more than her, but he was trying not to fuck up with Ky. He needed to remain on good terms with her so he could not only have time with his son but also with his son’s mother.
“Your fa—Zeke’s favorite flavor was always the Boston cream cupcakes. It’s a chocolate cupcake with a cream filling and chocolate frosting. Do you want to try one of those?”
His mom seeing her grandson for the first time should’ve been a happy occasion. Not this sad bullshit. But Sophie would’ve hounded him every damn day until she got to see Ledger. Even though she didn’t want to wait, she was going to have to.
“Yeah!”
Zeke opened the back of the case and pulled out a cupcake. He then grabbed a handful of napkins and passed it over the counter to his mother before grabbing one for himself.
The fuck if he was passing up one of those.
Especially since he rarely came into the bakery anymore.
He only did if there was a problem. And even then, his parents or Bella normally handled it because it was usually something about an oven not working or some normal maintenance needing to be handled.
Not like back when the Shadow Warriors were around. When his father first met his mother, that rival MC decided to try torching the place by hurling a Molotov cocktail through the front display window.
Thank fuck those fuckers had been dispatched in various ways a long time ago.
“Madelyn,” Sophie called out to one of the employees, yanking Zeke from his thoughts. “Can you take Ledger and his cupcake upstairs for me? Also, get him a glass of milk. We’ll be up in a few.”
“Yes, Mrs. Jamison.” The young counter help quickly did as asked.
The upstairs used to be his mother’s apartment back when Sophie first met his father. After they got hitched and moved into the DAMC retirement village, they turned the second floor into a café. A place with tables and chairs where customers could enjoy coffee or tea along with their baked goods.
Adding a sitting area where people could relax and socialize with their friends, or bring a book to read, or even use the wi-fi had customers coming more often and staying longer. Basically, earning the bakery—and the club—more scratch.
Once Madelyn disappeared upstairs with Ledger, his mother turned toward him and tipped her head toward the front door.
Fuck. He felt another lecture coming on.
The overhead bell rang as she opened the door and walked outside. Zeke followed her and stopped next to her on the sidewalk.
“Now’s the time to get your act together, LZ. You’re now responsible for someone other than yourself.”
Of course she got right to it. “Been responsible for a whole damn club.”
“It’s not the same. Ask your father about the difference. Ledger will need you. He’ll need consistency. Hard to be a father when you’re behind bars.”
“Already said I ain’t goin’ back. Told Ky I’m gonna step up and take care of my kid.”
“A kid who doesn’t even know you’re his father!” she cried.
“That’s gonna change soon. Tryin’ to do what Ky asked. She don’t wanna confuse him.”
“But it’s not confusing when some random man is carrying him into a bakery? Spending a whole day with him without his mother?”
“Ain’t random.”
“We know that. Ledger doesn’t.”
“When I drop him back off later, gonna have a discussion with Ky. No reason to hide who I am.”
“Good. And I want the opportunity to love him like a grandmother should.” She did wince when she used the term “grandmother.”
One side of Zeke’s mouth pulled up. “Love him or spoil him?”
Her eyes softened. “Both, of course. He’s my firstborn’s firstborn. We want to be in his life.”
“No shit, Mom. Get in fuckin’ line.”
She shook her head but the corners of her mouth had pulled up slightly.
“He’s the perfect motivation to keep your life straight.
You have to be a good role model for him.
” She tilted her head to the side. “Well, as good a role model as the president of a motorcycle club can be.” She reached up and cupped his cheek.
“I want you to be a great father like yours was. And still is.”
Zeke pulled in a breath, about to counter that, but then realized she was right. They were both great parents. He’d been the one who hadn’t been a great son.
He really had no good reason for being that way. He’d just been a cocky motherfucker.
Now he needed to be a great father himself. And a great fucking president. His mother was also right about the fact he couldn’t do that from inside of a damn prison cell.
“If you need help, you know we’re here for you. Not just us, but everyone in the family will be. By blood or by bond.”
A family built by blood or by bond was what had made growing up in the MC life so fucking great.
And he wanted the same for the next generation, including his own son.