Chapter Fifteen
S neaking around with Gunner has been the highlight of my life. I don’t know when it happened, but all of a sudden all my worries have faded.
Well, that’s not exactly true. I’m still worried about paying bills and taking care of Lee and mom, but when I’m with Gunner, those worries disappear into the back of my head. I’m right there with him, living in the moment.
Glancing over at him working on a car, my cheeks heat. If Fox and Jagger weren’t working a bay over, I might beg him for another round. It’s like I’m insatiable when it comes to him.
The sound of a motorcycle has me drawing my eyes from the man who fills my head and out to the parking lot. It’s not unusual to hear them as many of the guys cut through the parking lot here to get to the clubhouse. It’s an unofficial back way up to the place with the main gate and driveway being on the other side.
This one stops in a parking spot, though. Has me curious as to who it is. When he pulls off his helmet, I recognize him as one of the men from the rally.
“Hey, Sloane,” he calls to me as he comes to the door.
“Hey, Crow. How are you doing?” I ask, wiping my hands on my towel.
“Good. Gunner around?” he asks, but I see the moment he spots him over my shoulder.
“Let’s talk in the office,” Gunner tells him, turning and expecting the man to follow.
Crow chuckles, patting me on the shoulder. “Good seeing you. Take care.”
“You too,” I call out to him as he disappears into the office.
I go back to working on the car in my bay, but my mind wanders to the office. I know Gunner has club business, but it makes me nervous. Is that why Crow is here? To talk club business with Gunner? Are they going to go on a run?
My anxiety rises as I think about all of the possibilities. I’m such a mess that when Gunner and Crow come out of the office, I don’t even pretend I wasn’t waiting for them. Gunner escorts Crow out before coming to me.
“You okay? You look worried.” He cups my face.
“What was that about?” I ask him.
He frowns. “You’re worried about me having a conversation with one of my brothers? Listen, I know you can be jealous sometimes, but I promise I’m not interested in any of my brothers’ cocks.”
I swat him on the chest. “Gunner, be serious.”
“Trouble, you have nothing to worry about. He was our first prospect when we set up shop, and he’s as solid as they come. Crow runs a construction company. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about it.”
“Why?” My heart is beating in my chest, wondering what could be wrong.
“Lee asked me if he could do some side stuff to make some extra money. I have some things at the shop for him to do, but Crow could use him too. I was thinking if you let us, we can give him an after-school job. He can work with us through the summer too.” Gunner pulls me against his body, wrapping his arms around me.
“He’s too young,” I protest.
He shakes his head. “He’s sixteen. He watched you and your mom work your asses off to barely stay afloat. He wears clothes that are much too old and deals with shit at school because of it. I get you not wanting him to work with the club, but at least here we could keep an eye on him. We would know he isn’t getting into trouble.”
I frown at his words. “He told you all of that?”
He shrugs. “He didn’t have to. I have eyes, Sloane. So do you. He’s not the little kid you remember. He’s becoming a man. Right now, he has no one to look up to. I might not be perfect, but I can teach him to be respectful. I can help him learn what a good work ethic is. I don’t think this should be his end goal, but he needs something.”
He’s right. I know he is right, but I also don’t want to take anything from Lee.
“I never got a childhood. I only wanted to make sure Lee had one. I never wanted him to worry about this shit,” I admit softly.
“I know that, and so does he. It doesn’t change the fact that he wants to work. He wants to make his own money so he can pitch in, but also so he can buy his own things. I doubt he even asks you for money because he is too embarrassed. It’s a pride thing. He’s ready to tiptoe out of the nest. You need to let him.” Gunner leans down, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.
After several moments of silence, I finally pull back from him.
“He has school every day from seven thirty until two. After that, if we can find him a ride, I don’t mind him working here or with Crow. I mean, provided Crow is okay with it and assures me that he won’t let him do anything too dangerous.”
Gunner smiles at me. “We have a whole family here. One of us will get him where he needs to go. Crow is happy to have your brother on. He won’t let anything happen to him. Honestly, I think that would be better for Lee anyway. He could learn skills that he can use later in life. I wouldn’t be able to have him working on cars here. He’d basically be a bitch boy.”
I take a deep breath. I’m not ready for him to grow up. I have to let him go, though.
“I think he would prefer not to work with his sister watching his every move either. Here, give me your phone.” When he hands it over, I type in Lee’s number. “That’s his number.”
“I’ll call him when he gets out of school.” Gunner pockets the phone before kissing my lips.
“Gunner, don’t let anything happen to him. He’s important to me,” I warn him.
“I know, which makes him important to me too.”
My heart melts at his words. I’m falling so fast for this man. The way he cares for me and now my family.
I need to be careful. Before too long, I might even fall in love with the guy.
That’s the scariest part of all.
As soon as two o’clock hits, I clean up and make my way to the office.
I lied to Sloane earlier. Kind of. Maybe more of I omitted parts of the conversation.
Crow was here, and we did talk about Lee working with him, but that wasn’t why he came by.
I asked him to stop in so we could talk about what we are going to do to make Sloane’s home more livable.
Now I have the perfect way to get into the home without her knowing.
Dialing the phone, I wait until the kid picks up.
“Hello?” He sounds confused.
“Lee, it’s Gunner.”
“Oh hey. What’s up?” he asks.
I can hear the cars going by in the background. He’s likely walking home from school.
“Remember when I stopped by before? We talked about you doing some things to make some money?”
“Yeah. I’ll do anything.”
His eagerness is what worries me about all of this. If I wasn’t a good man, I could have him running drugs for me. He would do it without a second thought. Why wouldn’t he? It’s money, and no one has taught him any different.
“Can I come by and talk to you?” I ask him.
“I’ll be home in like ten minutes,” he tells me.
“I’ll be there.”
We hang up, leaving me wondering what I am going to say to Sloane. I settle for something vague.
Walking over to her, I press a kiss to her shoulder.
“I’m running an errand. I’ll be back later to drive you home.”
“Okay. Bring me back a blue raspberry slushie?” She bats those beautiful eyes at me. The same ones that ensure I will never tell her no.
“I’ll take you to get one after work so that way it doesn’t melt. How about that?”
“Even better.” She presses a kiss to my lips before turning back to her work.
I leave her there, taking a quick look at Fox. He nods, getting the message to keep an eye on her. He won’t be leaving early today.
Then I make my way to her house. I beat Lee there, but not by long. The young, lanky kid comes up the sidewalk, his head down, trying not to be noticed. It breaks my heart. The kid is used to making himself feel smaller to avoid the bullies.
Not anymore. I’m going to take care of him like I am going to take care of Sloane.
“How was school?” I ask when he makes it to the door.
He unlocks the door, holding it open for me. “Same shitty day.”
“You need to learn to hold your head high. Don’t give a fuck about those people. None of them matter anyway. In five years, they won’t even cross your mind,” I tell him.
“Easy for you to say. People are afraid of you.”
“Fuck those people. The only thing in life that matters are the people you care about. What your mother and your sister think of you. That’s the only opinion that should matter to you. Everyone else is living their pitiful lives and only put you down because it makes them feel better about themselves. They will never understand your struggles. They will never have your strength because they are untested while you, my friend, have gone through hell and made it out of the other side.”
“You think so?” I can see his eyes lighting up.
My opinion matters to him. It shouldn’t. Not yet at least, but it does.
I use that to my advantage.
“Of course I do. In fact, I have a job for you. My buddy Crow runs a construction business with some of the brothers. He wants you to come work for him on weekends and after school. During your breaks, you will work with him full time.”
“Really?” His eyes bug out.
I nod. “Really. He’s on his way here now to talk to you about it. You are going to need to keep a secret for me, though.”
“What is it?” He looks a little wary now.
“Our first project is going to be this house, but you can’t let your sister or your mother know.”
“Oh. Yeah, I can do that. I’ll tell them it’s the landlord.”
“Good. Now show me what’s wrong with this place.”
He grimaces. “Where do we start?”
He brings me into the living room first. It’s sparse with only a couch and some baskets with clothes.
“Sloane sleeps in here. I tried getting her to let me sleep out here, but she insists me and Mom have our own rooms. The window there leaks when it rains. It doesn’t keep the air in, not that the AC works half the time anyway. We put window units in mine and my mom’s rooms, but we couldn’t afford a third for out here.”
Lee looks down, the guilt clear.
“Hey, don’t take that on. It’s the way your sister would want it.”
Someone knocks on the door. Lee takes off to go answer it.
When Crow walks in, he looks skeptical.
“This place should be condemned.”
I nod. “It should be, but it isn’t, so let’s make it better. AC is shot. This window leaks. What else, Lee?”
“There’s a pipe leaking somewhere. Our water bill keeps going up. Nothing we can do about it, though. Oh, and there’s something growing in my closet. I think it’s mold, but I’m scared to say anything. We can’t afford another place.”
I’m sure that’s not even the end of it. My heart aches for Sloane and her family. They have been dealing with this for God knows how long.
“Don’t worry, Lee. We are going to fix this,” Crow tells the kid, taking him under his arm as they continue to walk the house.
All I can do is stay in my spot and calm myself down.
Seeing this place makes me want to rearrange their landlord’s face. In fact, I might reach out to him anyway. I think my girl deserves a break on rent.
My girl.
I have gotten used to the term, but sometimes it still sticks out to me.
I never thought I would care for another woman again, yet here I am taking her problems on as my own.
I must be a fool, but damn if I want to let her go.
No, Sloane is an independent woman who takes care of everyone but herself.
I think it’s about time I take care of her for once.