Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kennedy managed to sweep her hair up into a messy bun and smooth out her clothes before Player stepped inside the room. She was nervous seeing him standing there. Her heart sped up, wanting nothing more than a hello. Her own words seemed to have disappeared as she stared at her brother.
Player rubbed his sweaty hands over his jeans. “I’m sorry.”
Kennedy’s eyes went wide as she heard the apology from her brother. “What?” she asked, confused.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come back for you,” Player told his sister. She’d never know how much it haunted him that he hadn’t been able to take her away from their mother.
Kennedy didn’t want Player to carry that kind of weight. If she’d learned anything, it was that you couldn’t hold on to things. “Oh. We were both so young. It’s okay.”
“I came back multiple times to check on you. I just didn’t have the means to take care of you was all.”
“I saw you a few times but was afraid to say anything. I was afraid you’d get in trouble for being there.”
Seemed they both had held on to a lot of guilt over the years. Emotions that looking back on were too heavy for two kids that had been fighting daily to survive.
“Umm, about what happened in the hall . . .”
“Zoe’s a bitch and doesn’t know her place.” Player knew damn well whatever Zoe had done to his sister, she deserved the ass kicking.
“She’s definitely a bitch,” Kennedy said flatly.
“Is it even worth asking what happened?” he asked Kennedy. If she didn’t want to tell him, he wouldn’t press.
“No. I’d rather hear about you.”
“Can we start by you giving me a hug? I mean, I’ve waited twenty-two years for one.” Player smiled when Kennedy rushed over to him. Wrapping his arms around his sister, Player hung on to her for a long while, afraid if he let go, she’d disappear.
When he did let her go, he tugged her to the bed so they could sit down and talk.
“So, you had your first motorcycle ride.”
“I rode over seven hundred miles my first time.” Kennedy smirked at the thought now that it was behind her. “I think I almost earned the title ‘iron ass’.”
Player busted out laughing at hearing those words fall from his baby sister’s mouth. “Cree—”
Kennedy cut him off. She didn’t want to fight or argue.
Not when they had just reunited only moments ago.
Turning on the bed, she brought a leg up so she could sit on her foot.
Facing her brother, Kennedy jumped right in, letting him know that under no circumstances would he or anyone else get between her and Cree.
“I want your word, Stephen.” She used his given name so he’d know she was serious.
“Oh, I’m Stephen now and not Player?”
“Yes. As my brother, you can grumble all you want, but as a member of this club, you can keep your opinion to yourself.” Kennedy waited for him to speak, and when he didn’t, she reminded him of one thing. “It’s your choice.”
Player nodded. There was a lot of years they needed to make up for, and this was not turning out the way he’d thought.
He’d mistakenly forgotten he was getting a twenty-seven-year-old Kennedy and not a five-year-old one.
“Since it’s my choice, I say you should get dressed so we can celebrate Christmas. ”
“I’d like that.” Kennedy looked around the room then back to her brother. “Can you show me where I can get a shower?”
Player smiled. “Yeah, I can do that.”
Checking herself in the mirror, Kennedy sighed. The sweater wasn’t her style, but it did fit. She was thankful for the loan from Sway, the VP’s ol’ lady. Shoving her feet into her boots, she was as ready as she was gonna get. “You got this,” she told her reflection.
Gathering up her things, she shoved them in her bag and headed back to the room she and Cree spent the night in. “Hey.” The sound of Cree’s voice startled her as she stepped out into the hallway.
“Hey.” Tucking her hair back, she watched as he shoved off the wall.
“Sweater looks nice. Bet you’re glad to have something different to wear.”
“I don’t know. It feels odd to have it on.”
He’d spent the last hour listening to Player tell him how selfish he was being.
How he had nothing to offer Kennedy except a saddle bag to put her stuff in and a life moving from pillar to post. Maybe the brother was right.
Maybe she would want to go back to her life in Reno once her boss was in jail.
“At least you won’t have to be on the back of the bike for hours at a time in freezing weather. ”
“Fuck, you’re leaving me, just like Zoe said you would.”
“Did I say that?”
“Not with words, but your thoughts are loud and clear.”
“I told you, you’re mine, and I meant those words.”
“But . . .” She watched him carefully. If the past three weeks had done nothing else, they had taught her how to read his moods and body language. And at that moment, Cree was unsure of his next move. “Oh my god, you let Player get in your damn head, didn’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“I’ll kick his ass.”
Cree stifled a laugh. This was why he loved her. No doubt she would always have his back. “You will not be kicking anyone’s ass.”
“Give me one sec, okay.”
“Okay. Where are you going?”
“Hang on.”
Ducking back inside the bathroom, Kennedy dropped her backpack onto the sink and dug out a fitted denim shirt.
She hadn’t worn it yet due to how cold it had been, but she loved the way it hugged her waist and showed off the curve of her hips.
She’d promised herself the first time she got to wear it for Cree, she would. Today was that day.
Fastening the little pearl snaps, she stopped right where it showed off the arrowhead necklace she’d bought on the reservation.
The necklace rested between her breasts, drawing attention to her ample cleavage.
Rolling up the cuffs, her birthday gift jingled against her hand.
Using a scrunchy, she secured her hair in a messy bun instead of leaving it down.
Looking at her reflection, Kennedy recognized herself.
This was who she was now, a strong woman worthy of a man like Cree.
Not some little girl needing approval from anyone.
Tossing the backpack over her shoulder, she walked back out. She leaned against the doorframe, waiting for Cree to turn around. When he did, her reward was a shit-eating grin as he made quick work of closing the distance between them. “There’s my iskwew.”
“You like?”
“Oh yeah, I like.”
“Good.”
Cree took the bag from her. “Your brother is gonna flip his shit with your shirt unbuttoned like that.”
“Do you want me to button it all the way up?”
“Fuck no. I like seeing that arrowhead pointing to what’s waiting on me later.” Cree opened the door to their room to put her bag away and found himself being shoved inside by Kennedy. “What the hell?” he barely managed to ask before she had him flat on his back on the bed.
“You haven’t kissed me today, miyowapewiw.” She saw the surprised look on his face when she called him handsome in his native tongue.
“Iskwew, you keep talking dirty to me and we’ll be doing more than kissing.”
Kennedy crushed her mouth to his, wanting to taste his kiss. She wanted more but didn’t want to delay Christmas any longer than she had already. “I miss your touch.”
He knew what she meant. Since she hurt her hip, he’d been avoiding sex for fear he’d hurt her. Now, he was trying to avoid it where Player wouldn’t be pissed off during dinner. “Tonight, I’m all yours, katawasisiw.”
“Promise?”
“Promise. Now, kiss me again before we go meet the family.”
Holding Cree’s hand, Kennedy held her head high as they walked into the main room of the clubhouse. She barely remembered it from the night before. She’d been so exhausted when they finally arrived, she hadn’t bothered taking stock of what the place looked like.
Then there was Zoe, dressed in her damn silk robe and high-heeled slippers like some Hollywood diva. The woman had been nothing but a flirt and a tease until laying eyes on Kennedy, then she became a snotty bitch. The damn woman still had an ass beating coming.
Christmas music played overhead, and for the first time in years, she found it nice.
Long tables with colourful decorations ran down the centre of the room while the bar was covered by an array of dishes.
All that was missing was a tree. Maybe next year, she thought.
Seeing a group of young women off to the side, Kennedy almost stepped behind Cree until he tugged her to his side, wrapping a comforting arm around her.
“Everyone, this is Kennedy, my ol’ lady.”
“And Player’s baby sister,” one of the brothers shouted mixed with a cough, followed by the sound of laughing and swearing from the peanut gallery.
“Yes, and Player’s baby sister. Make sure to remind him she’s an adult for me,” he joked, making eye contact with Player. The look on the brother’s face told Cree it would be a long day.
Kennedy locked eyes with Player, willing him to support her and Cree.
She saw the exhale as he eased through the group of rough bikers.
He kissed Kennedy on the cheek then reluctantly shook Cree’s hand and slapped him on the back.
The slap was so hard, Cree took a step forward to keep his balance.
Kennedy sent Player a look, warning him to play nice.
Teller was the first to embrace her. “Welcome to the family, lil sister,” he told her, giving Kennedy the official seal of approval.
One by one, each brother stepped forward and introduced themselves, welcoming her to the family.
She received a lot of “good luck”, “I’ll pray for you”, and “get ready”.
All the sentiments were geared toward her handling Cree.
Each one made her smile. When it came to the girls, she didn’t get the same warm and fuzzy feelings. Sway was the only one who hugged her.
“Keep your head up, and don’t let them see you sweat,” she whispered in Kennedy’s ear.
“Thank you,” Kennedy whispered back. She liked the VP’s woman.
“Let’s eat,” Teller shouted above the noise.
The line wrapped around the bar and down the wall as everyone made a plate of food. Kennedy went to pick up a plate when another person grabbed for the same one. She almost yanked it away until she looked to the side and saw Zoe.
This was her moment to rise above the woman. When Zoe let go, Kennedy gave her a genuine smile. “You take this one, and I’ll grab another.”
“Thanks,” Zoe told her. Kennedy moved along, and as she did so, she would ask Zoe about some of the dishes, which seemed to ease some of the tension between them.
Kennedy wouldn’t drop her guard with the blonde bitch, however, she would keep the peace.
That old saying ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ came to mind.
Kennedy did notice a change in Zoe’s demeanour. She wondered if Teller had spanked her ass like Cree had done to her. Thinking about the spanking, Kennedy let a smirk slip, catching his attention.
“What’s that smirk for?” he asked.
“Oh, thinking about earlier.”
“Which part?”
“The spanking.” Kennedy stifled a laugh. She heard a giggle come from Zoe and a deep growl from Player. Shaking her head, Kennedy followed Cree to the table and sat down.
The day turned out to be full of stories about Player.
There was a lot of laughs, a few moments of silence, and at some point, it was just Kennedy and the other ladies sitting around chatting.
She found she had things in common with some of them.
Everyone had found their way out of situations that should have kept them down.
Kennedy respected the hell out of them for doing whatever they needed to do to make a better life for themselves.
The one thing that was consistent was that being employed by the club gave them protection. “What do they refer to you as?” She’d heard Cree call them different things but wanted to hear it from the ladies.
“Sweet butt, turnouts, mamas, sheep. There are lots of labels that can be applied to us,” one of the girls said as she ladled gravy over her mashed potatoes.
“Are there different definitions?” Kennedy wanted to learn as much as she could.
Zoe piped up. “The guys call us by our names. The label or title can be sweet butt, sweetie, mamas, chickees, and sheep, but they don’t mean it in a derogatory way.
My title is house mom, which means I make sure the girls are doing their jobs.
We don’t have any girls who fall under the title of house mouse, which is is a young girl we bring in who solely works for us girls.
She doesn’t interact with the brothers at all. ”
“This helps a lot. Thank you for helping me understand.” Kennedy noticed Sway sat quietly, watching Vicious talking across the room. Something told her their story was an interesting one. She was so distracted, Kennedy failed to notice Cree and Player walking up.
“Alright, ladies, the second part of this party will be at my place in two hours. Kennedy, would you like to head over with me?”
“Is Cree coming?”
“I think you and Player should have some time alone. Away from the club. I’ll come over with everyone else.”
“Okay. Let me grab my coat.” Kennedy got up, making sure to tell the girls she’d see them later, and hustled down the hallway to grab her jacket.
When she returned, she smiled as she said goodbye to everyone and headed out with her brother.
Slipping her arm through Player’s, Kennedy walked out a nervous wreck.
She was having Christmas with her brother after twenty-two years of being alone.