Chapter 5
Saint
It was the next day.
I could have called Tempie or Agatha and asked what they thought about what I was doin’, but I decided against it.
If this was goin’ to work, then it needed to be me puttin’ in the work.
Therefore, I grabbed a bouquet of daisies and one of coral roses.
After I paid, I headed out to my truck.
Yes, I considered taking the bike, however, since it was a full moon and the crazies were out, I didn’t want to chance anything harming Ophelia.
And she had someone who depended on her.
I didn’t know about Soraya’s father. But I wanted to.
I wanted to know where that fucker was.
And as I drove to the Robbins’s place, I hoped that Ophelia had rented the house to the right and not the one to the left.
However, as I turned on the street and saw her Pontiac in the driveway to the left, I knew.
I knew that somehow, someway, I was goin’ to move them out of there the first chance I fuckin’ had.
Yes, the house was technically structurally sound.
But a strong wind could possibly blow it the fuck over.
And seeing as those two girls had somehow gotten under my skin and into my heart, that place wasn’t good enough for them.
Pulling into her driveway, I shut the truck off, tagged the flowers, opened my door, and climbed down.
I made it up the walk, wincing when the floorboards creaked underneath my weight.
Fuck. Me.
I took in a breath, not that I was nervous or anything like that.
But for a man who has never been on a date before in his life, well, this was a first for me.
Which was why, after another minute, I looked down at myself.
A new black long-sleeve shirt, sleeves rolled up to the forearms, clean jeans, and black boots, my kutte on my back, and my hair slicked back and not underneath a ballcap, I took in a deep breath and knocked on the door.
I heard little feet scampering’ across the floor, and then I heard, “Soraya Anya Cartwright, you better ask who that is before you open the door.”
I chuckled.
She definitely had that mama voice down pat.
As I heard Soraya call out, “Whose there?”
I grinned, then said, “It’s me, princess.”
“It’s Saint, Monnie. Can I open the door?” that little voice called out.
“Yes,” I heard.
Then the door was opened, and there Soraya stood.
She looked me up and down, then nodded as if giving me her approval.
I winked down at her and then pulled the bouquet of daisies out from behind my back and handed them to her, “These are for you.”
Her little eyes widened, and then she gasped as she reached for them while whispering, “Thank you.”
Then I heard heels clicking on the floor, which caused my eyes to look up, and damn, but she took my fucking breath away.
She had on a form-fitted green dress that made her blonde hair shine.
Minimal make-up, which I fucking appreciated.
Cause when I saw her at the diner that first time, I had to do a double take to believe my eyes.
And when I saw her in Granger’s on that fateful day... I needed to get my cock under control.
Then, when she reached us, she smiled.
And when I saw what she had on, I had to bite my tongue not to laugh.
I didn’t want to embarrass her.
But... well... would she hate me if I let her walk out of her house like that?
It took me a split second to decide. Therefore, I said, “Umm, you might want to go back to the bathroom, baby.”
She tilted her head, then looked down at herself, then looked back up at me and asked, “Why?”
With my free hand, I opened my mouth and tapped on my teeth.
Her eyebrows scrunched together, and then she obviously felt what I was talking about with her tongue.
Then she gasped, “Oh no. Please tell me you're joking?”
Slowly, I shook my head, “No, ma’am.”
And like that, she spun round and raced down the hall.
I chuckled as I watched her go, admiring that perfect backside she wielded.
I wanted to take a nip out of that perfect round... Soraya’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I felt like the biggest piece of shit known to man.
There I was. Checking her mother out.
Right. In. Front. Of. Her.
“Don’t tell Monnie, I told you this. But her bedroom looks like it exploded. She has so many outfits on her bed. It’s a wonder she’ll find room to go to sleep tonight in it.”
I grinned. Then nodded, “Yes, ma’am.”
After the whitening strips were off her teeth, she came back, a slight flush in her cheeks, and wanting to ease her out of her embarrassment, I said, “Later, I want you to ask me about the yellow device I found in the dumpster when I was eight. Alright?”
She winked, “Now I’m dying to know.”
“Not in front of your girl,” I told her as I held out the flowers I bought for her.
She took them with the softest look on her face, and I made a vow right then and there that I would do whatever it took to keep that smile on her face.
After they both got their flowers in water, she looked at Soraya and said, “Okay, grab your backpack.”
And just like that, I followed behind them, not really taking in their space cause it wasn’t the time for that.
Not while I was mentally ticking off everything in my house and making sure nothing was out of place and that everything was just right.
I waited while she locked the door, and then she said, “I just have to walk her over to Harold and Lilly’s, then we can go.”
I nodded, then gestured for them to go ahead of me.
My eyes scanned the surrounding area, ensuring that nothing was amiss. Taking note of... I looked down at my hand and felt my heart begin to race.
Because there, holding onto my pinky finger, was Soraya’s whole hand.
I chanced a glance at Ophelia to see how she felt about it, and when I saw that sweet smile on her face, I looked back ahead and grinned.
Harold and Lilly had just hugged Ophelia goodbye when she knelt in front of Soraya and hugged her.
I wasn’t standing too far away to not hear Soraya’s whispered words to her Monnie.
“I like him, Monnie.” I smiled inwardly, pleased as fuck with myself.
Ophelia grinned as she tucked a strand of Soraya’s curly brown locks behind her ear, “You do. I’m glad.”
Soraya shocked me when she asked, “Are you going to ask me why?”
“Only if you want to tell me,” Ophelia said as she brushed her nose with Soraya’s.
“Only one other person has given me flowers. And that’s you.”
My fists clenched.
I wanted to find her father and lay a world of hurt down on him.
But now was not that time.
Right now, my time was spoken for.
Once Soraya was safely inside, I held out my hand and said, “After you, milady.”
She giggled, which shot right to my soul, imprinting that sound there.
With her small hand in mine, I led her to my truck, reaching it, she asked, “How come you didn’t bring your bike?”
I looked down at her as I opened her door, “Cause it’s a full moon out tonight. Crazies come out. Not riskin’ somethin’ happenin’ to you. Not when you have someone who depends on you.”
I didn’t miss that smile.
No, I sure as fuck didn’t.
After I helped her up in my truck, I closed the door and then rounded the hood.
Once I was in and made sure she was buckled up, I started the truck and then reversed out by placing my hand on the back of her headrest.
I also didn’t miss the side eye she gave my forearm that was covered in tattoos, nor the way she licked her bottom lip and then realized she had done so.
Oh, this woman.
Good tunes were playing on the radio when she asked, “So, where are we going?”
I looked at her as I came to a stop light.
“Tonight is based on trust. See it buildin’ between us. Trustin’ my gut. Need you to do the same, yeah?”
She took in a breath, then nodded.
Her fingers were dancing to the rhythm on the center console, and since I’d been trusting my gut for twenty-three years of my life, I was trusting it with this, too.
Sliding my hand over, I captured hers and laced our fingers together.
I caught her biting the left side of her bottom lip as she smiled a small smile at the same time.
It took us another ten minutes to reach my house.
And by the time we pulled into the driveway, I saw her mouth drop open.
I chuckled, which had her eyes going directly to me, when she asked, “Where are we?”
I winked, “My house.”
She gasped, “Your house? You mean to tell me that you live in an old Victorian-style home?”
I laughed, “Hey, that ain’t fair, mon coeur.”
She smiled, “That was pretty. What was it?”
I winked at her, “Tell you later.”
And with that, I climbed out of my truck, walked around to her side, and helped her down.
Hand in hand, we walked up the front steps.
Once I had the door open, I said, “Go explore. Nothin’ is off limits to you. I’ll be in the kitchen or the back deck.”
Following my gut, I did just that, I leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.
It was almost an hour later when the French doors to the back deck opened, and she said, “Now I feel bad. I fell in love with your house and made you wait.”
I winked at her, then pulled a fresh beer for her out of the cooler and handed it to her after I popped the top off, “It’s fine. Had an inklin’ that would be the case, dinner kept.”
And with that, I moved to the grill and took the steaks, baked potatoes, and grilled asparagus, then I asked, “Any allergies?”
She shook her head, “No. Thank goodness.”
I nodded, “How about Soraya?”
“She’s allergic to peanuts.” She told me.
Tucking that bit of information away, I set our plates on the table.
“I’m being a bad guest. I should have asked if there was anything I could do to help.” She said as she took in her plate.
I shook my head, “Baby, you’re a single mother. When’s the last time someone took care of you?”
She got this far-away look on her face, then she whispered, “Can’t recall a time.”
I nodded, “Well, that shit is goin’ to change. Promise you that.” I told her as I buttered up my potato.
Then I asked, “So, what do you want to know about me?”
“How old are you?” she asked.
I smirked, “Twenty-three.”
Then I watched as her mouth fell open, “There’s no way, you’re twenty-three.”
I smirked again, leaned forward, pulled out my wallet, and then handed her my license, “Promise you. One thing I can tell you about me is I’ll never lie to you.”
She took my license and got that soft smile on her face, one that I had put there.
Would it be appropriate to beat my fists on my chest right now? Askin’ for a friend.
She shook her head as she handed it back to me.
“You?” I asked.
She smiled, “Twenty-two.”
I did the math then, “Had Soraya at sixteen. You were a baby.”
She nodded, “Yeah. But to tell you the truth, there is nothing I would have changed. I got Soraya out of the deal, and we are here now.”
I liked that, but I was curious.
Hell, I had been curious.
I asked, “What about her father?”
She growled, “Don’t ever call him that. Just refer to him as rat bastard. That’s what I call him.”
I nodded, “Okay. Got it. Noted.”
Then I hesitantly asked, “How does Soraya feel about him?”
She sighed, placed her fork down, tagged her beer, and took a sip, once she sat it down, she said, “Tell you the truth, she hasn’t asked about him. And I haven’t brought him up.”
“Wanna tell me what happened?” I asked her, as I, too, set my fork down, then went with my gut again, and reached my hand over the table and tagged her hand.
She looked down at where our hands were connected and said, “I was in high school. The bell had just rung, ending the day. I headed home and found my deadbeat dad had friends over. The kind of friends I didn’t want to be around.”
“So, I headed to the library because I had a report I had to work on, and when I walked in, I saw him. He looked debonair, you know. Brown hair, blue eyes, nice clothes, nice shoes.” She paused as she shook her head.
“I thought that any man who went to the library was someone who wanted to be knowledgeable. You know?”
I nodded cause I got that.
“Anyway, I later found out that he was there waiting to meet a girl he had met online. She was fourteen. I didn’t find that out until I was twenty, and the statute of limitations for that sort of thing had expired. He had waited to tell me when he wanted to cut me down another peg. Something he loved to do.”
I growled at that, then she said, “I’ll tell you how he did that. But not tonight. Anyway, we were together from that moment onward. I thought I had gotten lucky. A girl from the trailer park. Lands an older man, one who has a stable job. I never had to worry about not having heat. I never had to worry about running water or power. I never had to worry about where my next meal came from. Even though he had something bad to say about any type of calorie, I put in my body.”
I bit back the growl I wanted to unleash, and I bit back the urge to stand up and find something to pummel with my fists. Any man who criticized a woman about what she ate wasn’t a man at all if you wanted my opinion on the matter.
She took another pull from her beer, then said, “But a week before Halloween, he came home, looked at the dinner I had made, sneered, and told me to pack my shit along with Soraya and get the fuck out of his house.”
“Since my name wasn’t on anything, I didn’t have a leg to stand on.”
“I refused at first, questioning him because things didn’t add up. But he told me that the owner of the company he worked for thought it was a bad look for the company if his top chief executive had a little family.”
“When he moved to backhand me, I ran and grabbed what I could carry and got us out of there.”
“A long time ago, when I was Soraya’s age, I had an aunt. Before she passed away, she told me about this little town and the magic it held. So, with the money I had from my job, we headed here.”
“Would it upset you if I got up and walked away for a bit?” I asked her.
She took in my features, then shook her head, “Of course not.”
I got up then, moved over to her, leaned down, and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.
It took me half an hour to cool off.
And by the time I got back, I felt my brows raise.
“You didn’t finish eatin’?” I asked as I sat back down.
She shook her head, “No. Appreciate you not taking your anger out on me. Wanted to wait for you.”
I growled then, unable to hold it back, “That’s somethin’ you’ll never fear from me. Doubt there’s anythin’ you could ever do that would make me even remotely mad at you. And should I ever even raise my voice to you, I want you to tell me to shut the fuck up. Alright?”
She looked down at herself, then at me, and asked, “Seriously? You’re three times my size.”
I winked at her, “Baby, the harder the man feels, the easier it is to take him down. I ever cause you fear or pain, you have my consent to shoot me in the head.”
She froze, then she threw her head back and started laughing.
Needless to say, we talked about ourselves while we finished our cold meal.
One that neither of us seemed to mind.
I had her laughing about the yellow device I found in the dumpster as I walked her out to my truck.
“So, you're telling me that you were so hungry, and you thought it was a banana?” she was gasping while laughing so hard I knew it was hard for her to breathe.
I nodded as I opened her door for her, “Yes, ma’am. I thought it was weird that I was getting disgusted looks while I shoved it in my mouth and tried to bite it and suck it.”
At that moment, she lost her balance from laughing even harder.
***
Since it was still kind of early, I asked her if she wanted to take a walk along Main Street to see the lights.
She shocked me by tagging my hand and saying, “Since I’m not ready for this night to end, that sounds perfect.”
We were walking down Main Street moments later, her small hand in mine, when she looked up at me and asked, “Why’d you just do that?”
“Cause I’m always the first line of defense when it comes to you and your girl. Car loses control; rather, it hit me than you.”
It was at that moment that she stopped dead. Froze was more like it.
Looking into her eyes, she whispered, Never have I ever heard a man say that to a woman, and never have I ever been on the receiving end of something like that.”
I winked down at her and said, “Get used to it.” Then I leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
Once we reached the end of Main Street, we went up the other side.
***
I watched as my woman because she was that, struggled to heft Soraya up in her arms.
We had just walked into the Robbins house to pick up Soraya.
I narrowed my eyes, and then, with my tone lowered, I said, “No. Not no. But fuck no.”
She looked at me, then looked at Soraya, and smiled, “Saint.”
I winked, then moved and lifted Soraya up in my arms as I whispered, “I’m here now, baby. And she’s almost half your weight. I got her.”
How was it possible for everything to feel so right?
I had no answer for that.
And as I carried Soraya into their house after Ophelia unlocked the door, I looked down and up, and then... I only had one thought on my mind as I saw that black spot on the ceiling in the hallway.
That’s goddamned black mold.
I stopped dead and locked my eyes with Ophelia’s, “The two of you are not staying here. No fuckin’ way.”
She lifted her brow, “What?”
I looked back up at the ceiling, “That’s black fuckin’ mold, baby.”
She gasped, “What?”
I nodded, “Yeah, get y’all’s things. Y’all are coming home with me.”
“Saint, we can stay with Harold and Lilly,” she said as she moved to Soraya’s room.
I followed her, and when I reached her, I growled, “Baby. The moment you said yes to a date with me, you gave me part of you. And that part I plan to protect. Same goes for Soraya. I won’t be able to rest easy unless I know y’all are safe and in a place that isn’t dangerous. No knocks to Harold or Lilly. But I’ve got a shit ton more room, which you know. And it just so happens that I got a bedroom already painted almost the same color as Soraya’s room.”
As I was talking, I was also pulling out my phone and sending a text.
The brothers would be here to help move them and all their stuff to my place.
She looked at me and said, “I can’t have a repeat, Saint. I just can’t.”
My heart broke for this woman. Even though she told me about some of the things that he did or said, I knew there was a lot more baggage there to unpack and put away in a box, never to be opened again because I would make it so.
I also knew that underneath that baggage was pain from her deadbeat father.
That was why I said without hesitation, “Okay. First thing in the mornin’, I’ll get your name added to the deed.”
She stopped and stared, then she said, “Saint. Don’t say things like that. We’ve only known each other for like five minutes.”
I moved then, placed my free hand on the side of her neck, and rejoiced when she didn’t even flinch away from my touch, “Baby, don’t give a shit if I’ve known you for a fuckin’ minute. Everything with us is right. Please. Just trust me. I’ll never give you a reason not to. I’m goin’ to go lay Soraya down on the couch. You have until the brothers get here to decide.”
I waited after I laid Soraya on the couch and covered her up with a red throw blanket they had on the back of their couch.
I had just moved a brown curl from Soraya’s face and tucked it behind her ear when I looked up and saw Ophelia loaded down with a few bags.
I moved to take them from her, then she glanced at Soraya and then back at me, “Might be a fool. But yes. After what I watched you do for Soraya, yes.”
The brothers had shown up, and so had the Robbins. Harold was already trying to get out the door to visit her landlord when he saw the black mold.
He hadn’t seen it when he had been here.
Probably because he wasn’t near as tall as I was.
After I carried the bags out to the van, the brothers loaded up the rest of her stuff.
I had Soraya in my truck, buckled up, and the heat blastin’ when I walked to the van, and when I saw that they were done, I looked at all of it and the empty truck beds and asked, “This is all y’all have?”
Ophelia sighed, her eyes showed she was tired when she said, “It’s all he allowed us to take.”
I bit back a few curses and got a lot of growls from my brothers.
That night, after I tucked Soraya in bed and Ophelia, I asked Gavel to stay on my porch as I made a little visit. Well, the first visit I planned to make.
My brothers were at my back.
I backhanded the piece of shit as I growled, shoving the printed-out picture of the black mold in his face, “This is goddamned unacceptable. How the fuck do you sleep at night?”
The fucker had the audacity to smirk, “Just fine. Since she is paying to stay there.”
And that, boys and girls, is when I lost my shit.
Let’s just say I tore up the skin on my knuckles that was already starting to heal.
And I needed to get me a new pair of boots.
Cause getting piss stains out of leather was an impossible feat.
Yeah, the fucker pissed himself after I lost my shit.
He was still breathing.
But he would need to be fed via a tube.
After we walked out of the motherfucker’s house, I locked eyes with Nuke, “Need a few brothers for a trip.”
He jerked up his chin, “Wanna share?”
“Let’s just say some piece of shit stole from my girls. Un-fucking-acceptable.”
He nodded.
Thankfully, the next day, to cover for a co-worker, Ophelia was working a double.
Luckily, I could make it to where that rat bastard lives via help from Jacob, a buddy of Knox’s in Wrath MC, Mountain of Clearwater chapter, before she got off work.
Jacob, who had a romantic soul, was ready for us.
I had so much anger for this man, which was why when I kicked the door open, it slammed into the wall.
I was in the rat bastard’s face when I growled, “Where’s their stuff.”
The fucker gasped, “I... I threw it out.”
I looked at the woman who was damn near about to pop.
And I knew.
She had been the reason for all this.
And he was nothing more than a spineless piece of shit.
My brothers and I went through his house, finding shit we knew could make a lot of money.
When he started to protest, I pulled up the card I had gotten from Jacob.
I had given him the PG version.
Then I handed the bastard the card and said, “He will be in touch if you go to the authorities with this shit. Statute of limitations might be over, but I can guaran-goddamn-tee you that he will pin your fuckin’ balls to the wall.”
And I knew it.
I knew when he read the name he needed to be worried.
Because Lance Davidson was a pitbull.
And he was nothing more than a fuckin’ rat.
That night, I was there waiting for Ophelia to get off work.
I had picked Soraya up from the Robbins, and we had made dinner.
The brothers had worked fast on trading the shit we brought with us into cash.
Her mouth had fallen open when I laid seventy-eight hundred dollars in front of her.
After I told her why, she jumped up from her chair, placed her hands on either side of my cheeks, and then... she kissed me with the softest caress I have ever felt.
If I knew handing her that cash and doing that for her would have gotten me her lips when we first met, I’d have done it.
That night, yes, I had her in my bed after the conversation last night, that we were goin’ at her pace. I promised her, and I meant it.
She whispered in the dark, “You won’t get into trouble for all you did for me. Right?”
I shook my head, “Nah. Should I get in trouble, they can bring it on. I was protectin’ mine.”
And had I not been listening to her even breathing, I would have missed it when she whispered, “His,” just before she fell asleep curled up in my arms.