Chapter Five
Samantha
“I’ll meet you outside and install her seat in your truck. She has a small bag in my car in case of accidents. I’ll get that for you too. Excuse me.” I sighed and moved to the door. Passing by King, I saw the way he glared at me and it had me hurrying out of the kitchen.
Crossing the room to where Amber and Charlie sat on the couch, I plastered a smile on my face before I reached them. I sat on the couch and pulled Charlie into my lap.
“Are you ok, Sam?” Amber asked, sympathy lacing her tone.
I couldn’t speak just yet, so I merely nodded. My eyes burned as I looked up at the ceiling. Jack walked toward us, and Amber stood from the couch. As she slipped past Jack, she muttered, “Asshole.”
He turned toward her for a moment, then looked back at me. He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it just as quickly.
“Sammy,” Jack began.
I don’t know why he’d started calling me Sammy again, but I refused to let it affect me.
“Come on, Charlie, let’s go get your seat from Mommy’s car. We need to put it in Daddy’s truck so you can have your daddy/daughter breakfast.” Charlie and I rose from the couch and walked outside.
I pulled her seat from my car and turned. Jack seized it from me and carried it to his truck. I snagged Charlie’s little backpack and followed him.
He deftly installed the car seat in his truck. To say his skill shocked me was an understatement. He hefted Charlie up and buckled her in.
I held her bag out and waited for him to take it. His eyes sought mine, but I couldn’t bring myself to engage.
“Sammy,” he whispered, wanting my attention.
“Here is her bag, Jack. This is just in case of an accident. She rarely has them, but better to be prepared.”
He took the bag from me.
I moved in close to Charlie. Kissing her on the forehead, I smiled.
“Have a great time with Daddy, baby. Remember to hold his hand and stay real close. I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Bye, Mommy.” Her little voice pierced my heart.
I closed her door and turned to go back into the clubhouse.
“Sammy, come with us,” Jack implored.
I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t. Tears ran down my cheeks, and I steeled myself against the fear.
“No, Jack,” I said firmly. “You were right. You deserve this time to get to know your daughter. Keep her safe, Jack.”
Muscle memory had me putting one foot in front of the other in order to make it back inside the clubhouse. I heard Jack’s door close, and the truck rumble when he started the ignition.
Entering the clubhouse, knowing my baby was leaving without me, was one of the hardest things I had ever done.
I leaned against the front door with my eyes closed.
“Samantha.”
My eyes flew open when I heard his voice. King stood before me with a scowl.
“We need to talk. Follow me to my office.” He turned to walk down the hallway.
“King.”
He turned back toward me. A few brothers milling around stopped what they were doing.
The room went silent.
He won’t hurt me.
“We have nothing to talk about,” I challenged.
King’s eyes narrowed in my direction. “We have quite a lot to talk about, Samantha. Now.”
“No.” I stood away from the door and walked to the couch. Planting my ass on the cushion, I waited to see what he would do next.
He crossed his arms over his chest and stood there. We stared at each other, neither wanting to give in.
“Samantha, I would prefer to do this in private, but we can do this here.”
I leaned back on the couch, crossing my arms to mimic him. I knew I was safe, but I trembled inside just the same.
“Samantha.” King sighed.
Before he could continue, the club girls walked over and sat on the couch with me. The five of them squished in with me, all glaring at King. Then the front door opened, and Rachel, Beck, and Grace stepped in.
“What’s going on?” Beck asked, looking from me to King.
“Samantha and I need to have a chat. We were just about to go to my office,” he lied.
He knew damn well I had no intention of going to his office.
Rachel came over and sat on the couch with me and the club girls. It was getting crowded, but there was no way I would ask any of them to move.
“King, you need to stay out of this,” Beck warned.
He turned to her and his eyes softened. He hadn’t known her long, but finding out he was her uncle changed something in him. “This isn’t about you.”
“This is about my family. It’s my fucking job to protect my family,” he cursed.
Grace stomped over and stood in front of King. Aside from Beck, she was the only woman I knew he couldn’t intimidate.
Placing her hands on her hips, Grace leaned forward.
“You need to learn when to butt out. Let Jack and Sam work this out without your interference.”
“Woman, you better back off.”
“Or what, King?” Grace demanded. “What are you gonna do? Yell at me? Squint your eyes at me? Ban me from the clubhouse?” It was clear she wasn’t backing down by the way her face was all up in King’s. “You don’t have as much power as you think you do. There isn’t a woman here that believes you will hurt them. So you can yell and curse all you want, big guy.”
Grace folded her arms over her chest, daring him to say differently.
I stood from the couch and tentatively walked closer to where King and Grace were standing.
“Look, I get it, ok. I know you and the sheriff missed out on so much. Beck missed out on having her dad and her uncle. I don’t know the reasons her mother kept you apart. I know my reasons, and they are valid. You don’t have to agree with them, but everything I’ve done has been for Charlie’s safety. That should be all you need to know.”
“Maybe if you told us what those reasons were, we could accept them,” King challenged.
A boldness came over me that I didn’t know I had. “You think because you’re the president, that entitles you to an explanation? It doesn’t. At least not before I’ve spoken to Jack.”
I stood my ground. It was easier to do here. Grace was right. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me physically.
Before King could respond, his phone rang in his pocket. He answered, never taking his eyes from my face.
“You know someone named Carrie? She’s at the gate, asking for Jack because she says you’re missing.” He raised an eyebrow in my direction.
“Shit. I forgot to call her last night and tell her what happened.”
“Let her in,” King said into his phone. “Win, go outside and bring the woman in here.”
“You got it, Prez.” I had met Win previously. His name was short for Winchester. Why these guys even gave out multiple syllable names was beyond me. They shortened almost all of them.
A few minutes later, Carrie came crashing through the door. She noticed me immediately and her worried face quickly turned to anger.
“What the fuck, Sam?” Carrie scolded.
“I am so sorry, Carrie. I meant to call you last night, and I completely forgot.” I rushed to Carrie and took her hands in mine. “There is so much I need to tell you.”
Looking around, Carrie interrupted quietly, “Where’s Charlie?”
“She’s with Jack,” I mumbled.
“WHAT?” Carrie glared at me. “Sam, what were you thinking?”
King had heard enough.
He marched over to where I stood with Carrie.
“She was thinking that Jack had a right to have a relationship with his daughter. She was thinking it was finally time to tell Jack he was a father.”
“King,” I began.
“Samantha, what the fuck is going on?” King bellowed. “Who the hell is this woman?”
“King.” Beck stepped between King and me, and I was never more thankful for her than in that moment.
King looked down at his niece and opened his mouth.
She cut him off and said, “Don’t make me call Dad.”
King growled at her, but Beck continued on like she hadn’t noticed, “I think you and I need an uncle date. Grab your bike keys and let’s go.”
Beck pushed King away from Carrie and I, giving me the opportunity to grab Carrie’s hand and drag her up to my room.
I needed a few minutes to tell her everything that had happened.
Carrie spun on me as soon as I closed the door behind us, and her anger confused me. Carrie had always been there for me. She was my rock throughout my pregnancy. She held my hand when Charlie was born. Carrie gave up everything to move around the country and hide with me.
“Sam, why did you bring Charlie here? Why did you even tell Jack about her? We agreed being close for safety was a good idea, but you weren’t supposed to tell him about her.” She threw her hands in the air in exasperation.
I got it. I did. We had a plan, and I changed it, but she didn’t know the details. She didn’t understand that I had no choice. I would tell her all of that.
What I wouldn’t tell her was how secretly thrilled I was that Jack finally knew. I wouldn’t tell her it meant the world to me to see Jack hold his daughter. That my heart physically hurt to see the instant love he had for my daughter, the moment I confirmed she was his.
“Carrie, it was out of my control.”
“Sam, you went to the store yesterday and never came home. Do you have any idea what I thought? How scared I was?”
“Carrie, please sit down and let me explain.” I pulled her over to the bed and sat next to her.
“Charlie and I went to Walmart yesterday, like I told you. While we were there, we ran into Jack and Beck. Charlie saw Jack and called him daddy.” I looked down at my hands, which were twisted in my lap.
I knew what was coming.
Carrie jumped off the bed. “I knew it! What did I tell you? I told you not to show her those pictures. I told you she didn’t need to know who he was.”
I knew she would react this way. It still made me angry. We’d had this argument so many times. I stood from the bed and faced her.
“Carrie, I will not tell you again. Charlie needed to know who her father was. For her safety, as well as her mental health when she gets older. I am her mother, and I am the one who will decide what to tell her.”
Carrie’s face changed immediately. The hurt that washed over her left me feeling nothing but guilt.
“Carrie, I’m sorry. You know I appreciate how much you’ve done for Charlie and me. I wouldn’t be here now without you, and neither would Charlie. Please understand that what’s done is done. We can’t change it, so we just have to move forward. Jack knows, and he wants to be in her life. This is a good thing. He will protect her with his life, and so will his brothers.”
“What about you, Sam? Does he want you in his life?”
My eyes dropped to the floor. I wanted to tell her yes. I wanted to believe he wanted to keep me, too. If I had told him two years ago, we might have had a chance.
“No,” I admitted. “But that’s ok. Charlie needs him, I don’t.”
“Oh, Sam.” Carrie wrapped me in her arms.
She was always there to comfort me any time I needed her.
Carrie, I needed.
I didn’t need Jack.
I really wanted him, though.