Chapter 5 – Everly
EVERLY
Pulling into the driveway, I can’t wait to put on comfy clothes and pour myself a glass of wine while Kaylie gets ready for our nightly routine.
Only, tonight we’re skipping her bath time and going straight to watching a movie on the couch, since my legs and back are screaming at me for sitting on the floor so long today while cleaning and packing up all the bottles of product that were spilled.
Kaylie was only slightly disappointed about missing her bath until I bribed her with a treat on the way home. Vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge soothed her hurt feelings.
Girl after my own heart.
“Go get your jammies on and pick a movie, baby. I’ll be right out.
” Kaylie heads into her room, slamming drawers as she searches for the perfect pair of pajamas to wear.
I walk past her room and into my own, closing the door behind me, fighting the urge to fall face-first onto my bed and stay there until morning.
If I hadn’t already promised Kaylie to watch a movie, I wouldn’t.
We’re both exhausted. It’s been a long, stressful day.
Thankfully, Kaylie typically falls asleep early.
I make quick work of changing clothes and head back to the kitchen, start the load of dishes in the dishwasher from this morning and pour myself a glass of red wine.
It’s not the good stuff the girls have at the clubhouse, but it’ll relax me all the same.
By the time I reach the couch, Kaylie is back with her DVD in hand.
“I want to watch this one.” She hands me her current favorite movie.
One about a group of high school girls who look like monsters and have special gifts and powers.
I put it in the DVD player and turn the TV on.
Grabbing the remote, I head back to the couch and take my spot.
Kaylie gets us a blanket off the wooden ladder on the wall and climbs in between my legs, pulling the blanket up over both of us.
She snuggles down, shifting around until she finds her comfy spot, putting her head on my thigh. I push play on the remote.
Thoughts of today flood my mind. My ruined storefront.
The faulty security system. The bitchy insurance lady who gave me some song and dance about it taking up to thirty days to process my claim.
That I have no more money to pour into my business to get it looking somewhat normal and open for business anytime soon.
Why did I think I could make a life here? Why didn’t I just take Kaylie and start over somewhere else?
The answer is simple. I couldn’t afford it.
This house was bought by a rental company a few years ago.
Mama had been renting it ever since. The Royal Rental company was gracious enough to transfer Mama’s lease agreement to me so I wouldn’t have to move Kaylie into a new home just yet.
Eventually, we will get our own place, but the rent here is cheap enough that I can afford it.
I’m just grateful they let us stay and I’m even more grateful to Mason for all the repairs he did to the porch and windows. This house has never been so warm in the winter.
More than anything, I wanted to take him up on his offer to go back to the clubhouse where I know I’d have slept peacefully in his bed instead of with one eye open like I do here.
You would not have slept in his bed. You would’ve fucked his brains out.
Just one time wouldn’t be so bad, would it? No. No! Stop it.
He seemed genuinely concerned about us. I never meant to tell him about the feeling of being watched, or the man Kaylie said she saw outside her window a couple of weeks ago.
I wanted to ignore it. To pretend it was just a little girl who had a nightmare.
But I was scared, and apparently one night of alcohol and being in the safety of Mason’s arms gave me the courage to spill my guts about it.
I never expected him to go digging into the past. Everyone knows who and what my mother was, but my father was always a mystery. I heard rumors and a road name, but I never met the man in person or saw any pictures of him.
It was hard for me to turn Mason down tonight. Wishing I could find comfort in his bed, in his arms. But it would only lead to more heartbreak. Being with him, making love to him, would only make me want things I can’t have.
Eventually, he’d leave. Just like last time.
You left first.
My leaving was for self-preservation. My heart was already broken when Mason announced he was going away for years with the military.
He had grand plans, but they were his plans, not mine.
Even if he tried to include me in them. It wasn’t the path I wanted to take.
To follow him around or be left home alone while he was called away for months at a time.
Then, that night, when I heard the men talking about using me to pay Mama’s debts, and because I knew she wouldn’t be able to stop them, I left. There was no other way.
It doesn’t matter now. Sadie was right. The others are just as angry with me as she is. They’d never accept us as a couple. They’d ostracize me. Push me away and probably talk shit about me, making things hard for him and his brothers.
The way you did about the women?
I didn’t mean them. I meant the other women. The ones like my mother, who believed she would be taken care of and want for nothing if she just did what he asked and loved her man hard enough.
She clung to the thought that if she cooked for him and cared for him, and fucked him whenever, however, and wherever he wanted, he would make her his ol’ lady and they would be happy.
It’s no different from what the club girls that surround Mason and the Kings talk about.
I’ve heard Rachel and Candi talk about landing one of the brothers on occasion, but they haven’t yet.
Mama was wrong. She was humiliated and abused for years.
Kaylie snuggles closer, her body becoming heavy against mine. Putting my wineglass down, I place my hands under her arms and tug her up my body, holding her so her legs wrap around my waist. She gives a small sound of protest but doesn’t wake up as I stand and carry her to her room.
She settles her in her bed as I tuck her covers around her tightly, the way she likes them.
“Snug as a bug,” I whisper. Kaylie pops her arm out to the side, searching with her hand, her little face scrunched up in frustration but never opening her eyes.
Already knowing what she’s looking for, I grab Winston, her brown stuffed biker bear—the one Mason gave her when she first moved in with me so she wouldn’t be scared—and push him close to her hand.
Kaylie tucks him close to her chest, snuggling him down under her covers with her.
Within seconds, she’s sound asleep again.
Leaving Kaylie’s door cracked so I can hear if she calls out for me, I go back and grab my glass of wine, finishing it before putting it in the sink. I make my rounds, turning off the TV, checking that all the doors are locked, and the alarm is set.
I swap the load of laundry and start another.
Thoughts of being in Mason’s bed flood my mind. I wish I didn’t like the feel of him wrapped around me so much. I wish I could shake this ridiculous crush. I wish I could hate him. Hate his club the way they all think I do.
Truth is, the Kings have been nothing but wonderful to me and Kaylie.
They’ve gone above and beyond for us. Keeping us in their clubhouse while we all rode out the snowstorm.
Allowing me to be a part of Avery’s wedding and all that went into preparing for it.
Usually, I show up, do hair, and then leave.
This time I was part of the celebration, and it felt amazing.
And then you opened your big mouth and ruined everything.
I reach my bathroom and turn the shower on to hot and go gather everything I need. Keeping the door cracked, I disrobe and allow the hot water to wash away the day. I take my time washing my hair, soaping up my body, and allow myself a moment to relax.
You’ll figure something out.
I try to reassure myself.
I’ve almost convinced myself that things will be okay by the time the water has run cold and I finally step out of the shower. I wrap my towel around myself and make quick work of drying off. My bed is calling, and I am so ready to crash for the night.
Once I’ve finished getting dressed, I head into my bedroom to put my clothes in my hamper and stop when an unfamiliar scent hits my nose.
Cigarettes and spicy cologne.
The hair on the back of my neck stands up, and I’m suddenly on full alert.
Maybe you’re hallucinating.
Maybe. The last thing I need to do is panic and scare Kaylie.
I slowly put my towel in the hamper and pull the other one from my hair, letting my hair fall, dripping a little over my shoulders.
I scan the room for my phone, only to realize I left my purse in the living room, which means I have to step out into the hall to get it.
Shit.
Trying to maintain some level of calm, I quietly grab the baseball bat I keep tucked up under my bed and make my way out of my room, watching and listening for anything out of the ordinary.
Pausing to check on Kaylie, I find her still tucked up under her covers where I left her.
The smell doesn’t seem as thick in her room, but it definitely wasn’t there when I put her to bed.
When I finally reach the living room, nothing seems out of place. The doors are all closed and locked, and the alarm is still set. But the smell still lingers.
Am I losing my mind?
I should call Mason. Have him check the cameras. But then he’ll just rush over here demanding we go with him to the clubhouse again. And what if it is just my imagination? What if it’s all in my head?
It must be.
My body is so exhausted that my mind is playing tricks on me. I just need to sleep it off. I’ll be fine in the morning. I can call Wyatt and ask him to check the cameras then and tell him I’m just being extra cautious for Kaylie’s sake.
I make the pass through the house three more times before I finally convince myself to go to bed and get some sleep. I keep the baseball bat within reach, just in case I’m not imagining things, and snuggle down into my bed.
Unfortunately, sleep never finds me.