Chapter 21
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
BamBam
I find myself making excuses to go into town now that Livy’s living in the apartment over the laundromat and working shifts downstairs.
She moved in a week ago, and while I’ve noticed an increase in her overall self-confidence, it’s grown by leaps and bounds.
She’s already added a few things to make customers’ lives easier, including a huge bulletin board with local services, as well as a small bookshelf that has well-worn books sitting on each shelf.
Not only that, but one of the women, Marge, has been coming in and helping her as well.
After bringing it to the table, we gave her a job helping Livy since the new services have been so accepted that Livy was initially snowed under.
Plus, I’ve noticed that Marge seems to be mothering Buddy a bit.
Not that his own mom isn’t still alive, she’s just not as involved with him as she should be as far as I’m concerned.
Marge doesn’t baby him, however; no, she’s been using praise.
The damn place was always clean as a whistle, but now, I swear if people wanted to, they could eat off the floor.
Shaking my head as I swing my leg over the saddle of my bike, I hold up the flyers I got from Issy this morning announcing the upcoming rodeo celebrating that fucktard who betrayed my brothers.
While I still have my reservations about how Gage is going to be honored, I respect that Issy has forgiven him for the part he played in her kidnapping.
As she’s said multiple times, he redeemed himself when he put his body in front of Rio’s and saved his life.
I just wonder why he didn’t think he could’ve come to Rio if nothing else.
He might not have been part of the club per se, but he grew up with both Issy and Rio, and I know my president.
He would’ve helped Gage with or without us.
The irony of that situation is that Gage’s sister moved away.
She packed her shit and left Texas. While I’m sure Pokey has an idea of where she’s gone, the rest of us have no clue and to be honest, most of us don’t give a damn.
We didn’t have any sort of bond with her, so her leaving wasn’t significant.
I suspect she had more of their mother in her than Gage knew, which is a shame, because until he betrayed the club the way he did, he was a decent enough man.
I walk into the laundromat and smirk when I hear the music playing overhead. “The 70’s, Livy?” I tease as I make my way to the counter where she and Marge are separating an order to be laundered.
“What?” she retorts. “It’s good music, BamBam.”
“Give me some old-fashioned rock and roll,” I reply.
“BamBam! Look what Marge got me!” Buddy exclaims, coming from one of the washing machine aisles. I see he’s wearing a new lightweight T-shirt with the laundromat’s name and logo on it. “It’s much softer than the other ones I had.”
Marge leans in and whispers, “He would’ve never said a word to y’all, but the shirts he was wearing were bothering him. He’s got sensory issues.”
My brows raise at the older woman. Oh, she’s not much older than me if I had to take a guess, but it’s obvious from her demeanor that life has not been kind to her.
“Y’all don’t have to wear shirts with the business name on them,” I state.
“But thank you for noticing that because he’s a helluva hard worker.
” To Buddy, I say, “Glad to hear it, man.”
“And Marge showed me how to clean the traps under the machines!” he adds, grinning from ear to ear.
“What traps?” I ask Marge.
“There are spaces and places under washers and dryers where sh-stuff builds up,” she replies. “We got in there when it wasn’t busy with a shop vac and sucked all of it out.”
“Good deal. Livy, do you have a few minutes?” I ask.
“She’s good to take her lunch if she wants to,” Marge says, grinning at me.
I watch my woman’s face turn pink as she tries to hush Marge and can’t help chuckling. “Yeah, that will work. Do y’all want us to grab y’all’s food and bring it back?”
Buddy’s eyes grow wide, and he starts nodding his head so fast, he looks like a bobblehead. Marge shakes her head no, until I tell her, “My treat. For coming in and seeing the need for another person. Consider it a perk of working at a Kings business.”
“Then yes, I’d appreciate that,” she says. “Buddy, I think today’s special is meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Is that what you want?”
I glance at Buddy and realize he looks a bit… trimmer than he did last week. Seems that with Marge around, he’s at least eating better. “Can I have sweet tea to drink and a piece of apple pie?”
“If you have ice cream now, you can’t have it after you have dinner, remember?” Marge asks. “So, the choice is up to you. Dessert now or after supper, but not both.”
Well damn, we’ve been trying to get him to eat healthier for years and in a matter of a week, Marge has him under her spell. Maybe she was a drill instructor in a former life or something, because as long as I’ve known Buddy, he’s always leaned toward fried foods.
“Are we going to the diner for dinner, too?” he asks her.
“Yes, we are, just like we do every night we work,” she replies.
“Then I’ll wait so we can stop for ice cream before you go home,” he decides.
“Livy? You ready?”
“Go on, you two. I’ve got Theo,” Marge says as she shoos us away with her hands. I give her a wink and she rolls her eyes as I take Livy’s hand in mine.
“How’s the apartment?” I ask once we’re seated in a booth at the back of the diner. “You and Theo settling in alright?”
Before she can answer, Thelma, one of the waitresses at the diner, walks over with a coffee pot and a carafe of water. I turn my coffee cup so she fills it, while Livy asks, “Can I have a Dr. Pepper, please? And some water?”
“Sure, darlin’. BamBam, do y’all know what you’re gonna want or do you need a few minutes?”
“Two of the lunch specials, Thelma. And we’re gonna need two of those to go as well,” I reply. “Buddy’s also wanting sweet tea.”
She chuckles while writing everything down, then asks, “Do you want me to leave the coffee or the water?”
“Maybe just the water, I’ve already had enough coffee today,” I tell her.
“Let me get this order in and I’ll be back with your drink, hon,” she says, looking at Livy.
“Thank you.” Once she leaves, Livy looks at me and says, “The first couple of nights, I jumped at every noise I heard, which is crazy, because I know the security is top notch.”
“Not crazy at all, sweetheart. You’ve never really been on your own before and it’s a new environment,” I reply.
“Well, I figured out that I don’t like complete silence,” she admits. “So, I’ve been falling asleep with the television on, although I had to change the station.”
“What were you watching?” I ask, curiosity riding me hard.
“The ID channel,” she admits. “I can handle those shows during the day, but at night, it’s kind of creepy hearing about some of the hideous things people do to others.”
I start chuckling because her answer was not what I was expecting at all. “You watch shit like Evil Lives Here and Fear Thy Neighbor?” I question.
She blushes, which I find absolutely adorable, as she nods. “Yeah, I like watching true crime shows, but not at night when I’m by myself. I gave myself the willies the first night and spent most of it checking out the windows. It was a very long night, that’s for sure.”
“Well, should you get a bee in your bonnet and want to do that again, just know that one of the prospects is outside at night, watching over the laundromat and you,” I state. At her questioning look, I continue. “Just until we’re positive that Jasper and his minions aren’t coming back.”
I leave out the fact that I’m positive that at least Jasper won’t be able to help himself.
I’ve found that men like him don’t like to feel as though they’ve lost. He never thought of Livy as her own person.
No, she was a possession, someone to be controlled and bossed around.
Her leaving isn’t something he’s going to be able to let go.
That’s okay, though, because he’ll meet the business end of my damn fists should he decide to ignore the strongly worded suggestion we gave him to fuck off.
Thelma drops off Livy’s drink while she tells me everything Theo’s now doing, including cutting his first tooth.
Now I’m glad we stopped that night and got teething rings because she says he’s miserable.
It’s not long before our food is brought out to us, and I hear Livy gasp. “This is a lot of food, BamBam.”
“Just eat what you can. They’ve got to-go boxes if you can’t finish everything. That way, you can just reheat it for dinner if you want.”
“That’s probably what’s going to happen,” she says as she grabs the pepper for her mashed potatoes.
“Remind me to give Thelma a couple of the flyers before we leave,” I say after I’ve swallowed a mouthful of food.
She reaches for one and I watch her read it. “My dad used to take me to rodeos,” she wistfully murmurs.
“Well, you and Theo will be there with me and the club this year,” I state. “In fact, I need to see if Grace and the other ladies at Hope House wanna come as well. It’s a huge event, Livy, and because it’s going to be Gage’s final ride, Issy has outdone herself with extra activities and whatnot.”
“I’d like that, but what about the laundromat?” she asks.
“About the only thing that’ll be open those few days will be the diner.
A lot of the shops in town are setting up vendor booths since they sell ‘authentic Western gear’ as Issy says.
Of course, the hotel in town will be open, as will the campground.
Most of the folks who are going to compete have RVs that’ll be set up at the ranch in the designated area.
There’ll be a lot of strangers in town, which helps our community, but you’ll be safe. ”
“Are you sure?” she questions. “It sounds like it would be the perfect time for Jasper to show up and try something.”
I snort. “He can try, but we’ll have brothers everywhere, plus we have other chapters who are either coming en masse or sending brothers to represent their chapter. If he’s that fucking stupid to come into our town, and by our town, I mean the Kings, he deserves whatever happens to him.”
She shakes her head then I watch her face pinken again. “Um, so you said something the other day that I didn’t understand.”
“What?” I ask, buttering two of the warm biscuits that Thelma just brought out and setting one on her plate.
“You said I was yours. The girls at Hope House say it means you want me to be your old lady, and they explained what that means. How can you say something like that when we don’t really know each other?”
“While I never anticipated finding someone I could imagine being by my side as my ol’ lady, you tick every single box I have, Livy. Like I also said the other day, I know you’re not there, yet, and I’m willing to wait.”
“I don’t know what to think about that or how to feel,” she admits.
“Not asking you to move in with me today, Livy,” I point out. “Besides, I live at the clubhouse, which isn’t conducive for Theo on a full-time basis. Maybe for a short time while I build something for us. But you control the narrative and the timeline.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” she murmurs.
I reach over and take her hand in mine. “Livy. Look at me, sweetheart.” When she finally lifts her gaze to mine, I say, “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life.
You and that little boy, regardless of how much or little time we’ve spent together, are constantly in my thoughts.
Watching how you’ve blossomed in such a short time is awe-inspiring, sweetheart.
I want someone by my side who isn’t afraid to fight for what she wants. ”
“I only fought because he was gonna hurt Theo,” she replies, her voice so low I have to strain to hear it over the murmurs from the tables around us.
“No, I think you were working on an exit plan,” I refute. “His actions just expedited it, is all.”