Chapter 13
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
R ock glanced over at his Little girl every few seconds as he drove toward the clubhouse. It had been a long day, and it was still light out. They’d gone home for a bit to trade the bike for the car. Rock was afraid it would be too chilly later tonight to bring his Little girl home on the bike. “You okay, Little one?”
She was chewing on her bottom lip, but she released it and sighed. “Yeah. I think so. Still trying to wrap my head around everything. I can’t believe my brother had a secret hiding place for marijuana behind the vent in his bedroom.”
Rock reached over and clasped her hand.
She jerked her gaze toward him. “I also can’t believe you didn’t smoke pot back then.”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t much of a rule breaker. No one believed that about me. It’s hard for people to look past the tattoos and leather.”
“Including my parents.”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t blame them. All I could do was always be polite and courteous around them. I didn’t want to do anything to get out of their good graces.” He squeezed her hand.
“Because of me.”
“Yes.” It was always because of Lyla. Everything he did in those days was because of Lyla.
She leaned her head back against the seat. “Did you see the look on my brother’s face when I kissed you?”
Rock’s entire body shook from laughter. Thank goodness he was at a traffic light. “I thought we were going to have to put his eyeballs back into the sockets.”
“It took him damn near half an hour to wrap his head around the fact that we’d had a thing for each other back then. I wasn’t sure we’d hidden it that well. I wasn’t sure I’d hidden it that well.”
Rock lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Apparently, we did. I bet he picked up a pizza, checked into the motel, and he’s now staring at the wall, trying to think about the signs he missed.”
“I kinda feel bad about leaving him to his own devices tonight.”
“I know. But we offered.”
“It’s better this way. I don’t think I can juggle adding my brother to our evening. I’m freaking out enough about meeting your daughter and all the other members of your club.”
“You’ve met damn near all of them, Little Lyla. It’s the girls you haven’t met yet. And they will welcome you with open arms. They’re the nicest women you’ll ever meet.”
She sighed heavily. He knew she was nervous. He couldn’t blame her, but they had to rip this bandage off. He was confident she had a strong Little side and always had. She just hadn’t had the opportunity to let it out and explore.
He pulled into the compound, parked, and shut off the engine before turning to face her. “If you get overwhelmed, we’ll leave.”
“I’ll be fine.”
He kissed her fingers one more time before sliding out of the car and rounding to her side to let her out. Threading their fingers together, he led her toward the side entrance, so they entered into the main living space, the common area.
It was filled with people, and the noise level was high, but as soon as someone spotted them entering and grabbed the next person’s arm and so on, a hush fell over the group.
Remi was the first to step between everyone and make her way toward Rock and Lyla, smiling warmly as she approached.
Lyla stiffened by his side, but Remi didn’t say a word. Instead, she took Lyla in her arms and hugged her tightly. “Welcome,” she said just loud enough for Rock to hear. Bless his sweet daughter.
Remi was wearing all black, including her combat boots. She had high pigtails with black ribbons, black eyeliner, and black lipstick.
Rock pulled Lyla back to his side. “Remi, this is Lyla. Lyla, this is my daughter, Remi. I forgot to mention she’s in a goth phase,” he teased.
Remi rolled her eyes. “Dad, it’s not a phase. And besides, Kade doesn’t mind. He likes it.” She stuck her tongue out.
Kade joined them and tipped Remi’s head back. “Did you just stick your tongue out and roll your eyes at your father?”
Remi shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Lyla has been here two seconds. Did you want her to watch you get your bottom spanked before she’s all the way through the door?”
Remi cocked her head to the side, giving Kade sass. “You wouldn’t.”
Kade set a hand on the back of her neck and turned her away. “We’ll be back.”
“Daddy!” Remi shouted.
Rock wasn’t overly surprised by his daughter’s behavior, but he was kind of shocked she pulled out all the stops so quickly.
What did surprise Rock was the fact that Lyla was covering her mouth and fighting a giggle.
He bent over to whisper in her ear. “Sorry about that. Welcome to the Shadowridge Guardians MC. The age play here is strong and abundant, especially now that so many Littles have joined us.”
“I think I get it,” she responded softly.
The other women started filing forward.
“So glad you’re here. I’m Ivy, Steele’s Little girl.” She gave Lyla a hug. These girls were friendly with each other. They wouldn’t give a formal handshake.
“I’m Carlee. You met my Daddy, Atlas, at the grocery store.”
“My name is Harper. My Daddy is Doc.”
This went on until all eleven of the women had introduced themselves. Rock was pretty sure there was no way Lyla would remember all their names, but she looked like she was trying to memorize them. He was so grateful for everyone and that they’d all rearranged whatever they’d had planned for tonight so they could be here to meet Lyla. It meant a lot to him.
He was one of the older members of the club, and he didn’t have a specific role among the voting members any longer. Years ago, he’d been the secretary, but now he was simply respected for his age and the length of time he’d been a member.
The Littles were all dressed up, too. They had on pretty dresses, hair ribbons, and frilly socks. None of them were hiding who they were.
“Bear made mac and cheese,” Ella told Lyla. “He’s the best cook.” She moaned as if she were currently eating his food.
“You’re King’s Little girl, right?” Lyla asked.
“Yep.” Ella beamed. “Come on.” She held out a hand. “I’ll show you around the clubhouse.”
King came up behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. “Do you think you should maybe ask Rock for permission before you drag Lyla away? Maybe he’d like to show Lyla around himself.”
Ella lifted her gaze to Rock’s. “Sorry, Rock. May I show Lyla around?”
Rock shifted his attention to Lyla, trying to gauge her reaction.
She smiled at him and reached up to kiss his cheek. “I’m okay. You don’t have to hover. I’ll be fine.”
He set his palm on the back of her neck and kissed her hard on the lips. “Baby girl, I will hover for the rest of your life. Get used to it. But I’ll let the Little girls show you around if you’re okay with it. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need to find me.” He pointed across the room toward a door.
Lyla nodded. “Got it.”
Ella took one of her hands. Sapphire, Blade’s Little girl, took the other, and they were off.
Rock watched as they disappeared, praying he was doing the right thing. It wasn’t as though Lyla was twenty and didn’t know her mind. She was fifty-six. If she got uncomfortable, she would surely extricate herself from any situation.
“You dog,” Storm said, slapping a hand on Rock’s shoulder. “All these years…”
Apparently, word had gotten around. Rock didn’t mind. It was actually easier for the rumor mill to have spread the details of his relationship with Lyla.
Faust joined them. “Has it really been forty years since you last saw her? Molly didn’t believe that part.”
Rock nodded. “It has. Well, thirty-eight. We lost touch.” He didn’t want to expound on that. He didn’t have all the answers himself yet. There were things Lyla hadn’t told him.
Talon stepped closer, holding a beer. “What matters is that she’s here now.”
Gabriel was next to join. “Is she planning to stay?”
Rock rubbed his beard. “We only reconnected last night. I don’t know every eventuality yet.”
“But you hope so,” Atlas said.
“I do.”
“Love matters more than location,” Atlas added, lifting a brow. “I know that better than anyone. If she’s your woman, you’ll go to another planet with her to please her.”
Atlas had come to town intending to help the club out with their finances and then returning to the big city where he was an accountant. Reuniting with Carlee had changed his plans, but Rock knew he would have done whatever was best for Carlee. At one point, it had looked like taking Carlee away from Shadowridge might have been the best option.
Rock was fucking glad Atlas had stayed and made a home here. They’d spent too many years apart.
But Atlas was also right. Love trumped everything. Even though it hadn’t been a full twenty-four hours since he’d been reunited with Lyla, he knew in his heart he would never let her go again. He didn’t even like that she’d left the room with the Littles.
His chest was tight, and he almost reached up to rub it but stopped himself. There was nothing wrong with his ticker. His heart, yes, but not its functioning. He didn’t need half the MC harping on him about his health.
Elizabeth squeezed in between her Daddy, Talon, and Faust. She looked toward Rock, biting her lip.
“Is everything okay?” Rock panicked a bit.
“Yes. We were wondering if you would mind if we offered to lend Lyla some clothes. I mean, some Little clothes.”
Rock smiled. “That’s fine, but don’t pressure her. She might not be ready for that.” She might not ever be ready for that. It was a reality he was going to have to face. He truly believed she had a Little inside her, a side she’d buried for all these years, but it was also possible it was all wishful thinking on his part.
“We won’t. Thanks, Rock.” Elizabeth skipped away.
Talon groaned. “The skipping is a conspiracy between the Littles to get away with running in the house.”
Doc chuckled. “I’m good with mandating they can’t skip in the compound either if we all agree.”
Faust shook his head. “The skipping is cute, plus it’s hard for Molly to keep from running when she starts skipping, which gives me an excuse to spank her bottom.”
Rock chuckled. Faust had a point.
Atlas slapped him on the back. “Let’s see if Bear needs help in the kitchen. It will take your mind off things while we give the girls a chance to connect.”