CHAPTER SEVEN
-:- PENNY -:-
Ruger walks into the house and over to me where I’m washing breakfast dishes from Arabella and I.
“Morning, Babe.” Ruger kisses the top of my head as he passes, and heads straight to Arabella, who is lying on a mat on the living room floor. I hear him chuckle, “Wow, look at you, Punkin!”
“What do you mean, look at you?” I ask as I dry my hands and walk into the living room.
I come to a standstill, mouth hanging open when Arabella crawls two paces to Ruger.
“Oh, my…” is all I manage before I burst into giggles.
“She’s crawling…” That’s when I stop giggling and give Ruger a dirty look. “She’s crawling towards you!”
“She is, isn’t she? My beautiful Punkin. Come to Daddy,” Ruger damn near croons to her.
“Come to daddy? What the hell, Ruger…” I snap.
Ruger picks Arabella up, kisses all over her face, which has her giggling and blabbering in her baby talk.
Which has Ruger kiss her more. Turning to face me, Ruger smirks.
“I told you I’m going to adopt Punkin. She’s mine, you’re mine.
That’s it. I’ll adopt her and she’ll be legally mine.
Won’t you Punkin? You’ll be daddy's little girl won’t you.
Let any of those bad boys come around and I’ll scare the shit outta them. ”
Stamping my foot because he’s not listening anyway to anything I say. But, with my back to him I can’t hold back the smile that appears on my face.
“Did I tell you I’m having our house built on the compound? It’s going to be next to Rock and Destiny. I’ll bring a copy of the blueprint home so you can see it. Then if you want to change anything, we can. But they are starting foundations any time, so we need to be sure.”
I look at Ruger like he’s lost his mind. “What are you talking about?”
Sighing while placing Arabella into his body carrier he looks at me with a pained look on his face.
“I told you, we are one. You are mine and I am yours. Make your mind up if you want to just be an ol’ lady, or if we’re getting married, too?
I’m adopting Punkin officially, and we are having our home built on the compound.
That’s it, get with it, Penny.” Walking towards the door where he is obviously taking Arabella, I frown.
“I’m taking Punkin to the ladies, then I’ll get some shuteye.
Oh, and today I’m moving in here. That’s the end of it. ”
I don’t get chance to say anything before he grabs Arabella’s bag, walks out the door and closes it. You know I can hear the asshole whistling!
Arriving at work, I head to my office, lay my purse in the bottom drawer of my desk, and take a seat.
My head is spinning with all this, ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane’ stuff Ruger’s pulling.
But I can’t stop my hand from raising, and a finger running across my lips.
The memory of that kiss still lingers strongly, and I’m sure Ruger is worth taking a risk with.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t give him the runaround first, now does it?
Jayne walks into the office, as always with a bright smile on her face. “Morning, Boss.”
“How many times, Jayne, do I have to tell you to call me Penny?”
“Sorry, Boss. But you are all my bosses. I’m at the bottom of the ladder and I don’t mind calling you all boss. Honestly, I quite like it. That way, I won’t get anyone’s name wrong either.” Jayne gives me such a toothy smile that I shake my head and just let it go.
“Do you have anything from the reception I have to deal with?” I ask and look at the notepad on my desk.
“That terrible man, Mr. Rathcall is no longer an applicant for our services. Bosses Bones and Garth went to see him, and with information that Boss Delta found they told him to take a hike…” Jayne looks around furtively, then lowers her voice.
“I heard Mr. Rathcall is in the hospital with a broken arm and leg. His leg is so badly broken he has had to have pins put in it.”
My eyes must nearly pop out of my head and my imagination runs riot at the thought of Bones and Garth beating the shit out of the horrible man.
When I smirk and my eyes sparkle, Jayne claps her hands and jumps up and down a little.
All the while nodding that yes, she agrees with my imagination, too.
“I’ve got to go Boss, Bentley will arrive soon and we are going over the appointments calendar. Something went wrong with it yesterday and we have to check appointments are correct.” Jayne rushes out before I can respond, and honestly, she’s a whirlwind. I really like her.
I spend an hour checking inventory items are in the system, and we are not missing anything.
The Treasurer from the MC has checked everything is where it should be in the system.
We just have to keep it right. TwoCents is organizing an accountant to check over everything monthly so we don’t have any issues when we have to file our annual report.
Thankfully, it’s all digital, so we won’t have anyone here under our feet to do it.
Enough, I’m going to get something to eat and a drink. My mouth is so dry I can hardly swallow. Walking into the cafeteria, as I like to call it, because honestly that’s what it is, really. It’s just like you see in most schools. Magnus is behind the serving counter and gives me a nod and a smile.
“I’d like one of your grilled cheese sandwiches if I can, Magnus, with an extra large coffee.”
“Of course you can. Let me bring the coffee over, and then I’ll make your grilled cheese.” Magnus turns to the coffee machine and I step over to one of the tables, taking a seat and wondering if I should send a message to ask how Arabella is, because she was a little fussy again this morning.
Magnus places the large mug of coffee in front of me and asks how Ruger is after his ordeal. Now, I’ve no idea what he’s talking about, so I quirk an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” I ask, probably frowning deeply.
“Drake and Ruger were on patrol last night, and they had an incident at one of the warehouses. A kid set himself alight with gas and died on scene. It was lucky that our two didn’t go up in flames, too.”
I jump to my feet and in my panic knock over the coffee, but I take no notice as I run out of the cafeteria and upstairs to speak with Delta, or whoever is in the main security office this morning. I won’t see Ruger as he is asleep, probably at my place, but could be at the clubhouse.
Knocking on the main security office door I enter when the ‘Enter’ is shouted. That is Arrow. He’s the only one that says enter. The other two say ‘Come in’ or ‘Come.’
“Arrow, what is this I hear about Drake and Ruger last night? I saw Ruger this morning, and he said nothing. He was okay, no sign of injury. What about Drake? Is he okay?” I know I’m babbling, but I can’t help it.
“Woah, woah, hang on there. Both of them are fine. Shocked with what happened. But they were uninjured physically, thankfully.” Arrow stands from his seat and steps toward me, taking hold of my shoulders gently.
Giving a squeeze to reassure. “They are both okay, as I just said. Shocked probably, and will have to live with the visual of what happened. We are offering counseling if they want it now, or in the future.”
Lincoln walks into the office and eyes up the situation. “Ruger is okay, Penny. You need to get with your man. We know he is, you know he is, stop the runaround. Life is too short, and anything can happen. Don’t waste time, Penny. You may just regret it.”
Arrow lets go of my shoulders but gives me a hug.
“I would leave it alone unless he wants to speak to you about it. We all do what is right for us, but we are watching them both for any kind of after effects. Remember, we are all tough men, and we deal with life fairly well. Just play it by ear, and run with what Ruger wants.”
After nodding my head, I quickly make my way back to my office and take a few deep breaths. I’ll do whatever is needed to help Ruger, but I’ll take Arrow’s advice and see what happens, rather than pushing my way into a situation and making it worse.
Okay, Penny, get it together, girl. I think to myself, and after prepping my mind I walk out of my office to do my check of reception, cafeteria, and lastly security patrol office.
Knuckles, Mav and Colton are all in the office when I walk in. “Hi Penny, you okay?” Colton asks.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was rattled when I found out what happened with Drake and Ruger, but I’m over the shock now.
I wanted to check in that you were ready for interviews?
Do you want Bentley to bring them through to you as they arrive?
” I have Bentley and Jayne on today just for this reason.
Jayne will stay in the reception area while Bentley deals with any interviewees.
“Yeah, that would work. We have them on forty-minute slots, so if they are late or don’t turn up they are gone.
We need people that can keep time, and not fuck us about.
” Mav takes a seat at the conference type table we have added to the room.
It’s not as large as a CEO would want, but it’s a good twelve-seater.
“Okay, I’ll make sure he knows. I’ll catch up with you all later.
” I quickly head to reception where I prep Bentley before making my way to my office.
I’m going to need to speak with a company about cleaning this place.
At the moment, each of us are cleaning our own areas, but it’s taking too much time from what we have to do.
Lincoln steps into my office and waits for my full attention. “What can I do for you, Lincoln?”
“Well, I’m checking you are okay? But I know you mentioned about a cleaning crew and you might want to give Helping Hands Cleaning Service a call.
Heather who is an owner, will make sure we get the right staff and reliable.
Whoever applies we’ll do a full background check, so that is a secondary as Alf will make sure he does it too. ”
Leaning my elbows on my desk and clasping my hands, I frown. “Who is Alf?”
“He’s co-owner now with Heather. He runs the place mostly, as Heather doesn’t like office work. She still cleans the clubhouse and leads Wings a merry dance.” Smirking at whatever thought crossed his mind.
“Okay, I’ll do that. It’s funny that you came in here to mention it, as I was only thinking about it before you arrived. I was going to Google companies in our area.”
“No, use Heather’s.” Lincoln nods as he turns and leaves.
Well, that solves who I’m going to contact then!
My cellphone rings and looking at the caller I’m surprised but a little worried that it’s Nyx. Quickly taking the call because it could be about Arabella.
“Hi, Nyx. Is everything okay?”
“Hi, Penny. We’ve got a problem with Arabella.
She’s been crying for quite a while. Her cheeks are red and she’s getting a little on the hot side for our liking.
Is it okay if we take her to the clubhouse to see Stitch?
Or would you rather we go into town to the local doctor?
” I can hear Arabella crying in the background.
“Take her to see Stitch as he’s treated her when she had the poop problem. I’ll meet you at the clubhouse.” I don’t wait for Nyx to reply. I cut the call and grab my purse from the bottom drawer of my desk.
Passing the reception desk, I shout to Jayne. “Jayne, I have to go to check on Arabella. Can you make sure the bosses know I’ve had to leave, please?”
Jayne gives me a nod. “I will. Go look after your daughter. Nothing more important, Boss.” I know Jayne will follow through as she’s never let me down, so I quickly head to my vehicle and get to the clubhouse as quickly as I can.
Walking into Stitch's medical room at the clubhouse, I’m surprised to see Stitch, Amelia, Mia, Nyx and Tina all standing around Arabella who is still crying.
“Momma’s here, baby,” I coo as I pick Arabella up, rub my hand soothingly over her back as she tucks her face into my neck.
Stitch smiles. “She’s teething, Penny. I’ve had a good look in her mouth and she has some swelling where a tooth is ready to pop.
If you give her Tylenol to ease the pain, but stick to the small dosage.
I’ve written it down for you. Massage her gums and give her a teething ring she can chomp down on. ”
Amelia adds to the conversation. “You can give her crunchy vegetables like a piece of apple or carrot. A nice cold washcloth helps too.”
“Okay, I can do all that is needed.” Now I’m close to tears myself because I don’t want my baby girl to be hurting.
“Where’s Punkin?” I hear, and I can’t believe it when Arabella quiets, looks around for Ruger and holds her arms out, blabbering something to him. “Come here and let me cuddle you. What are they all doing to you, hm?”
“Well, it seems all we needed was Ruger,” Stitch chuckles. Tina scowls, and Nyx grins. Amelia stomps out of the room and I stand, feeling like a third wheel.
Mia states loudly and clearly. “Well, Penny, seems your girl picked herself a daddy.”
An hour later, Arabella is sleeping soundly in Ruger’s bed here at the clubhouse. Her cheeks are pink but the Tylenol has done its job and as the pain receded Arabella’s exhaustion took over.
“You okay here with her, babe? I’ve got meetings and interviews to be at and need to get moving. But if you want me to stay with Punkin, I’ll let Knuckles know I’m not going to be available.”
Now, this is what I love about Ruger. He puts us first. With no hesitation, he is happy to tell work he’s not available as Arabella needs him. Yeah, he’s winning me over quickly.