Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Stone, Beck, Regan, and Taylor were waiting on Winnie and Remi to start the session. Stone had mentioned during council today that he wanted to get the girls into a self-defense class. At eleven, there were a lot of things that could happen to them.
War had texted Remi during the meeting, and she’d said she and Winnie would do a short training block to give the girls a base immediately following council.
Stone was glad they had something to focus on.
He’d been furious when he found out that Jared was not only refusing to sign the papers but was threatening to go back to court for full custody.
Stone had immediately gone into his appointment schedule for tomorrow and rescheduled everyone due to a family emergency. He was driving to Enid and having it out with Jared once and for all.
“Just so you know, I’ll be accompanying you tomorrow,” Cannon said.
“Why?” Stone asked.
“Because everybody helped me when Hank needed us, and I want to help you. I took tomorrow off. Locks mentioned he was going too,” Cannon added.
Stone appreciated the support, but he hoped they were good with him doing whatever it took to have Jared sign the papers. Flick walked in and handed Stone a thick manila envelope.
“Dude, you can use this if Jared won’t cave, but don’t open it unless you want to lose your lunch. Seems Jared likes to get dressed up and have someone give him a little discipline,” Flick revealed with a smirk.
Stone hadn’t seen that coming.
“If you’re here for the lessons, let’s form a big circle.
Those of you who are here watching, please move back toward the walls.
Now, first question, and feel free to yell out the answer: If someone is coming toward you and they are going to try to grab you and push you into a car, what do you do? ” Remi called out.
“Kick them in the crotch,” Deborah ventured.
“Poke their eyes out,” Taylor yelled.
“Those are good suggestions, but the correct answer is always run away and scream. The best way to stay safe is to never let them get close enough to lay a hand on you. Now, if you’re not that lucky and don’t realize you’re in danger until someone has grabbed a hold of you, Winnie and I are going to demonstrate some things you can try to get loose,” Remi explained.
Stone watched the girls give Winnie and Remi their full attention. Stone watched too because it couldn’t hurt to have the girls practice at home.
“You know, my girls are little, but besides classes, I’m going to make sure they have stun guns so if someone does get close, they have a chance,” Cannon shared.
“Do you have some at the range small enough for the girls?” Stone asked.
“Sure. We have glitzy pink and purple ones,” Cannon assured him.
“Let me see how tomorrow goes, and I’ll let you know after I discuss it with Naomi. I want the girls to have every advantage if something happens,” Stone decided.
He didn’t expect anything to happen but isn’t that when it usually does? Anything he could do to minimize the threat to the girls was worth it to him.
“Woohoo!” Beck yelled, “Did you see me, Stone?”
“I did. Great job, honey!” he called.
Beck stared at him, and he worried he’d done something wrong until she ran over and threw her arms around him.
“I love you, Stone,” Beck whispered, then ran back over to the demonstration area.
“And doesn’t that hit you in all the feels?” Cannon observed softly.
Stone nodded because his throat was too full to speak. Tomorrow, his girls were going to be safe from Jared. Stone wasn’t going to call him a dad or father because he’d never been that. A dad is what Stone was planning on being, and Jared better be ready to do exactly as Stone said.
Naomi listened to the plans for their wedding. As soon as she’d mentioned what she and Stone wanted, the ladies were off planning.
“Hey, how about we run to Wichita tomorrow and shop for your pantsuit and the girls’ outfits? We could make a day of it, and if we get done early, we could always do some shopping for house furnishings?” Tori suggested.
“Sure. Let me make sure that Stone doesn’t have any plans with us,” Naomi replied.
“Oh, Stone has plans—but not with you,” Beth murmured.
“Why?” Naomi asked.
“Jared wasn’t willing to sign the severing of parental rights. I believe Stone, Cannon, Dad, and a couple others are making a visit to Enid to help change his mind,” Beth explained, her tone turning serious.
Naomi’s chest tightened. “I don’t want Stone to get in trouble.”
“Naomi, Stone wants to protect you and the girls. It’s a part of who he is. Let him go and take care of this. Locks and the others will make sure that he doesn’t do something that will hurt him,” Regina reassured her.
“I love that he wants to do that, but I worry,” Naomi admitted.
She’d just found Stone. She couldn’t lose him. How would she and the girls handle it if something happened to him?
“Well, let’s get your mind off Stone and Jared tomorrow,” Tori interjected, clapping her hands to break the heavy tension.
“As my wedding present to you and Stone, I’ll pay for four hundred dollars of sexy lingerie.
Maybe I’ll buy some for myself while I’m there and then make a list of all the Mr. Wrongs to fill my time. ”
Naomi didn’t know whether to smile or laugh at Tori’s aggrieved tone. She was definitely down on men in general. She hoped that Tori could find someone for herself like Naomi had found Stone.
“Thank you, Tori. I would love to go shopping for lingerie,” Naomi agreed, offering a small, grateful smile.
She listened to the chatter of the women as they discussed everything regarding the wedding on July 3rd and the fireworks and barbecue on July 4th. She was learning that holidays were a big thing for the MC.
She’d concentrate on the plans for the wedding and holiday while trying not to worry about Stone. She had to trust that his brothers had his back and would watch out for him.
Her dad had been arrested, but from what Beth had said, he was getting out on bail until the trial. If she never saw him again, it would be too soon. She had a lot of anger toward him and was worried that she wouldn’t be able to hold her temper if she saw him in person.
“Eight a.m. tomorrow to leave okay with you, Naomi?” Tori checked.
“Sure. I’m looking forward to it,” Naomi said.