Chapter 21
Worley
The time has come to talk next steps with Skylar and her mother.
The ladies sit in the two chairs in front of Mack’s desk.
Nina stands behind them. Nanny stands by Mack’s chair, leaning into his side.
As always, I’m behind them. Jack, Jay, and Coty are at the door.
Jay McLeod needs to stop grinning at me.
“Skylar, Ms. Clarke, have you ladies decided where you’d like to go and start your new lives?” Mack asks.
“We don’t have family members far enough from Utah to help us start over,” Skylar replies.
Man, it’s good hear her talk. The girl has come a long way since she first arrived. Nina suggested again this morning that Mack ensure Skylar still gets professional help wherever we send her.
“Is there a city or state you ladies would like to start over in?” Nanny asks.
“Well, we talked about it. I do remember my grandmother talking about living in North Carolina until she was eight. Could that be a possibility?” Ms. Clarke asks.
“Does Austin Miller know anything about your grandmother? Can he trace you in any way to the area?” Mack leans forward, placing his arms on the desk.
“No.” Ms. Clarke shakes her head. “I’ve only seen Austin Miller twice. That was over a year ago. I never discussed our family with him,” she replies.
“Skylar, did you talk about your family with him?” Nina places her hand on the back of Skylar’s chair.
“He only wanted to talk about his family. He did know about my mom and where she lived. I did tell him that my father moved to California when I was twelve.” Skylar glances nervously at her mom.
No one has mentioned her father until now. He’s not even mentioned in her file.
“We haven’t heard from her father since the divorce, not even child support.” Ms. Clarke drops her head.
She has no reason to feel shame. It’s not her fault that her scumbag ex-husband didn’t take care of his daughter after their divorce. It’s a sorry man who’ll let a woman do it all on her own. Every one of them needs to be taught a lesson.
“We’ll get with Nick later today and see what areas would be best for you two. Maybe we can give you a few to choose from.” Mack writes a quick note in Skylar’s file about her father.
“Dad?” Jack steps away from the door, but not too close to the ladies.
Skylar flinches when a man gets too close.
“Coty and I have friends in North Carolina. I can call Bobby and see if they can offer some suggestions. If Skylar and her mom are close enough to them, maybe their club can keep an eye on them.”
“That would be nice.” Ms. Clarke isn’t opposed to bikers after seeing how well the Viking Warriors protected her and her daughter.
“Okay. We can look into that, too.” Mack smiles up at his wife. “Love, would you and Nina walk them back to The Haven House?”
“Of course.” Nanny leans down and kisses him.
“Boys, escort the ladies, please.” Mack nods to Jack and Jay. Coty will go back to security monitoring.
“Thank you all so much for saving my daughter.” Ms. Clarke smiles at each of us before leaving the office.
That turned out better than I thought it would. Once a home is located and a job is found for Ms. Clarke, they’ll be given new identities and escorted to North Carolina. One thing on the long to-do list for today is checked off.
“I’ll call Big Papa and see how Bankz is doing.” I head toward the door.
“Hold up, Worley.”
I pause and face my best friend. He points to the chairs in front of his desk. It feels like I’m in trouble and about to be lectured.
“You have a new job for me?” I sit and act like this is normal.
“You know everything I know. You know there’s nothing new right now. Thank God,” he mumbles the last part. And I wholeheartedly agree with him.
“Then what’s up?”
He leans back and stares at me for a moment. “What’s up with you and Nina? And don’t tell me nothing. I’m not a fool. I know you too well.”
I run a hand through my hair. Yeah, he knows me better than anyone. To be honest, I haven’t exactly been hiding anything. He’s had a lot to deal with lately. We just haven’t had time to talk about my life.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, Mack.”
“You like her.” It’s not a question.
I look him dead in the eye and admit it for the first time out loud. “Yeah, I do.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I poke my finger into my chest. “I’m fifty- three, Mack.”
“Yeah, so am I.” He leans on the arm of his chair and waits for a better explanation.
“I’m old enough to be her father.”
He narrows his eyes. “Fifteen is not a normal age to have kids.” One side of his lips twitch.
“You were seventeen,” I remind him.
“Yeah.” His eyes drop.
I’m an idiot and the worst friend on the planet. “I’m sorry, man. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s okay, Worley. You and I have always talked freely, even about Ariel.”
He’s right. We have. “I didn’t say it to hurt you, though. I mean, she’s young.”
“She’ll be thirty-eight soon, Worley. It’s not like she’s in her twenties and still in college.” He tosses a hand up. “I know what you’re saying, though. Ariel would be thirty-six this year. But don’t look at it that way.”
“How else am I supposed to look at it?” I’m practically pleading at this point.
“Like she’s a grown woman. A woman you care about. Like you’re falling in love with her.”
Love? That gets my attention fast. Am I falling in love with her? I swallow hard, realizing I’ve already slipped.
“And what will everyone think?”
“Darin Worley!” Mack slams his fist on the desk and hardens his eyes.
It’s not often my best friend gets mad at me or uses my full name.
“Who cares what anyone thinks? This town is always going to find something wrong with us. Ignore those fools. If Nina doesn’t want you, then that’s another story.
” His anger vanishes, replaced by a teasing grin.
“But that woman looks at you like she’s about to claim you rather than the other way around. ”
“Really?” My mouth falls open. “You see that?”
“No.” He laughs. “But my wife and the other ladies do.”
“Nah, man. That can’t be true.”
“Oh, trust me, Worley Bird. I get an earful at home about how Worley and Nina need to be together. It hurts my ears at times. And please, don’t let me hear them after I leave the room.
The things those women say you two need to be doing.
I don’t know what a silver fox is, but apparently you’re one, my friend.
” He shakes his head. “I can’t picture you that way. It’s wild.”
I huff out a breath. He’s messing with me. Maybe he’s not. Biker women are wild, but please don’t let me ever hear any of the McLeod women talk that way.
“All I’m saying is if you like her, pursue her. If something’s there, claim her before one of these other yahoos does.”
I jump to my feet and jab my finger at him. “That’s not happening.”
His grin widens. “Then stop messing around and go get your woman.”
I stomp to the door. “You’re as bad as Jay.”
“Well, he is my brother’s son.” Mack’s laughter can still be heard after I close the door, more like slamming it.
My woman? Yeah, let’s go figure that out.