Chapter 3 #2
I was too exhausted and petrified by the whole mess to argue or ask many questions.
We had to get out. The time for fear and naysaying was over.
Either it would work, and we’d be able to live our lives clear, or we wouldn’t, and I’d spend the last of my very short life in jail for murdering David Granger. Either way, my children would be safe.
Finn fell asleep an hour into the drive with tears drying on his cheeks. Jesse had put on their headphones and was listening to music while they wrote in their notebook. I checked on both of them a couple of hours later when the silence had started to become oppressive.
“We’re going to live with you?” I asked quietly, watching as Curtis’s forearm flexed, his hand tightening around the steering wheel.
He looked back at the kids and then at me.
“We’ve been talkin’ for the last few months,” he said, his voice low. “Decided when I moved back from Montana that we’d start a life in Eugene.”
“You lived in Montana?”
“For the last eighteen years.”
“Jesus, how old are you?”
“Thirty-nine. You?”
“Thirty-two.”
He nodded. “So we’re doin’ that,” he said. “Makin’ a life.”
“Together,” I whispered dubiously.
“You’re not fleein’, Theodora—”
“Teddy,” I corrected. “Only the government calls me Theodora.”
“Teddy,” he agreed. “You’re not escapin’, yeah? You’re movin’ to Eugene to live with your man and his kid. Blendin’ families. Makin’ a life.”
“That’s the big idea that Grease came up with?” I asked in disbelief.
“What? He didn’t tell you?”
“He told me to pack our shit and pick you up,” I replied. “And we’d be on our way to Oregon.”
“Well, that’s all true.”
“I think he left a bit out.”
“Sounds like it.”
“So…what? We’re supposed to pretend we’re together? That’s insane.”
“Can you think of a better option?” he asked, his words almost gentle. “Because I’m all ears, baby. You wanna play this different, that’s fine with me.”
I opened and closed my mouth, trying to find a reply.
“But I’m guessin’ that if you had a different plan, you woulda used it before now.”
“He honestly thinks that David won’t go scorched earth when he finds out that I’m shacking up with some guy up in Oregon?
” I scoffed. What the fuck was I doing? Why had I been dumb enough to trust some man I’d met once just because my pop had asked him for help?
I should’ve known. I really should’ve. I’d been making bad decisions since I was old enough to make them, and this was just the latest in a long slew of idiotic choices.
God, what I wouldn’t give for a big chunk of money in the bank and a flight to literally anywhere.
“Finn’s got your name, right?” Curtis asked.
“You mean my last name? Yeah.” I’d gotten a black eye for it, but Mike had never been good with follow-through, and his demand to change it had been forgotten by the next time we heard from him.
“So how would I know that you’ve got any kind of connection to the Grangers?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m sayin’ that as far as David Granger is concerned, you and I are together because you’re fuckin’ gorgeous and I want in there.”
“Jesus,” I muttered.
“He’s got no fight with the club. No grievance he can use.”
“He doesn’t need a grievance,” I argued. “He does whatever the fuck he wants. He doesn’t have to have a reason.”
“You’re wrong there,” Curtis said, switching lanes so he could pass a car going too slow in the fast lane.
“Everyone’s accountable to someone. Granger may be top dog, but that doesn’t mean that his underlings are stupid.
They’re willin’ to piss on their patch if they feel like they’ve been disrespected, but they’re not gonna start a fight for no reason. ”
“I’m the reason,” I gritted out.
“You think they give a shit about you?”
I kept my mouth shut because he had a point.
“As far as anyone knows, you’re movin’ to Oregon because that’s where your man is.
He even came to drive you home with him.
Granger’s got no reason to fight you on that because he’s got no real right to you in the first place.
He’s got no fight with the Aces because, as far as he knows, we weren’t aware of any connection to him. ”
“And that’s it,” I said flatly. “We’re just going to pretend in public that we’re together.”
“We’re gonna pretend all the time,” he corrected softly.
“The club’s puttin’ their asses on the line for you, Teddy, and we’re happy to do that.
Owed your dad. But you gotta make this seem real, or we’re fucked.
Granger or his people get even a whiff of the fact that we got you outta Sacramento to get you away from his organization, it’s our asses that’re gonna be swingin’ in the wind. ”
I opened my mouth to reply, even though I wasn’t sure what the hell to say, when I heard the squeak of Jesse’s headphones as they pulled them off their head. “I need to pee.”
“Can you wait until the next rest stop?” Curtis asked.
“Yes,” Jesse replied. “I learned to hold my bladder about twelve years ago.”
Curtis grinned and looked at them over his shoulder. “Just askin’ if it was an emergency situation or if I had some time.”
“You’ve got time.”
“Got it.”
“But not too much.”
I watched Curtis while he drove, and he pretended not to notice.
He was unbelievably attractive, and I knew that it wouldn’t be hard to fake a relationship with him if the kiss earlier was any indication.
But what, if anything, was I supposed to tell my kids?
Finn took almost everything at face value, but even he would be shocked.
I hadn’t dated anyone since Mike, and he’d never seen me with a partner.
Jesse would never believe it. They were already wondering what the hell was going on.
My mind was still racing when Curtis pulled off the freeway and into a rest stop. He’d barely parked the car when Jesse hopped out and went jogging to the bathroom. I hurried to follow them, glancing back at Finn, still sleeping in the back seat.
“I’ve got him,” Curtis said. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and handed them to me. “Go with her. We’ll be here when you get back.”
“Them,” I corrected automatically.
“What?”
“Them. Jesse is nonbinary.”
Curtis raised his eyebrows as he nodded. “Understood.”
I jogged to the restroom and called out to Jess when I stepped inside. Only one stall was occupied. “You good?”
“Yeah,” they groaned. “That burrito went right through me.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Literally,” they complained. “I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.” They paused and then groaned again. “You may not want to stay for this.”
I chuckled as I walked back out of the bathroom.
Curtis was standing outside the truck, checking on the boxes in the back, when I reached him.
“I told you they’re secure,” I pointed out.
“Just wanted to be sure,” he replied, turning toward me. Easily, as if he’d done it a hundred times before, he reached for my hand and used it to tug me closer. His other hand went to the side of my neck, his fingers tangling in the hair at my nape.
“What are you doing?” I asked softly, allowing him to tip my head back.
“Four cars pulled in after we did,” he said, leaning down to run his nose alongside mine. “All men. No families.”
“You think one of them is David’s?”
“No clue,” he said, brushing his lips over my jaw. “Could be.”
“You’re way too good at this,” I muttered, inwardly cursing as my heart began to pound.
Curtis chuckled. “I’m just actin’ how I would if we met at the bar last night,” he said with a grin. “It’s not a chore to be affectionate.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“Baby, I wouldn’t need to know you to bring you home.”
“Oh, Christ,” I said, pulling back to scowl at him. “You’re a complete whore, aren’t you?”
His arms yanked me against his chest as he tipped his head back and burst into laughter.
“Mom?” Finn called, throwing open his door.
“I’m right here, bud,” I answered, turning toward him. “You need to go to the bathroom?”
“Yeah.” He hopped down from the truck and looked back and forth between Curtis and me.
“Come on, pal,” I said, reaching for his hand. “I’ll take you.”
I brought him into the bathroom where Jesse was still fighting for their life, and he immediately started fake gagging and laughing.
“Just pee,” I ordered, forcing myself not to react. “Hurry up.” I looked under the closed stall door. “You good, Jess?”
“Yeah,” they replied miserably. “I’ll be out in a sec.”
“No rush,” I said, even though I wanted to get back on the road again.
“It stinks so bad in here,” Finn said, still giggling as he walked over to put some sanitizer on his hands.
“Shut up, Finn!” Jesse yelled back.
“What? It does!”
“Out,” I ordered Finn, walking him back outside. “Leave Jess alone. They’re not feeling good.”
“Obviously,” Finn snickered.
“Hey,” I shoved him gently, making him stumble. “How would you feel if Jess was making fun of you for having a stomachache?”
“Sorry,” he grumbled.
I yanked him back against me and slung my arm over his shoulders, bending to kiss the top of his head.
“Your friend seems nice,” he said, sliding his arm around my waist.
“You think so?”
“He thinks his son will like me,” he informed me like I hadn’t been in the truck for that conversation.
“Everyone likes you, Finn. You’re awesome.”
“Not true.”
“So true.”
“Hey, wait up,” Jesse called from behind us. We paused so they could catch up, and I gave Finn a reminder squeeze so he wouldn’t start mouthing off about the bathroom stink again.
“Feel better?” I asked.
“Yeah,” they replied, swiping their hand over their forehead dramatically. “That was rough.”
“And in a rest stop bathroom, no less.”
“I never want to think about it again,” they muttered.
When we got back to the truck, Curtis tossed me the keys and jerked his head, indicating that we should get in. I helped Finn into his seat, and as soon as I’d closed his door, Curtis was there, opening the driver’s door for me.
“I’m gonna take a leak,” he said quietly, crowding me in between the door and the frame. “Get in and lock the doors while you wait, yeah?”
“Why? Did you see—”