Chapter Two
My phone buzzes on the counter and I smile as I pick it up.
L: Good morning, beautiful. I hope you have a great day and deliver some babies.
My smile grows as I read his text.
He’s just too sweet for his own good.
Me: Morning. I hope you have a great day too.
L: Meet up later?
I laugh quietly under my breath. It should bother me that he knows my daughter’s schedule, but it doesn’t. It’s honestly actually kind of nice that he pays attention. Something my ex never did.
Me: Maybe. I’ll think about it.
When I hear footsteps coming down the stairs, I darken my screen and set it on the counter. I lift my coffee cup and take a sip.
“Morning,” I say as Farrah walks into the kitchen.
“Morning,” she grumbles, making me smile.
“You look cute.”
Farrah grunts.
“How did you sleep?” I ask, trying again.
She shrugs as she makes her way to the coffee pot and starts to pour some into a travel mug. I want to tell her she shouldn’t drink it, that she’s too young, but I bite my tongue. I was her age when I started drinking it, so I really have no ground to stand on.
Then again, I had a baby when I was her age.
Besides, these days I choose my battles, and that’s not one of them.
“Do you have everything for your dad’s?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
I take a deep breath and try not to let her shortness get to me. She’s just not a morning person, and I shouldn’t take it personally. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. Deep down, I know the divorce has hit her harder than I imagined.
I want to do something to make it better.
Then again, it’s like nothing I do will make her happy.
Not unless I get back with her father. That’s something I will never do.
“I’ll see you later,” she mumbles, heading to the door.
I follow behind her and step outside with her.
“Have a good day,” I tell her.
I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and have to bite back my smile.
Loyal.
Only when my daughter drives off do I turn to look at him. He’s leaning against his bike, arms crossed over his chest, staring at me with desire and something that might be longing.
I know I should cut things off with him. We’re both growing too attached, but at the same time he’s the only bright thing in my life. He makes me feel, something I didn’t think was possible after my ex. Anytime I think of him, I can’t help but smile, and it’s a problem.
I could always tell him we should define what we are. Get together for real instead of just hooking up whenever we get a moment alone. He has been hinting that he wants that.
Before the idea can take root, I push it aside.
He’s young and has his whole life ahead of him. He doesn’t need to be with someone like me. I mean, I am a decade older than him. What would people think? They would be more likely to think he was my daughter’s boyfriend than mine.
No, it’s best we keep it casual. A dirty little secret.
Still, the idea has merit. Especially when he looks at me like he is.
Instinctively I raise my hand and wave, making him smirk.
He pushes off his bike and takes a step forward right as someone comes to a stop at the curb. When he looks over and frowns, I follow his gaze.
Goddammit. I groan when I see him.
My ex gets out of his car and walks toward me, already glaring.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I say quietly.
“We need to talk,” he snaps.
“No, you know we are only supposed to talk through the parenting app so it’s monitored. If you have something to discuss, put it there.”
“I’m not using some goddamn app to talk to my fucking wife,” he sneers.
“I’m not your wife. We are legally divorced, remember?”
He scoffs. “That piece of paper is bullshit, and you know it. In sickness and in health, remember?”
I take a deep breath and try to push my frustration down. Snapping will only give him what he wants.
“Since you’re here, tell me what you want,” I say, trying to get this over with as soon as possible.
“The child support and alimony are going to be late,” he hisses in a low tone.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not. He’s been late with every payment, and only when my lawyer sends a reminder does he pay.
“Can I ask why?” I ask with a level of calm I don’t feel.
“Because you don’t need it. Farrah told me you aren’t giving it to her,” he growls at me.
I feel the corner of my eye twitch. “Billy, the money doesn’t go to her. It’s used for her living expenses. The last payment I used to pay for her cheer camp.”
“I shouldn’t have to pay you for my daughter,” he snaps. “We have joint custody. Everyone else with this arrangement doesn’t pay for shit.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, but the judge decided differently.
It’s not my fault that you make a ton more money than me and then tried to bankrupt me during the divorce.
If you would like to fight it, we could go back to court, and I will be happy to tell the judge once again how you threatened to leave me destitute if I divorced you. ”
“I don’t want to go back to court. I didn’t want to leave you destitute. I was trying to get you to see life without me wouldn’t be sustainable. I just want my wife back!” he yells.
Across the street, Old Man Wilson comes out on his porch with a frown already on his face. I feel my cheeks heat from embarrassment.
I hate people knowing my business. By nature I’m a private person but Billy loves the attention. He likes everyone knowing that I’m the bad guy. That I left him and he hates me for it.
“You should leave. If you have anything you want to discuss, please go through the app,” I tell him quietly.
“I’m not fucking leaving! This is my house!” he shouts.
I want to tell him that he’s wrong. The judge awarded me the house since the down payment and the actual payments came out of my account. It’s mine. Always has been and will be.
“Hey buddy, I think it’s time for you to go. She asked you to leave.”
Closing my eyes, my heart sinks at his voice.
Son of a bitch. Why did he have to be out here to witness this humiliation? Loyal knows all about my ex and how things went down. It’s one thing for him to know but something else entirely for him to witness it.
“Oh look, the kid is coming to your defense. Are you fucking him?” Billy quips.
My heart sinks.
And just when I think it can’t get any worse, it does.
I shove my hands in my pockets as I approach, my vision red.
I know all about Billy.
He’s a sorry excuse for a man and loves making Sami’s life hell. This morning is no exception.
Who the fuck shows up first thing in the morning and causes a scene on the front lawn? Apparently this guy.
“Billy, enough,” Sami scolds.
“No, I want to know, are you fucking him?” he asks, glaring at her.
“Do you get off on taking your anger out on people who won’t engage? Do you like yelling at her and embarrassing her? Does it get you off trying to intimidate people smaller than you?” I ask.
He whips around, his attention aimed back at me just like I want.
“What the fuck did you say?” he sneers.
“I didn’t stutter.” I smirk, which only seems to anger him more.
Dumbass steps up to me, trying to get in my face. Only he’s shorter than me, which seems to piss him off even more. I have to bite back a laugh at the way his face reddens.
“Listen here, fucker. I don’t know what’s going on with you and my wife, but it ends here. What happens between us is none of your business. You need to walk away before I fuck you up for sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” he hisses.
“Ex-wife,” I say with a smirk on my face.
I see the comment hit. His jaw clenches. His eyes narrow.
Yeah, I know she isn’t yours because she’s mine.
“Walk away, kid. This isn’t something you want to involve yourself with.”
“Billy, knock it off and leave,” Sami pleads.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong. You made it my business when you came to her home and attacked her in her front yard for the entire street to hear.
You wanted the attention. What you didn’t expect was for me to step in and make it my problem.
What you don’t know, Billy, is that I don’t like bullies.
I don’t like men who try to throw their weight around and make women uncomfortable.
Who try to demean them at any opportunity.
I’m not going to stand around and watch you treat her like shit.
In fact, it’s not going to happen on my watch.
So you should just get in your car and take off.
Like she asked,” I tell him calmly, even though it’s the last thing I feel.
His hands flex at his sides, and I smile.
Hit me, please fucking hit me so I can lay you out. I’ve been wanting to do it for a long ass time.
Sami steps between us, pushing her back into my chest, and she holds her hands up.
“Billy, just go. Please,” Sami tries again.
His neck turns red, and he lifts his hands, popping his fingers.
Removing my hands from my pockets, I place them on her hips and move her to the side. “Sami, you should head inside,” I tell her softly.
“I’m not leaving,” she protests.
“You touched my wife,” he hisses.
“Ex-wife,” I say slowly.
His jaw clenches along with his fists as he steps forward.
“Oh, do you want to solve this the old-fashioned way? I’m game.” I start shrugging off my jacket.
His eyes dart to the patch that rests over my heart.
Vice President. Lotus MC.
He takes a step back like the coward he is.
Come on, don’t be a little bitch. This was about to be fun.
He takes another step back.
Damn. I got excited for nothing.
He huffs, shaking his head. “The bitch ain’t worth it,” he mutters quietly before looking over at Sami. “This isn’t over.”
“It is, and again, please cease all in-person communication. It should go through the app,” she tells him.
He starts to walk away but pauses. “Sami, if this is the company you are going to keep, then maybe I will take you back to court. I don’t like the idea of you letting this kind of trash spend time around our young, impressionable daughter. He will probably try to fuck her too.”
Sami’s breath catches, and I fight the urge to rest my hand on her shoulder.
“Go,” I say with steel in my voice.
Her ex heads to his car and takes off. Only when he’s speeding away does she take a breath.
“Are you okay?” I ask quietly.
She shakes her head. “No, I’m sorry you had to witness that.”
“It’s not your fault.”
She takes a deep breath and turns toward me, with anger in her eyes. “I hate that it happened, but it did, and you made it worse.”
“I made it worse?” I ask in confusion.
“You stepped in when you shouldn’t have.
If you would have stayed over on your side, it wouldn’t have gotten that bad.
He would have run his mouth for a minute and then left, but because you came over here and interjected yourself into it, I have to worry about going back to court when I’m still paying for the last time. ”
“Samantha, I wasn’t going to let him talk to you that way, and if he does take you back to court, we have witnesses,” I tell her bluntly, nodding toward where Mr. Wilson is still watching.
“You know that things with my family are off-limits, Loyal, but today you overstepped. Maybe we should reconsider what we are doing.”
“Excuse me?” I ask, not bothering to hide my shock.
Surely she’s not serious, right? Like she really can’t be mad at me for stepping in and defending her.
She runs her hand through her hair. “I don’t know. We can talk about this later. I need to get to work before I’m late.”
“Sami,” I plead as she starts to walk away.
She shakes her head and calls over her shoulder. “Not now, Loyal. I can’t do this right now.”
I watch as she grabs her purse from right inside the door. Then she passes by me as she heads to her car.
Right before she slips inside, she pauses and looks over at me. “Have a good day.”
She gets in before I can respond and takes off, leaving me standing in her yard, confused as fuck.
What the fuck just happened, and how is it my fault?