Chapter Ten
Emily watches TV while Tanner works on his homework at the dining room table. For the third time since I got home, I grab my wallet from my bag and look down at the cash inside.
It’s overflowing.
So much cash that my wallet can barely contain it.
Paid.
I finally got paid. I don’t have to worry about crunching pennies, at least not this week. The money I had saved up before the kids and I ran has slowly been dwindling. I’ve tried my hardest to keep my spending to a minimum, but sometimes it’s hard, especially when I have two kids who depend on me.
My fingers brush over the cash before I put my wallet away. I know by the time I pay Mac rent that a good chunk of it will be gone, but I’ll still have enough.
Finally, I’m starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
I move through the house and head to the living room.
“You okay, baby?” I ask Emily as I walk to the window.
“Yeah. Want to watch with me?” she asks, making me cringe.
I love my daughter, but the absolute last thing I want to do is watch some horribly animated cartoon that’s pixelated because the quality is so bad. Every day, I regret that I handed her my phone and let her look for cartoons on YouTube.
“Not right now, baby. I have to make dinner soon,” I tell her as I pull back the curtain.
“Okay.” She shrugs, going back to her show.
Phew. That was close.
I turn and look out the window to Mac’s driveway and see that he’s still not home. He left work early today before we got paid, so I wasn’t able to give him the rent money. I know he knows I’m good for it, but I want to give it to him as soon as possible. That way, I don’t have to worry about it.
I absolutely hate freeloading. The sooner I pay him, the sooner the scales even out.
Scanning the street, I watch as the lady across the street waters her flowers. A man down the way shuffles through his mail as he walks back toward his house. In the other direction, I spot a car parked along the street.
Odd, I don’t think I’ve ever noticed anyone park on the street here. It’s not abnormal, though.
They are probably visiting the house they are parked in front of.
Before I can let my imagination get the best of me, my phone begins to ring.
Leaving the living room, I head into the kitchen and grab it from the island. A smile crawls across my face when I see her name.
“Hey, Bertha. How are you?” I say as soon as I answer.
“Hey! I’m all right, but I have a bone to pick with you,” she says, making my heart drop.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
I feel Tanner look over at me, but I ignore him.
“Nothing’s wrong. I just didn’t realize how quiet my truck was until I had you guys riding around with me for a while. I’m fucking lonely, and it’s all your fault,” she teases, making me relax.
“Aw, you miss us.” I laugh.
I look over at my son and give him a thumbs up, letting him know everything is okay. Frowning, he goes back to his schoolwork.
“I really do. I woke up this morning freezing, and I went to reach for Emily’s fuzzy blanket and realized that it’s not here anymore.”
“I’m sure you could find one,” I tell her as I head down the hall.
I love my kids, but I hate talking on the phone around them. I swear, as soon as I give someone else my attention, they want it.
“Probably, but it wouldn’t be the same. Now tell me what’s going on. How are the kids liking school?”
“They love it. I got a note from Emily’s teacher today saying that she’s so well behaved and that she’s friends with everyone,” I gush.
“That’s our girl! What about Tanner?”
“Unfortunately, his teacher doesn’t send updates like Emily’s. From what I can tell so far, he’s made some friends, and his grades are good. I’m hoping I’ll find out more at parent-teacher conferences, if they do that here.”
“I’m sure they do. What about you?”
“What about me?”
“How are you? How’s work?” she asks.
I don’t have to see her to know she’s rolling her eyes at me.
“I’m good. I got paid today,” I tell her.
“That’s awesome! Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I’m just waiting for your brother to get home so I can pay him rent.”
“Has he been hounding you about it?” she asks, concern bleeding into her voice.
“No, not at all. I just want to give him the money before I do anything else.”
“Okay, good. Just making sure. What else?”
“Nothing really. It’s all the same. Home and work. Kids and bed. Same old.”
“Why don’t you hang out with some of the people from the club? They are good people.”
I chew on my lip. I’ve thought about asking Sloane to hang out or something, but who wants to hang out with a single mom? The kids and I are a package deal. I can’t leave them, and even if I could, I’m not sure I am ready to. Sending them off to school is hard enough.
“Hey, I think it’s a great idea. I think you’ll have a lot of fun.”
“I hope so,” I murmur. “Now tell me, where are you now, and what’s the latest gossip?”
Bertha jumps into telling me all about how she hates California traffic before she switches to the gossip that’s happening on the road. I never knew that some truckers have beef with each other or how cliquey they could be until I witnessed it firsthand.
Let me tell you, some of the things they squabble over are ridiculous. They are like kindergarteners fighting over the same damn toy. But in this case, it’s who got the best parking spot or the best run.
It’s insane, and I love it.
Before I know it, the sound of a bike approaching catches my attention. I look over at the clock and see that more than twenty minutes have passed.
Shit, I was supposed to start dinner.
“Hey, Bertha, I’m sorry. I just realized the time. I need to get dinner started, and it sounds like your brother just got home.”
“No problem. I’ll catch up with you later. Tell my brother hi.”
“Will do. Bye.”
I hang up as I get off the bed. Moving to my purse, I pull out the cash I need. Folding it carefully, I put it in my back pocket and head out.
“Hey guys, I’m running next door for a second. Please stay inside, okay?” I tell the kids.
“Okay, Mommy,” they say in unison.
Fucking finally. It’s been a long ass day.
I left the shop early today to do a quick run over to the Saint’s Outlaws chapter in Deadman’s Beach.
Some dumbass at the distributor sent us some parts they needed for a project.
Instead of sending them back and making them wait another three weeks to get them, I drove them over myself.
Then I got lunch with their pres, Blood.
I don’t know the guy well, but he seems nice enough. I agreed to pass along a message to Smoke that we should get the clubs together so everyone can meet. It’s been a while since we’ve done anything like that, so I think Smoke will be up for it.
Hell, the women will be up for it. The girls love meeting other clubs’ old ladies. Last I heard, they even have a little group chat going.
As I shut off my bike, I sense movement.
I turn my head and watch as Jane walks across her yard, barefoot, toward me.
She’s got on shorts that have seen better days, but make her legs look a mile long, and a tank top that shows off her pretty collarbones.
Goddamn, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her show off that much skin.
Not only that, but she looks happy. Her eyes are vibrant, and she’s smiling widely.
For the first time ever, or since I’ve known her, she looks happy.
Beautiful. She’s fucking beautiful.
Shaking my head, I push away my attraction to her. The last thing she needs is me perving on her.
“Hey!”
“Everything okay?” I ask, cutting to the chase.
“Everything is fine. In fact, it’s better than fine. Do you know why?” she asks giddily.
“Why?”
“Because today is payday.” She reaches into her back pocket, pulls out a wad of cash, and tries to hand it to me. “Here.”
“No, you keep it,” I say, shaking my head.
Jane frowns. “What? Why?”
“Because I don’t need it, and you do.” I shrug as I get off my bike.
“Mac, please take it. This was part of our deal, and honestly, it would make me feel better if you took it,” she pleads.
“Jane…”
“I’m serious. I hate leeching off you. It makes my skin crawl, not because it’s you, but because I hate owing anybody. It just feels wrong, but now I have the money to pay you. So let me, please.”
Sighing, I run my hand over my face.
I get it, I really do, but I hate it. Pride is a fickle bitch.
“Fine, but if there is ever a month you can’t pay, don’t worry about it. I won’t kick you out. You’ll always have a place here, okay?” I tell her as I reluctantly take the money.
“Thank you, but that won’t happen.”
“But if it does.”
Jane rolls her eyes. “Come on, Mac. You can’t pay the bills for both of our places. That would be a waste of your money.”
I want to tell her that’s exactly what I was doing before she showed up, but I bite my tongue.
She doesn’t need to know that I’ve been sitting on her house for almost a year, doing small renovations on it when I’ve had free time.
Sure, I planned on renting it out at some point, but I wasn’t in any rush.
Before either of us can say anything, I hear a car start and look over my shoulder, down the street.
I watch as a car slowly creeps by us and frown.
I’ve never seen that car before. I’ve known all my neighbors for years.
I know what their cars look like, their kids’, their friends’, everyone’s. That car is out of place.
“What’s wrong?” Jane asks, picking up on my worry.
“I’ve never seen that car before,” I admit.
Jane shrugs. “I saw it earlier when I looked out the window.”
“How long?” I press.
“I don’t know. That was before your sister called. She said hi, by the way.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know…about thirty, maybe forty minutes ago? Wait, it might have been there when we got home. I’m not sure. Either way, it’s not that big of a deal. It could be a delivery driver or a relative.”
“For half an hour or longer?” I say, raising an eyebrow.
Jane crosses her arms over her chest. “Maybe? Are you sure you’ve never seen it before?”
“Yeah, it’s a private neighborhood. I know everyone. Let me know immediately if you see it again, okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” She chews on the corner of her lip. “Do you think…”
“No. I don’t think it has anything to do with you. I’m sure I’m just blowing it out of proportion. Hell, someone could have gotten a new car,” I lie.
Yeah, someone could have gotten new wheels, but everyone who visits this street drives something a little nicer than what that shit box was.
“Okay, if you’re sure. I should probably head inside. I told the kids I was only stepping outside for a minute, and I need to get started on dinner.”
“Have a good night. See you tomorrow,” I tell her.
“Night.” She smiles.
I watch as she walks away and fight the urge to follow her.
Turn around. Ask me to join you. Invite me over for dinner.
Much to my dismay, she doesn’t even look back over at me as she lets herself inside or invite me in. I hear the sound of the TV playing and kids laughing before she shuts the door.
Blowing out a deep breath, I force myself to walk toward my house. As soon as I step inside, the silence hits me. My place is such a contrast to hers. I can’t help but wonder what they are up to.
What is Emily watching on TV?
Has Tanner finished his homework?
Did they enjoy school today? Is anyone giving them trouble?
“It’s none of your business,” I mutter to myself.
But for some reason, I wish it were.