Chapter Eight.
Magic
I probably looked confused as fuck, and rightfully so. Being faced with seven kids speaking different languages and all of a similar age was disconcerting. Especially when it was obvious they were insulting and threatening me, even if it was in a different language.
“Look, you need to go. I have to calm them down,” Jody insisted.
“How tall are you?” Jesper demanded.
“Me?”
“No, the tree. Of course, you!” Jesper snapped.
“Manners!” Jody reprimanded, but the kid held my gaze.
“Six feet seven.”
“Yeah, we can’t dig a hole that big,” Jesper stated in English before spouting off again in Danish.
“Boy has your bloodthirsty streak,” I said, nodding at Jesper for lack of anything else to say.
“Oh, not mine. Jesper has his father’s. He taught him well.”
“Where is your man? I expected him to be here,” I asked, and sudden silence fell. All seven kids looked stricken, and tears welled up in the younger one’s eyes.
Jody hurried over to Jesper and the kid, whom I thought was called Henrik, and hugged them close. Everyone crowded around Jody, and I felt their grief.
Fuck, their dad was dead.
“Sorry, I didn’t know,” I said uselessly.
“Why would you?” Jody asked. “Go indoors, kids. I’ll deal with this, and you can argue over delivery for dinner tonight.”
“Our dads made us promise always to protect the women. We aren’t going anywhere,” a middle boy stated, folding his arms and aiming a glare at me.
“Sweet Jerrik, I’m an adult. Take Henrik and Jesper inside.”
“Nope. My dad said we have to protect you,” Jesper argued. “I’ve got a flamethrower and know how to use it,” he threatened.
The moment I opened my mouth, I knew I’d regret it, but the stupidest thing ever emerged from it. “How many damn dads were there?”
Jody spun so quickly I thought she was possessed. I tugged my beard as Jody stalked towards me. I backed up because even unarmed Jody was lethal.
“That came out wrong!” I babbled. The older teens snorted, and I couldn’t blame them. Six foot seven, and I was backing away from a tiny woman who was focused on me like a heat-seeking missile.
“Oh, you bet it did. Kids. House. Now.” There was a stampede, and suddenly Jody and I were alone.
“You want a history, Magic? I’ll give it to you. A month after I left you, I emigrated to Denmark with Aster and her boyfriend, Kanon. Remember him? Kanon was an enforcer for the Danish MC, Torden Hingste. His club welcomed an out-of-place, pregnant woman and helped me find an apartment and a job.
“The SAA fell for me. Even though I didn’t love him and was grieving you, Vulcan held my hand throughout the pregnancy.
Vulcan wanted the babies as much as he wanted me.
I married him a month after the twins were born.
Sadly, back then, I wasn’t in love with Vulcan, but knew one day I would fall for him, as he deserved.
Aster wed Kanon, her soul mate, and he became a literal brother-in-law.
You remember, Aster and I were like sisters.
“We had over a decade of good years together until their president was ousted. A guy named Torden took over and led the club into dark places. Vulcan and Kanon hated the path the club walked, and after eight innocent brothers were killed, they turned informant.”
Jody swallowed hard. I saw where this was heading and wanted to stop Jody experiencing the pain. But Jody was on a roll.
“The cops failed to protect Vulcan and Kanon. They were murdered. Luckily, Vulcan’s parents had died a couple of years beforehand, so they didn’t have to bury their son.
I did. Aster collapsed. She couldn’t cope, and even though I was grieving the deaths of my in-laws, whom I adored, and Vulcan and Kanon, I became the adult for both families.
“I took revenge for Kanon and Vulcan, and I made Torden bleed. I did things that no one should have suffered, and I did them happily. That was for them, for the two wonderful, loving, doting men Aster and I lost. Because, make no mistake, Magic, I adored Vulcan with everything I had. Aster died in February this year. Sadly, she never recovered from Kanon’s loss.
And I can’t blame Aster, but I didn’t have the luxury of dying of a broken heart. Seven kids needed me.
“The twins are mine and Vulcan’s. Oskar, Viggo, Jerrik, Henrik, and Jesper are Aster and Kanon’s.
They’re now mine. And I’ll break my back for them just like I would my twins.
No, I didn’t have more kids. Vulcan couldn’t have children.
You’ll never match Vulcan’s memory in Lars and Laila.
Never. Vulcan put everything into them; they were so loved, they drowned in it.
Whatever dream you’ve got going on, you’ll never, ever replace Vulcan. ”
Jody was breathing heavily when she finished, but I understood.
I felt the emotion pouring from her as Jody defended her dead husband.
She was unaware of the full story, but at the end of the day, I realised I was to blame.
I’d got dirty and brought danger to our lives; I’d gone after Salvos and Mathews to protect her.
And I’d been the one who hadn’t listened and thought Jody weak and couldn’t handle the truth. Jody was anything but delicate.
Our pain, my loss of the kids, that was all on me.
“Jody, I don’t want to replace their dad. I can’t. But let me take you out for dinner and tell you what actually happened. You owe it to me to hear me out.”
“Magic, I owe you nothing!” Jody snapped.
“You do, but you don’t know it. If I’d have realised you were pregnant, I wouldn’t have missed that appointment or been so cold.
You were in danger back then because of me, and I was trying to protect you, and I fucked up.
Jody, I longed for those kids. I’ve dreamed of them since I learned about them, and my dreams didn’t come close. ”
Jody had opened her mouth to argue and then closed it. Anxiously, she bit her lip, a trait Jody had when considering her options. “You wanted Lars and Laila?”
“Woman, I wanted you and a family,” I promised.
Jody wavered.
I sensed it, so added, “Just dinner and a chance to clear the air. I missed seventeen years with them...”
“Sixteen and a half.”
“That’s long enough, babe. I can’t and don’t want to replace their dad. But I’d like to get to know them.” I’d beg if need be.
“Fine! But it’s not a date!” Jody insisted.
“Flammekaster!” Jesper yelled, jumping down the steps. Holy shit. The kid had a flamethrower!
Jody hit the floor moments before a burst of fire shot over her. “Jesper!” she shrieked. “Put the damn flamethrower down!”
“No dating my Aunt Jody!” Jesper threatened, advancing. I backed away with my hands up.
“Okay,” I agreed quickly. Where the hell did Jesper find a flamethrower? Holy crap. I’d swear Jesper was my blood even though it was impossible. Jesper was as fuckin’ crazy as me.
“Burn the fucker, Jesper! Death to Aunt Jody’s dates!” Viggo bellowed from a window. A water balloon landed at my feet, and I looked up. Jody raised up on her elbows as she stared. There was a smirk on her face.
“Nobody dates min Mor! (my mom)” Lars announced, and a crossbow bolt bounced off my boot. Thank fuck they were steel-toe caps. Jody shouted at them to stop, but they were clearly focused.
“War! Death to the Yankees,” Henrik yelled from somewhere, and I was peppered with surprisingly sharp foam darts. I picked one up and grinned when I realised it had been filed into spikes instead of the usual blunt tips. These kids were freaking mental. All of them, and I kinda loved it.
There was so much to teach them. I’d win them over, and they’d become my padawans. I jogged to my Hog, not embarrassed to retreat. Obviously, I couldn’t exactly beat their asses. Although I had some ideas of my own. Payback was a bitch.
Jody
As Magic rode off with a contemplative look on his face, I was slightly worried. At first, it had been funny, but Magic was now considering revenge. The flame cut off, and I turned as kids appeared.
“What idiot let Jesper have the flamethrower?” I yelled, taking it from Jesper. He looked angry, but I could handle a pissed-off ten-year-old.
“Jesper got it himself. Aunt Jody, I told you he could pick the lock,” Oskar retorted.
“Damn Aunt Shirley, lord knows why she had all these weapons lying around,” I cursed, getting to my feet. I shook my head at the angelic looks the seven were displaying.
“Put them away, padlock and nail planks over the cupboard,” I ordered Lars, who looked amused.
“That won’t stop Jesper,” Lars responded.
“No?” I smiled evilly. “Then I guess you’ll share a bedroom with him,” I replied sweetly.
“Oskar, come on,” Lars growled out, giving me a dark look.
Despite Crook House’s size, there were only ten bedrooms. Laila and I had each taken one, leaving eight.
The boys had their own, but Henrik and Jesper had chosen to share, as they did at their old home.
That left me with three spares, two of which contained damp and needed repairs.
Aunt Shirley had let maintenance lapse a bit.
“Mor, what did Magic really want?” Laila asked, coming to sit with me on the grass.
“I don’t know, Laila, but the key was just an excuse.”
“Is Magic going to take Dad’s place?”
“Laila, nobody can do that. Magic claimed there are facts I’m unaware of. I suppose it’s fair to hear him out. But that doesn’t mean I’m planning on jumping into a relationship with him. We’re unable to return to those people. Your dad was the world to me, and Vulcan can’t ever be replaced.”
“But you loved Magic first.”
“I was a young girl. I’m a woman now, darling, and I’ve had the love of a good, wonderful man. Your dad showed me what love really was. And it’s not what I had with Magic. That was lust.”
“Mom, I don’t need to hear that,” Laila squealed.
“Come on, kid, let’s go sort dinner before Jesper tries roasting something. Maybe you can wind your brothers and cousins up about dating. Then, when they get on your back, tell them you’ll encourage me to date.”