Chapter Ten. #2
“Yes. He saved me from a cult. I’d been heavily indoctrinated, and Magic taught me how to live free. Magic gave me my first fizzy drink.” Alice smiled. “Then he risked this bar to save me. Magic’s my dad for all intents and purposes.”
I glanced over at Magic, and my heart skipped a beat. There was an expression on his face I bet people rarely saw. He wiped it within seconds, but I recognised the look of a doting father. I’d seen it on Vulcan often enough. Alice was Magic’s daughter, and I was glad for him.
“I’m going to check the barrels, and then I’ll be back,” Magic said, and I nodded.
“So, you’re the mother of his twins?” Alice asked.
“Yes.”
“Will you let Magic see them? Bunny and I would hate to beat you up, but we would,” Alice stated fiercely. I laughed.
“It’s the kids’ choice, not mine. They’re over sixteen and know their own minds well enough. Laila has already visited.”
Alice held my eyes. “And you’re okay with that?”
“Alice, old man was a biker, a member of an MC. I’d be very hypocritical if I kicked off at Laila coming here to see Magic.”
“Hey, you serving or what?” the guy called, and Alice turned around.
“Yup, what do you want?”
“A fuckin’ drink would be nice.”
“Well, obviously, ain’t nothing else on offer here. What would you like?” Alice said slowly.
“Get me a Jack Daniel’s.” The lack of manners made me grind my teeth, but the next words out of his mouth sent my temper boiling. “Cunt.”
I was off my stool before anyone else could react. I grabbed the back of his head and whacked it on the counter twice. He let out a roar of rage, but the second strike stunned him.
“Apologise now!”
“What the fuck, you bitch,” he snapped, and I bounced him a third time.
“Fuckin’ manners! You called the owner’s daughter a cunt. How do you suppose he’ll react?”
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“Did you hear that, Alice? No? Try again.”
“Sorry! Alright?”
“Leave and don’t forget to tip. The one thing I can’t abide is abusive assholes with no manners. Just because you’ve got a dick, doesn’t mean shit.”
The guy staggered to the door, giving everyone around a wide berth. Chuckles followed as he left, and I retook my seat.
“Wow, I think you’re my new hero,” Alice breathed and grinned.
“Nah, I’m a woman with teenage kids! You soon learn how to handle little fuckers like that.”
Magic
I laughed as I watched the footage again of Jody bouncing the customer’s head off the bar.
I printed his mug shot off as he’d be on my banned list. Jody had finally got around to telling me why she was here.
She needed a builder, so I pointed her in the direction of BlackRock Construction run by Apache and Rock from Rage MC.
Jody was certainly making plans for this teenage parent community centre she’d been talking about.
I hoped it worked out for her; that meant she’d stick around.
Not only did that allow me contact with the twins, but it also let me see more of her.
Jody had changed. There was no mistaking that, but I liked the changes and wished to get to know her again.
The truth of the matter was that I’d never fallen out of love with her.
Jody had been the one that got away—for the wrong reasons.
If I could get a second shot, I’d take it.
Jody still grieved Vulcan, and I got that, but sooner or later her heart would heal, and she’d want to date.
I intended to be whom she turned to when that happened.
The way to win Jody’s heart was through the kids, and I wanted all of them.
Jody
“Sorry, you want to what?” I asked.
“Take the children to my firing range. Jesper loves shit like that,” Magic said.
Curious, I leaned back on the porch swing and smiled. “They all do, but Jesper has a special ability for causing mayhem.”
“He’s a kid; that’s what they’re meant to do.”
“You’re not wrong there. But you’ve not got a minivan. Send me the text, and I’ll drive them.”
“Planning to stay?” Magic asked.
“Well, I don’t mind playing with guns, and trust me, with Jesper, you’ll need an extra pair of eyes!”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll bring food,” I said and cut the line.
“You’re going out?” Lars inquired from the doorway.
“Nope,” Lars relaxed. “We all are. Magic has offered to let you all loose on his firing range.”
“Suck up,” Lars stated.
“Yup, but it will burn some of the younger kids’ energy off.”
“Jesper needs it. I was thinking of taking him with me for training. He’s feeling pent up,” Lars said, and I straightened.
“What can I do?”
“For now, Mor? Nothing. Jesper needs to release his pent-up energy. An hour of nightly exercise might wear him out.”
“You’re still punished,” I said, and Lars laughed.
“I wasn’t offering to wriggle out of it. Onkel Kanon used to take Jesper and do stuff. That’s lapsed since…” Lars broke off and flinched.
“Since Dad, Kanon, and Aster died. And with the move, Jesper’s needs got lost.”
“No! I’m not saying that, Mor, but I know Onkel Kanon used to run Jesper crazy and burn off that excess energy. Tomorrow will be a good idea. What does Magic want from me?”
For a moment, I spotted the scared teen Lars was beneath the bold and brash exterior.
He was uncertain and worried Magic would try to take Vulcan’s place.
In time, Lars would understand he could care about Magic and still love Vulcan.
Right now, he didn’t recognise the difference. Lars saw it as choosing sides.
“Magic wants to get to know you. He knows he’s not your dad and never will be. But Magic can be a close friend and confidant, eventually.”
Lars pursed his lips. “We’ll see.”
“Only time will tell, honey. Anything else?”
“Some boys are sniffing around Laila. They’re the incorrect kind, Mor,” Lars said.
Amused, I smiled. “Are they wrong because they’re boys or for being future ‘wanted poster’ models?”
“Criminals in the making. Oskar and I have warned them, but they’re not listening right now. Laila luckily doesn’t want to know them, but they keep appearing where she is. They don’t know about Laila either.”
That worried me. If Lars was upset enough to discuss them, these kids were a huge problem.
“Have you told her teachers? Is Laila aware of the issue?”
“Ja, Mor. We’ve told everyone who needs to be informed, and we aren’t really bothered, but the other day they asked Laila to a rave. Laila said no, but they were angry, Mor.”
“Okay, I’ll call the school. If Laila’s being tormented, that’s not acceptable.
” I was quite annoyed that the principal hadn’t phoned to inform me what was happening.
If they planned to hide problems—boys were sexually harassing girls—they had a massive issue.
Namely, me. Nobody bullied or harassed my kids. End of story.