53. Chapter 53
After Patch leaves, I put the supplies I used to wrap his arm on the counter, and I wheel myself back to the table. I’m so nervous, I can barely taste the breakfast that Patch and Ash made together. My mind keeps going back to that awful night nine years ago. I hope they’re able to find out information that will help us find Stephan and Diego. I’m tired of looking over my shoulder all the time, worried they, or one of their goons, have snuck past the club’s defenses and have found us.
Shaking my head, I sigh. I have to trust that the club will keep us safe. If I keep worrying, the kids will pick up on it and I don’t want that. This is the first time that they’ve really been able to be the kids that they are. To enjoy the things that they like in life.
“Mama, I’m all done,” Cassie calls as she holds her hands up, fingers spread wide.
She’s a little monster whenever syrup, or anything sticky for that matter, is involved and knows she’s not to touch anything until we wipe off her hands.
Ash gets up and grabs the wipes off the counter for me, and seeing my plate is empty, he picks it up along with my glass and takes it to the counter for me.
“Thank you, Hawk.” Seeing his plate is also empty, I nod at it. “How about you take your plate to the sink too and I’ll take care of it in a minute? Then wash your hands and head on upstairs to get ready.”
Both he and Isaiah put their plates on the counter, and they’re about to help pick up the leftovers when I shake my head. “Head on up. Get changed, brush your teeth, comb your hair, and come back down. I’ll take care of the leftovers as well.”
Isaiah heads upstairs, but Ash hesitates. Out of the three of them, he’s the one that’s having the most trouble letting go and just being a kid. Then again, he’s been at my side helping me with whatever I needed since he was old enough to understand Stephan wasn’t a good man and never lifted a finger unless it was to hurt us. I tilt my head toward the stairs and smile at him, hoping to convey that I’m alright and that he could go. He hesitates a beat more, but then finally heads upstairs. Turning back to Cassie, I continue to clean up her hands and then wipe around her face.
“Your turn, Angel. Can you put your plate and cup on the counter for me? When you come down after getting ready, I’ll do your hair for you.”
She leans forward, kisses my cheek, slides off the chair and does as I asked before running to the stairs. I’m just about to warn her not to run on the stairs when she comes to an abrupt halt at the base of the stairs, grabs the railing and walks briskly up the stairs.
Taking a deep breath, I force my nerves to calm down as I wipe up the table and then wheel over to the sink. Carefully, I lean forward and lock the wheels of my chair before using the counter to stand. Rinsing all the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher only takes a few minutes, but it must have been enough time for the boys to have gotten ready and changed, as I can hear their steps on the stairs as I start the dishwasher. Cassie is right behind them and I smile when I see she has her baggie of hair ties, a brush, and a rat-tail comb in her hands.
“Okay. You boys can watch cartoons while I do Cassie’s hair, and then it’s time for schoolwork.”
It’s already after three and Patch still isn’t back yet. The kids are getting restless and they’re begging to be able to go to Mae’s to play in the treehouse in their backyard while it’s still light out and good weather. Pulling out my phone, I text Mae and am relieved when she says it’s okay to head over. However, what makes me pause is that she says Timber will be over to help me. If Timber’s home, then why isn’t Patch?
Unease unfurls throughout me, but I do my best not to let it show again, and instead look up at the kids and smile. “Mae said we could head over, so grab anything you want to take over and let’s get ready.”
They cheer and quickly start getting their things around. We’d already decided that tonight would be a pizza night so that none of us ladies would have to cook. Heading to my bedroom, I grab a sweatshirt since it’s not too cold out right now. I’ll still take my coat for later, though.
In the privacy of our room, I once again dig out my phone, but there’s no message from Patch. Is he still doing something or talking to someone? My mind instantly goes to a few nights ago when I got an eyeful of things I definitely didn’t want to see.
Levi had instituted a rule that the bunnies couldn’t come out until after nine o’clock at night for entertainment for the single guys, and I hadn’t realized it’d gotten that late. I was shocked to see how little the bunnies wore and that they had sex right out in the open. However, at least they had the decency to bend over the back of the furniture, so I don’t have to worry about someone’s body fluids soaking into the couch cushions or something like that. A shudder runs through me as I seriously hope there are no bodily fluids on those couches. Needless to say, we left out the back door that night with the kids.
Then there was what happened last night as well. On top of having to witness Cici trying to seduce Patch, it had stung what she’d said about me. While Patch tried to get me to forget about it by worshipping every curve of mine, multiple times I might add, those words still live rent free in the back of my mind, even if I don’t want them too.
I shake my head. No. Patch wouldn’t do that to me. Not after what he said to Cici. Not after saying he wants to marry me and have more kids with me. Bringing my mind back to the matter at hand, I send him a quick text saying that we’re headed over to Mae’s house, just so he knows. Surprisingly, he answers me back right away, saying he should be there soon and that he’s been on the phone with Abuelo (Grandpa), Thor, and Smoke for the past couple of hours. He also apologized for not messaging sooner, but he didn’t think the phone call would take that long.
The knot of worry loosens in my chest before it instantly tightens again. Wait, what are they talking about with Abuelo (Grandpa)? And why did they have to reach out to him in the first place? Gah! I wish I could have been with them… wherever it is that they’re holding those assholes, so that I knew what the hell was going on.
“We’re ready, Mom,” Isaiah calls out from the living room, and I take a few deep breaths to try and shake off my frustrations.
“Okay, I’ll be out in a moment.”
I carefully slip on my sweatshirt and then grab the backpack I’d prepared earlier, twisting in my chair to secure it to the handlebars. I know Mae and Levi said I didn’t need to bring anything, but I wasn’t sure what colors they all had for nail polish, so I decided to bring mine and Cassie’s along with, just in case. Cassie’s extremely excited about tonight. As soon as Mae explained what a spa night entailed, Cassie begged to have her nails painted. It hadn’t dawned on me until that point, that she’d never had that experience before and my chest had ached when I thought about even more things that the kids have never experienced because of Stephan’s control.
Right as I’m wheeling out of my room, the doorbell rings. All three of the kids run excitedly to the door and panic grips me.
“Wait! We need to see who it is before opening the door,” I call out and they instantly screech to a halt, their sneakers squeaking against the floor. Ash steps forward and pulls out a stepstool that Patch had put by the door for instances like this or when he isn’t home. Climbing up, he peers through the peephole.
“It’s Timber!” he calls out excitedly as he crawls back down and puts away the stepstool before opening the door.
“High fives kiddos for remembering to see who’s at the door,” Timber says as he comes in and my cheeks heat that I had probably shouted loud enough that he could hear me through the shut door. However, I’m extremely thankful that he’s helping to instill the importance of checking who is at the door before opening it.
“Thank you,” I mouth to him and he tilts his head in acknowledgement before turning his focus back to the kids and leaning down, resting his hands on his knees. He gives them a hard look and all three of them straighten in front of him, almost like they’re little soldiers in formation. He frowns, but thankfully, he doesn’t mention anything about it.
“Your mom has a very good point. Do you know why it’s so important to see who’s at the door before unlocking it and opening it?”
Ash nods, but Timber cuts him off with a small shake of his head. He looks at Isaiah and then to Cassie.
“Cassie? Do you know why?”
She nods, her little curls bouncing at the movement. “To make sure we know who it is and so we don’t open it for a stranger.”
Timber nods in response. “Yes, that’s right, but it’s also okay to not unlock or open the door, even if it’s someone you know.”
“Like Stephan, Diego, Kristoff, or the others,” Ash says in a quiet voice and Cassie and Isaiah’s mouths drop open into an ‘o’ at Timber’s nod.
“That’s right. It’s your choice who you let into your house and who you don’t. Do you remember what you’re supposed to do if you see any of them? Even if we’re in town?”
Isaiah nods. “We’re to find Mom or Dad or one of the club members. If we can’t, we find an adult and call Dad’s phone number.”
“And all three of you have it memorized, right?” Timber grins at their confirmation, and as he straightens, he ruffles Isaiah and Ash’s hair. “Good job, kiddos. Now, who’s ready to have some fun?”
All three of them hop up and down in excitement, raising their hands and running to grab their backpacks and jackets. Ash grabs my jacket from the closet, but Timber takes it from him and crosses the room to me, helping me slip it on.
“I kind of figured your shoulder might be a little tired after being here alone all morning. I won’t make you wear your sling once we get to the house, because of your guys’ plans, but you have to promise me that you won’t overdo anything. Patch would have my ass if I messed up your recovery.”
Smiling, I shake my head. “I promise, and the kids helped me move around today as well. They like steering the chair.” I pause, questions buzzing in my skull, but then I frown when he slightly shakes his head.
“Not around the kids,” he whispers. “Patch will tell you what he can when you guys are alone. I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be, but I know he, Thor, and Smoke went into Thor’s office to call Antonio after we were done with our meeting, which was around noon.”
Swallowing thickly, I nod. “I texted him a few minutes ago, letting him know what our plans were and where we’ll be. He thought they wouldn’t be too much longer.”
Timber dips his head in acknowledgement and steps behind me, wheeling me toward the door. I dig my keys out of my pocket and hand them over my shoulder to him. He locks up, returns my keys, and I can’t help my smile at seeing him listening and participating in the kids’ conversations as we walk along the path toward his house. And it’s not just him and Patch who do it. Whenever the kids go up to anyone in the club, they all stop what they’re doing and listen to and talk with them.
I know to anyone else, their actions probably wouldn’t even be noticed, but to me and the kids, it’s huge. Stephan never listened to or interacted like this with them before. The kids have flourished so much with the help of the club and for that alone, I’ll be forever grateful to them for.
I’m brought out of my thoughts as we arrive at Timber’s house and he guides my chair up the ramp.
Isaiah opens their front door and I chuckle at his excited voice as he calls inside. “Auntie MaeMae! We’re here!”
A grunt sounds from my right and I turn in time to see Mae getting up off the couch.
“I swear, Timber, every time I sit on this behemoth of a couch, it wants to swallow me up whole. And it’s only gotten worse since becoming pregnant,” she grumbles before coming over and hugging the kids. As the kids head further into house, Timber steps up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and whispers something in her ear. Her cheeks turn pink and I bite my lip as I look away, knowing whatever it was, it was something intimate and most definitely not for my ears.
Mae clears her throat and her blush deepens when I turn back toward her. “I’ve got us set up downstairs. Timber moved things around down there, so the kids still have somewhere to play when they come in from outside. Oh! And Levi said she’d be over after a little while. She’s just finishing up some paperwork for the bar and grill.”
I paused and look at them in shock. “How did I not know you guys have a basement? I thought this far north, it would be too rocky to be worth the effort.”
Both Mae and Timber grin.
“We got really lucky with the ground we’re on,” Timber tells me. “When we were building, we only had to move a handful of big rocks at each site, but the rest were pretty easy to remove with the excavator. Sure, it took a bit longer, but in the end, it was worth it. All of the houses have basements so far, and even the clubhouse has one.”
That’s right. The panic room is probably there from what the kids had said the other day.
Mae claps her hands as she grins. “Okay, let’s head down because I’m pretty sure a cute little chickadee isn’t going to be able to wait much longer.”
I return her grin and nod knowingly in agreement. “Very true. She kept begging to come over here earlier, but I made her finish her schoolwork and then settle down for a nap first.”
I follow behind them, but right as we get to the stairs, there’s a knock on the door and when it opens, I smile at Levi as she slips off her coat and boots.
“Sorry! I needed to finish some paperwork really quick. If I don’t keep up on it, it will be a nightmare to dig out of and I’m trying to get as much done before these two come and derail everything,” she says as she rubs her tummy.
There’s another knock on the door and my shoulders fall in relief at seeing Patch there with Levi’s men right behind him. He quickly unlaces his boots and slips them off before stalking my way. He leans down and places a searing kiss on my lips.
The world falls away at his touch and I lean into him. Unfortunately, he pulls away all too soon and my cheeks heat as I remember we’re not alone. God, I hope I didn’t get too carried away and moan or anything.
“Everything’s okay, I’ll tell you what I can later,” he whispers in my ear and I nod, my shoulders falling even more in relief that he confirmed what Timber had told me earlier. He stands and then bends down, lifting me out of the chair. “Now, let’s get you downstairs so you ladies can have a relaxing afternoon and evening.”
I give him a stern look and he huffs. “I know, if I pop a stitch, you’ll have my ass, but I’m carrying my woman. Yes, they pull slightly, but I’m still good.”
Shaking my head, I keep my mouth shut. I’ll just have to trust him to know his own limits.
Later, after doing facials, pedicures, and manicures, we’re sitting around on the couches downstairs talking. Nikki and Sadie each have a cocktail, whereas the rest of us are sipping on mocktails as the kids play on the other side of the room and warm up from being outside for the past few hours. Surprisingly, I found new friends rather quickly in Nikki and Susie, and their kids, Sadie and Jordan, get along splendidly with mine. Elvira and Lindsey are here as well, and it’s been great getting to know them better.
I shake my head at something Mae just said. “Okay, wait. This has been confusing me ever since we first talked. Did you ever find out what happened? How did your mom and Preston end up being able to convince Smoke that you were stillborn?”
She gives a sad smile as she twirls the stem of the glass in her hand.
“Patch started looking into it as soon as he found out the truth. It took him awhile, since he was using his down time when he was on shift, but he finally found the truth about a month before you came here.
“There was another family that had delivered a baby girl a few days before I was born, but their baby was stillborn. What Dad remembers Preston and Mom saying was true. The little girl’s umbilical cord got wrapped around her neck and ended up suffocating her. The day I was born, the head mortician discovered the girl’s body was missing when the people from the funeral home came to pick up her body to prepare her for her funeral. Everyone, especially the parents, were in a frenzy trying to figure out what had happened.”
I stared at her in shock, dread filling me at what mostly likely had happened. Both Levi and Nikki reach over to comfort her, which is pretty easy since Mae is sitting between them. Levi takes Mae’s free hand, squeezing it slightly, while Nikki lays her hand on Mae’s thigh, also squeezing it slightly in support. Turning, I realize it must be just family that knew the truth because Sadie’s and Elvira’s faces mirror my own shock.
“Dad and Patch did some digging into who was working in the morgue at that time and found out that one of the guys working there had racked up some pretty big debts playing poker, but then miraculously, they were wiped clean the day Mom was discharged from the hospital. Preston’s brother, Phillip, and another guy everyone called Creeper ran the underground poker games. We think this guy’s debt was wiped clean by doing a few favors for the three of them, which included swiping that little girl’s body and presenting her to Dad as me. There was also a nurse and a doctor who were fired not too long after I was born and per the paperwork, they helped deliver me. We think they were the ones that helped switch us babies around and for someone to watch me until the coast was clear.”
My mouth opens and closes several times before finally getting my voice to work. “That’s terrible! Did the parents ever get their little girl back?”
“We think so. I mean, they had a burial for her. I even went to the cemetery to see her grave for myself, just to make sure. According to some notes the head mortician had written into the system, a dead baby was found in a box outside the hospital one night. There was a note inside the box that gave a last name, Robertson, which was the little girl’s family’s last name. Since they already had the little girl’s handprint and footprint from her birth, they compared it to the dead baby’s, and it was a perfect match. I don’t think they did any digging into if the hand and footprints matched other records, because if they did, they would have realized they matched the ones with my real name on it. As for the fake birth certificate, Dad thinks it’s really my handprint and footprint since they look different. Unfortunately, everything happened so long ago that Dad couldn’t find any security footage still around so we have no idea who returned the little girl.”
I shake my head. “That’s insane,” I mutter, not even able to wrap my mind around why someone would even try to pull a stunt like that on someone.
“Yeah, the whole ordeal fudged with Dad’s head big time back then. Which repeated when I suddenly showed up a few months ago looking for help. I’m just thankful that we both got past things and now have a good relationship. I’ll be including him in on a ton of things with the kids since he missed everything with me,” she says as she rubs her tummy.
“When are you due again, Mae?” Susie asks, her brow furrowed in thought.
“Well, that’s the tricky thing with multiples. I’m due June 9 th , but the doc thinks I’ll deliver a few months before then, so probably sometime in April is my guess,” she says as she shrugs and lifts her hands in the air.
“I’m glad my girls are going to have their cousins so close in age and be able to play with them when they’re older,” Levi says with a warm smile on her face as she rubs her stomach with one hand and places her other one on Mae’s stomach.
Mae hums and rubs her hand on the other side of her stomach. “Agreed. I always hated being an only child and not having anyone else to really play with, either friend or cousin, so I’m very much looking forward to it as well.”
Levi turns toward Nikki and then Susie, cocking her eyebrow. “Any updates on you guys’ fronts? Any yummy men in your lives? Maybe you guys will be next?”
Both of them shake their heads, but I do notice both of their cheeks tinge pink a little.
“Nope! I am a-okay with my battery-operated boyfriend for the foreseeable future.”
Nikki wrinkles her nose. “Same. I’m not ready to have another kid or jump back in the dating pool just yet.” She pauses and gets a mischievous look in her eye. “Besides, I think Mary might be the next one with the way Patch is always looking at her and following her around.”
My cheeks heat with the memories from last night and all four of their jaws drop.
“No way,” Susie says, drawing out the words a bit. “Already?”
Biting my lip, I shake my head as my cheeks flame even hotter. God, I’m thankful for my olive complexion and hope that it helps hide some of the redness. “I doubt it. I mean, last night was the first time we’d, uh, done it,” I stutter out when I remember there were little ears nearby, but thankfully they’re all consumed with their playing and aren’t paying attention to us. “So yeah. Maybe at some point we’ll have another baby, but we’re just going to let nature take its course. Besides, I’m not exactly free of my chains just yet.” I pause as I look down at my glass, swirling the liquid in the glass slightly.
“I’m still struggling with a lot of things from what all Stephan had said and done to me over the years, but I think, no I know I wouldn’t be as far along in getting passed them if it weren’t for Patch’s help. It’s still shocking that I was able to let him in physically so soon, but under everything, he’s still the same boy I fell in love with all those years ago. Yes, he’s changed, but at the core, he’s the same.”
Sadie reaches over and place a hand on my arm, squeezing it slightly as she gives me a soft smile.
“And that’s completely okay. Everyone handles their trauma differently. What works for one person might not work for another. Are the journals helping?” Mae asks me and immediately, I nod.
“Very much so, thank you. I’m sure at some point I’ll feel comfortable talking about all of this,” I say as I gesture circularly toward my head, “with a therapist, but I’m not at that point just yet. And with the trial, I’m honestly not even sure if I can talk to someone about all this until it’s over.”
The others frown.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure your grandpa or Sam would be able to tell you,” Nikki says. “Have you heard anything about when the trial will take place?”
I let out a big breath. “Yeah, I just got a letter on Friday saying that it’ll start on January 15 th . I’m nervous though. With finally getting the trial date, I don’t know if that will trigger Stephan into doing something haphazardly or not. I really don’t want anyone else hurt because of me.”
I swallow hard as I remember exactly how much my friends were hurt yesterday since I helped Doc stitch up all of them.
Levi frowns harshly. “What those assholes did yesterday is not on you, Mary. They decided to stake out in our woods and spy on us. They were the ones trying to kidnap you. They were the ones that set off the bomb and were pulling the triggers on their guns in order to try and hurt or even kill us. You didn’t do any of that. You weren’t the cause of anything.” Her face softens and she gives me a soft smile. “Like working through your trauma, it will take you time to be able to come to terms with the fact that those assholes are responsible for their own decisions and actions. Not you. And if you need help along the way, we’re all here for you and those gorgeous kiddos of yours. If you need help, just ask. We’ve got your back, babe.”
My chest warms as I smile. I have no idea how I got this lucky, but after the hell that I’ve lived through, I’m definitely going to enjoy the luck while it lasts.