Chapter 32 #2
“Um…I wanted to know if I could spend a few days this week over at the apartments?” She wasn’t struggling to get out of my arms, but she was brushing her hand over my arm. It was more of a fidgeting motion than anything.
She knew I had no problem with her spending time with her people. Which made me wonder what this was. “Why?”
“A few of the women have asked me to speak with their children. They’re having a hard time coping.” She wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I’m not sure I’m the best one to help them, but their mothers can’t seem to get the kids to talk to them.”
All the tension bled out of me. She wasn’t nervous to tell me. She was nervous that she’d somehow fail the children if she took on this task. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“You do?” Those beautiful ocean blue eyes were watching me, full of hope and love.
“I do. I’m sure Jenny would be willing to go and help you, too.
She’s probably had some training and knows how to talk to kids.
I’m sure there are more than a few of the women who would benefit from speaking to you as well.
Maybe if you like it,” I said, thinking out loud, “you could take some courses at Pima Community College or the U of A and become a certified counselor.”
She stood there, blinking up at me, tears filling her eyes instead of responding. It made me worry that I’d said something wrong. “Only if you want to, of course.”
“I think I would,” she told me in a choked voice.
“It would be the perfect thing for you,” I offered, a bit hesitant since she seemed so upset. “You’re built to help others. It’s ingrained in who you are. I’m sure you got that from your mother-”
That did it. She was suddenly pressed against my chest, sobbing. My arms tightened around her and I glanced over and found both Butcher and Toxic scowling at me. I shrugged at them, as if their opinion mattered. They were experts at making women cry. They continued to stand close by, studying us.
Great. My wife has her own pair of guard dogs.
“Sloane. Why are you crying?”
“You’ve made me so happy!” The words were in direct conflict with her sobs as she spoke them.
I’d never fully understand women or their ability to cry when they were happy.
The last time I’d cried was when I was ten and I broke my fucking leg skateboarding.
Well, and when my dog died, but that doesn’t count.
Clearing my throat, I rubbed a soothing hand over her back until the sobs had died down to sniffles.
“Can you help me get into school?” There was a single tear drop hanging off her lower lashes on her right eye.
Wiping it away, I looked down into her sweet face. “You can have anything and everything you want,” I vowed, meaning it with every fiber of my being.
“Anything?” she breathed, looking astonished.
“Anything within my power to give you.”
She smiled at me. “I want to go to college.”
“Done. I’ll have Rat cook up some transcripts for you so it’s easy for us to enroll you.”
“And I want babies.”
I froze. Those words were like a punch to the solar plexus. Mostly because I’d finally decided that was what I wanted, too. A little girl with her looks and charm. A son who I could pass on my love of bikes and surfing to. Hell, I’d do the same with my daughter.
A devilish grin spread over my face. “You want babies?”
“Yes,” she answered, hesitating at the look on my face.
“That’s no problem.”
She squealed as I dipped and flung her up and over my shoulder. “Rip! Put me down,” she shouted, laughter punctuating each word.
“Nope.”
“Where the hell are you two goin’?” Hush bellowed from across the grassy area we meticulously maintained throughout the year. It was the perfect place for kids to play, though it was a bitch to keep alive in the hot summers.
“Don’t you dare,” she gasped.
I did it anyway. “My wife wants babies,” I shouted back. Sloane groaned and shifted. I was positive she was covering her face. “So we’re off to make babies.”
Lockout, Hush, and the others all chuckled while the women giggled.
“You’re in so much trouble,” Sloane grumbled.
“Am I?” I asked, playfully slapping her ass.
She shrieked and hit my back in retaliation. “You can’t tell everyone that!”
“Why?”
“Because they’re going to know what we’re doing,” she huffed.
“Angel, they already know what we’re doing. What we’ve been doing,” I told her. “Speaking of, I’m surprised you’re not already knocked up considering how many times we fucked before.”
She gasped at my language, making me chuckle. I’d watered down the cussing while I’d been inside The Order. She was getting the full view of the man her husband was, now that we were home. She never complained, though I knew I shocked her often.
She cleared her throat, but didn’t speak. Jostling her on my shoulder, I silently prompted her to speak.
“Fine,” she mumbled. “There was a tea I made for the women when they didn’t want to get pregnant. It wasn’t perfect, but it made it harder to get pregnant.”
My stride slowed as I thought about that. “Why did any of them have kids with those guys then?”
“It would be too suspicious if none of us ever fell pregnant,” she admitted, “but also, the women often wanted their babies. They wanted a being that would actually love them.”
“Makes sense,” I replied. Sadness swept over me as I thought about that. They’d been so desperate for love and affection that they’d gotten pregnant even in those horrific circumstances. I couldn’t blame them. Certainly wouldn’t judge them for their choices.
Once we’d reached the clubhouse, I swung Sloane down and pressed her against the building. Cupping her cheeks in my hands, I kissed her. “Anything you want. Forever,” I promised her.
“The thing I want the most…” she said once I stopped kissing her, “is you.”
“That, you’ll always have.”