Chapter 42 ZODIAC
ZODIAC
My shower took twice its usual length. I figured Elle was selling the Baton Rouge move to her family and didn’t need me showing up naked to help. Once I was out of the shower, I texted Exile to bring me clothes.
I stretched out on Elle’s bed with a towel across my dick just in case Sutter showed up. I was looking at texts from the guys back home when Exile knocked on the door before entering.
He closed the door behind him and dropped a pile of clothes on the bed. I grabbed a pair of boxers and yanked them on. His gaze flashed around the room as if giving me privacy. I knew he was waiting to lecture me.
Adjusting his hat, he nodded. “You’re moving Elle to Baton Rouge.”
“Elle’s the only chick that’ll work for me. I’ve got to give this thing a shot. You know me. I don’t do regrets. If I want something, I go for it. If I fail, oh, fucking well.”
“I can’t argue with that logic. I chased Lula and didn’t look back. But Elle has a fatherless kid. He’s going to get attached to you. How will he handle things if ‘oh, fucking, well’ happens?”
“Sutter’s smart,” I said and yanked on the jeans. “He knows his mom and me aren’t normal people.”
“Where are you planning to live? When I looked around for places with enough space, the options were slim.”
Tugging a T-shirt over my head, I refused to let him derail my plan. “I don’t need a big fancy place like your lawyer.”
“What about Elle? She’s used to this upscale house. So is Sutter.”
Running my hands through my damp hair, I faced Exile. “Dude, if you have issues with this decision, spit it out. We both know you’re not worried about me finding a solid house.”
“Okay, then. My issue is that you’ve never once shown any interest in having a family.
You get irritated when people come over to your place.
Elle is great, and Sutter’s a cool kid. Plus, there’s the baby to consider.
I get all that. But moving them to Baton Rouge like this is out of character for you. ”
“Look at it this way, I give myself what I want. Right now, I can’t function with Elle so far away.”
“Well, I’ll support you however you need. You did that for me with Lula.”
Tying my boots, I eyed him. “But you think I’ll fail with Elle.”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Playing the family man doesn’t seem to be in your DNA. But for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve never failed at anything. I don’t know why you’d start now.”
I combed my fingers through my wet hair again, enjoying how I smelled like Elle. The woman felt like she’d always been mine. Just like how I was always meant to be the Black Rainbow’s president.
I eyed Exile before admitting, “You should know if Elle or the boys aren’t happy in Baton Rouge, I’m willing to walk away from the club.”
“What the fuck?” he nearly shouted. “Now, I know you’re cracked in the head.”
“Let me ask you something. If I had insisted you be in Baton Rouge a hundred percent of the time or I’d kick you out of the club, would you have stuck with me or given up the Black Rainbow for Lula?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think you do,” I said and poked his chest. “That’s why I didn’t give you an ultimatum. I wasn’t looking to lose that battle.”
“The Black Rainbow has been your life,” Exile said in a pained voice.
“True, but I put myself first always. Right now, I need Elle. If it comes down to her or the club, I don’t think I can walk away from her like I can the club. Of course, I could start a chapter of our club here in Little Memphis. We’ll just need to kill off the Jokers.”
Exile gave my idea a little eye roll. “Who would run the club in Baton Rouge if you quit?”
“York’s plenty capable. Lots of our guys are, but they don’t have the balls to push me out of the way.”
“But you’re not quitting yet.”
“I honestly feel like Elle and Sutter can be happy in Baton Rouge. I’ll find them a good place to live with plenty of space for their family.
I’ll make sure the little nerd feels stimulated, and LSU is a decent school.
I bet a few of those dweeb professors would like to mentor a genius like Sutter.
Elle’s going to be busy with the baby soon.
I believe I can build them a good life there. ”
“Elle’s really tight with her family and the club.”
“Ford and Shay will likely be in Baton Rouge a lot. Elle has already started bonding with our club. Plus, York has the hots for a Crimson Guard chick. If he can ever figure out how to nail that down, Elle might have a local friend.”
“Any idea who York’s into? We could work our magic and make that happen sooner rather than later. Elle will do better if she has her people nearby.”
“Chill, will you? You’re doing the ping pong shit with living here and Baton Rouge.
Lula has a kid and a life here. I assume you’ll bang a kid into her eventually.
Nothing I’m doing is out of bounds,” I said and then added, “No, I don’t have a clue about York’s crush.
He wasn’t eyeballing anyone at Cher’s party, so I might be reading that situation wrong. ”
Since Exile was in a tense mood anyway, I added, “I think Boone Chester plans to make a move on your sister.”
“What?”
Shrugging, I didn’t wait around to deal with his panic. I left the room and found Lula and Sabrina snarling at each other.
Lula growled, “Bossy brat.”
“Shut your cornhole, Miss Daisy,” Sabrina replied before noticing me. “Oh, here’s the anal sore now.”
Ignoring Sabrina’s rage, I focused on Elle, who offered a tight smile.
“Have we decided, or should I go hide in your room for a while longer?”
“Why do you have to decide right now?” Sabrina asked Elle. “Take your time. Maybe wait until your head injury heals.”
Elle touched her temple and sighed. “It’s been a weird day. I killed a man. I hit my head. I cried over a lady getting turned into ground beef. My baby daddy asked me to live with him. I should probably sleep on it before deciding, but Sutter and I want to give you a chance to fail.”
Smiling, I liked how she didn’t get overly sentimental. Sutter studied me, but his expression was unreadable. Ford was more obvious about his feelings.
“Let’s go talk logistics,” Ford told me and stood up. “Shay and I have concerns.”
Before following Ford, I stroked Elle’s head. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes.”
I glanced at Sutter. “How about you?”
“I’m okay, but I wish my mom didn’t hurt her head or cry over that lady turned into ground beef.”
I grinned at the kid. “We’ll take care of her. Maybe we can eat burgers for dinner, so she’ll think of that instead of the lady.”
Ford snorted at my comment before gesturing for me to follow him upstairs.
I scanned the people in the basement. Elle smiled softly at me.
Sutter watched me like I might be someone cool.
Sabrina stared like she was trying to kill me with her mind.
Exile was checking out Lula’s tits. She was watching the dog while casually fondling Exile’s ass.
And then there was Shay, watching me like I held her heart in my hand. Her miserable gaze made me uncomfortable, so I left the basement drama and walked upstairs to find Ford at the back windows.
“Are you going to get a decent place for Elle and Sutter to live? I can’t have them slumming it in your hometown.”
“You’ve seen Lula’s place. There are nice houses in Baton Rouge.”
“Will Elle and Sutter be safe there?”
“I plan to keep Elle trapped at the house, so she can’t get into shootouts like here.”
“Good,” Ford said and exhaled as his gaze scanned the backyard. “She won’t be happy. Not right away. I expect her to be excited and optimistic when they first move down there. But there’ll come a time when she’ll cry a lot and get mopey. Are you ready for that?”
“Are you saying she won’t stay there?”
“No, I’m saying she’ll need patience and reassurance. She might be bursting at the seams with your baby and looking a mess. Can you be someone who makes her feel better? Or will I need to drive down there to deal with her bad moods?”
“I don’t know.”
Ford eyed me and nodded. “I know you don’t, and I’m glad you can admit you don’t. Because I know what kind of man you are. I was that kind of man. But I had Pax to keep me from going cold inside. So, I worry this thing with Elle might be more than you can handle.”
“You’re right to worry. I didn’t plan to ask her to move to Baton Rouge. But I can’t keep leaving my club and riding up here. So, I knew she needed to move, or I needed to give up my club.”
“Would you really walk away from the Black Rainbow?”
“Sure. I wanted to claim the club, and I did. I wanted to be a better president than Wrecker, and I am. Now, I want Elle in my bed every night. I’m curious about what Sutter’s learning each day.
I’ve gotten to thinking about how my boy needs to see my face when he wakes up.
If that can’t happen in Baton Rouge, I’ll start over. I’ve done that shit my whole life.”
Ford studied me like I was nuts. He couldn’t truly understand because he had Pax growing up.
I’d seen the brothers together. They were best friends, always taking time out of their days to fuck with each other.
Pax loved Ford more than Ford loved himself.
I’d never had anyone love me like that, but I felt like I could with Elle, Sutter, and the baby.
“I want to name the baby Trent after the character from that movie Elle likes.”
“She doesn’t like it. The damn thing scared the shit out of her.
She was a teenage girl crawling into our bed in the middle of the night, talking about monsters.
I’d have found it funny if she weren’t in tears,” he said and then scratched at his beard.
“Trent’s a decent name. Better than Wilbur or even Megatron. ”
“I still want Megatron for his middle name.”
Ford chuckled. “I hope you get your wish. Pax will be so jealous.”
“Are we good, then?”
“Sure. I mean, assuming you don’t cheat on Elle or treat her like shit. Then, I plan to bring my bat and hope I’m not too old to break your knees.”
We shared a laugh at his threat despite him being fully serious. I wouldn’t respect the guy if he didn’t threaten me.
Ford was right to worry, too. I had zero experience with commitment or a solid family. I was in completely uncharted territory right now.
But if any woman was capable of teaching me how to live like a family man, Elle was it.