Fat Louise(57)

“I won’t.” Jane gave her the first genuine smile she’d had in a long time.

“Good. Now I’m going to get my husband and sneak off to that barn over there. I’ve always wanted to make out in a haystack.” Lily stood, picking up their now empty cups to throw away before going to her husband.

Jane released a deep breath, standing up. She brushed down her jeans, thinking Lily wasn’t the only one who intended to find a haystack.

* * *

“Ready?” Cade asked impatiently.

“I’m hurrying.” Jane wiggled her butt into a short leather skirt then pulled on a bright red sweater. “How do I look?”

“All Christmassy.”

Jane twirled. “That’s what I was going for.”

The club was having their annual Christmas party at the clubhouse. Instead of the members giving each other presents, everyone coming was supposed to bring a toy to be donated.

“I would prefer it if you dressed as one of Santa’s helpers,” Cade suggested with a leer.

“Be good, and I’ll give you a present when we come back here tonight,” Jane teased.

Cade had been spending a lot of time with her, catering to her every need. The only things keeping her from being spoiled from all the attention were the reasons she thought he was giving it to her. They had never discussed the tiny baby they had created and lost. In some ways, it had drawn him to her, while it had pushed her away from him. She couldn’t forgive how he had been with other women in the clubhouse after his night with her, nor had he regained her trust. She didn’t know if he ever would, despite that she enjoyed spending time with him, getting to know him better, and learning he had never had much of a family life. It was ironic. She wanted a loving family and home to replace the one she had never had, whereas Cade ran from the thought of a family, too wary of the pain his own had inflicted.

“We’re not staying here tonight; we’re staying at the club. I need to get away from Crazy Bitch and that cat. I don’t know which of them is worse. At least the fucking cat sleeps a lot.”

“That’s not nice.”

“It’s the truth,” Cade stated, handing her the black jacket she had laid on the bed. “Let’s go.”

They went into the living room where several brightly colored Christmas presents were wrapped. Killyama was already blowing her horn outside.

“Does she have to do that?” Cade asked impatiently as he picked up several of the packages. Jane also picked up several to take herself.

“Take those on down and tell her I’m coming.” Crazy Bitch came into the room, looking fabulous in a green leather top with black leggings.

Jane and Cade packed the presents down the steps to Killyama’s car, and then Jane climbed into the backseat. Cade was going to follow on his motorcycle.

Crazy Bitch put the remaining presents in the trunk, slamming it closed before she climbed into the front seat next to Killyama.

“Did you buy out the store?” Killyama asked as she drove out of the parking lot.

“Almost,” Jane conceded. She had bought more than she had originally intended.

As they drove past the street that Jane’s mother lived on, she turned her head to look toward the apartment complex. Blue lights were flashing outside her mother’s building, which was divided into four apartments.

“Wait! Killyama, go to Mom’s house. The cops are out front.” Jane felt the beginning of panic as Killyama quickly took a sharp left.

Jane jumped out of the car, running toward her mother. The police were walking her out in handcuffs. She was kicking out at the officers as they tried to push her toward the patrol car.

“Step back.” Another officer by the police car blocked her from getting closer to her mother.

“That’s my mother. What happened?”

“She sold crack to an undercover police officer.”

Her mother was still resisting the officers, screaming profanities. Her brown hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed since the last time Jane had seen her, which had been last week, and she was wearing a small pair of shorts that looked like they belonged to a teenager. In fact, Jane thought they were a pair of shorts she had worn in middle school. She also had on a T-shirt with no bra. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“She’s been selling drugs to the kids in the neighborhood for a while now. We were finally able to catch her an hour ago.”

Jane took a step away from her mother, coming up against Cade, whose arm went around her waist in support. She had forgotten he had been following them.

“Don’t just stand there, call a lawyer. That stuck-up sister of Sex Piston’s is a lawyer, isn’t she? Call her. Tell her these sons of bitches are violating my civil liberties. I was in my own home watching TV.” Jane easily recognized the signs of her mother being high. “Get busy, you good for nothing slut. You better get me out of jail in an hour, or I’m going to smack the shit out of you.”