“Fine, but I want something good tomorrow night,” Drake said with a huff.
“I love your spaghetti, Momma. Can I help you make the salad?” Isabelle asked.
“Sure, baby girl. Come on. I’d love for you to help,” Tessa said as she pulled out everything they would need.
They had a quiet supper together. Most nights were the same around their house. After dinner, Tessa would work on grading papers and lesson plans, while the kids watched TV or played their video games in the living room. Drake had just turned 13 and was in the seventh grade, while Izzie was only 6 and in the first grade. They were relatively new to town, so they were still getting to know people. Tessa had several friends from school, and really enjoyed spending time with her pair teacher, Courtney. She was younger and kept Tessa feeling young. They often went out together on the weekends when the kids were at her mother’s. It was nice to have a break now and then.
Although it was hard to be off on their own, Tessa knew she had made the right move for her kids. Things with her husband hadn’t been good from the start. She had become pregnant with Drake while she was still in college. She had married his father, Steven, several months before he was born. Steven had always resented her for becoming pregnant so early. He wasn’t ready to give up his life of partying with his frat buddies, and he had let her know every chance he got that he wasn’t happy with their marriage.
She had tried to make the best of it and even thought having a second child might make things better. Unfortunately, it only made things worse. He’d begun drinking heavily, and he was not a pleasant drunk. She and the kids began looking forward to the times when Steven was gone on trips for work or just out at the bar with his friends. When he was home, they were always on edge waiting for him to explode about something. No one knew what would set him off or how to make him happy. He was mad at the world, and he’d taken it out on his family. Tessa finally had enough and had asked for a divorce. Thankfully, he hadn’t even tried to fight her.
For a time, the kids would go to their father’s house every other weekend and every other holiday. Then, over time, he began to make excuses to miss his visits. He always had some lame reason he couldn’t make it and didn’t seem to mind not seeing the kids. It had been months since they had seen him, but that didn’t seem to bother them. They rarely asked about him, and they were excited to spend the extra holidays at home instead of traveling. Tessa couldn’t imagine being away from them like that, but she held on to the hope that he would become the father they needed someday. She hated that her kids were missing out on a relationship with their dad.
“It’s time for bed guys! And be sure to put your backpacks by the back door for the morning,” Tessa said.
“We know, Mom. You don’t have to say that every night,” Drake said sarcastically.
“I’m just reminding you. Did you get all of your homework done?” Tessa asked.
“Yeah. I gotta get that Language project done tomorrow night for Mrs. Delk’s class. I need you to pick up some posterboard after school if you can,” Drake told her.
“Okay, but you have to tell me before nine o’clock at night, Drake. Don’t wait till the last minute every time,” Tessa fussed.
“I’m not waiting till the last minute. I’m telling ya now,” Drake said with a smirk on his face.
“You know what I mean, Drake Campbell. Now, head to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
Tessa went to each of their rooms and kissed them goodnight. She turned out all the lights in the house and locked the doors before she headed to her room. After a long hot shower, it was her time curl up in bed with a good romance novel. The house was quiet, and the kids had finally fallen asleep. She reached for her Kindle and settled into her bed. It was her favorite time of the day. The characters in her books gave her an escape from the loneliness she felt as she got into bed each night alone.
Chapter 4
Bishop
Bishop met with a construction company to get an estimate on the garage expansion. He knew what he wanted, and he needed them to get started right away. He just had to find the right guys to do the job, since he wouldn’t be able to babysit them while they worked.
He still had issues with the Diablo’s president to take care of, and he wasn’t expecting things to go well. He needed to do more research on Duce and see if he could find something that might help. He needed to find an out that didn’t lead to a war between their clubs.
He made his way over to the clubhouse to see the guys off before they left for their delivery to Memphis. He wanted this run to go smoothly, but his gut told him something was off. He knew he shouldn’t trust the Diablos, but he had to make this last delivery.