He has me so confused. I thought once we made our agreement, that we would continue what we started beside the road. We didn’t. Instead, he gave me his shirt to wear and a pair of jogging pants. Then he snuck me back, making sure Skull’s house was empty before he let me get out of the truck. He didn’t even kiss me goodbye. All he did was tell me he would see me later. Now it’s later. It’s much later. In fact, it’s a day later.
The party is in full swing and everyone is having fun. Katie and Torch are playing Red Rover with the kids. It’s hilarious watching Torch play with them. He looks like the ultimate biker, but he’s just a giant kid himself. Nothing explains that more than the T-shirt he’s wearing. It’s black with large white writing that says: Be kind to my wife, she’s pregnant. Of course, when he turns around, there’s a picture of a squirrel that’s dressed like Darth Vader—except for its bushy tail. The shirt says: Yes, I am the father. The power of the nut juice is strong in me young Jedi. Katie apparently doesn’t mind because her matching black shirt says: Baby on board. Then in parentheses it says: I refused to swallow so he knocked me up.
Their relationship is both hilarious and beautiful. I love watching them together. Skull and Beth are different. Their relationship is intense. They share this connection that anyone can see. It’s crystal clear. Like right now they’re across the yard from each other. Beth is laughing and talking with some of the other old ladies, while Skull is drinking a beer, standing around some of his men, but every so often he’ll look over at Beth, as if he’s just making sure she’s okay. She immediately looks up at him, as if she can feel the heat in his gaze. Maybe she can, it’s palpable.
“What are you doing over here by yourself?”
My head jerks up, and I smile when I see Beast. Despite the name, he’s more like a giant teddy bear—or at least he is to me. He comes over to Pops sometimes with Skull or Torch. I first met him not long after Pops discovered I existed. Viper, the sperm donor, and some of his women kept me hidden.
Viper once told me while he was drunk that his father would disown him and have me killed because I was a mistake from a crack addict, club whore. He made it clear he didn’t want me, but he didn’t feel like I should die for merely existing. The day Pops found me, I thought my life would end. It turned out, it just began.
Maybe it’s because of my past, I’m not sure, but Beast took up with me and has been nice to me ever since. It’s always made me feel special, because he rarely talks to anyone; he was injured in an explosion. The man’s always had a sadness about him, and I thought that his injuries were the reason, until Aunt Katie told me that he lost his daughter in the accident. My heart kind of breaks for him. He has scars, I know, but he’s let his hair and beard grow so long you don’t see them. You do see the ones on his hands, however, and they are pretty gnarly. Maybe they would turn off some people, but to me, I see them as badges of courage. Proof that he loved his daughter so much that he would walk through fire to try and save her. How beautiful would it be to have a man care for you that much? I mourn for all that he has lost, but even more for his daughter. I wish she could experience that love. What an amazing life that would be. It’s just not fair.
“What’s wrong, ladybug?” he asks, using his nickname for me that no one knows.
“Feeling a little out of place. Besides you, my aunts and uncles, I don’t really know anyone here,” I lie, but then again, I’m not sure I know Shaft, or that I could count him.
“Have you met Latch’s sister, Lucy? She’s about your age, and she has some friends over. I bet you’d enjoy getting to know them.”
I want to tell him, I’m positive I wouldn’t, but I don’t. He’s trying to look out for me and while I really appreciate it, I caught a glimpse of Lucy and her friends earlier. They look like the snobby, spoiled girls I do my best to stay away from. Still, if they’re here and Beast can vouch for them, then the least I can do is meet them. It doesn’t seem fair to judge them with no reason.
“I haven’t yet,” I tell him.
“Haven’t what?” Jax asks, surprising me when he comes up behind us.
“She hasn’t met Lucy and the girls. I was gonna take her over there.”
“What for. Those kids are annoying as hell,” Jax says cementing my first impression.
“They’re close to the same age,” Beast says and by this time his voice is getting gravelly. It hurts for him to talk, especially for extended periods. He doesn’t mean anything, but I inwardly blanch at his use of words. Just what Jax needed. Another reminder of my age.