Brother to Brother: The Sacred Brotherhood Book I (6 page)

“Wake you up?” I asked.

“Yes and no,” she murmured.

“Gotta get ready for work.”

“I know.”

I sat down on the end of the bed to pull my socks on and got a good look at the rest of the room. She’d done good in here, too; their shit neatly folded and stored in some plastic bins between the bed and the wall.

“What time will you be home?” she asked and I looked over my shoulder at her. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at me expectantly.

“What you gonna keep tabs on me now?” I demanded and her face fell.

“Actually, I just wanted to know what time to have dinner on the table,” she said coolly.

Oh, well fuck me…

“Around six, maybe six-thirty,” I grated.

“Okay then,” she murmured.

“Got anywhere to be today?” I asked.

“I need to go to a Goodwill, you have nothing to cook with.”

“What do you mean?” I frowned.

“No pots, no pans…”

“Got enough?” I asked.

“I should, there’s still a little money left in the envelope you gave me.”

“Kay,” I stood up and went back into the bathroom, pulling my long hair into a loose ponytail.

I heard her shifting around and glanced out the door, she was getting up, and pulling on a brightly colored flower pattern kimono type bathrobe on over her white tank top and little white and blue striped boxer short things she’d been sleeping in. She pulled her bright blonde hair out of the collar and I felt myself twist my lips at how short it was now.

“How come you cut your hair?” It was out of my mouth before I even realized I was going to ask about it.

“You have a baby puke in hair that’s nearly to your knees, and have to go wash it, only to have him do it again… you’d cut it too.”

“Excuse the fuck out of me,” I muttered under my breath and she went out into the living room, her light, feminine voice greeting Noah who must have been awake. I went out there and dropped onto the couch to pull on my boots.

“Breakfast?” she asked.

“Got anything quick?”

“Bacon and eggs?”

“Meh, not sure I have time.”

She reached into a cabinet and opened a box, tossing me a package of on-the-go breakfast biscuits. I caught them and put them in my jacket pocket.

“We’ll bring you by some lunch later,” she said. I got up and swung into my jacket and cut.

“Don’t bother,” I grated and went out the door. Noah started up hollerin’ as I closed it and Melody poked her head out.

“He wants you to say goodbye!” she called.

“I don’t say goodbye, tell him I’ll see him later,” I called back. I was going to be late if I didn’t move it, so I got on the bike and fired it up, backing out of the lot and leaving her to her own devices.

When I pulled up to the garage, it was opening up. Rush was in the bay next to mine, getting started on a Honda. I backed into my space and shut off the bike. Going about my business, getting into some coveralls to finish up the Caprice. Yesterday had been Rush’s day off, and it didn’t take long for him to wander over and start asking questions.

“So, how’s the new home life?” he asked with a shit eating grin and my mood, which wasn’t stellar in the first place, soured even more.

“Fuck off, Rush,” I grunted and ducked under the hood of the Caprice.

“Seriously? Your long time crush moves in under your roof and you can’t come up with a single bit of happy about that?”

I backed out from under the hood and fixed my younger brother with a hard glare, “I’m supposed to be happy?”

“Well, yeah. A little… aren’t you?” he asked.

“You dumb shit, she was
Grind’s
woman and shows up here with
Grind’s
kid on her hip, doesn’t know a fuckin’ thing about the fact our brother’s dead, I break it to her the worst fuckin’ way possible, I’m sleeping on my
couch
, hemorrhaging cash I can’t afford if I want to get out of that shithole apartment – I’m responsible for two other people who
really
don’t need to be living in that shithole apartment with me… good Christ.” I put my hands on my hips and let my eyes grab some garage floor so I didn’t have to look at my shithead brother. The urge to punch him was a strong one. “What in the absolute fuck do I have to be happy about with this situation?” I demanded.

“You know, that’s your problem Arch. You aren’t
ever
happy with anything, Bro. Grind is gone and Mel is
here
, you should give it a go, man.”

“Man, fuck you! Because you’re sounding an awful lot like I should be grateful Grinder’s
gone.
”

“I didn’t say that, Asshole. You’re just taking it that way. I’m just saying let’s hear it for second chances. Man, I loved Grinder just as much as you or Nox but he was a fucking
asshole
sometimes. Just like
you
are. Except Grinder’s kind of asshole left that woman alone when she needed a
man.
I’m just sayin’ you have a chance to
be
that man and it’s good you’re stepping up.”

My brother’s caramel brown eyes blazed at me, and he ran a hand over his short, light, tawny hair; back and forth, like he was trying to dust a bothersome insect off his head. Trouble was, that insect was me right this minute, and I hated that fuckin’ feeling out of the little twerp. Especially when Grind and I had changed his and Nox’s shitty fuckin’ diapers the first couple of years.

“Ain’t no one else,
to
step up. I been cleaning up after all three of you fuckers a long time, this time is no exception.”

Rush grunted, “Man sometimes you’re a real fuckin’ douche you know that?” he demanded.

“Go back to your fuckin’ bay and quit bothering me,” I demanded right back.

He didn’t talk to me the rest of the day, which suited me just fine. Around noon-thirty, Melody pulled up with Noah in his car seat in the back. I gritted my teeth, and glanced over at Rush who gave me a dirty look. I glared at him and walked out to the car, as she cranked down the window.

“What’re you doing here?” I demanded.

“Fulfilling my end of the bargain,” she said handing me a sack out the window. Noah eyed me from the back seat, and when he caught me lookin’ at him he grinned.

“Unca Atcha!” he said and held out his arms.

“Hey, boy,” I said in return.

Melody gave me a cool look, as I looked in the bag, likely still pissy about this morning and me taking off with the kid squalling like he was. There was a sandwich and a thing of what looked like soup in the bottom of the bag.

“Better eat it while it’s still hot,” she said absently as she returned Rush’s wave.

“Thought I told you not to bother,” I said.

“You also told me it was my job to clean and keep you fed in exchange for staying, so which is it, Archer? Am I supposed to feed you or not bother?” she asked and sighed. I frowned. She looked fuckin’ tired, her blonde hair in a lank ponytail, wisps escaping and hanging in her eyes. Her tee shirt had stains on it and her jeans were wrinkled. She was a far cry from the girl I knew in Arizona. Now she had the etched in marks of a stressed out, frazzled mom.

“What’s for dinner?” I asked her.

“I don’t know yet, I hadn’t gotten that far. Noah’s been a challenge today.”

“What have you done?” I asked and she sighed crossly, but answered the question.

“Managed to get to a second hand store, picked up some cooking utensils and dishes, made you lunch and brought it here. I plan on stopping into a diner or two looking for help, I have waitressing experience. I was going to head back, put Noah down for a nap, fill those applications out, and get dinner started.”

“Busy day,” I said dryly. She didn’t say anything back. “I’ll let you go,” I said finally when the silence stretched too long between us.

She nodded, and said, “Can I impose upon you to watch Noah for a bit tonight so I can get a shower?”

I blinked,
she hadn’t showered since she got here?
I nodded finally when my brain caught up and got with the program, “Yeah, sure.”

“Thank you, I’d better leave. I’d rather you not get in trouble with your boss,” she uttered.

“Not likely, he’s the club’s V.P.” I said with a shrug.

“Good to know,” she murmured, “See you later.”

“Yeah, later,” I said and knocked on her roof, I called out to Noah while she shifted it into reverse, “See you later, Little Man!”

“Bye!” he called out brightly.

“See, I told you, Noah. Uncle Archer told me to tell you…” I heard Melody say and I yelled, “That’s right, I did!” I heard Noah laugh and they were gone. Mel’s little hatchback buzzing up the road.

I sighed and pulled the sandwich out of the bag. Cold cuts and some hot chicken soup, probably out of a can, but it sure beat nothing, which is what I probably would have had if she hadn’t defied me. I shrugged and let it slide. She made a good sandwich.

Chapter 9

Melody

I managed to get quite a bit at the goodwill, not only cookware, but an almost complete, somewhat fancy set of it for a really reasonable price. I also managed an almost complete set of dishes. I had just enough cash left to get Noah a couple of toys, and that was what he was doing now. Sitting on the living room floor, stacking and destroying blocks, laughing with little toddler maniacal glee at the destruction he wrought on the hapless colored wood. My child, super destructo-monkey.

I slid dinner into the oven and closed it up, blowing some of my bangs out of my eyes. I needed a trim badly, but it would have to wait until after Archer got home and Noah had someone to watch him. This place wasn’t toddler proofed enough, despite my best efforts. I had thick hair ties holding the cupboard under the sink closed. So tightly wrapped around the knobs on the cabinet, Noah’s little fingers wouldn’t have the strength to get them undone, nor would he have enough in him to get the doors open more than a couple of inches. I had all of the cleaning products and laundry soap shoved clear to the back of the cabinet and away from the doors. It was the best I could do. Still, I worried. If he tried, he could smash his fingers, I was exceptionally paranoid about the set up. I
needed
to get child safety locks for that cabinet, for
all
the kitchen cabinets.

I was standing there, hands flat on the kitchen counter, watching Noah play, when Archer came through the door. He stopped and looked at Noah, his face unreadable, when he looked up and over at me. I raised an eyebrow with a slight smile over how he looked at my boy and he shut the door behind him, shrugging out of his jacket and cut.

“What smells good?” he asked.

I was secretly pleased by the light praise, and hoped it tasted as good as it smelled when I answered him, “Southwest casserole, it’s got about ten minutes left.”

“Go get your shower then, I can get it out of the oven and watch Little Man here.”

“Thanks,” I murmured and left to Archer getting down on the floor next to Noah and stacking blocks with him. Murmuring to my little boy and clapping with him when he knocked over the blocks in a spectacular display.

I felt a tension I hadn’t realized rode me ease slightly. With a sigh that was a mix between exhaustion and relief I went in to shower, gathering some clean PJ’s and a couple of clean towels out of the bins that sat on the floor between the bed and the wall, opposite the side with the dresser.

I spent a long time under the hot shower spray. Longer than ten minutes, for sure. I heard the timer I’d picked up at the goodwill go off and Archer open the oven. I couldn’t even bring myself to care too much that I’d forgotten to set the table, even though I still only had paper plates and plastic cutlery to do it with. I hadn’t gotten around to washing the dishes I’d bought.

I startled when Archer called through the bathroom door a few minutes later “That’s enough, Mel. Food’s on the table.”

“I’ll be right out!” I called and shut off the water.

I dried off and got dressed and took the two or three minutes to trim my bangs in the cracked mirror above the sink.

“Mel!” Archer called from the main room of the apartment.

“I’m coming!” I called back and set my scissors on the edge of the sink, the towel I let ride on my shoulders as I ran it over my hair, squeezing the water into the thick terrycloth.

“Thought you was drowning,” Archer commented dryly and spooned some more food into Noah’s mouth.

“Sorry, I had to trim my bangs and that shower felt
really
good. It’s been a few days.”

“Should have said something,” he said, disapproval in his tone.

“I didn’t want to be a bother.”

“Too late for that.”

Ouch. Motherfucker, he still has it.
I thought. Archer always knew just how to hit below the belt in as few words as possible. I swallowed hard and sank into one of the seats. He had the casserole on a couple of pot holders on the end of the table far from Noah.

“You uh, know he can do that mostly by himself, right?” I asked watching him spoon more food into my child’s mouth.

“Don’t really know the first thing about kids, it’s been a long fuckin’ time since I had to wipe Rush and Nox’s little asses.”

“Language, please?” I said and let the pleading creep into my tone. I didn’t want to get backhanded but this was important to me. Of course, not getting backhanded in front of my son was equally as important… I wanted him to grow up learning what it was to properly treat a woman. Living this life, those lessons were going to likely be pretty tricky, but so far, my treatment in front of him had improved by leaps and bounds over where we’d just come from, so there was that.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, Melody.
I thought, but that still didn’t stop my stepfather’s voice from creeping in with some cold reality, asking me;
so why are you hanging around a bunch of dirty heathen bikers?
I took a deep breath and held it for a moment, answering that accusatory voice in my head;
because, at the end of the day, those dirty heathen bikers are
still
treating me better than either you or ma.
Which was equal parts sad and pathetic.

“You should eat,” Archer said eying me and I felt myself blush, I hadn’t thought to grab a robe or anything and I realized that the fitted white wife-beater and blue and white striped boxer shorts I wore rolled up at the top, didn’t exactly do much to hide my figure. Including my still pooched tummy. My hands drifted to it, to hide it and Archer raised a brow.