Hadley (The Club Girl Diaries Book 3) (17 page)

The drive to Troy was long, mainly because I hated the feeling of being caged inside the car for extended periods of time. I was used to the positioning on my bike and being able to maneuver around the road easily. Sitting in Blizzard’s truck made my body ache, and I was easily frustrated by other motorists when I couldn’t simply pull out and fly past them with ease.

Hadley sat in the back with Macy for most of the drive, until she fell asleep about an hour out of Troy. I was relieved when we reached town, and followed the boys through the suburbs, pulling up outside a large two story country style home. It had large windows and a deck that stretched around the entire bottom level.

You’d think any normal suburban couple lived there, with its white panels and blue accents. But you’d be wrong.

“Couldn’t stay away!” a deep thick accented voice boomed from the doorway as we climbed out of the truck.

I laughed and shook my head. Oz was originally from Australia. He’d been a part of the Brothers over there until he met Bright Eyes and followed her back to the states. He was respected high and low, members had flocked from different parts of the country to serve under his lead, and he’d only recently stepped down to let Kit take over.

“You know me, I like to keep shit interesting,” I answered as he made his way down the staircase.

Kit and Harmony parked beside us, while the rest of the boys revved their engines and pulled away, no doubt heading back to the clubhouse. I gave them a wave in thanks as they passed.

“Where’s that girl of yours?” he asked, strolling up to the side of the truck and peering in the back window. “Harmony is slacking off in the grandchild department so, for now, I’m gonna borrow Macy.”

“Hey!” Harmony protested as she pulled off her helmet. “I heard that old man.”

I caught a small smirk from underneath Oz’s large beard. “You hear how she talks to me?”

We all laughed. I’d seen first-hand just how much love Oz and Bright Eyes had for Harmony. They absolutely adored her. Possibly because not only was she sweet and caring, but strong enough to stand beside Kit with her back straight and her head high.

Harmony had been a club girl, but Kit had seen something in her that he knew he couldn’t be without. Her passion for the club meant she was the perfect Old Lady.

Hadley made her way around the truck, and Oz turned to her with a studying gaze. “You must be the one who trapped Leo’s balls in a jar.”

I smirked and folded my arms across my chest, curious to see how she would take Oz’s brash nature.

Hadley just laughed. “I’ll let him borrow them from time to time.”

Oz’s booming laughter startled Macy and she sat up, her eyes blinking as she tried to figure out what was going on through her sleepy haze. I opened the door and unbuckled her. She reached out to me and I pulled her into my arms, her head tucked tightly in under my chin as she tried to make out what was going on.

“Well, hello there beautiful,” Oz cooed, uncharacteristically.

I laughed, knowing Macy was staring at him, studying him.

He was wearing his club cut, while no longer the president, he was still a member and the club was his life. You’d have to rip that cut off his cold dead body before he’d give up wearing it.

It wasn’t long before Macy was reaching her arms out to him. The smile that beamed on his face was priceless, and he held his arms out and took her in. My girl knew, she could tell when someone wasn’t safe and when someone could be trusted. Especially, if she saw them wearing Brothers by Blood colors. She was forever seeking out the boys and asking for a cuddle or trying to guilt them into playing with her with her beautiful bright eyes and dimples.

Oz hooked Macy on to his hip and carried her back toward the house. “Bright Eyes! Look what I got!” he called as he climbed the stairs and disappeared inside.

I looked over to Kit, who shook his head and laughed.

“For God’s sake man, give that man some grandkids.”

Harmony snorted but didn’t say anything. Kit just rolled his eyes and came over to help as I pulled the bags from the truck.

Harmony grabbed Hadley’s hand and pulled her toward the house. She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled with a shrug.

I shook my head.

“Thanks for this, man.”

“You know you don’t need to thank me,” he answered, throwing Hadley’s backpack over his shoulder as I carried mine and Macy’s bags. “You guys helped when Harm was in trouble. We’re brothers, right.”

I just nodded. He was right. We were brothers. Didn’t matter if we weren’t part of the same chapter. We lived by the same rules and beliefs. We were family.

“I’ll take this shit upstairs,” Kit offered, taking the bags from my hands. “Go make sure Mom isn’t giving your girl the third degree.”

I laughed, following the sounds of voices as he walked up to the bedrooms.

Leaning against the doorframe, I watched as Oz and Bright Eyes sat on the floor with Macy, a shit load of toys surrounding them. Macy looked up at me with a wide grin, almost like it was Christmas morning.

“We didn’t know what she liked,” Bright Eyes offered with a shrug.

“You get the whole toy store?”

Oz chuckled. “You know women and their shopping.”

Bright Eye’s glared at him. “Says the man who wanted to buy the playhouse and jungle gym, and get the boys to put it together out in the backyard.”

Oz was unashamed, answering her accusations with a shrug. “We gonna have our own grandkids some day.” He raised his voice a little louder. “Right, Harmony?”

“I’m not listening!” she called back from where I guessed she was in the kitchen.

He huffed, mumbling under his breath. “You’d think with the amount of fucking those two did, they’d be breeding like rabbits.”

“You’d think with the amount of fucking you and Mom did, you could have made me a brother or sister or something,” Kit commented, stepping past me.

Bright Eyes pushed off the floor and walked over to her son, tapping him lightly on the cheek. “Can’t duplicate perfection.”

I laughed. “That’s what you call perfection?”

Kit turned to me, pointing his middle finger at me.

Harmony and Hadley both step out of the kitchen carrying bottles of water. Harmony raised her brow at her in-laws. “Yeah, how come you two never had any more children?” She took a drink of her water, eyeing them both carefully.

With the amount of love Oz had for kids, you sure would think he’d have had more, possibly a whole army.

“They found me!” Tie said, stepping around me with a wide smile. “And they just knew it wasn’t going to get any better than this.”

He turned and caught my hand in his, pulling our chests together in a manly hug.

Tie was like Kit’s little brother. Oz and Bright Eyes had adopted him after finding him living on the streets at age fourteen.

Kit always talks about how smart he is, and how they’d pushed him to go to college and use his brains for something important. But instead, the moment he’d been allowed to prospect for the club, he’d grabbed it with both hands and never looked back. He chose to support the family who’d taken him in, and given him a life he may have never had before.

That was true love.

Bright Eye’s rolled her eyes and her youngest son’s cocky attitude. “I should have had girls.”

“Hell no,” Oz growled.

Tie turned back to me with laughter in his eyes. “You two gonna come to the clubhouse for a few drinks tonight?”

I looked over to Hadley, who’d been surprisingly quiet and raised my eyebrows.

She smiled. “You go, I can stay and watch Macy.”

She stepped back as I started walking toward her, my eyes focused on hers and purpose in my step. Harmony glided to the side smoothly as I backed Hadley against the wall. “Woman, you ain’t a club girl anymore. You’re an Old Lady. We ain’t got someone to watch Macy, we’ll stay home.”

She stared me down. It wasn’t a look of defiance or objection to my words, but more that she was suddenly beginning to realize just how serious I was about this whole thing.

Macy was mine, but taking Hadley as my Old Lady also meant that Macy was
ours
. We were a couple, and we had been asked to go down to the club together, to have a couple drinks with my brothers.

So if we didn’t have someone to watch Macy, we’d politely decline.

Hadley wasn’t gonna step in and play babysitter just so I could hang out with my boys. I wanted her by my side.

“We’ll watch her,” Bright Eyes offered from behind me, but my eyes never left Hadley’s. “Won’t we, Oz?”

He grunted. “Yeah, I’m gonna need the practice for all the grandbabies I’m gonna be having soon.”

Kit’s laughter floated in from the kitchen, and I turned just in time to see Harmony rolling her eyes. “You sound like a broken record, old man.”

“And I’m gonna keep playing until I get what I want,” he countered with a goofy smile.

You’d never think that this man was dark and ruthless enough to run a motorcycle club. He was comical and laid back. But it was only because of the people here, we were family.

I’d seen him not even flinch as he executed a man who had wronged the wrong family. His eyes held a darkness then that he reserved for the people who’d caused pain to the ones he loved. This, in particular, revenge for hurting our club and killing Optimus’ father.

Bright Eyes moved forward and picked Macy up off the floor, ignoring the battle going on around her. “Shall we do some baking while your daddy is away and set up your room?” she asked, tickling Macy under the chin.

My girl clapped her hands enthusiastically. “Yes, Yes, Yes.”

Hadley’s face softened as she walked over to her. “We won’t be long,” she whispered, kissing her on the cheek. “We’ll be back before bedtime.”

Hadley looked back to me. “I’ll just go change into some jeans.”

“Third door on the left up the stairs,” Bright Eyes told her, but her stunning emerald colored eyes were glued to me. Hadley brushed her hand against mine as she walked past and skipped up the stairs. The room felt strangely silent.

“For the love of God, do not let that woman go,” Bright Eyes said sternly, holding Macy close to her chest. “She will do anything to protect you and this little girl, and that’s not something she has to do. Sometimes it can take a lot to accept someone’s child as your own, and give them your heart as if you would your own baby. But Hadley, she’s already doing that and more.”

I nodded, hearing what she was saying.

Hadley had stepped up, even before I’d claimed her and made her my Old Lady.

She had taken Macy and fallen in love with her, protecting her and caring for her, as if she was her own baby. And for the second time in my life, I think I was falling in love.

I was scared to death, and there were so many things that could go wrong. My heart and mind both ached and bloomed at the same time. My heart still hurt and wondered whether there was room inside for her, and my head ecstatic that both Macy and I will have someone to share our lives with.

But as soon as all the drama was done, we would have plenty of time to figure out what I thought I already knew—I wasn’t letting her go.