Authors: Lani Lynn Vale
Boomtown (32 page)
Something changed in him when that night happened eleven months ago. He was now a little more serious, a little more protective, and a lot more open about his feelings.
I heard a car pull up behind us and Ember slammed her door shut with an excessive amount more force than was needed.
“Where is he?” she said angrily.
We all knew who she meant. Gabe.
“Uhhh, he went to pick up some lady so she could take her car home.” Max said gently.
“Oh, really? The same lady that I just saw him leave with at Deacon’s?” she seethed.
Uh oh. This was how they acted now. They tried their best to avoid each other. They fought like cats and dogs whenever they were in the same vicinity.
“I’m pretty sure that picking up some lady to bring her to her car doesn’t require lunch and hand holding!” she shrieked.
I glanced at Sam and told him with my eyes not to say anything else, and then walked towards Ember taking her hand. I dragged her behind me and walked with her into the office. I sat her down in the chair, and then parked my hiney down on the desk in front of her.
“Talk to me.” I said.
“He kissed me. He came over, and we got into a fight. He backed me into a corner and trapped me with his body. He kissed me and I finally admitted my feelings for him. He left shortly after that when he got a call from Sam. I have been waiting for him to call me for two whole days, and I haven’t gotten one single word from him. Here I am walking into Deacon’s, hoping he is there, and he is there alright. Just not alone. He is there, with another woman!” She was crying at this point.
I didn’t know what to say.
“I’ve got to go. I decided I don’t really want to see him right now anyway. It might make me say something that I don’t want to say. I gotta go. I love you, Chey Chey. I’ll call you later tonight.” She whispered.
She walked out through the front of the office, got into her car, and backed out of the driveway just as Gabe was pulling in. He rolled down his window and was making a gesture at her for her to roll down hers, but she didn’t even wait. She zoomed off.
Gabe pulled up and parked his truck in the only open spot. He eased out the truck, and walked up to us, a cute little brown headed hussy following in his wake. I glared daggers at her, and then transferred that glare to Gabe.
“What’s up?” Gabe asked.
“You fucked up. That’s what.” I said to him bitchily.
“Why?” He asked.
“Did you have a good time at Deacon’s?” I asked.
His eyes widened a little, and he glanced quickly at the tart next to him.
“She saw me.” He stated the obvious.
“You bet your ass she saw you, buddy.” I said. “Hope it was worth it, because she can hold one hell of a grudge. You’ll be lucky to even get a nod from now on.”
“She’s right.” Max said. “There was this one time I snuck up behind her and scared the shit out of her. I laughed my ass off and didn’t notice that she was staring me down. She makes it her life mission now to scare me. It doesn’t work as well as it used to, but she still tries. When I woke up in the hospital bed it was with her face nearly touching mine. She scared the absolute piss out of me. Bitch.”
“She doesn’t forget anything, nor does she forgive. Her mind is like a frickin’ vault! She can tell me things that I used to do that pissed her off when I was six!” I told Gabe seriously.
“Her car broke down! What was I supposed to do? Leave her on the side of the road?” he said angrily, gesturing towards the girl.
Her eyes had narrowed while we spoke. She looked like she was holding on to her tongue, but just barely. She had a little smirk on her face, and I wanted to bitch slap it off.
“Why don’t I call you a cab?” I asked her.
She opened her mouth, most likely to deny it when Gabe said “Thanks, Chey.”
With that he walked over to his bike, swung his leg over it, started it up, and took off with a roar. I smiled. That boy had it bad, and Ember was about to give him both barrels.
The cab arrived within ten minutes, and the strumpet was off moments later. I was just about to head back to the house when a wet dream of a truck pulled up and parked to the right of the garage doors where there were spots open. It was a black jacked up Chevy truck, 350 engine, duel exhaust, six inch lift and thirty five inch tires.
The man that stepped out of that beauty was someone that I would have gone after if I didn’t have my own tasty morsel standing right next to me. He walked to the back door and opened it, pulling out a sweet little cherub faced baby that was probably around two. She had curly dirty blonde hair, and chubby little cheeks. She was wearing the cutest outfit of camo fatigue pants, sparkly pink boots, and a brown flowered print onesie. She had a sippy cup in one hand, and a handful of t-shirt that belonged to the man in the other.
Sam’s indrawn breath made me look at him, and I raised my eyebrows in question, but he didn’t even glance at me, his eyes were on the man and little girl.
The man walked right up to us and stuck his hand out to Sam.
“Luke Roberts.” He said.
Sam took his hand and gave it a firm shake, and then let it drop. I was still a little puzzled until Sam spoke.
“She looks just like her.”
“Yea, she does. I just wanted to come over here and say thank you for everything that you did.” Luke said.
“No problem. I didn’t want her to suffer. I’m glad they were able to get a hold of you so fast. She’s grown up a lot since I last saw her.” Sam tilted his head in the little girl’s direction.
“Yea. She was a little over five pounds when I got to the hospital. She is nineteen months and twenty two pounds now. It took me nearly a week to get there from the Sandbox, and I remember how small she felt in my arms. I’m glad you got the CO to contact me. Leah never told me I had a baby, let alone that she was pregnant. Makes me wonder if she had ever planned to.”
“You are being rude, Sam. Why don’t you introduce him to the rest of us?” I said.
He rolled his eyes, but complied with my wishes. I took the girls back to the house a short time later. Sleepy kids were no fun. Blaine accompanied me, and we speculated on what had happened that day. Whatever turned out from the Ember and Gabe situation was sure to be entertaining. They were two of the most pigheaded people I knew, and fireworks were about to fly.
∞
SAM
I closed the door to the twins’ room, and padded down the hall, back to Cheyenne. I glanced at each picture that lined the hallway in between our room and their room.
One was our first family portrait of us leaving the hospital three days after they were born. I was in a sling with my arm pinned to my chest. Cheyenne was in a wheelchair with both babies nestled in her arms. There were a shit load of flowers on a cart right beside her that was also overflowing with presents we received for the girls. Cheyenne looked radiant three days after surgery. I, on the other hand, looked tired. I was not used to getting up every hour, and that is what we did the entire time we spent at the hospital. The girls were not good sleepers. They were one of a few who ever cried nearly the entire time; most babies were very calm and sleepy, according to one of our nurses.
The second picture I passed was of Pru and Piper curled up on the side of my bare chest, each had a dog tag fisted in their hands. My hands covered their naked backsides. That was not a good memory, although Cheyenne laughs every time she remembers. We had gone to get their photos taken when they were eight days old. We were just finishing the pose when both girls decided to pee at the exact same time. Piss ran down my chest and pooled in the waistband of my jeans. It was gross. The picture clearly captured the wet on my chest and pants, and my eyes squeezed shut and a grimace on my face. You can see Cheyenne laughing while reaching to take Pru from me. I however, found nothing funny about it.
The third photo was of Cheyenne when she was eight months pregnant. She was topless with her arms covering her breasts. She was standing in a field of bluebonnets. I was kneeling at her feet with my naked back to the camera kissing her swollen belly. That one was a funny memory for me and not for Cheyenne. She had to pee quite badly, and ended up popping a squat behind a tree. I still tease her about it.
The final one I passed was of all my girls straddling my bike. Cheyenne was in her usual Jeans and knit ribbed tank and boots. Her hair was curly and down, blowing in the wind. Pru and Piper were dressed much the same way, except they were wearing onesies with skulls and crossbones, jeans and motorcycle boots. They each had a black headband with huge red flowers on their head. All of them were laughing. This one was my favorite. Everything about this photo was perfect. It made me see how wonderful my life has become.
Life had changed for us since I was shot. We learned to appreciate life a little more, because there was no guarantee that we would be on this earth for much longer. We still fought like cats and dogs, but we never went to bed mad.
I walked to the side of the bed, and jumped on it. Cheyenne bounced twice, giggling the entire time. I took her by the arm and dragged her to me as I settled on my back. She wrapped her arm around me, and laid her head on my shoulder.
“Sleeping, I assume.” She said sleepily.
“Yes. Pru had her butt on the pillow and her face smashed into the blanket. The usual for her. Piper had her frog in a death grip. Both dead to the world. Chewy went outside but returned to his post.” I murmured.
Chewy was extremely protective of the girls. If we didn’t get to them fast enough when they were crying, he would come get us. The first time this happened I thought something was really wrong, but when I got in there it was just to see that the baby swing had stopped swinging and woken Pru up. Cheyenne had just gotten into the shower and I was shaving, so we were going to give it a few minutes to see if they crying would stop. Chewy had come barreling into the bathroom, throwing the door against the wall and wouldn’t stop until we followed. Once the baby was back to sleep Chewy stopped barking. He has done it ever since.
“Good.” She whispered.
She was asleep moments later. She had full days now that she was back in school. She went to school from eight to three, and then studied her butt off while taking care of the twins. She was taking seventeen hours trying to catch up for the semester she missed when she gave birth, and then decided she didn’t want the girls to start daycare so early on in their lives.
I didn’t object; I loved having her watch the girls. I wasn’t a big fan of her working so hard either. The way she was going, she was slotted to graduate with her nursing degree in six more months, and damn anyone or anything that got in her way.
The upcoming months were going to prove entertaining though. Gabe and Ember’s relationship drama, Blaine and Elliot’s pending arrival, and the news of Luke Roberts joining the local PD.
I extended a job offer, but he declined and informed me that he already signed on with the Kilgore PD. He did say that he would help with the Freebirds when he could. I was thankful for that; we could use all the help we could get.
Needless to say, Cheyenne roared her way into my life when I least expected it. Not a single second passes that I don’t thank God for what he has given me in that woman. Moving to this little Boom Town was the best decision I’ve ever made. It brought me the woman I love, two perfect baby girls, and some of the best friends I could ever ask for. No longer did life pass us by. We lived every day like it was our last, because one day it would be; and I didn’t want to miss a second.
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