Butch (3 page)

“Who is causing a problem?” Butch asked.

Tiny stayed silent as Alex leaned forward, linking his
fingers together in front of him.
“A man known as Frederick
Gonzalez.
He’s ruffled Devil’s feathers, and when I asked Ned Walker,
Eva’s father has told us to stay clear of the bastard. Frederick is not a man
to be trifled with.”

Whistling, Butch looked out of the window thinking
about Cheryl. Something tingled in his mind about the name. He couldn’t grasp
the memory, but he saw a boy leaning over him when he got shot. No, it couldn’t
be related. There was no way it could. His past was dead. This wasn’t his
problem anymore. Cheryl was his problem. The club used to be his life, and he’d
been out of it for a month and already there was a new enemy.

“I’m not coming back. I’ve got a life.”

“Is a cunt really worth this?” Alex asked.

Fisting his hands, he glared at the other man. “Yeah, she
is.”

“I don’t have a clue who this woman is, but she must
have one golden pussy to keep you away from us all.”

“She’s not keeping me away. I’m choosing to be away.”
Butch stood up. He was finished with this conversation. They could turn up
trying to bring him back, but he wasn’t going to let anything happen. He was in
love with Cheryl Barnes, and he wouldn’t do anything to mess that up. “Coffee
is on me.” None of them had touched the cups in front of them. He made his way
to the back of the shop and refused to let anyone disrupt him from his own
thoughts.

He was making the right decision. Danger, when it came
to the club, always ended in violence. The last few years had proven that.

****

Cheryl finished wrapping up the bouquet of red roses
for Nash. He handed her a card to write up the payment. She didn’t speak to him
other than to offer advice on the kind of flowers his wife would want. Nash was
one of only a few men who came to the store to buy flowers. She loved making
the bouquets they requested. Some of the men had amazing taste when it came to
color.

“Lash says you’re the best, and I have to say, Sophia
is going to love me for these,” he said.

She smiled, handing him back a receipt and his card.
“I hope she likes them.”
 
Seconds later
he left the shop without a word about Butch. One month ago she’d woken up at
two in the morning to find Butch waiting on her doorstep. For the first time
since she’d met him, he hadn’t been wearing a leather jacket with The Skulls
logo on. She hadn’t recognized him at first until she saw his green eyes. There
was no way she’d ever forget those green eyes. From the moment she first met
him in the church those eyes had plagued her. Living in Fort Wills for the last
ten years hadn’t given her any clue as to who all the members of the local MC
club were. She didn’t pay much attention to all the men. Her thoughts were
preoccupied elsewhere.

When the door was closed behind Nash she went back to
finishing up her summer display with bright, vibrant colors. Her thoughts
returned to Butch like they always did when she was alone. The first week he
quit The Skulls he’d spent the nights on her sofa, against her mother’s advice.
After that week he found a place of his own, but he kept coming around to see
her. She didn’t know what he wanted. There were times she truly thought he was
going to kiss her, and then at others, he seemed more a friend than a potential
boyfriend. She was going crazy thinking about him.

Ever since Matthew’s father left without getting in
touch with her, she’d not been with any other man. No one knew who fathered her
child, and she was going to keep it that way. He was an older man who’d used
her for a weekend of fun. The first time she’d gone about experimenting had
been the biggest mistake she’d ever made.

Glancing down at her watch she saw it was past five
and she needed to get home. She didn’t volunteer at the church tonight. Matthew
got all of her attention, which she was thankful for. There were times she
really didn’t feel she had enough time with him. Her son was three years old
and going to be starting school very soon. She wanted to get him to spell his
own name before he got there.

Her mother helped with his care throughout the day
while Cheryl was working. Tying her hair behind her head she started to lock up
the shop. She wondered what her mother had been doing with Matthew as she
exited the shop. Turning toward the road she jumped. Butch sat on his
motorcycle waiting for her.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said.

“Butch, you scared me.” She pressed a hand to her
chest.

“I thought I’d give you a lift home.”

“What do you want out of it?” she asked, dubious about
the lift.

He laughed. The sound went straight to her pussy,
making her melt. She tensed at the sudden assault of pleasure. He was the first
man since Matthew’s father to turn her on. She’d been a virgin, and one weekend
of pleasure had changed that for the rest of her life. Coming away she’d no
longer been a virgin but also pregnant. She learned her lesson about giving
into pleasure. For now, she kept Butch at arms’ length, even though she wanted
him more every time she saw him.

“I was thinking dinner and a movie.” Butch held up a
DVD. Seeing the romantic comedy in his hands, Cheryl laughed.

“You’re willing to watch a film you’ve criticized so
that I can cook you dinner?” She stepped closer inhaling his musky male scent. In
all of her life the smell of sweat and male had never been quite so addictive.

“Your food is worth it.”

She chuckled, feeling his infectious laughter get to
her. “Okay, I’ll cook you dinner, but you’re totally doing the dishes.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her
in close. “We’ll see.”

Shaking her head, she caught the helmet he tossed her
way.

“Put it on. I don’t want anything happening to your
pretty face.”

Cheryl did as he asked, putting the helmet on then
climbing on the back of his bike. He grabbed her hands, forcing her to wrap
them around his waist. The strength in his stomach alone surprised her. She
couldn’t believe she was holding onto Butch. Every time she got close to him,
she felt alive inside.

The heat pooled and started to get warmer at the feel
of his back between her thighs.

Get a grip, Cheryl. Nothing is ever going to happen.

Butch in her life was a mistake. She didn’t know why
he enjoyed hanging out with her. He knew she had a son and wasn’t seeing anyone,
and yet he was still there to see her. She wasn’t used to the male attention
coming from the men in her town. Nibbling her lip, she tried to block all
thoughts of Matthew’s father from her mind. One weekend of hot sex didn’t make
for anything else. She’d spent more time with Butch than with Matthew’s father.

Without her asking Butch pulled up outside of her
mother’s place. “I’ll be here waiting for you.”

“Matthew is not getting on that bike no matter how
much he wants to. I won’t be allowing him to ride when he’s older either.
They’re death traps.” At three years old Matthew was completely stubborn and
irrational. She loved him with all of her heart, but he sure knew how to cause
a few problems by just being adorable.

“Of course he’s not. I’m going to walk beside you the
last bit to your place. You don’t mind my bike being stored in your yard, do
you?” Butch asked.

“No, it’s fine.” She gave up caring what people
thought of her when she turned up pregnant without the father present.

Walking to her mother’s front door, she knocked and
heard her humming as she walked down the long corridor.

“Hey, honey,” Anna Barnes said, opening the door. Her
mother’s gaze went to Butch before returning back to her. “What’s he doing
here?”

“He’s a friend, Mom. Please, drop it. I don’t need to
worry about you as well.” She walked past her mother going straight to the
sitting room where Matthew was sitting with some coloring books and crayons.
“Hey, baby.” She crouched down, tucking some strands of hair behind her ear.

“Mommy!”

The coloring book and crayons went sprawling to the floor
as he jumped up, wrapping his arms around her neck. She picked him up inhaling
his sweet scent before turning to her own mother.

“Everything is fine. He’s just a friend. You’ve got
nothing to worry about.”

“He wants something from you, honey. I see it every
time he’s around. He wants you, and he’s going to claim you,” Anna said.

Rolling her eyes, Cheryl focused on her parent even
though pleasure poured through every cell in her body. Butch wanted her? It was
too much of a fantasy to be real. He was a handsome man who could have any woman
he wanted. Why would he settle for her when he could have anyone?

“You’re imagining things. We’re friends, nothing more.
I’m going to take him home. I’m not at work tomorrow, so everything should be
fine for me to look after Matthew all day.” She blew a raspberry on his cheek.
Matthew chuckled, wrapping his pudgy hands around her neck. She loved her son.
To her, it didn’t matter who the father was. He’d given her a bigger reason for
living. Her son meant the world to her. The only thing she wished was different
was her bank balance. If she had more money, then Matthew would want for
nothing.

Ten minutes later she carried Matthew’s bag out of her
mother’s house and was walking beside Butch to her own.

“She doesn’t approve of me, does she?” Butch asked.

“My mom?
No, she doesn’t know you. Don’t take it personally. She’s had to deal
with a lot. You know, her only daughter turning up pregnant without a father
for her child being one. It can take a lot out of any person. She’s been there
for me, my rock.”

“Your own father is not in the picture?”

“Nah, he left a long time ago. He couldn’t live up to
her high expectations, and he split.” Cheryl shrugged. She’d never missed her
dad growing up. Her mother was all she needed. Anna Barnes made sure she wanted
for nothing, like she was going to with Matthew.

“You don’t miss him?”

“Can’t miss what you never had. I never had a father.
My mom is all I need. She’s my rock, and I love her. At a young age she taught
me you didn’t need a man to depend on in life. I doubt she ever expected me to
come home pregnant.” She smiled thinking about her life over the years. Her
mother never turned her away even when she turned up pregnant without a husband.
Pushing some hair off her face, she kissed Matthew’s cheek. He was the reason
she loved her life. The same reason she went back to church to thank God for
giving her such a blessing. No matter what kind of weekend he came from,
Matthew was worth every second.

“Hey,
Matty
,” Butch said,
reaching over to rustle the boy’s head.

“Hey, Neal.”

Her heart turned over. Butch accepted his real name
out of her son’s lips rather than his club name. She’d known him as Butch and
couldn’t imagine calling him as anything else.

“He’s a good kid. You should be proud.”

Cheryl smiled. Whenever anyone complimented her son
she felt all the pain of giving birth to him was worth it. “I am.”

She carried him to her front door. Putting Matthew
down, she searched for her key while Butch put his bike away. Cheryl settled
her son in front of the television before heading toward the kitchen. The
moment Butch entered he stayed by her son. She heard him talking, laughing and
joking with Matthew. His voice filled her with joy along with the happiness
from her son. Matthew always ended up giggling in his company. Butch was really
great with kids, or at least he was great with hers.

Twenty minutes later she had the pasta cooking and the
meatballs frying in the pan.

“Hey, baby, do you need a hand?”

Butch placed a hand on her hip invading her space. For
several seconds she couldn’t even think because of his touch. Licking her dry
lips, she glanced to her left and smiled. “No, I’ve got it.”

“Okay. Matthew has an amazing imagination.” Butch
stepped away, going back to sit with her son.

No, don’t start thinking about Butch that way. The last time you did
look what happened.

Matthew’s father was long gone and not coming back.

Chapter Two

“You’re not my dad,” Matthew said. Butch looked down
at the little guy, and his heart went out to him. He looked saddened by his own
words.

“No, I’m not.”

“I wish you were.”

Butch rolled over to look at him. Out of all the kids
he knew, Matthew was sure the smartest. Thinking about his age made him think
about the club’s latest additions. It wouldn’t be long before they were cursing
and talking up a storm. Soon the kids would grow up, becoming the next
generation of the club, like he should have been to his own father. Cutting the
thought off, he stared into Matthew’s eyes. The Skulls were no longer his club
either. He hoped Tate’s son was a pain in the ass for his mother. Shaking his
head, he knelt down beside the bed. Cheryl was in the kitchen cleaning up the
dinner dishes. He offered to help, but she asked for him to sort out Matthew.