need to put antibiotic cream on it every eight hours.”
“She won’t need a tetanus jab. Cut herself last year and we had to get one then.” She winced. “Probably more damage to the swing set than her.”
“Without a doubt,” I told her, amusement lacing my words. I showed her my phone and she laughed quietly at the swings I was going to order. “All wood, no metal.”
I lifted my arm so she could cuddle into me, but that meant I had to put my phone down. Leaving it on the nightstand, I let her snuggle into me, loving her soft curves as she hugged me like she couldn’t get close enough. I knew the feeling because I felt like that too.
There was never all that much silence at the clubhouse, but there was enough for the restful peace in my room to affect us.
Lucie and I didn’t talk, didn’t need to, just held one another and our daughter.
And, for the first time since I was a kid, I took an afternoon nap, which became the best sleep of my goddamn life.
Axe
Two weeks later
“We’re gathered here today to celebrate the life of Kid. He was a brother, and he still is. Even with his life having been tragically cut short, he dies a Rebel, and we honor him with that today.”
The words were still percolating in my head a few hours after the service.
On Rebel land, we had an area where we had a private graveyard. It was filled with way too many bodies, considering how short a time the Rebels had been around. We’d gathered there today with the intention of spreading Ryan’s ashes before we began the wake, but my mind was still out there, still playing back those moments we’d released Ryan’s ashes to the world.
Amaryllis had been clinging to Lucie all morning and afternoon. It was seven, her bedtime, and Lucie had just put her to bed. I was watching her, needing those quiet moments before the chaos of the common room took precedence over everything else. Listening to the bedtime story was soothing something inside me, something I hadn’t even known I’d needed.
I’d never thought I’d be a dad, and yet, here I was, watching Lucie with our girl.
The circle of life…
Wakes weren’t just an excuse for a fuckfest or for a party. They were the one way we could mourn with our brothers. If someone cried at a wake, there’d be no recriminations. No shit talk. We all wept into our whisky when one of our own passed. Call us pussies or just call us loyal, it was how we rolled at these events.
When a brother was taken down, I felt it in my fucking soul. They weren’t brothers of blood but brothers by choice, and that made the tie even more powerful.
It didn’t matter that Ryan had left a long time ago. Didn’t matter that the MC had moved on. Only the new kids didn’t know him, didn’t remember him. That was the punch Ryan had packed.
I remember you telling me pussies could punch harder than me.
Ryan?
What the fuck?
My eyes widened as I stared at Amaryllis and Lucie. Reaching up, I rubbed at my eyes and tried to calculate how much I’d had to fucking drink today.
Too much.
Fuck. I’d only had six or so beers.
Exactly. I didn’t keep them safe all this time for you to fuck this up, Axe. I need you to love her, to protect her. Don’t let your guard down, man.
I had to be losing my fucking mind.
More like pickling it. Shit’s coming, brother. Shit I can’t stop. Keep her safe. For me. But more importantly, for all you fuckwits. You’re nothing without her.
My mouth dropped open at the reprimand, but before I could pinch myself, Lucie was turning around and creeping off the bed. I glanced at Amaryllis and saw she was asleep. Lucie reached over and turned off the nightstand lamp, cutting off the light to the dark room.
Already, the loud, throbbing music from below was evident, and I winced, made aware yet again that this wasn’t the right place to raise Amaryllis.
Ever since Lucie had talked about leaving and finding somewhere nearby, the idea had been running through my head but we’d all been too busy to actually act on the notion.
But with it running at the back of my mind, I’d never noticed just how much sex went down on the premises. I mean, I noticed, but it hadn’t registered. It wasn’t until I had a