Crossroads (Beautiful Biker MC Romance Series) - DD Prince Page 0,33
plastic cup.
I got him clean, used a pillowcase to dry him because nothing else was clean enough, found some powder for his bum area and then put the rest of the salve on him and diapered him up. I put a sleeper on him that wasn’t clean, but that was the cleanest thing he had and then I sat him on a blanket I’d spread out on the floor with the Tupperware and a little set of blocks to play with while I dialed on my phone. Thankfully, my phone was in my pocket, not my purse or I’d have been well and truly sunk.
“Aunt Delia? Need your help.”
***
Child Services had taken Trevor into foster care temporarily as it was now eleven o’clock at night and there was still no sign of Melanie. We’d waited for hours before making the phone call.
Delia had come over with a rash ointment and a clean outfit along with baby food, baby Advil, and more milk. After hours of sitting there with still no sign of Melanie, Delia called Child Services.
Yeah, and Melanie had not only taken my purse, she’d also committed grand theft auto. Delia drove by the park on her way to me and told me my car wasn’t there. She’d tasked a couple club members with looking for it. I had about seventy-five bucks cash in my wallet and my bank card as well as a credit card. I checked my balance and there had been forty-three dollars used at a gas station on my credit card. I put a freeze on the card through my credit card app. My bank card didn’t have tap enabled so she’d need my PIN number to use that.
My brother Rider was phoning me, and my battery was low.
“What the fuck’re you doing, Joelle?”
“Hello to you, too.”
“Jojo!”
Clearly he already knew where I was and what I’d been up to. Probably also that not only was my car and bag stolen but that Melanie left me with a marker. Her baby.
“I visited Mrs. Hanson and Mrs. Hanson told me about Melanie. She’s been showing up there looking for money.”
“That baby ain’t Lick’s.”
“And he’s not yours either, right?”
“Nope. You go there because you thought he was mine or Lick’s?”
“Well, he’s someone’s.”
“Not my problem. Melanie’s a skank and I didn’t get her pregnant. She’s also not your problem, Joelle.”
“Rider,” I clipped. “This is a baby we’re talk---"
“You shouldn’t be there. You shouldn’t have gone there at all. You shoulda called me and asked me and I woulda given you the score. Now she’s taken off and left you with her kid? Stole your purse and your car?”
“Aunt Delia called Child Services. We waited for hours first.”
“Fuck, Joelle. You, of all people, shouldn’t have victim written on your forehead. You shoulda seen her spiel a mile away.”
“No shit,” I said. “And I sorta did. But, she was in rough shape and the baby is teething and she just asked me to watch him so she could grab a nap. I started cleaning her apartment because it’s a fucking sty and she must’ve grabbed my bag and slipped out while I had my back turned.”
“Fuck sakes.”
“I’m stayin’ here tonight. A brother will run me home in the morning if we don’t find my car. Social services are taking him to the ER to get him checked out and they’ll call me tomorrow. The social worker says he has thrush and he’s got a bad diaper rash. Plus he’s cutting teeth.”
He growled.
“What?” I asked.
“See ya tomorrow,” he barked.
“Bye!”
“He pissed?” Aunt Delia asked.
“Yeah. He’s supposed to be the easy-going brother. Sheesh.”
“We can put you up at our place tonight unless you wanna head back late with Edge n’ Fork. If you wait until tomorrow, Brady’ll be here with the truck dropping off a load and you can ride back with him.”
“Edge and Fork?” I inquired, trying to keep my face from saying what I was thinking.
“Yeah. They’re popping by the house to drop somethin’ off and grab something else. They may crash, they may head back. If they go home, you can likely hop on the back with Edge.”
Or Fork.
“Or,” she added, “Hang with me and Brady’ll get you back to Aberdeen tomorrow.”
“I’d like to get back tonight if I can.” My face went hot.
“But if you stay tonight, your car might turn up overnight. And if that happens, you can drive it home yourself.”
“True.” I pondered the options laid out in front of me. “Let’s see how it goes with my