open, boys. I want you ready if these assholes try to pull something.”
“Understood.”
Chapter 14
Frankie
After a long, agonizing day, the kids and I piled up in the living room to watch TV. Sean was sitting next to me on the sofa when I checked my phone for the hundredth time. I was hoping I might hear something from Roman, but there was nothing. I let out a disappointed sigh, and seconds later, Sean asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Oh...ah,” I mumbled, quickly pulling myself from my thoughts. “Nothing, honey. I’m fine.”
“No, there’s something,” Sean argued. “You’ve been acting weird all day.”
“I’m just tired, sweetie.” I wasn’t exactly lying. I really was exhausted. I’d been up all night thinking about Roman and the promise I made him. It was all I’d been able to think about. I hated the idea of something happening to him, but there was no way I could tell Sean that. “We’ve been really busy down at the coffee shop, and I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Corry looked up from his phone as he asked, “So, there’s nothing going on with you and Widow?”
“No, what makes you ask that?”
“I don’t know.” His freckled nose crinkled as gave me a slight shrug. “You’ve just been different since he started coming around.”
“Different how?”
“You’ve just seemed happier or whatever, but ever since he left last night, you’ve been all bummed out.” He looked down at his phone as he muttered, “I figured y’all must’ve broken up or something.”
“Broken up? Wait, you know that he and I have been talking?”
“Come on, Mom,” Sean piped in. “We’re not little kids anymore.”
“Yeah. We know you’re into him,” Corry added.
“And how do you know that?”
“It’s pretty obvious. You act all weird around him.”
I sat up on the sofa as I gasped, “Weird how?”
“You know, all that stuff girls do. Your face gets all red and you smile a lot. Even your voice changes,” Sean teased.
“It does not!”
“Um-hmm. It gets all soft and sweet, like you do when you’re about to fall asleep.” Sean chuckled, making it clear he was having himself a grand old time goading me with all my little idiosyncrasies. “And you’re always staring at him and stuff.”
Corry sat across from me nodding his head at everything his brother said. “Yep, there’s no way he hasn’t noticed.”
“Oh, yeah. He’s definitely noticed,” Sean snickered. “But don’t worry. He’s always staring at you, too. Y’all both have it bad.”
I’d thought I’d done a good job of hiding my feelings for Roman, but clearly, I was wrong. I’d hoped to keep this thing with him under wraps until I knew how things were going to play out, but the boys knew me too well. I knew they both liked Roman, but I wasn’t sure how they felt about us dating. “Well, since you brought it up, how do you feel about me seeing him?”
“It’s okay with me,” Sean answered without hesitation. “I like Widow.”
Corry wasn’t as quick to answer. In fact, he didn’t answer at all. He just sat in the recliner studying his phone. I waited a few moments, hoping he’d finally say something, but he remained silent. “Corry, you can tell me how you feel. It’s okay. I’ll understand if you don’t like the idea of me seeing Widow.”
“I don’t know.” He fidgeted in his chair for a moment, then said, “I know you like him and he seems nice and all, but how do you know he won’t turn out like Dad?”
It was a good question—a question he had every right to ask. After what he’d been through with his father, I understood his concern, but I didn’t have a good answer for him. So, I answered the only way I could. “I can’t really answer that. I don’t think he’s anything like your father, but I’m still getting to know him and that takes time. Right now, I really like him a lot, and I’d like to find out if I’m right about him.”
“Yeah, but he’s not like most guys, Momma.” It was hard to tell if he was worried or enamored as he said, “He’s kind of a badass. I mean, dang. You’ve seen the guy. He could totally kick Dad’s ass.”
He was right. Roman was big and strong. He was a member of a dangerous MC, and if I was being totally honest with myself, I didn’t really know him all that well. We’d never even had a real argument. I didn’t know how he fought or how he made up. We