Widow's Undoing (Ruthless Sinners MC #4) - L. Wilder Page 0,91

you want to handle that?”

“I’ll call her and let her know what happened. That way she can be the one who decides about opening the shop today.”

“Sounds good.” Figuring she’d want to have the conversation with her sister in private, I said, “You talk to her and I’ll go see about the boys.”

“Okay.”

I left her to make her call and went to make a pot of coffee. I was standing there waiting for it to brew when Sean came shuffling into the kitchen. He didn’t seem the least bit surprised as he gave me a chin lift and mumbled, “Mornin’.”

“Mornin’.”

He looked like he was still half-asleep as he opened the refrigerator and took out a jug of orange juice. He carried it over to the counter, and after he poured himself a drink, he asked, “Mom doing okay?”

“Yeah, she’s gonna be fine.”

“She told us she fell, but she was scared...Scared like she used to be.” His eyes filled with emotion as he admitted, “We know it was Dad.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“It’s not the first time he’s done something like this.”

I heard the pain in his voice as he spoke. There was a time when I’d felt that exact pain. Mine continued through my entire childhood. The same wouldn’t hold true for him. I’d make sure of that. “Maybe not, but it will be the last.”

“We’ve heard that before. From both Mom and Dad.”

“Maybe so, but you haven’t heard it from me.” Sean’s eyes widened with hope, and it was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders as I said, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you or your mom. You don’t have to worry. Not anymore.”

“Okay.” When I turned to make my coffee, Sean called my name. “Widow?”

“Yeah?”

“I like having you around, and I think Mom does, too.”

“Thanks, bud. I like being around you guys, too.”

“You should move in with us.”

I could’ve told him that I’d already had that conversation with his mother, but I simply replied, “Maybe someday.”

“Cool.”

With that, he got up and darted out of the room. Half an hour later, the boys were getting on the bus and heading to school. I went back to Frankie’s room and was pleased to see she’d fallen back asleep. The rest would do her good, and it would give me a chance to check in with the club. I had to let Viper know that I’d be looking after Frankie and the boys for a couple of days. As I’d expected, he didn’t give me any grief about it. He knew how much she meant to me—even before I did. I didn’t know if Frankie was my soulmate, and fate had finally brought us together or if it was the simple fact that out of all the men in the world she’d chosen me to love. Either way, I was going to be the man she needed me to be—the man she deserved for me to be.

Chapter 20

Frankie

When I was married to Marc, I didn’t have many friends. He was always so suspicious of every move I made. If I happened to go to lunch with an old college friend or someone I knew in high school, he’d call a million times trying to catch me in a lie. At the time, I didn’t realize it was because he was cheating. I just assumed it was another way he was trying to control me and just gave up on trying to have friends altogether. I focused on spending time with my boys and getting the coffee shop off the ground. There were times when I was lonely, very lonely, so needless to say, I was excited about my girls night out with the ol’ ladies. I had such a great time with them at dinner. They were all so sweet and funny, and even though we’d really just met, they made me feel like I was part of the group.

When they mentioned going to the club to have a drink with the guys, I immediately agreed, thinking it would be a great way to get to know them a little better, and I’d get to spend some time with Roman. I thought it was a win-win until we arrived at Stilettoes—the strip club, not the clubhouse. I’d never been to a strip club, but I didn’t tell any of them that, fearing they might think I was a prude. I simply did my best to feign a smile and followed them inside. But as soon as we walked