“With peanut butter frosting on top?” He proudly beamed up at her as if she had promised him a gold medal.
Sex Piston aimed a grateful smile at her for stopping to pick up the tumblers she had forgotten about.
“Should we go back to the car and wait for Shade there?” Lily asked when the children started complaining they wanted to go home.
“Shade’s coming.” Razer pointed, seeing him coming from the side of the building. “Did you find out what happened?” he asked when he got within talking distance.
His expression had her apprehension rising.
“They think one of the crew members didn’t check to make sure the bulls’ stalls were properly locked before they loaded them onto the trailer. The crew says they did and don’t know how they managed to get loose.”
“Whoever did it should be fired,” Sex Piston snapped. “It was an accident that could have cost someone their life.”
“One of the workers is in pretty bad shape. They took him through the back exit so no one could see,” Shade informed them. “Lily, you and Beth stay here, while Razer and I get the cars. Stud and Calder, mind staying here until we get back?”
“Not at all,” Stud said, giving Shade a perceptive gaze that sent alarm bells going off inside her.
The ex-Navy SEAL was known to be protective of his wife and child, but that he didn’t want them left alone long enough for him to get his car spoke of his concern.
Calder must have felt the same worry as her. He slid an arm around her waist and moved her closer to the group, keeping a wary eye around those who were near them.
When Shade and Razer arrived back with their vehicles, Stud told Sex Piston to stay beside their car until he could return with theirs, giving Calder a signal he didn’t intend her to see to watch them.
Once they were loaded into Stud’s van, they drove back to the hotel. Now that they felt safe and secure, the kids relived the experience, not noticing the adults were remaining silent in thought.
Once they were in the lobby, Crazy Bitch gave each of the kids a hug before saying good night to Stud and Sex Piston.
In their room, she sat down on the bed, taking off her boots. “Your dick better?” she asked as he took off his T-shirt and jeans.
“Yes.” He tossed his clothes down next to his suitcase before going into the bathroom and closing the door.
Stung at his abruptness, she undressed as she heard the shower turn on.
Twisting the doorknob, she went inside uninvited.
Opening the shower door, she stepped under the cold water, shuddering at the temperature. She dipped her head under the ice-cold water to give herself courage before turning around to face him.
“How long have you known Star is your daughter?”
His expression didn’t show any trace of emotion at her question.
She held her breath, hoping she was wrong, that she had made too much out of the resemblance between them, and that the look on his face when Star had come close to being trampled was just a reaction to seeing his niece in danger.
“Since she was born and Stud sent me a picture of her. She has the same birthmark on her thigh as I do.”
That he made no effort to deny his parentage to Star didn’t stem the irritation that was swelling inside her.
“Does Stud know that Star isn’t his?”
“I would assume so. I’m sure that’s why he married Candi.”
His matter-of-fact answer settled in the pit of her stomach like a stone.
“What do you mean, assume? You two have talked about it, right?”
“No.”
“Why in the fuck not?” Outrage on Star’s behalf had Crazy Bitch raising her voice in the small confines of the shower.
Calder turned the water off, getting out of the shower and leaving her inside alone.
Angry at his dismissive ending of their conservation, she grabbed a towel, following him into the bedroom.
“Hot thang, I don’t like the way you’re treating me when I’m trying to talk to you.”
Slinging his damp towel over his shoulders, he pulled a pair of loose shorts on. “There’s nothing to talk about. Stud and I haven’t talked about Star because she’s better off not knowing I’m her father. You saw Star tonight. Stud might not be her biological father, but he is her father in every way that counts.” Reaching for the T-shirt he had discarded, he fished for his cigarettes.
She stared at him numbly as he went to the bathroom, seeing him lay the towel over the shower rail before coming back into the room and going to the balcony door.
Sliding it open, he went outside then closed the door behind him.
“Hell no, you don’t!” She went to her suitcase, grabbing the first thing she touched, which was a grey T-shirt of Calder’s. The oversized shirt came to the middle of her thighs.
Padding across the room, she opened the door and went outside.
“What is your problem? Why don’t you discuss this with me instead of running away?”
“I’m not running anywhere. My dick hurts too much to run.” He squinted at her mockingly through the smoke he exhaled.
“Be very careful of the tone you’re using with me right now. I’m not one of the sluts at the club or Candi who will put up with your bullshit. I apologized for forgetting to use the lube. Believe it or not, I’m not really experienced at using them. I fucked up. But you’re fucking up more now with how you’re treating me.”
“What do you want me to say? That when I got out of prison, I told Stud that I knew Star was my daughter? That I want her to know?” He gave a bark of bitter laughter. “That I want visitation? Star worships Stud. She thinks he hung the moon. I’m Uncle Calder to her. She knows I’ve been in prison—Meri and Keri asked me about it. Little kids hear shit; that’s why they quit calling you Crazy Bitch in front of her and Harley. She asked me if it hurt when they put the handcuffs on me.
“She already knows Sex Piston isn’t her real mom, that Candi is in prison. Let’s just fuck her up even more by telling her that I’m her father. I don’t even have an apartment where she can go spend the night with me. I live in a motorcycle club. Not exactly a place I want my daughter to be able to brag about in school.”
“You make enough money working for Stud. You could afford a place if you wanted to.”
“I’m not going to waste my money on rent. I’m saving my money for a home. One that I don’t have to kiss a landlord’s ass for to keep him happy. One that will be mine, with the woman I want to share it with. One with a backyard that I don’t have to share with thirty other tenants.”
His pointed gaze had her leaning backward on the rail, staring at the glass balcony door. Her emotions churned at the pain that his face didn’t mirror.
“I never knew who my father was until I was in sixth grade. I kept asking my mother, but she would change the subject, or said it didn’t matter because he lived too far away.” She bit her lip, trying to explain to him how important it was for Star to know the truth.
“At the end of the school year, there was going to be a father and daughter dance. I wanted to go so badly I dreamed of it at night, imagining getting a new dress, just like all the other girls in my grade.
“I waited for my mom to go to work one day and went into her room. In her closet, I found an old box that had my school records in it. My birth certificate was in there, too. Then I used the phonebook to see if he lived in Jamestown. He did.
“The next day, when my mom went to work, I stole some money out of a jar she would put her tips in every night. That was the money she would save to buy groceries with. What money she made waitressing after she paid rent for the dump we lived in would go to her drugs, so I knew when she found out, she was going to beat my ass when she got home. I didn’t care.
“I called a taxi and gave the driver the address I found in the phonebook. The driver didn’t want to take me, but I cried and said my dad had a flat tire and was late picking me up after school. He believed me,
and when we got there, I had to count out the change to pay him, knowing I didn’t have enough to get home. I was dumb as shit, thinking that, when my dad saw me and we talked, he would give me a ride home. Truthfully, I hoped he would let me stay with him.” She kept staring into the empty hotel room, her mind going back to that day, while Calder silently listened, smoking his cigarette.
“When the taxi pulled away, I was too nervous to knock on his door. I walked up and down that street, I bet, twenty times before I saw a big car pull into the driveway.” She gave a soft laugh, brushing her sweaty palms against the bottom of the T-shirt. “A man got out of the car wearing a suit. I was standing on the sidewalk, and I fucking knew he was my father. I looked just like him. I was so busy staring at him I didn’t notice the woman or the girl getting out of the back seat until they slammed the car doors.
“His wife was all dressed up in a matching pant suit with her hair all done up. She was nothing like my mother. My mom wouldn’t want to be buried in that outfit. The little girl was handing my father her backpack as if it was too heavy to carry. She wasn’t anything like me, either.
“I was too self-conscious of my jeans that were so old they came up to my ankles, and the shirt that was so big on me it hung off my shoulders, that my mom had gotten from the Goodwill. I hid behind a tree until they went inside and then walked home. I took the beating my mom gave me for stealing her money and never told her what I had done.”
“You never tried to contact him again, even when you got older?”
“No. When I saw who his little girl was, I never wanted to see him again.”
“For God’s sake, why not?”
“Because she was in the same grade I was in. You’ve probably even met her. It’s Allison Staff.”
21
“I’ve met Allison. She and her old man came into Stud’s garage, wanting to buy a bike. He told them to get the fuck out of his garage. I couldn’t believe that he was turning business away. When he told me why, I understood.” Calder remembered the woman who had turned her nose up at Stud and him when the couple had come into the garage. “He told me how she helped several girls jump Sex Piston on the school bus.”
“She was their lookout.”
“Does she know you’re her sister?” He saw a faint resemblance between the two, but nothing that would make it obvious they were sisters.
“Hell no. You think my father would let anyone know he fucked the town whore? He did me a favor keeping his trap closed. The thought of Allison being my sister makes me want to puke. The only ones I’ve told are Sex Piston and the rest of the crew, and they aren’t any happier about it than I am.
“He came and saw me once when he found out my mom had cancer. I told him not to let the door hit him on the way out. I hate his fucking guts. That’s why I’m telling you. You need to talk to Stud and Sex Piston and find a way to tell Star. If she finds out for herself, Star will hate all of you.”
It was his worst fear, right on top of her finding out. Both his fears were on different sides of the fence, but both had consequences that were going to hurt Star.
He ground his cigarette out on top of the soda can he had left outside last night. “I don’t know what to do.” He looked at her for help, admitting he was at a loss.
“Stud is your brother. You’re close. He’s never turned his back on you. Ask him if Star is yours and go from there. But what you three are doing is plain wrong. Sex Piston loves Star. She considers Star her own kid, so she isn’t going to want to shake the boat and risk losing custody of her. Once Sex Piston sees you’re not going to take her away from her, she’ll be cool with you seeing more of Star.”
“If that’s even going to be an option. What if she hates me?”
“You’re nuts if you believe that. She’s crazy about you. She’ll be hurt and confused at first, but the three of you will be there for her, and she will see that all three of you love her and want what’s best for her. If you wait until she’s older, it’ll be too late.”
“I’ll think it over.”
He sighed. The relationship he and Stud shared had weathered so many storms, but what if him confronting Stud about Star being his child put a wedge between them that couldn’t be overcome?
He had always looked up to Stud. It was one of the reasons he hadn’t wanted his father to know he could ride a bike as good as Stud. Their father had tried to foster a rivalry between them. That was why he had only ridden the bikes when no one was around to see. If the old man had known, he would have pitted them against each other, billing the races as brother against brother.
Stud had been strong enough to make their father back down, while Calder had stayed in the background, letting his brother deal with the demands made on him.
He was in his thirties and still let Stud shoulder the shit that he should, deluding himself that it was for Star’s sake when, in reality, he had been too proud to admit how badly he had screwed up.
“I’m sorry for being an asshole. I don’t blame you for my sore dick,” he sorrowfully tried to make amends with one of the two girls he loved.
She gave him a mischievous look. “Who do you blame?”
“The Last Riders.”
A loud whistle from down below had them both looking over the railing. A group of men below who were going into the hotel’s entrance were staring at them, their eyes trained on Crazy Bitch.
“Sweetie, if you’re needing some company tonight, you don’t have to flash the whole parking lot. Just tell me what room you’re in, and I’ll be right up,” one brazen asshole was stupid enough to shout upward, making the others snicker and catcall with suggestive movements to Crazy Bitch, who wasn’t making a move to step away from the railing.
Crazy Bitch hung dangerously over the railing. “Woohoo! What’s your name?”
“Buck!” The randy bozo proudly looked at his friends as if he had scored a three-point shot.
She turned her head toward Calder, rolling her eyes. “Figures.” She snorted derisively before looking back down at the asswipe.
There was something about this that made Calder feel carefree. It felt like hanging out with a good friend who you didn’t have to be self-conscious around or always be on your toes at their reaction. She had a vicious sense of humor that was fun to watch.
“Yo, Buck, you get an eyeful? I bet that’s the first pussy you’ve seen that’s not in a Playboy magazine.”
Calder winced at the way she was staring contemptuously down at the man below her.
“Tell you what; if your whittle dick can find room 232, I’ll be waiting.”
His amusement vanished when she shouted out their room number.
The man pulled his pants up over his sagging stomach. “I’m on my way, sugar britches!”
“You better hurry and get your jeans on,” Crazy Bitch told Calder. “You’re not going to scare the shit out of them with that dorky thing on.”
“I wasn’t expecting company,” Calder snarled, his appreciation of her sense of humor vanishing when she turned the tables on him.
“Next time, be quicker defending my honor.” Her breasts bounced under his T-shirt at her shrug.
Deciding it was better to spank her ass after he got rid of them, he rushed inside their room. He only had enough time to throw his jeans on before he heard the knock on his door.
“She’s fucking crazy,” he said to himself as he tugged his zipper over his pained cock that was protesting having to go back inside his pants.
“How do you think I got my nickname?” she asked, coming into the room. “You want me to open the door for them?”
“No!” Nonplussed at her looking forward to him getting his ass kicked, he went to answer the door. Opening it, he saw the four beefy men’s faces drop when they saw it wasn’t Crazy Bitch who had answered.
“Where’s sugar britches?”
He took a step forward, letting his body fill the doorway. “You got the wrong room.”
“I got the right room.” Bell
igerently, bozo tried to peer over his shoulder. “Sugar britches, Buck’s here!”
Calder ground his teeth together so hard he would have to make a dentist appointment when he returned to Jamestown… if he lived until then. The men weren’t happy, and they were getting unhappier by the minute when Crazy Bitch didn’t answer.
“You gonna move or what?” Buck asked, his beady eyes narrowing on him.
Calder braced himself for the fight he could see there wasn’t going to be a way out of.
He was about to punch the smart-mouthed fucker when the door across the hall opened and Shade appeared.
“You need some help, Calder?”
The redneck turned at the question, seeing Shade standing shirtless in jeans that he hadn’t bothered to zip, his body heavily covered in tattoos, giving the four men pause.
The door next to Shade’s opened and Razer came out, naked and uncaring.
The redneck’s jaw dropped open in astonishment.
When the door next to his opened, Calder didn’t have to look to know that Stud had joined the party.
Calder grinned wickedly at Buck. “I’m good. They just wanted to introduce themselves in person. Now that they have, they can leave. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Nice meeting you.” The men backed away, leaving them alone in the hall.
Crazy Bitch peeked her head out from over his shoulder. “Leaving so soon…?”
Calder took a step forward, shutting the door on her before she could say something that would escalate in a free-for-all in the hallway.
“Thanks, brothers.”
Calder couldn’t help noticing the myriad of tattoos on Shade’s body. He had several himself, but not nearly as many that covered Shade’s, even dipping below his unbuttoned jeans. No one could miss the ones on his arms and neck, but he hadn’t seen him without his shirt on before.
Shade and Razer gave him a curt nod before going into their respective rooms, leaving him and Stud alone.
“How did you know to come outside?” Calder asked his brother curiously.