“I didn’t know you were coming today,” she beams, pushing her glasses up on her nose.
“Wish I could say I just came to support you, but the truth is, your man brought me,” I tell her, pointing at Tracker. “I’m protecting his virtue.”
“Looks like you’re doing a great job,” she says dryly as we see a woman lift his shirt up to get a peek at his abs.
“If that was Dex, that bitch would be on the floor,” I comment, but Lana just laughs.
“Wow, they actually really like him. Do you think because he’s my friend I don’t realize how good-looking he really is? Because all I see now is . . . Tracker,” I say, wide-eyed.
After all, I’ve seen him lick beer off the kitchen table.
Then again, when I first saw him I did think he was pretty amazing. Don’t think Lana would appreciate hearing that though. I remember him catching me in their fridge the first time I met him, smelling the water to make sure it wasn’t vodka. He thought I was weird. And cute. It feels like a lifetime ago now.
“He’s delicious,” Lana says, glancing at him from head to toe. “He could be a model full-time if he wanted to.”
I smirk as I see him posing for photos, smiling away with the women. “I need to record this shit to show everyone. It’s so hilarious. He’s loving life but pretending he doesn’t like the attention. The men are going to give him so much shit.”
I pull out my phone and press RECORD as I walk closer to him, just in time to hear a woman ask him when he’s going to be on another cover.
“Okay, ladies, show is over,” I say, grabbing Tracker’s arm. “Our model needs a break.”
I drag him back to Lana’s table. “Tag, Lana, you’re it. I’m going home to my son, then I have to go and pick up my daughter.” I pause. “And I need to eat. I’m hungry and I want a burrito. Chicken, white rice, and chipotle sauce. All the veggies, jalapenos included.”
Lana pats the seat next to her, and Tracker fills it, not looking happy.
“You’ll be fine,” I tell him. “Just tell them some jokes—that will scare them away.”
I know he secretly enjoys it; no one made him come here today. I’m onto you, Tracker.
I’m about to walk away, when Tracker stands up and grabs my upper arm. “I know I’ll be fine.”
I turn and face him, tilting my head to the side. “Then why did you want me to come here under the guise of protecting you?”
He removes his hand from my arm and looks down, a sheepish look on his face. “We never get to spend any quality time together anymore. Back in the day, all we used to do was hang out. I don’t know, I guess I was just wanting some Faye time.”
“Oh,” I reply, expression softening. “We can make some time to hang out, Tracker.”
With everything going on in my life right now—being a mother, work, and the club—I guess even I’ve forgotten how all of us just used to hang out 24-7. Back then, we didn’t have kids though, and most of the men were single and had nothing better to do than harass me. I make a mental note to plan some bonding time for us. Maybe we could go shooting or something.
“Good,” he replies, vulnerable moment over. He kisses the top of my head, then returns to his seat.
I say good-bye to both of them, then take Tracker’s four-wheel drive back to my house. Dex is at home with Asher, but now he’ll go to Rift and do whatever other stuff he has to do, while I’m with the kids, cooking dinner, bathing them, and getting them into bed. When he gets home, we have our alone time, time that I really look forward to. This is what my days consist of, and it’s more normal than anyone would think. I’m not doing badass things all the time; for the most part, it’s mom and wife stuff.
“Hey,” I say, giving him a kiss when I spot him going through some paperwork on the kitchen table, Asher asleep against his chest.
“Hey, how was your day?” he asks, smiling back. “Did you get the charity run sorted out?”
“Not really,” I admit, taking Asher from him and holding him against my chest. “Kind of got distracted.”
In fact, I forgot why I had gone to the clubhouse in the first place, because everyone bombarded me with their drama the second I got there. I kiss the top of Asher’s head, breathing in deeply, loving the baby smell of him. “I missed you, little guy.”
“Do you want me to get Clover?” Dex asks, standing up and wrapping his arms around the two of us.
I shake my head. “No, it’s okay. I’ll get her; you go take care of whatever you need to. Tomorrow I have to go to the law firm, so you’ll have to get her then.”
“All right,” he says, kissing me once more, then grabbing his keys and heading out. I sit down and just enjoy having Asher in my arms. After being around so many people, it’s kind of nice to have a little peace and quiet.
It’s the best of both worlds.
FIVE
Faye
THE next day, it seems Irish took my advice and told Tina the truth about her ex-boyfriend, because I can hear the yelling the second I walk into the clubhouse.
Did he bring her here to tell her, hoping he’d have backup? I find them outside, Tina throwing things at him, her face red in fury. I sit down and open my can of soda, ready to watch the show. She’s probably going to be mad at me too, and at everyone, because we all went along with Irish’s story. She has a right to be mad. She probably feels alone right now, like no one is on her side. We all went against her.