“I thought about what you said.About kids with no money, and I gave him $40 to give to the teacher to use for those kids.I told him to tell his teacher if it’s too much money, give it to another teacher who can use it.”He pulled back into traffic, waiting for his turn to leave the parking lot.At the entrance, he hung a right.His phone dinged, and he pulled it from his pocket.He waited until the next stop to read the text.“Fuck.Change of plans.I have to head to church.We’re being called in."
"What is it?"Her heart sped up at his tone.
"Tinker was cleared out by the time the brothers got to the clubhouse last night."A deep V dipped between his brows as he frowned.
"Okay.What's that mean?"It couldn't be anything good.
"It means he's giving up all pretenses of being a part of the Sons.He's in the wind."He glanced her way."I'm sorry, Sadie.That wasn't the news I was hoping to give you."
She nodded her head.She should have been expecting something like that to happen.Catching Tinker at the clubhouse would have been too easy.
He pulled up to the gate and waited for one of the prospects to open it, offering a wave in greeting as he passed through.Parking his truck close to the front of the building, he met her at the hood before escorting her to the door.He pulled it open and allowed her to enter first.She glanced around the large area and saw a few of the old ladies sitting at a table.She didn't see any of the brothers, which led her to believe they were already in church and waiting for Jed.
It was no secret that since moving to Redemption, Sadie had been actively avoiding anything and anyone that had anything to do with the Sons of Redemption.It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate everything they’d done for her; it was just that, given her past experiences with the Phantom Furies, she was too afraid that whatever stuff they had going on could come back and bite her and Oliver in the ass.She’d come too close to losing her nephew once, and she would never do anything that could jeopardize her life with him.
Although the more time she spent with Jed, the more she could see that the two clubs were nothing alike.Comparing the two was like comparing apples to oranges.And twice, Race had rallied the troops to come to her rescue when someone had broken into her apartment.If she were completely honest with herself, the biggest reason she’d been avoiding coming here was the fear of running into Kylie.After everything that went down between her and Darren, she highly doubted the woman would want to lay eyes on her.
With a hand at her back, Jed steered her toward Bellamy, Jane, Calliope, and her baby, Harper.“Ladies.How are things this morning?”
“Good.”
“Great.”
“I’m tired of being pregnant.”The last came from Bellamy, who was due in the next couple of weeks, if she remembered correctly.She definitely looked like she was ready to pop any moment.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Bellamy.I’ll let Race know he needs to be extra nice to you today,” he shot her a playful wink, causing Bellamy to roll her eyes.
“Whatever.Go to church.”She waved him away.
He pulled a chair out for Sadie and waited for her to have a seat before he took off.Her eyes followed him as he disappeared down the hall.She turned back to the table and found all three women smiling at her like they’d caught her doing something shady.It made her uncomfortable to be the object of their attention.
“So, you and Jed, huh?”Bellamy asked.“How long has that been going on?The last I knew, you were still pissed off that he cost you your job at Bottoms Up.”
Sadie wasn’t sure how to answer.“Um.Whatever this is,” she waved her hand, searching for the right words, “started a few days ago.”
“Only a few days ago?”Calliope asked.“Because you guys seem awfully comfortable in each other's company.”
Hmm.How to explain her and Jed.“We’ve known each other a lot longer, but have only recently been together.”
“What do you mean you’ve known each other a lot longer?”Jane asked.
“And what does recently being together mean?”Bellamy rubbed the side of her belly.
Oh boy.This was where having friends would have come in handy.She hadn’t had any close girl friends since high school.While everyone went off to college, got amazing jobs, or moved away, she’d been helping her brother raise Oliver.She was way out of practice for this sort of female sharing thing.“Okay.Let’s see.I met him one night at Bottoms Up when I was being blackmailed by Crockett to spy on the Sons.I gave him a lap dance.Then he came to Taos pretending he didn’t know me to see if I knew where the Phantoms might be keeping Darren.After everything with the Phantoms went down, I came back here to Redemption, got my old job back, and Jed got me fired.From there, I got a job at Big Dick’s, and he’s been coming every night to hang out while I work.I think he’s making sure Tinker doesn’t find me there.”
“That’s the CliffsNotes version, isn’t it?”Calliope grinned.
“Pretty much.”
“How did you guys move from being just friends to a relationship?”Jane asked.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t call what we’re doing a relationship.Is there chemistry between us?Yes.Are we having a good time?Yes.”She shrugged her shoulders.
“Have you had sex yet?”Bellamy certainly didn’t pull any punches.
“Yes.”
“That’s it?You’re not going to elaborate?”Bellamy appeared to be disappointed.
