Kylie flinched at that remark.“I’m sorry.Coming here to fight with you wasn’t my intention, and I shouldn’t have been snooping.Can we sit and talk?Please?”
Sadie sighed heavily.“Sure.”She led the way to the living room, taking up her seat in the recliner like she’d done with Darren last night, leaving the couch for Kylie.
“I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot,” Kylie began.“I apologize again for snooping.I really don’t want you to move.This baby means everything to Darren, and I’d really like for you to stay in Redemption for his sake.”
“Seriously?Are you good with this?What about after the baby gets here?Are you going to change your mind?Because I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting my child.He or she is innocent in all this.”There was no way the other woman was as okay with the situation as she might claim to be.If Sadie was going to have problems with this woman, she wanted to know now rather than later.
“Yes.I’m good with this.”Kylie tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.“As you can imagine, I am sad that Darren isn’t having this baby with me, but I’m not angry.I’m not angry at you or him.If I’m angry at anybody, it’s those fucking Phantom Furies.Since they’re all dead, there’s nothing I can really do to them, and no, I’m not going to take it out on you or the baby.”
Sadie dipped her head once in understanding.Kylie took it as her cue to go on.“I’m glad that you’re letting Darren go with you to the doctor appointments and for the delivery.”She settled her hands on her stomach.“I know he’s really excited about the baby, even though he’s trying to curb his enthusiasm in front of me.It’s not like either one of you had a choice in the matter.”She scooted forward a little on the couch and added, “I’m not sure how much you know about the relationship between me, Darren, and Tuck.Obviously, you know I’m carrying Tuck’s baby, but Darren has been with me through everything from the beginning.Even before Tuck knew he was going to be a father.He’s been to all my office visits and gotten me through morning sickness and heartbreak.He’s invested as much as a man can be without being the bio dad.He’s loved every minute of it, and that’s why I know how much it will mean to him to participate in everything involving his own child.”
“I’ve already agreed to allow Darren to be there for everything.”
“That’s what he said, but he told me you wanted to know if I'd be okay with it.And I am.”She paused, licking her lips, before she continued.“I know this is going to sound crazy, but I want us to be friends.For Darren and for the baby.I think we could all be one big family, and if I’m not mistaken, you don’t have a whole lot of that right now.”
Sadie didn’t need to be reminded that she was all alone except for Oliver.She missed her brother every single day.Part of her wanted to believe what Kylie was saying, but the other part kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“So, what do you say?Can we be friends?”
Sadie didn’t know what to make of this woman.Was she actually a little crazy?Did she really want to be friends with Kylie?She wasn’t sure if she could trust her or not, but for Darren and their child, shouldn’t she give it a try?She was probably going to regret this, but she said, “Sure.”She’d give it a shot but held the right to revisit the idea if the need should arise later.She still didn’t believe Kylie was as cool with this as she was saying.
Kylie got to her feet with a little effort, and as she walked toward the door, she turned to say, “One more thing.If you make a play for Darren, I will be your worst enemy.”She reached for the doorknob.
What?There it was.Sadie knew there had to be another side to this woman that Darren and Tuck seldom saw.
“And that right there, Kylie, is why I’m looking for houses in another town.And I’ll tell you what should be as obvious as the nose on your face: I don’t want Darren.I never did.I would like for us to be friends or at least get along for the baby, but I see that staying here in Redemption and having to deal with this bullshit every day isn’t going to work for me.”She joined Kylie at the door and pulled it open farther, the implied “get the fuck out of my house” implied.She waited for Kylie to leave, then closed and locked the door.
The idea of moving out of town was sounding better and better.
The only thing that could make this day better was if she ran into Jed tonight and he called her a whore.
* * *
Race
Race kicked back in his desk chair and clasped his hands over his stomach.He listened as Jed reported about finding the asshole who was selling EZ Lay on a corner near their old property in town.The owner had called to give them a heads up, and Jed, Tuck, and Darren had rolled out to deal with it.
“Same story as the last one.No one knows who the main supplier is, and by the time the drug makes it to the street, it’s passed through so many hands, no one knows who the original supplier is,” Jed told him.
“The one thing the sellers dealing around our old clubhouse agree on is that they thought they were selling for us,” Darren added.
“Fucking Tinker.”Race growled.He was so beyond done having to deal with that son of a bitch, he could barely breathe.
It felt like it was always one problem after another.Some days, he wondered if it was really worth all the effort.Then he’d see one of his brothers smiling at his old lady like she was the breath that kept him alive, or one of the kids playing in their new rec center, and he knew it was.As long as he was breathing, he would always guard this family they’d created with everything he had.Some days were harder than others, but that was fucking life, wasn’t it?
“Knock.Knock.”Kylie peeked around the doorframe.“Is it okay to come in?”
“Sure, sweetheart.”He waved her forward.
As soon as she was within touching distance, Darren grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap, being careful of her pregnant belly.See, that right there was one of the biggest reasons he still did what he did.They had a lot of old ladies carrying the next generation of Sons, and they needed to be kept safe.
“Where’ve you been, baby?”Darren settled his arms around Kylie’s waist.
“I,” she stopped when Race’s phone started ringing.He fished his phone out of his pocket and frowned as he checked the caller ID.“Hey, Sadie girl.What can I do for you?”
“Hi, Race.I was calling to see if you’ve heard any news from the realtor selling my house.”
“Not recently.”He frowned, watching Kylie stiffen in Darren’s lap.
