“I didn’t know it was her. I only saw a few pictures of her right after the accident. She looks completely different now.”
“You didn’t recognize her name?”
I shook my head. “She said her name was Grace. The wife’s name is Avery.”
“How’d you figure it out?”
I sighed. “I fell asleep on her couch after I finished fucking her. Went to take a piss before I left and saw a picture of her kids hanging on the wall.”
“Shit,” he cursed. “You think she knew who you were?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. If she did, I don’t know what her game plan was. Doesn’t matter anyway. I’m not going to see her again.”
Shaker nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. But listen, man, you can’t let this shit continue to eat you alive from the inside out. You’ve got to find a healthy way to deal with it.”
“I’m not going to counseling,” I stated. Gramps had already tried to get me to start therapy right after the wreck. I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring myself to discuss my deepest and darkest of truths with a complete stranger—a stranger I was paying.
He pulled out his phone and quickly typed something before putting it away. “I just sent you Harper’s contact info. She’s a great therapist, and she’s helped me deal with some of my own shit. Before you say no, think about it. No one has to know, and what could it hurt?”
I’d heard Harper was an excellent therapist, but going to her with my own problems had never crossed my mind. If I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t sure I wanted help.
“In the meantime, I think you need to find a way to channel your anger.”
“I’m not angry.”
“Yeah, you fucking are; you just do a damn good job of suppressing it. By the looks of it, I’d say you use alcohol as one way to hide your emotions.”
“When did you become the all-knowing biker Yoda?” I snapped.
He laughed. “I’m not giving out all my secrets today.”
The garage door opened and Keegan stuck her head in. “Sorry to interrupt, but, um, I need you to come inside. Right now,” she said, and Shaker instantly got to his feet.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he followed her inside. Instinct kicked in, and I got up to see what was going on as well.
“Look, Jakey! Cheese and Whiskers had babies!” Gabriella squealed in excitement. “And they’re pink!”
“Ranger!” Shaker bellowed.
Keegan started to laugh but slapped her hand over her mouth. “As soon as he saw them, he ran out of here like his pants were on fire.”
“Yeah, I bet he did since he’s the one who bought her two ‘male’ mice. I wonder if Copper and Bronze could feed them to Slither and Squeeze,” Shaker mused.
Gabriella screamed in horror as tears ran down her face. “No! You big meanie!” Then, the spunky little girl junk punched Shaker with all of her might.
“Fuck,” he groaned and hunched over while he cupped his balls.
“Tell him no, Sissy!” Gabriella wailed. “You won’t kill my babies!”
Shaker’s head shot up, and his eyes filled with pain. “I’m sorry, Gabby,” he croaked. “It was a bad joke,” he said and dropped down to his knees. “You can keep them all if that’s what you want,” he said and held his arms out to her.
Gabriella glared at Shaker for several moments before Keegan nudged her forward. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Shaker said while he smoothed her hair and tried to comfort her.
“Hey, little slugger, where’d you learn to throw a punch like that?” I asked, hoping to distract her.
She pulled back and smiled proudly. “Papa taught me. He said if a man ever tried to make me do something I didn’t want to, all I had to do was punch him in his zipper.”
“Wifey, we’re going to have to have a talk with your grandfather,” Shaker grumbled.
