Clem chuckles, “Yeah, we have. Whitney is talking about having a little Oren of our own.”
“Has she? You up for that?”
“Oh, yeah. I love Oren. He’s the best nephew I could ever have had. I’d like kids of my own, and now that we live next door it would be great in lots of ways.”
I nod because that’s exactly what I’d been thinking...family, and support on hand. Something many families don’t have, and will never get.
Clem and I sit straighter when we see a man walk up behind Whitney and speak to her. She shakes her head and turns her back on him. Dismissing him as she grabs Oren and spins him around.
Not having any luck with Whitney, he turns his attention to Maylee. Now, I’m not sure what he says, but her face quickly changes from laughing to scowling. I’m rising onto my feet when Maylee wraps her arms around the asshole's waist but brings her knee up and hits him where it hurts most.
As the asshole drops to his knees and bellows in pain, I notice another man stepping toward Maylee and Whitney.Oren, however, must have noticed something was wrong as he rushes away from Whitney toward the man on his knees. Although Whitney’s arms are stretching out to grab hold of him. He swings his little fist and hits the asshole clean in the nose.
The other man, me and Clem all rush to the same place, and when I see the asshole lift his hand to slap either Maylee or Oren, I surge forward and push him out of the way.
“Not happening, asshole,” I snarl.
“You saw what that little kid did...”
I cut the fucker off because my temper is at the edge at this point. I’m about ready to explode and let loose the side of me nobody really wants to witness. “Oh, yeah, I saw what he did all right. He,” pointing at the asshole on the floor, “messed with two women who are not interested. I don’t know what he said to MY WIFE...” Yeah, he now knows that his bud stepped wrong, and it’s caused an issue they may not get out of easily.
“Oh, shit, man. Look, I’ll get him out of here.”
I can’t believe how fast he drags his bud from the floor and drags him away until I turn around and Clem along with other men I don’t know are standing behind me. All with arms folded over their chests and looking more than a little pissed. I raise a questioning eyebrow at Clem who grins, shrugs and walks away.
Whitney, Oren and Maylee are back at the booth, sipping drinks and eating ribs as though nothing happened.
“Bro’, just go with the flow,” Clem chuckles as he passes me and steps into the booth next to Whitney.
As I take my seat Oren gives me such a serious look that I side-eye Clem. “Dad, I did good...I punched him for being nasty to Mom.”
The table quiets, Maylee freezes with her mouth open just as she was about to take a bite from the rib in her hand. Dropping it onto the plate, she grabs Oren’s cheeks and kisses him silly.
Giggles erupt from Oren, and I hear Maylee whispering. “Thank you, Oren, I’ll be the best mom ever.”
As Maylee pulls back from Oren, I don’t hold back the laugh when I see he has rib sauce all over his face, but he has the biggest grin I’ve ever seen him give. I rub my sternum with the ache of happiness, and think how lucky I am.
The rest of the evening we eat, laugh and even line dance. The best night we’ve had in a long time, and both Clem and I grab our women, and we are going to hang on tight.
Chapter 6
Maylee
The cast on my arm is a mess at this point. Oren has drawn pictures on it, colleagues have signed it, and Whitney was going to draw something unmentionable until I reminded her I was a lawyer.
I’ve told Myles he has to have today away from the garage as we need to take Oren clothes shopping. I have noticed his pants are a little on the short side, and the sleeves on his button-down are not where they should be.
Walking into the kitchen, I mess Oren’s hair as I pass and grin when he mumbles something about pesky mothers and maybe he shouldn’t have wanted one.
I do my best to show Oren that as a mother I’m not all orders and being strict toward him, or what he does. I give him plenty of cuddles and kisses, but I have led him into enough trouble, along with Whitney, of course. We have a great time and feel like kids again ourselves.
“Are you ready, Angel?” Myles asks, giving me the usual once-over as he does.
“I am. Are you ready, Oren?” I ask as I grab a piece of his toast and giggle when he pretends he is annoyed with me.
It doesn’t take us long to get to the shopping mall in Dravensville. It’s an enormous place, and I’m not sure I’m going to enjoy shopping here. But here goes…
Walking into a clothing store, my eyes pop because, honestly, this place has everything that we may need for Oren. I grab Oren’s hand and drag him over to look at pants and t-shirts.
