“We’re talkin’ about this when we get home, Sheridan. Nothin’ is gonna fuckin’ happen to you on my watch and I need to know exactly what you’ve been dealin’ with to want to take things this far,” Axel says as a nurse walks in to check on Leo and we end the conversation.
I knew he’d demand answers from me and this isn’t a conversation we’ll be able to push aside like we’ve been doing with everything else. There’s a lot Axel and I need to talk about and things we have to figure out between the two of us now that Leo is here and we’ll be living with Axel.
***
We’re finally at Axel’s house on the compound. I’ve showered and changed into a pair of sweats and one of Axel’s old football tee shirts. Now it’s time for us to have a conversation that’s going to be harder than I ever truly thought it would be. Walking out into the living room, I find Axel sitting on the couch with his phone in one hand and a beer in the other one. He appears to be zoned out and not truly paying attention to whatever he’s looking at. However, I know he’s watching mewalk over to the couch and take a seat in the corner. Without a word, he hands me a blanket and pushes a large glass of water toward me. There’s two plates of food on the table in front of us and it smells amazing. Taking a closer look, I see the roast Jolene used to make when we were younger. Gravy covers the meat on my plate. There’s mashed potatoes, peas, and two rolls I know she made from scratch. This has always been one of my favorite meals when I would eat with them.
“Eat while we talk, Little Fairy. I need to know what the hell is goin’ on,” Axel says and I know part of him is still in shock after our meeting with the lawyer. He didn’t realize how much money I was talking about or the value of the land and home I have. “I know about the accident and the way your mother treated you when we were growin’ up. Obviously things have not gotten any better when it comes to her. So, what’s she doin’ now?”
“That bitch called me when she knew I was going to be getting full access to the trust her parents left me. She made her demands and told me I didn’t deserve the money and would be signing everything over to her. I stood up for myself and made sure she knew that wouldn’t be happening because if her parents wanted her to have it, they would have given it to her and not left it for me. She made the comment that she knew I was pregnant and threatened our son. I made sure she knew I’d do anything to protect our child from her and would give my life if that’s what it takes to protect Leo. He won’t ever know a second of pain or fear because of that vile monster. That was just before the accident happened and the main reason I know she’s behind it,” I tell him the shortened version of the story because I hate going into details about this shit and Axel knows it.
For several minutes, Axel says absolutely nothing. The veins in his neck are standing out and I know without a doubthe’s doing everything he can to control the rage flowing through him. His shoulders are tight with tension and there’s a redness to his face and neck that only shows up when he’s truly pissed off and holding himself back.
“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me, Sheridan? She threatened you and our son and you didn’t tell me before now?” he finally says, his voice low and laced with the rage he’s feeling right now. “I know she caused the accident you were in when we were younger and almost killed you. How many times has she threatened you over the years? Does your dad know about it?”
“Dad knows. I don’t keep anything from him and you know that. He’s told every time she calls or the few times she actually showed up to threaten me in person. And I would have told you about the threat she made if we were actually talking, Axel. Ineverwould have kept something that huge or important from you. Not when it comes to our son. But, you weren’t talking to me and I knew my dad would protect me until you and I could talk,” I tell him, tears filling my eyes because I don’t want to remember Axel not talking to me even though it wasn’t that long ago that it happened.
“Fuck!” he roars out, standing and running his hands through his hair before dropping his head and taking several deep breaths. “I’m sorry, Little Fairy. In my mind, you lied to me about bein’ on birth control even though I know you’d never do anythin’ like that. Over the years, we’ve seen it all from women tryin’ to trap us in one way or another. Especially those of us who are officers in the club. It’s almost worked a time or two if I’m bein’ honest. Not with me, but with other guys. These women are vicious and don’t abide by any boundaries set by us when they become desperate. So, when I saw you pregnant and knew the baby was mine, my mind kind of went to that place and I didn’t know how to pull myself out of it for the longest time. But, Iknow you and know you’d never lie to me about somethin’ like that. You don’t lie for any reason as it is.
“Sheridan, there is somethin’ you need to know. Somethin’ I’ve been keepin’ from you because I’m a dumbass if you ask my dad. Hell, if Marcus were still alive, he’d have beaten my ass countless times over the years and forced me to make a move long before I actually did. From the very first second I saw you, I knew I wanted you as mine. I wanted to be every single one of your firsts, to be the man you leaned on when you couldn’t stand on your own, and be in every part of your life. We became friends and the more I got to know you, the stronger that feelin’ became. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with you, Sheridan. I’ve been completely and hopelessly in love with you for as long as I can remember. So, when I saw you in the diner that day, I took the chance I’d been denying myself of. Then I fucked it all up and opened my damn mouth spewing nonsense. I talked about you all the time at home. Mom, Dad, and Marcus grew tired of me talkin’ about you so much. It’s one of the many reasons my mom fell in love with you the second you stepped foot in front of her.
“Anyway, that hasn’t changed or gone away despite all the years we haven’t been in contact. Little Fairy, I still want you as mine. I want to make you my ol’ lady, marry you, and raise our children together. You’re the only woman I’ve ever thought of havin’ a future with. I used the pregnancy as a way to keep you at arm’s length because the way I feel about you scares the shit out of me. But, everyone sees how I feel and have been on my ass about the way I was treatin’ you every chance they got. Especially my dad, mom, and Knuckles. Janessa and him love you and I know they’ll be your biggest supporters when it comes to me and the times I fuck up with you.
“We’ll go as slow as you want, Little Fairy. You need to wrap your head around the fact that we’re gonna happen. You will be mine and I’ll be yours. Only yours. For now, I want you to concentrate on Leo and doin’ what you need to do to finish school. We’ll date, take care of our son, and get to know one another as we are now. I want you involved in every aspect of my life and I want to be part of yours. We’ll build somethin’ so much stronger than what we had years ago because we’re older now. I’m done runnin’ and pretendin’ I don’t want you to be mine in every way possible.”
Now it’s my turn to be shocked and speechless as I pause with my fork halfway to my mouth and simply stare at Axel as he makes his way back over to the couch and sits down right next to me. Tears fill my eyes because I’ve longed for so long to hear those words from him. Axel is completely open with me right now and showing a side of himself very few people have the privilege of seeing—the soft side full of emotion and not the cold, indifferent man most people see.
“Are you serious right now, Axel?” I question him, needing to be completely sure this is what he truly wants after all the silence and distance between the two of us.
“I’m dead serious, Little Fairy. You’re mine and there’s no one else I’ll ever love or want. We’ll go slow like I said and take things at your pace. Just know that you’re a taken woman and no other man will ever get close to you. I’m so fuckin’ sorry for everythin’ I did and said. For ignorin’ you and makin’ you believe you couldn’t come to me when you needed to. We both know I’m gonna fuck up on a regular basis, but know it won’t get that bad ever again. If it does, Janessa and my mom will kick my ass and have me beggin’ on my knees for your forgiveness,” he responds, taking my hands in his leaning forward until his forehead is pressed against mine.
I close my eyes and simply savor the moment. It’s been so long since Axel and I have been this close. When we were younger, this would be normal for the two of us. We were always close and he would comfort me any way I needed. I can’t tell you how many times I ended up in his arms as he held me because of whatever my mother was putting me through at the time. After my accident, Axel and Shelly were the only two who stayed by my side and didn’t push me away for whatever bullshit reason they came up with. As I cried and was in so much pain I couldn’t stand it, Axel was the one who held me together. He kept me in his arms and didn’t let me give up when it’s the only thing I wanted to do. Part of the reason I’m still here today is because of the man with me right now.
“Okay, Axel. I’ll be yours. No matter how much I want to make you pay and prove yourself to me, I can’t do it. Honestly, you didn’t do anything wrong, Axel. You were upset and needed to work through what was goin’ on in your own way. I know that better than anyone else. I love you and have for a very long time. I was always too scared to take that chance because I didn’t want my mother to rip us apart and never have you in my life because of her. You mean too much to me for me to ever risk losing you. Now, I know she can’t truly do anything to tear us apart. She holds no power over me and you won’t let her take you away from me. From our son. But, we do have to take this slow. There’s so much more at stake than ever before. Our son needs to come first and always have both of us no matter what happens between the two of us,” I say as tears slowly roll down my face and land on the two of us.
“Leo will always come first, Little Fairy. Now, finish eatin’ so I can hold you while we watch one of those sappy movies you used to trick me into watchin’,” Axel says, wiping my tears away with his thumbs before leaning in and pressing his lips againstmine. The kiss is intense and quickly gets out of control until Axel pulls back and gives me just enough space to finish eating my dinner.
The rest of the night, Axel holds me in his arms as we watch movies until I fall asleep on the couch with him wrapped around me. My dreams are filled with Axel and our son. This is exactly where I’m meant to be and after so many damn years, it’s finally happening.
Chapter Fifteen
Tease
THE LAST THING I want to be doing is going on a run. However, everyone is busy as fuck these days and Homicide was supposed to go with Knuckles, but the kids and Melissa need him at home so he had to back out at the very last second. Usually, I wouldn’t go on a run with Knuckles because he’s my cousin and relatives don’t go on a run together. With no other choice, I drew the short straw and now find myself on the road with my cousin as we make our way toward the pickup location for the next shipment of parts. If it were any other run but this one, I would have refused to leave. Leo and Sheridan need me and I want to be home with my family. Rooster promised we’d be gone for less than a day and then I wouldn’t be asked to go on a run for a while as we continue to figure things out with Leo while he remains in the hospital.
My son is strong as fuck and has been thriving. However, we still have no clue when he’ll be discharged and allowed to come home with us. It’s definitely taking a toll on my girl and she cries herself to sleep every single night. Sheridan wants to be at the hospital with our boy and I can’t blame her. Both of us were literally right down the hall for weeks while she recovered. Now, we’re minutes away. Minutes that could change so much for a baby in NICU. It’s no hardship to comfort my girl and hold her in my arms as I try to calm her down and get her talking about anything other than not being at the hospital.
Sheridan has some huge plans for when she graduates with her degree. While she’ll have to do her internship with a vet who is already established, that’s not what she ultimately wants to do once she graduates. Sheridan has plans to open up her own practice on the ranch she’s going to have. There will be horses so she can help kids and adults with some kind of therapy. I didn’t really understand what she was talking about, but I love listening to her and will do what I can to support her dreams and goals. Her plan is to use the ranch to not only help those with some kind of therapy but to rehabilitate animals who need to be removed from abusive and neglectful homes. My girl has always had a soft spot for animals. I can’t tell you how many times she used to have me pull over to rescue some animal on the side of the road. She’s so damn cute when she’s working with animals too. She talks to them as if they’ll respond, cares for them with infinite patience, and goes out of her way to ensure they live a long, healthy life without suffering.
Not too many people get to see that side of Sheridan. Shelly and I have helped her so many times over the years. The rest of the world doesn’t get to see how tender and loving she is to injured animals. They only get to see the parts of her she allows them to which isn’t very much at all. Especially when it comes to the bullies she had in high school. They used every opportunity to mock and ridicule her for working in the garage with her dad, for dressing the way she did because she never once cared about what others thought of her, and anything else they could. Jess was always the ringleader and her biggest tormentor. I only found everything even more endearing about Sheridan. She’s the one girl I could sit for hours in a garage with as we worked on bikes, talked about ways to improve them, and anything else I could think of. We always had a conversation ready to go because I could talk about vehicles with her andSheridan would be in heaven. One more reason she was always my dream girl.
Since talking with Sheridan the night she was discharged from the hospital, I’ve sat down with my dad, Rooster, and Brick. I’m truly concerned about her mother and what she’ll do in order to get her hands on the money that was left for Sheridan. I remember hearing her mother screaming about the inheritance and how it belonged to her and Sheridan didn’t deserve it. It’s one of the main reasons she can’t stand her own daughter and has tormented Sheridan any chance she gets. With the threat to my girl and our son, there’s no way in hell I’m allowing any room for errors to take place. Brick is digging into Sheridan’s mother, the accident, and Jess. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to learn Jess and the bitch who gave birth to my girl are working together. They’re both vile skanks who are selfish beyond anything I’ve ever seen before.
We’ve already ensured her mother can’t get in the NICU and anywhere close to Leo. Every staff member knows there’s only a select number of people who are actually allowed inside. Knuckles, my parents, Janessa, Rooster, and Mr. Russell are the only ones who are allowed to be given information on Leo if we aren’t there for any reason. There are guys at the house so Sheridan is never alone and at least two more at the hospital outside the NICU. The hospital knows they’ll be there around the clock and not to bother them. Security for the hospital has been stationed on the floor as well. No one is taking any chances when it comes to Leo’s safety.
“So, have you and Sheridan figured your shit out? She’s been out of the hospital for a little over a week now and we’ve hardly seen you,” Knuckles asks me through the comms we use when riding.
Eric, one of our Prospects, is driving the van we’ll put the parts in when we get to our pickup point. And I keep my eyes on him from the back of the van while Knuckles rides in front of him.
