Page 14 of Single Mom for the Bikers

I roll my eyes. “We have to take my car. Her seat is in the back.”

“No problem.”

I don’t know why the idea of going out for ice cream with Mia and Havoc is making me feel all fluttery, but I nod. “Okay, give me a minute.”

9

HAVOC

“This is Mr. Bear.”Mia holds up a stuffed animal that has clearly been through a lot.

I nod, not quite sure how to act with a kid. There are a few running around the compound, but I’m not in charge of any of them. Try not to swear because it’ll piss Shelby off, and don’t let her run into traffic, that’s about all I know. “He’s a dog.”

She looks at me like I’m the confused one. “Mr. Bear is his name, silly.”

“Is your mom coming back soon?”

An older couple pulls into the parking lot and gives me a suspicious look as they get out and head into the ice cream place. As if a guy like me has no right to be with a little girl. I stare them down and throw my arm over the back of the bench behind Mia, staking the claim I don’t really have a right to beyond Shelby asking me to keep an eye on her daughter while she went inside.

Mia doesn’t seem to notice, she’s too busy making Mr. Bear walk back and forth across her lap. “Dunno. Sometimes number two takes a long time. Do you have a Mr. Bear?”

The laugh bursts out of me before I can catch it. Holy fuck, kids have even less filter than bikers. “A stuffed animal you mean? Hm.” Shit, I haven’t thought about stuff like that in a long time. “I used to when I was your age. I had two actually. Big Bear and Little Bear.”

Come to think of it, maybe kids just suck at naming things.

Her whole face lights up. “Were they dogs like Mr. Bear?”

“Nah, they were just bears.”

“Oh… Are they still your friends? Mommy had a cat named Ally but she got lost when the bad thing happened. I don’t want Mr. Bear to get lost. He’s not good at walking by himself.”

Her innocent words and the weight of the worry behind them slice through me like a knife. This whole time I’ve been worried about Shelby, but never given her daughter much thought. Now that I’ve met her, she’s a real flesh and blood person to me, and I would fucking kill anyone who touched either of them.

Carefully, I nod. “Yeah, yeah I suppose they are. They live with my parents.” Or at least I’m assuming they still do. I haven’t been home in a couple years, and it’s not like I’ve looked for them, but my mother hangs on to everything, even if she’ll happily tell you her son is a bit of an asshole.

Shelby comes out with a bottle of water and some napkins in her hand. In the flash of an eye, I see the moment of panic when we aren’t standing exactly where she left us, and then the relief when she spots us.

Damn, she grew up nice. She was always pretty, but when I first knew her working at the bar she did her makeup heavy and teased her hair up big. Probably trying to blend in with the oldergirls and the strippers so nobody would question her age. The woman she is now is a fucking MILF. There’s something hotter about seeing her in ripped jeans that cup her ass like magic and a shirt that keeps giving me little tempting glimpses of skin.

“Are you giving Mr. Havoc trouble?” she asks Mia, kneeling down in front of her and wetting one of the napkins to clean what’s left of the ice cream off the little girl’s tiny fingers and face.

Mr. Havoc. What a fucking riot. That’s not something I ever thought I’d hear. “Nah, she’s been my buddy,” I say with a wink for Mia, who grins.

“Good. Hey, honey? Rosie is playing on the swings over there. Why don’t you go play a little before we go home? Stay where I can see you, though, okay?”

“Rosie?” Mia hops down from the bench. She takes a step and then turns around and thrusts Mr. Bear at me. “Stay here so you don’t get dirty.” Without even waiting to see if I accept, she’s off, not stopping until I see her run up to another little girl with her hair up in two adorable black poofs.

The old couple comes back out with their cones, and the wife is still looking at me like I sacrifice kittens on the weekends in spite of doing absolutely fucking nothing but exist in her line of sight. In our territory, everyone might not love us, but being in the Screaming Eagles gets us a certain amount of respect.

“What are you…?” Shelby follows my gaze. “What a bitch,” she murmurs under her breath.

Impulsively, I pull her into my lap. Partly because I fucking want to, and partly to make it obvious to anyone who sees us that Shelby and Mia are with me. Shelby lets out a little squeak andher arm goes around my shoulder to steady herself. As soon as her ass hits my lap I know I made a mistake, because this feels way too fucking good. I try to shift her off but she flicks her long brown hair off her shoulder and leans in.

“Let her look. You aren’t doing anything wrong.” Shelby reaches over and picks up what’s left of her milkshake. She wraps her lips around the end of the paper straw and sucks.

Fuck. There’s about to be a whole new reason she shouldn’t be sitting where she is. Her eyes go wide when she notices, and the cup wobbles when she lowers her arm. There’s a bead of strawberry milkshake on her lip, and I reach up and brush it away with my thumb, knowing exactly what the fuck I’m doing, but doing it anyway. Her gaze goes soft, and she doesn’t take her eyes off my hand as I bring my thumb to my lips and lick away the melted ice cream.

Someone coughs nearby, and it’s enough to launch Shelby off my lap and to her feet. She spins around. “Tracy! Hi!”

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