Page 51 of Ronny

Her sleepy eyes are directed straight at me and I cover my mouth, the laugh wanting to burst free. “You don’t blame yourself because a man has short dick syndrome. He was a bitch, and it’s not your fault.” She wags her finger at me before grabbing her blanket closer under her chin and falling back to sleep almost instantly.

Bell is full-on laughing. She walks over and tries to smooth Trixie’s hair out of her face but she just ends up making it worse.

“We have a ton of guest rooms if anyone wants to go crash in a bed.” At that, Trixie points her finger in the air, taking her blanket and walking up the stairs.

“She is just like her mother.” Bell laughs out loud, and I have to agree. I have heard the story of how Jean found out her ex was cheating on her—she beat her ex and his mistress both up with a huge-ass dildo.

She is epic, just like Tiana’s mom who is super badass. And so is Bell’s daughter River who is neck and neck with Shaylin.

Ronny’s mom sits down on the other side of me on the couch. “Sweetheart, it’s not your fault. You are not responsible for someone else’s actions.”

I lean over and rest my head on her shoulder; she is what a mother should be like. She is an angel, I love her, and she has always been so kind to me.

I’m not sure how much time has passed when we are woken up by the sound of bikes pulling up into the driveway.

I sit up and look around the room to the clock, noting we have been asleep for a couple of hours. I yawn and look at the small screen on the monitor to see if Madeline is still asleep, when the door opens.

In walks Ronny, Maverick, Christopher, and Carter, which confuses me—why would he be here if Arabella didn’t come with us? “Trixie here?”

My mouth opens in an O shape, and I school my features. “She is upstairs in one of the guest rooms, asleep.”

He rubs the back of his head like he wants to ask something but is scared to, and I look at Ronny who is grinning. “Brother, you can go stay with her. I didn’t know she was yours.” He gives Carter the go-ahead.

Carter chuckles. “Trust me, I have tried to tell her, and it went over her head,” he confesses, and I burst out laughing, thinking of the way she rose up off the couch to glare at me.

“Good luck!” I tell him as he walks up the stairs.

“Come on, girls, I will drop you off at home,” Maverick tells Tiffany and Leah.

Bell makes sure to hug the two of us before leaving me and Ronny alone.

The silence is almost creepy as Ronny takes my hand and drags me up the stairs. I can’t fight the urge to look into the guest bedroom on the way to ours to see Trixie hanging halfway off the bed, while Carter looks down at her, shaking his head. He looks over at us, smiling as he carefully lifts her, settling her in the middle of the mattress. She peeks one eye open at him and lifts her hand, wiggling her fingers at him.

They’re total opposites and I love that for them.

I shake Ronny’s hand loose then peek back into the room one last time to see him climbing into the bed beside her. Be still my heart.

Ronny rolls his eyes at me, but I can’t help it. We go into our room, locking the door behind us so no one accidentally walks in.

Madeline is fast asleep in her bassinet. Ronny walks into the bathroom and I hear the shower turn on.

It hits me that he didn’t ask me to join him or really love on Madeline. Something is wrong.

I hurry into the bathroom to see him under the spray, washing his body like he is trying to wash away a memory.

I strip out of my clothes, too, and open the shower door to step in with him. Then I throw my hair up in a bun, so it doesn’t get wet.

“Ronny?” I say softly, getting his attention. I press my front to his back, wrapping my arms around him. “What’s the matter? What happened?” I ask.

He turns around to face me, cupping my cheek. He doesn’t say anything, it’s almost like he is trying to think of the right words to say.

“You’re starting to scare me.” I can feel the tears starting to form behind my eyes.

I do know that the MC men are intense when it comes to servicing their form of justice and that jail is not usually an option, so I have an idea.

Ronny runs his hand over his face then over his hair. “Elliot has been using his job to sell off kids to this hippie commune.”

I gasp dramatically, thinking about how all of those kids already had a rough go of it and they’re the most vulnerable. This is really bad.

---