Page 4 of Revived

“Ford and Dakota?”

Kendra looked rather sheepish as she finally said, “My other boys.”

“You have more kids?” I asked as if she hadn’t just said exactly that. She had more kids, and had named them after someone’s car too.

Her face was full of sunshine as she proudly proclaimed the rest. “I have four. There’s Chevy, then Ford, Dakota, and my baby girl Harley.”

“Our baby girl,” the man who was now standing behind Kendra with his arms locked around her waist insisted. Yeah, I got ya, buddy. You’re marking your territory. I couldn’t blame him either. I should have done a better job of it when she was mine. Then, maybe I would have known I had a kid. Hell, then maybe all four of Kendra’s children would belong to me as – as would the woman herself.

2 – The Rock Star Life

Chevy. My son. I was going to meet my son, who had just turned 18. My brain was on overdrive with the attempts to wrap my head around all that I’d missed out on. Letting myself dwell on the fact that I’d also missed out on his mother being in my life simply because I was too stupid to fight for her, wasn’t an option. She had a man now, whom she seemed happy with. That didn’t mean I hadn’t put my private investigator on him to find out all there was to know about the man, and apparently the motorcycle club, who was in their lives. I hadn’t been able to catch a glimpse of the back of his leather to see which one he belonged to, but it wouldn’t take long to find that out.

I stood there, outside of the house that I once had been very weary of approaching. I couldn’t believe she still lived in her parents’ ostentatious mansion. I would have thought Kendra would sell it and move to something more her style.

“You gonna go in, or just stand there all day?” I turned to see the man who was with Kendra in the cemetery a couple of days ago.

“I can’t believe she still lives in this house,” I admitted.

“Seems like she was making sure it wouldn’t be difficult to find her,” was his grunted response.

Well fuck. I guess he had a point there. “I did find her, twice, and both times she was with someone else, so I stayed away.”

“That just makes you an idiot. She was still a little bit in love with you when I met her. Why the hell you never fought for a woman like her, I will never understand, but I will thank you for it. She’s mine now. Just keep that in the back of your mind while you’re interacting with her.”

“Afraid of what me being here will mean for her?” I asked, all cocky bravado.

He laughed and there wasn’t even a touch of menace in the sound. He legitimately thought what I said was funny. “Nah, I ain’t afraid of you entering her life again. She’s well and truly over you now. That happens when you have a man in your life who sticks and fights after so many disappointments before.” The fucker winked then and moved right past me to let himself into the house. It didn’t take long for me to follow behind him, but the dick slammed the door shut behind him as he bellowed out, “Honey, I’m home!”

“Asshole,” I murmured under my breath as I opened the door and just waltzed in right behind him.

“Oh! Hi, Gabe,” Kendra said as she removed her lips from the fucker who just tried to warn me off and shut me out. Not gonna lie, my gut clenched tightly at seeing them together that way. I had not been a monk in the years that passed us by, but living a hollowed existence, chasing pleasure, and having to see the person you thought was the love of your life, loving someone else, they were two very different things.

“Yeah, Hack here tossed the door in my face when he came in, so it took me a minute longer.” I had zero qualms about throwing that fucker under the damn bus and made sure it rolled over him too.

“Josh!” Kendra hissed his name. “You said you would behave. If you can’t do that, then you can leave. This isn’t about me. He’s here to meet Chevy and you will not ruin that for either of them. Imagine if you and Harley were in their shoes right now.”

“I’d never have allowed that to happen, Beautiful, so that’s not something I can imagine.” Kendra’s hands flew to her hips as she cocked one out to the side and narrowed her eyes at the man who stood head and shoulders above her.

“Hex!” She hissed his road name instead of his given one. Then, he stood a little taller and started taking her more seriously.

“Sorry, Beauty. Won’t happen again,” he murmured before kissing her forehead and walking off deeper into the house, calling out, “Where’s my other girl?”

“Sorry about him,” Kendra turned to address me. “He’s a little on edge with this visit.”

“Worried I’ll sweep you off your feet?” I joked.

“Not at all,” she dismissed me quickly. “He’s worried you’ll get Chevy’s hopes up and then leave him behind the way you did to me.”

“What the fuck, Ken?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a concern we all have, quite frankly. Let’s be honest, things didn’t exactly go well the last time you left town unannounced. What happens when you make plans with Chevy and then something comes up with your career and you suddenly have to be somewhere else? What then?”

“I can promise you right now that no matter what, that will never happen. I would have given it all up back then had I known the truth, Kendra. You have to know that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she insisted.

“It does matter, because I need you to understand that my being here to meet my son isn’t just some whim that will go away. He’s my son, and I plan to get to know him and remain in his life unless he chooses otherwise. I really fucking hope that it never comes to him making a choice like that.”

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