Page 49 of Claim Me

“But won’t you get hungry when you can’t eat my shitty cooking?”

“I’ll order a pizza.”

Siobhan shrugs and walks to me. She smiles softly. Then, something happens in her head. Her expression goes crazy hostile as she looks at the men and swings her finger in their direction.

“Don’t any of you dare tell Sync about Indigo and me. I plan to tell him when I pick up the girls.”

“Smart to drop that news on him when the twins are around,” Noble says. “He can’t flip out with them listening.”

“What’s he got to flip out about?” Zoot demands and looks at Siobhan. “If he gives you a whiff of shit, you send him my way. I’ll go ahead and remind him of all the drama I had to endure when he couldn’t keep his dick out of other women.”

Siobhan seems irritated by them bringing up her past until she realizes Zoot’s ready to give Sync shit in her defense. She hurries over to hug him.

“What a kindhearted man,” she bullshits, making me laugh. “I can order you that pizza if you want. A big strong man like you needs carbs.”

Zoot rolls his eyes at her crap, but he doesn’t end the hug. His dark eyes focus on me, and I feel him sizing up the situation. When he doesn’t scowl at me, I assume he’s decided Siobhan hooking up with a club member is a good thing. I doubt he cares who the guy is as long as he wears our vest.

Twenty minutes and zero pizzas later, I’m standing next to Siobhan. Zoot peels his niece away from me and walks outside with Scarecrow and her. Noble takes this opportunity to corner me.

“If you have relationship issues again,” he says as his dark eyes dissect me, “I would suggest you come to me. There’s nothing you can say that will shock me. And it’s better than you running up to the hills and marinating yourself in bad memories.”

“Caveman gave me good advice.”

“I’m sure he did. However, you’ve never gotten right with losing your mom,” Noble insists, and his words hit me hard in the gut. “You’ve refused to let those wounds heal. So, going up to the hills is asking to throw salt in them. That’s not a smart move, no matter how low you feel. Get me?”

“I get you.”

“Even if this thing with Siobhan goes sideways or ends, you can’t let the pain kill you. That’s what happened to your mom, and she left behind a lot of people who wished she had gotten through that dark time. No matter what happens, you come to me, and we’ll figure shit out.”

Noble’s words ought to irritate me.But he isn’t wrong.I’ve got a big hole inside my chest filled with pain waiting to break free. My problems didn’t go away just because Siobhan welcomed me into her arms. I never want my issues to hurt Siobhan, the twins, or my kid.

“I’ll come to you next time,” I tell Noble. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I don’t usually fuck up like that.”

“No, you keep your shit in order, but everyone has triggers that make us want to give up.”

“It’s worked out.”

“Yeah, because Caveman and I were around that night when you were at your low point. If we hadn’t found you, things could have taken a different turn,” Noble says and rests his hand on my shoulder. “If you had walked into the woods up in the hills, no one would have likely found you. Siobhan would carry that guilt for her entire life. Those are things you don’t want to happen. So, next time, come to me and we’ll figure out an answer. If Siobhan gets pissed aboutsomething, we’ll wait out her temper like we do when Carys gets angry at Pork Chop.”

Though I can’t ever imagine arguing with Siobhan, Noble is a man who plans for every possibility.

By the time Zoot, Noble, and Scarecrow ride off, Siobhan is in a goofy mood. I think she’s happy more people know about us.

Soon, though, she’ll need to face Sync and test out if the twins will like me as much when I linger in their home.

SIOBHAN

Dying to see my girls, I pull my truck up to the curb in front of Sync’s house. He’s out on the driveway, working on rebuilding a 1957 Ford Thunderbird. The twins like to help by handing him whatever tools he needs. They even dab sweat from his forehead like he’s a surgeon.

Today, my babies are dressed in matching pink leggings and lavender shirts with the words “AB/CD First Grade Rocks” printed on them. The girls don’t ditch Sync immediately, but they lose all interest in the car once I arrive.

“Mommy looks happy,” Kiera tells Deirdre.

I spin around and shake my butt. “I have a boyfriend.”

The twins gasp dramatically and coo in unison, “Boyfriend.”

Sync frowns from where he’s working under the hood. I’m not sure if he’s reacting to my announcement or the girls’ complete abandonment. They run over to me halfway down the driveway.

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