Page 12 of Phoenix

“Um, I’ll watch her until Phoenix wakes up,” he offered.

“You will watch her?” Mrs. Aggie asked.

“Yes,” he said. “Why does everyone think that I can’t watch a two-year-old? I’m quite capable of taking care of a kid.” Lydia smiled up at him and he ruffled her blond hair. She looked so much like Phoenix. “Your granddaughter was invited down to the club to hang out with the Harlots, and she made an excuse about not having a sitter for Lydia, so I offered and she all but turned me down flat. She doesn’t think that I can take care of Lydia either, but I think that we’d get along just fine, right, squirt?” he asked. The kid nodded at him, and he wondered if she was picking up just what was happening.

“Are you sure?” Mrs. Aggie asked.

“I’m positive,” he assured.

“Okay, then I’ll run home and grab her diaper bag. You do know how to change a diaper?” she asked. He had no clue as to how to do anything like that, but he couldn’t go back on his word now.

“Of course, I do,” he lied. Mrs. Aggie shot him a look that let him know she was buying what he was selling.

“It’s your funeral,” she breathed. She handed Lydia to him and the toddler smiled up at him, staring at his beard. She tugged on his beard, and he must have made a face, judging from the giggle that she gave him. He had to admit, she was a pretty damn cute kid. She looked a lot like Phoenix with her blond hair and blue eyes.

“You like my beard, don’t you?” he asked. She nodded her little head at him and gave his beard another tug. “I think that your great grandma paints a bad picture of you, Lydia. You and I are going to get along just fine, aren’t we?” She grunted once and then again, and a stench filled the air. “Oh, no,” he grumbled. “Your great-grandmother better hurry back with your diaper bag,” he said. Riggs put the toddler on the floor and went to the door to watch for Mrs. Aggie. Actually, he was trying to get some fresh air, but no amount of air was going to get rid of the smell of the present that Lydia had made him.

Mrs. Aggie hurried across their shared yard with Lydia’s diaper bag and handed it to him. As soon as he opened the door to take it from her, she scrunched up her nose. Smells like you’re going to have to figure out the whole diaper thing sooner rather than later, Riggs. She gave him a big smile and winked at him before turning to leave.

“Tell Vin if I can do anything for him, to let me know,” he shouted after her. She didn’t turn back to answer him, just waived her hand over her head to let him know that she heard him, and Riggs couldn’t help his smile.

He turned around to find Lydia going through her diaper bag and when she pulled out a diaper and the wipes to hand to him, he laughed out loud, startling the toddler. “Let’s get you changed, sweetie, and then, we can check on your mommy.” Lydia nodded and he picked her up to head over to the sofa. He was going to conquer the whole diaper thing and then, he’d make them all breakfast and test the waters to see how mad Phoenix would be at him. He was hoping that she wouldn’t be too mad because he was going to ask her and Lydia to spend the day with him, and with any luck, the night too.

Phoenix

Phoenix woke up to the sound of her daughter’s laughter and she tried to remember how she got back to Aggie’s house last night. The last thing she remembered was Riggs helping her into his truck. He must have taken her back to Aggie’s place instead of letting her sleep on the sofa like he offered.

When she finally stretched and opened her eyes, she realized that she wasn’t in her bedroom. In fact, if she wasn’t mistaken from spying on Riggs, she was in his bedroom, and his bed. That left the question of where he was now, and even more pertinent, did he sleep in bed with her last night. First, she had to find Riggs, and Phoenix had a feeling that if she followed her daughter’s laughter, she’d find him.

She decided to use the bathroom first, wishing that she had a toothbrush to get rid of the beer taste that still plagued her. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked down her body, realizing that she wasn’t wearing her leggings. “What the hell?” she asked. She couldn’t remember anything after Riggs helped her into his truck, so trying to figure out how she got her pantsoff was going to remain a mystery. Unless Riggs could help fill in the blanks.

Phoenix walked out of the bathroom to find her leggings and the thought of sliding her leather pants back up her legs wasn’t something that she wanted to entertain. She tugged her sweater down her thighs, thankful that it was longer than most of her others. If Riggs was the one who had undressed her before bed, he had already seen more than she planned on showing him.

She tiptoed down the stairs and found Riggs lying on the floor with Lydia sitting on top of him. She was jumping up and down on his tummy, giggling her little head off. “Well, you two look like you’re hitting it off. I’m sorry that I overslept. What time is it?” she asked.

“Ten,” Riggs said. “Your grandmother had to drop Lydia off on her way to the hospital,” he said.

“Hospital,” she shouted, “what’s wrong with Aggie?”

“Nothing is wrong with Mrs. Aggie. One of my brothers from the club, Vindicator, had a bike accident and you didn’t hear this from me, but I think that your grandmother has a crush on him. He called her to be his ride home, and of course, she agreed.”

“My grandmother has a crush on a biker?” Phoenix asked. Her head was spinning, and she wasn’t sure if it was going to stop any time soon. “Before you explain that, do you have any coffee?” What she really needed was a greasy breakfast and some toast to soak up any leftover alcohol. She hadn’t had anything to drink since before Lydia was born, and she guessed that now she’d be considered a lightweight since she had only had a few beers at the bar last night.

“I have coffee and I’m going to make you some breakfast,” he offered.

“That’s not necessary,” she insisted. “I can take Lydia and get out of your hair, but first would you fill in some of the blanks for me?”

“Memory issues?” he asked.

“Well, more like an alcohol-induced blackout issue. I remember getting into your truck, but that’s about it.” Riggs nodded to the kitchen as he walked past her. Lydia was tailing him, and she thought that was the cutest thing she had seen in a long time. Her daughter had never really had any men in her life, and she seemed very trusting of Riggs.

“Yeah, you passed out before we got back home. You asked if you could camp out on my sofa, but then, I worried that you’d wake up in the middle of the night and not know where you were. I also wanted to keep an eye on you—you know, in case you vomited or something.”

“Lovely,” she grumbled. “Please tell me that I didn’t throw up on you or anything else.”

He chuckled as he brewed a cup of coffee for her. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on it, but she still needed answers. “I have French vanilla creamer,” he offered. She nodded and he slid her mug onto the counter next to her and found the creamer in the fridge.

“Thank you,” she said. She poured a good bit of cream into her mug, and he chuckled.

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