Page 14 of Phoenix

Riggs finished up some yard work around his house, keeping a close eye for any sign of Phoenix as he did. He hated that she got spooked and took off the way that she did. His plans of spending the day with her and Lydia went up in smoke pretty quickly, and there was no salvaging any of it.

Mrs. Aggie came home at about dinnertime and ran over to his place to let him know that Vindicator was going to be all right. She had driven the older biker home and then Riggs was sure that she mumbled something about not getting to tuck him in.

“I appreciate you watching over my girls,” she said. “It was sweet of you to text me to tell me what was going on. Are the girls still here?” she asked, trying to peek around him. If Riggs wasn’t such a skeptic, he would swear that Mrs. Aggie almost wanted them to still be at his place.

“Um, no,” he said. “They left this morning, not long after you dropped Lydia off. Phoenix said that she wanted to put her down for a nap and get ready for work.”

Mrs. Aggie checked her watch and smiled back up at him. “She doesn’t have to be there for a couple more hours,” she said.

“I know,” he grumbled. “You do know that your granddaughter is very stubborn, right?” he asked.

“So, I’ve heard,” Mrs. Aggie said, blowing out her breath. “Listen, Tommy, I’ve seen the way that you look at her and if I’m correct, you have feelings for her, right?”

He had never lied to Mrs. Aggie, and he didn’t plan on starting now. “I do,” he admitted. “But I don’t think that she feels the same way about me.”

“You’re wrong about that,” she insisted. “I’ve caught Phoenix watching you from her window more than once, Tommy. She likes you; she’s just had a tough life these past four years. Just give her some time to figure out what I already know.”

“And what’s that?” he asked.

Mrs. Aggie patted his bicep and smiled up at him once more. “That you are a good guy who won’t hurt her.” Riggs wasn’t sure if she was telling him how she saw him, or letting him know how things were going to be. Either way, she was right. He would be good to Phoenix if she’d just give him a chance.

Mrs. Aggie started down the front steps to head back home and quickly turned around. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’m going to head down to Savage Hell tonight to let the guys know about Vin. I thought about just driving Phoenix to work. Will you be there tonight?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s church, so I’ll be there,” he said.

“Great, would you mind bringing Phoenix home tonight after her shift?” she asked. He wanted to insist that Phoenix would never allow that and that she had her own truck, but then Mrs. Aggie smiled and winked at him, and he knew exactly what she was doing. She was giving him a chance that he might not get otherwise with Phoenix.

“Sure, not a problem,” he agreed. She waved goodbye and took off across the yard between their two houses. He couldn’t help smiling at her as he watched her leave. She was sneaky, he’d give her that, but Riggs could tell that she only wanted the best for her granddaughter, and he just hoped he was it.

Riggs walked into Savage Hell and found the guys all standing around Mrs. Aggie, holding Lydia on her hip, telling them about Vindicator’s accident. She had them all captivated while she told them about Vin flirting with the nurses, and Lydia seemed to be entertained by her great-grandmother until she spotted Riggs back by the bar.

Lydia started to squirm and fuss about getting down and Mrs. Aggie did as she asked. The toddler ran straight back to him and held up her arms. He knew that every guy in the bar was watching him with the toddler and for some crazy reason, that didn’t bother him at all. Lydia giggled, saying his name, and when she tugged his beard and he pretended that it hurt, she full-on belly laughed.

“Looks like you have a new fan,” Phoenix said walking out from behind the bar.

“Yeah, we had fun this morning while you were sleeping in,” he teased.

Phoenix looked around the bar as she shushed him. “I don’t want everyone here to know that I spent the night with you,” she insisted. Yeah—that one hurt his feelings, but Riggs didn’t let her know it. He kept his smile pasted on his face as he let Lydia pull his beard while he made silly faces for her.

“You don’t have to worry about everyone knowing, Phoenix. I’ll keep it quiet. I can take a hint,” he whispered.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Riggs,” she breathed. “It’s just my first night and I don’t want anyone to know about us,” she said. “I don’t mean that there is an us, but you know what I’m saying, right?” she asked.

He shook his head, “Not really,” he admitted. “Do you want there to be an us or are you still too embarrassed to tell anyone that you have feelings for me?” he whispered.

“I’m not embarrassed,” she insisted.

“No?” he asked, “you freaked out this morning when I told you that your grandmother knew that you slept with me. Then, I mention our sleepover a bit too loudly and you shush me. If you’re not embarrassed by me, then what the hell is going on, Phoenix?” he asked. He realized that the room was eerily quiet, and he looked around. Everyone seemed to be very interested in what was going on with him and Phoenix, and he was sure that she wouldn’t like that at all.

Mrs. Aggie walked across the room and took Lydia from Riggs. “Tommy, I think that you both should have this conversation in a more private place,” she said.

“You can use my office,” Savage said from across the room.

“Honestly, that’s not necessary,” Phoenix insisted.

“Oh, honey, it’s necessary,” her grandmother said. “You and Tommy need to figure out how to get along—we’re neighbors.” Riggs wanted to point out that he had no problem with wanting to get along with Phoenix. He wanted to do a hell of a lot more than just get along with her, but telling her grandmother that wasn’t going to happen. And discussing that in front of the Bastards was definitely not happening.

“Let’s go, honey,” Riggs said taking her hand into his own. He was done pretending that he didn’t want Phoenix. He didn’t give a fuck who knew about it either. He practically dragged her to Savage’s office and opened the door to find the Harlot’s Prez sitting behind his desk.

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