Page 21 of Demo

“It’s nothing,” she insisted.Danced naked in the moonlight?She shook her head again at the thought. “Your total today comes to one-twenty-five.”

“Worth it,” Kelly exclaimed. Paige let out an internal sigh of relief that she hadn’t balked at the cost. She handed over two one-hundred dollar bills. Thankfully, Paige had the ability to make change from the cash Demo had just paid with. She hadn’t been keeping much cash on hand. “This was excellent, Paige. Thank you for squeezing me in.”

Kelly’s treatment had taken longer than the forty-five minutes of her break, but she’d texted another waitress who agreed to cover her until she came back.

“Thankyoufor coming in,” Paige emphasized. “I’ve got you on the schedule for two weeks and here’s my card to take to your mom.” She offered the small piece of thick paper along with Kelly’s change.

Kelly waved to both Paige and Steel before heading out into the cold, her pink fluffy jacket going around her shoulders. Thankfully, it wasn’t bitter cold out today and the wind was manageable. Some days, the wind off of the mountain felt like splinters of ice against her skin.

As soon as the door closed behind Kelly, Paige turned her attention to Steel. “All right, what did you do?”

Steel was the ideal silver fox. His silver hair was thick and he’d had a closely cropped beard around his mouth for as long as Paige had known him. He stood tall at six-two and was caked with muscle. Twenty years with the Marines had given him a natural confidence Paige had always lacked. He wore all black from his long sleeve shirt under his cut down to his jeans and biker boots. Paige did not see a jacket on the wall behind him and had to question his sanity for going out in this weather without a coat on.

Steel raised an eyebrow, his face an emotionless mask. “Me? What makes you think I did anything?”

“I haven’t had this many people in my clinic since my Grand Opening when I offered a day of free services. Spill.”

“I only came by to make sure Demo came in for his treatment.”

Paige’s eyes narrowed. “I call bullshit. You did something,” she pointed at him. “Demo, Kelly, Kelly’s mom…” She held up her phone to show him her schedule. “Abby has been the only person on my Tuesday schedulefor months. Now I have six people on the schedule for tomorrow?” She’d seen the notifications when she’d opened the app to ring up Kelly’s bill. “What did you do, Steel?”

“While I am flattered you think I have that sort of power over this town, I can assure you that I do not. However, I do know that Abby has been singing your praises recently. Perhaps the town is finally taking notice of your unique talent.”

His voice was too smooth, too even. But she also highly doubted that she was ever going to get a straight answer from him. She knew Steel was a straight shooter and did not bullshit his way through life like Richard did, but there was an honor about him that was rare in today’s society. He would never admit that he helped her because it would be a bruise toherpride.

Paige lowered the phone and made sure her appreciation showed through. “Thank you,” she emphasized. “Whatever it is you didn’t do, thank you.”

Steel’s lips twitched but he didn’t offer her one of his rare smiles. He stepped closer to the reception desk. “I owe you an apology, actually. It was an oversight on my part that you’ve been struggling for as long as you have.”

Paige felt her stomach do a little flip flop. “I don’t understand. My,” she cleared her throat, “struggles are my own. You didn’t cause them and you aren’t responsible for them.”

“There lies the second apology I owe to you.” His eyes held emotion that his face did not, Paige realized. She saw sorrow there, regret. For a man like Steel, she had to wonder how often he felt those sorts of emotions. “You’re family, Paige. The moment Lucky put a cut on Harper, you became family. Your boys too. I offered Cindy a hand of friendship a long time ago, but somehow you slipped through the cracks. I am incredibly sorry for that oversight.”

Paige’s mouth flopped open and closed for several seconds like a fish out of water. Her brain was having trouble processing the gravity of his words. He spoke as if he was royalty or nobility accepting her into his ranks or offering her the protection of his title. That might also be because Paige had a proclivity for historic romance novels full of scandal, passion, and forbidden love.

“Steel, I?—”

“You and your boys are welcome at the clubhouse at any time for any reason. Neither Lucky nor Harper has to be there. If you need something,you call me. Day or night, rain or shine. I don’t care if it’s because you need a lightbulb changed in your house or if you hear something creepy downstairs.You call me, Paige. You’reVia Daemonia. You have been and I’m sorry it took me this long to acknowledge it.”

He looked around her clinic. “Same goes for here. You’ve got Angel immediately across the street. Lucky’s studio and Jenna’s shop are on this strip too. There are many of us around at all times. Do not hesitate to reach out if you need something.”

Steel tipped his head towards the right. “We’re also looking to add a daycare on club property. As long as everything goes to plan, we’ll have it built and furnished by the spring. This would not be a community daycare center and only available to club kids—which yours are.” There was a hardness to his eyes that brooked no argument at his statement. “I know Cindy has been helping you out with childcare. It’s your choice whether you choose to continue with that, of course, but your sons are always welcome with the club. Also doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing schedule. Cindy can have them part of the time and you can bring them to the club at other times. Completely up to you,” he added.

Then he leaned forward, placing his hands on the raised portion of the desk between them. “I heard about your parents’ threat to take your boys away, Paige.” Her eyes widened as she let out a gasp, her blood running cold at his admission. The only people who could have told him were Cindy and/or Ronald. They were the only ones who knew about the threatening voicemail. “I’m here to tell you that I will never let that happen. You’re a good mom, Paige, and your family sounds like a bunch of assholes.”

Paige couldn’t help but let out a snort at his words. He wasnotwrong.

“If they do more than verbal threats, if they make a formal complaint about you or show up in person to take the boys, you call me. I hope this isn’t too forward of me but I contacted our attorney, Susan Black. Her specialty is business law. However, she told me to tell you to call her if anything progresses more with your parents. In the meantime, if you have anything you can use against them, text messages, voicemails, instances with witnesses, where you can prove they are not safe guardians for your boys, contact Susan and she can start the process to get a restraining order against them. Even if a complaint is made, CPS cannot place them with your parents if there’s a restraining order against them. And she said to remind you that CPS willonlytake the boys immediately if there’s obvious signs of abuse. Otherwise, it is a long investigation that involves multiple court hearings. Pennsylvania also does have a history of allotting grandparents rights to their grandchild, but your parents are out of state, so that should work in your favor.”

Steel pulled a business card out of the inside of his leather cut and handed it to Paige over the desk. She hadn’t realized she’d sat down until she had to stand to take it. Her hand shook as she accepted the card.

“Susan also said to not worry about your husband or a divorce. Richard lost his parental rights to your sons after six months of no-contact with them. Even if he came back today to demand custody, he would not even make it inside a courtroom.”

Paige gasped, her eyes flying up from the lawyer’s business card to Steel. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” he parroted.

A shiver ran through her body, tears of relief filling her eyes. “Thank you.” Even with Richard being the cause of her current debt, she feared his return would mean having to split custody of her boys with him. Paige quickly wiped at her eyes. “Thank you,” she repeated. “You have no idea what a relief it is to hear that.”

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