Page 80 of Pooh

“I bet she’d be happy to help you out with that. Sleep time, buddy. Only good dreams tonight,” I tell him as I get out of the bed and give him a fist bump. By the time I put the books away and make it to the door, his eyes are drooping. Shutting off the light, I close the door most of the way, and head back to the kitchen.

“He asleep?” Pippa asks.

“Pretty much,” I answer as I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her body. Her head drops to my chest and I give the top of it a kiss. Her arms creep around my waist and we stand like this, without speaking, for a few moments.

“I like this. Working all day and then getting to have dinner with you and Craig. You in my arms. Spending the night with you. Hanging out together. Just being us,” I quietly tell her.

“Me too. I never realized I was lonely until I met you. Now I don’t want to go back to my old life.”

“You’re not going back to your old life. You have a new one that includes a four-year-old boy, a biker and his entire club that will always be up in your business if they think you need help,” I inform her.

“Sounds great to me,” Pippa says while raising her head in an invitation to have her mouth claimed.

I oblige and I do it thoroughly.

-*- -*- -*- -*-

I’m standing in the kitchen, bright and early, enjoying my first cup of coffee for the day, when there’s a knock on the door. Pippa’s still in the shower and Craig’s busy slurping up his cereal and milk, so I walk to the door and swing it open.

“Who are you?” barks the man standing on Pippa’s front porch.

“Same question back at you,” I respond.

“None of your fucking business. Where’s Pippa?” the man asks as he starts to step in the door.

I grip the door in one hand and the door jam in the other and block the doorway. While doing this, I feel my face tighten and a scowl take over my expression. Who is this dick splat?

“Who’re you and why do you want to talk to Pippa?” I ask.

“Holy fuck! Is he mine?” the man asks while looking past me and seeing Craig.

While I’m blocking him from entering the house, I hear Craig pipe up behind me.

“I’m not yours! I’m Pippa’s! Piss off.”

“Cal? What the fuck are you doing here?” Pippa spits out as she walks up behind me.

Cal? Cal? Who the fuck is Cal? I think for a second and then it dawns on me that Cal is Pippa’s ex-boyfriend. I still don’t know all the details, but I do know he’s what led to her starting New Horizons. Looks like an ass kicking will be taking the place of breakfast today. I let go of the door and grab Cal by the front of his shirt while pushing him further away from the door.

“Get your fucking hands off of me,” Cal shouts.

“You have no right to be here, Cal!” Pippa shouts back.

“Cal? As in, fuck face, twat waffling, cowardly, woman beating Cal?” I hear spoken in a soft growl. I look to the side and see Tammy and Trigger approaching from the driveway. I hadn’t even heard them drive up. Tammy hands her purse off to Trigger as she mounts the steps and stops next to where I’m holding Cal.

“Hey, Tammy. Been a while,” Cal says to her, stupidly, I might add. Anyone with a functioning brain can see she’s one second from lift off. Pippa pushes herself out the door and onto the porch next to me.

“I can’t believe you have finally showed your face,” Tammy tells him. She’s got the whole squinty eye thing happening now.

“I have a restraining order against you,” Pippa speaks up.

“It’s expired, so I thought now would be a good time to come and speak with you. Look, Pippa. I fucked up and I…”

Cal’s words end and a beautiful sound of pain shoots from his mouth when Tammy places a hard and well-aimed kick to his balls. I struggle a bit trying to hold him upright when all his pain receptors are ordering him to curl up in a little ball of misery.

Trigger, very helpfully, places Tammy’s purse strap over his shoulder, then steps up and grabs Cal’s arms from behind and assists me in keeping him upright. And that’s what brothers are for.

“I never got the chance to see you after you hurt my girl. You broke her wrist, bloodied and bruised her body, and just went on merrily with your life. You are the worst kind of human garbage there is. You need to die, as in deader than dead. Trigger, Pooh, make that shit happen,” Tammy spits out.

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