Page 4 of RiffRaff's Reward

“Making babies,” Ryleigh replies with a straight face.

“And with that, Aubree and I are going out to the playset,” I retort before turning and heading through the kitchen which leads to our huge backyard.

“Pretty girl, you’re too young to be hearing that kind of stuff,” I tell Aubree as I buckle her into the special swing that Brick got for her.

For a man who used to be an adrenaline junkie, who probably took off ten years ofmylife with all the stunts he, Kracken, and Banshee used to pull, he’s turned into a Nervous Nellie where his baby girl is concerned. Every inch of the clubhouse has beenbaby proofed now that she’s walking really well, the cabinets in the kitchen all have child locks on them, the doorknobs have these weird covers that are harder than fuck to twist open, and there are a shit ton of baby gates around to keep her secure and in whatever room they want her to stay in. He’d bubble wrap her if he thought Ryleigh wouldn’t blow her top.

I know eventually, there’ll be more babies, but my son cracks me up. I don’t even dare think about her when she starts to date at forty.

CHAPTER TWO

Jillian

“Areyou sure I’ll like him, Mom?” Kimber asks as we head to the restaurant we’re meeting RiffRaff at for dinner.

“Positive, sweetie,” I reply.

“Is he tall like Dad was?” she questions.

I stop and think about the two men and after mentally comparing them, I shake my head. “No, RiffRaff’s taller, believe it or not. He’s also very muscular, has tattoos, shaves his head, and rides a motorcycle.”

“Oh! Like Jax Teller?”

I snicker then ask, “And what do you know about Jax Teller?”

“Katie’s mom lets her watch it and she has a poster of him on her wall.” Then she shoots me a look that has ‘bad mom’ written all over it. Some parents may be comfortable with all of the sex and violence that takes place on that show, but I’m not. I’d like to shelter her from those things for a little longer. Before Iknow it, she’ll be sixteen and I’ll have to face the fact that she’s interested in some of those things. Including the mutiny. But until that happens, I’d like her to live inside my blissful bubble of ignorance alongside me.

“Well, you’re too young to watch it as far as I’m concerned. But he is a biker in a club, although they’re not like the club in that show.”

“Good. She says there’s a lot of shooting in it,” Kimber advises doing a full body shiver.

I don’t know if RiffRaff carries a gun, but I suspect he probably does and since he’s told me about the businesses the club owns and operates, I highly doubt he’s in very many shootouts. Pulling into the parking lot of the restaurant, I’m happy to see that RiffRaff’s already there, standing in a space next to his motorcycle. As I pull forward into the spot, he moves to the side, a smile playing on his lips.

“Is that him, Mom?” Kimber asks, staring wide-eyed and a little starstruck through the passenger window at RiffRaff.

“Yeah, baby,” I reply as I put my SUV in park and shut it down. He immediately goes to the passenger side after motioning me to wait and opens Kimber’s door before crouching down so they’re eye-to-eye. I sit back with my purse and keys clutched in my hand and watch as he valiantly enchants my baby girl.

“Hey, Kimber, I’m RiffRaff and I’m very glad to meet you,” he says, endearing me to him forever.

Or maybe it’s his voice which is smooth yet gravely, kind of like a shot of top shelf whiskey.

“Hey,” Kimber replies. “I um, I was going to open my door.”

“A lady’s door is always opened for her if a man is around,” he says, standing up and moving back so she can get out of my car. “Now, let me go get your mom and we’ll head in and get some of the best steaks around.”

“I like chicken,” Kimber whispers, almost to herself. My pulse quickens as I fear he’ll take her words as an insult. She’s acting surly, but once she warms up to him her attitude will change. But instead of reacting with a scowl or argumentative words, because that never works with a prepubescent teenager, he shoots her a wink and then gives me a pearly white grin.

He turns from where he was coming to the driver’s side and pins her with a smile. “Sweetheart, you can order whatever you want as long as you’re not wasteful. I happen to know, though, that they have combo dishes, so if you prefer chicken but kind of want steak too, you can get one of those.”

“They do?” she asks with awe in her voice as she follows him to the driver’s side where I’ve been patiently waiting for him.

Kimber and I occasionally go out to eat, of course, but we’ve never made it to this restaurant so neither of us have a clue what is offered outside of steaks since ‘steakhouse’ is in the name. Thankfully, with Duncan’s investments, our savings, and the life insurance policy, plus my own frugal nature, we’re not hurting for money, but I was waiting for something big to celebrate, like her thirteenth birthday or even an award from school. My plan was to let her bring Katie along, of course, since they’re BFFs for life, and we’d get all dressed up.

“Absolutely,” he states before he opens my door and holds out his hand.

Taking it, I allow him to help me stand. Once the car door is closed and I’ve locked it using my key fob, he leans in and brushes a butterfly kiss across my cheek. If I were a teenager, I know I’d swoon, but instead, I have to act like this is an everyday thing and it most certainly is not!

“Katie’s gonna be so jealous, Mom,” Kimber brags as RiffRaff holds the door and ushers us inside.

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