Page 32 of Blue

This had escalated to a club issue. That meant his brothers had a say.

He should have taken comfort in that. It was the point of joining a club like this—he got brotherhood and support. However, he never wanted his problems to be theirs. Besides, when they got involved, things got bloody.

Leaving the office, his head fell, unable to bear the weight of what he’d brought to his club and his woman. He was supposed to protect his club and Blue. He was supposed to be the one who took care of complications. How had he become the source of them?

CHAPTER 10

Mooky

Lease signed three days ago. Keys were acquired yesterday. Luckily, it came with things because he didn’t have anything of his own to move in.

The furnishings in the small colonial-style home were minimal at best but far better than what he had at the clubhouse. Moreover, a thousand times better than an empty house. The best part, each kid had their own room. They might be small rooms, but they were theirs. In Mooky’s place. Without Angela.

He’d swap out their mattresses. Anything else could be secondhand and was. The table and chairs in the kitchen, the couch, their dressers, and nightstands all were previously owned. Mooky refused to have his kids sleep on used mattresses. That night, they’d sleep in sleeping bags. He’d get the rest sorted in time.

This washisstart ofhislife, free ofher.

His mind wandered to his own room. Obviously, he’d get a new mattress for that bed. It’d be a new beginning for him and Blue. A do-over warranted a fresh bed. He’d only get one set of sheets though. He wanted Blue to make it her own. The plan was for her to join him, and then he could have his happy family. Finally.

If she agreed.

He wasn’t sure how much longer she could wait. Was she? He hadn’t heard otherwise. But then again, would anyone tell him?

He pushed it out of his mind.

Focus on the house.

He couldn’t do anything if he didn’t have something to show her.

A kitchen, a full bathroom, a living room, his bedroom on a different floor from the kids, a garage, and a small basement completed the rental. He didn’t need anything else. This was his space for his family.

He couldn’t wait to get his tools and shit out of storage and put them out in the garage with his bike. It’d been years since they’d been set up. He hadn’t had a proper space to work on his bike since he lived with Angela.

In time, he’d turn it into his and Blue’s new dream home.

But the immediate concern was figuring out what to serve the kids for dinner. He’d only done some light shopping before picking them up. Standing with the refrigerator open, he pulled out a package of hot dogs. With a shrug, he figured it wasn’t too bad. He’d eaten worse than that, that was for damn sure.

Turning, he deleted the voicemails from Angela he hadn’t listened to and the text messages he hadn’t read. He didn’t need her drama. If he could, he’d block her and never hear from her again. Unfortunately, they still had to raise the kids together. Which meant they still had to talk. But from now on, he’d only speak about the kids. Nothing else.

Lifting his head, he jumped and slammed into the closing door of the fridge. After he’d jammed his elbow, the jolts of pain ricocheted through his arm. He stared at his silent daughter.

She’d essentially manifested behind him.

“Jesus! Star!” he exclaimed as he rubbed the cool package of hot dogs along his sore elbow. Thank Odin for the small conveniences. “Say something next time.”

She cocked her head to the side as though she hadn’t a clue what had happened or why he’d reacted that way.

Things between them were icy at best, though thawing slightly. Star wore her teenage angst with pride. He wasn’t sure how much of the attitude she gave him came from age and how much stemmed from the shit between him and her mother.

The world might never know. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t keep trying to be a good dad.

Stepping away from the refrigerator, he opened a few cabinets, still not sure where everything was, and looked for pots and some boxes of macaroni and cheese.

“You okay with hot dogs for dinner?” he asked.

They’d have to forego a vegetable. Yeah, he’d forgotten those. He should brush up on the food pyramid and get more representation of the food groups now that he had a proper kitchen and living arrangements for the kids. Growing humans needed vegetables. He had to remember that next time.

“Sure,” she sighed as she slunk into one of the wooden kitchen chairs. “I’m sorry I told Mom about your girlfriend.”

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