Page 10 of Speed

“Finish that, and then you can get in the bath.”

“‘K,” she said around the cupcake.

Ten minutes later, Ally was in the bathtub, and I was redressing in work clothes out of my sweats I’d put on to lounge around the house comfortably.

When the doorbell rang, we were just headed down the steps. Me ready for work and Ally ready for a little TV before bed. Pulling the door open for Sue, I quickly stepped back before Carly barreled in instead of Sue.

“Ugh, I have had a shitty day, do you have any wine, beer, poison?” My friend headed straight down the hall toward the kitchen, and as she passed Ally, she yelled, “Hey, short stuff.”

“You said a bad word, Aunt Carly,” Ally yelled back.

“Yeah, yeah, what are you, kid, the word police?” Ally giggled, and Carly opened the refrigerator, then I heard the top pop on a beer. As she walked into the room where I was now sitting on the couch with Ally, she plopped in the chair across from us and sighed.

“So, a bad day on the criminal front?” And that was all it took for my closest friend to start.

“I had another run-in with Mr. I Look Good, and every woman should want to have a piece of me.” She took a long pull on her beer.

“What did he do now? And remember little ears are in the room, she knows way too much now as it is,” I reminded Carly about Ally before she got wrapped up telling her story and forgot Ally was in the room.

“Oh, yeah, don’t want to further her education. Though she should learn that some men are not worthy of an ounce of our time. What the...” Carly paused, probably to think of a word that wouldn’t be so bad if repeated by Ally, “jerk did was ride by me today with his friends and as they passed he flips me off. I radio into Mabel at dispatch that I was going to follow them and then the sheriff comes on and tells me to head back to the station and pick him up, he went with me. Said we needed to get whatever was going on with Mr. My Personal Pain in the Butt and I because he was getting tired of listening to the bitching about their club. Can I help it if the man provokes me at every opportunity? He has since I got the job of deputy last year. What the effing hell, should I just let them run over me because they are big bad bikers?” she huffed.

“Well, umm...is there something going on with you and him?” I inwardly cringed because that was going to set her off. We’d grown up in a club and moved to Black Hawk territory at my dad’s request, the only reason given was there was stuff going on in the club that needed to be taken care of, and he didn’t want to have to worry about us being caught up in the middle and used against him. I hadn’t wanted to up and move, but my father was a no argument type of man. And being raised in a club and knowing that sending us into another club area meant what was going on had to be serious. I had to admit, though, Carly had it rougher, but she never would tell me everything that had gone on in her house. As I watched Carly rub the label on the bottle, I knew she was thinking of that time. Growing up in the Haven MC hadn’t been bad, we were a family. Even when we’d walk in the clubhouse and catch one of the men getting sucked off, we either continued through as though nothing was going on or we turned around and left. It was part of life in the MC, and usually, if we did walk in on things we shouldn’t have, it was likely because we weren’t supposed to be there.

“No there is nothing going on. You know I don’t want to get swallowed up by a club again. My dad was bad enough before my mom died, the drugs and booze, then the fighting because they were so messed up. After was too much. He changed from a protective dad to he didn’t care if I had lunch money or even if I went to school. From the time I was fourteen, he told me every day that he couldn’t wait until I was gone or someone else’s burden. You had and have a great dad.” She smiled for the first time since she entered.

“I don’t have a daddy,” Ally said with her eyes still on the TV. I looked over at her and then at Carly. Evidently, my baby was still thinking about earlier today with Benji. I so didn’t want to get into this with having to go to work in just a few, and I didn’t want to have to explain to Carly what brought this on. But Carly was close to Ally, and I knew she wouldn’t let it go.

“Spider, you don’t need one, you have a ton of men who care about you.” Carly raised her eyebrow at me signaling what the fuck. I watched Ally’s face as she turned toward Carly.

“Perry sent me a cupcake, and I punched Benji in the nose.” And as quickly as she started, she stopped and turned back to the TV. And Carly laughed.

“Okay then, would you like to tell me what that was about?” she asked me.

I filled Carly in on Benji and the nose, along with Perry’s cupcake instead of candy. When I finished the doorbell rang again, and I looked at my watch. Yep, time to go to the club and Sue should be on the other side of the door.

As I opened the door and Sue came in, Carly went to the kitchen and threw her bottle away.

“I shouldn’t be past eleven, Sue. I’m not closing tonight.”

“Okay, honey. I’ll be here whenever you get home. Carly, good to see you.”

“You too, Sue. I’m going to head home, yell if you need anything while Sami is gone. Later, short stuff.” And as fast as she’d entered earlier, Carly was out the door.

Sue was sitting with Ally on the couch when I walked back in with my bag and keys in hand.

“Give me hug, baby girl,” and Ally stood on the couch to reach so she could wrap her arms around my neck, “love you, baby, and be good for Mrs. Mayson.”

“Love you too, Mama,” she said and flopped back down on the couch.

“Thanks, Sue, see you in a few.” I reached the door, opened it and before I closed it behind me Ally’s voice rang out.

“Mama, can you bring me home a daddy?” And I heard Sue’s chuckle as the door clicked shut.

“Yeah, let me get right on that,” I muttered to myself as I got into my car. Seemed my daughter wasn’t ready to move past the daddy issue.

Yay me!

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