Page 12 of Nomad
He doesn’t know I love him.
“It’s possible that’s not what he wanted, Junior.”
Sadness hung heavy in his eyes. I understood he missed him. I did too. However, until I saw or talked to William, there was nothing I could do to change anything between us. I didn’t know he wanted anything other than a friendship with me if given the chance.
“Well, he likes me. I think he would love to be around us.”
“I don’t believe Sam doesn’t like you, honey.” I shifted the subject from William back to Samuel. William was no longer in our lives, but I needed information about the man who was. “He tries to spend time with you whenever he can.”
“No. You make him spend time with me. There’s a difference.” He abruptly stood from the table, the chair falling to the floor. “And I don’t want to spend time with him. So could you stop trying to make me?”
“Junior!” He ran back up the stairs. “Junior!”
The only response was his bedroom door slamming. Sighing, I sat back in the chair. I needed to figure out how to handle this situation. I cared for Sam, but my son always came first. If Junior’s attitude towards Sam didn’t change, I’d walk away from Sam for good. Things hadn’t been the best between us for a long time, anyway. Maybe walking away from our relationship was the best for me and Sam. But most of all for my son.
Chapter Three
JADE
Junior had remained tight-lipped since our conversation, and I hadn’t pushed him anymore about Sam. It was best to let things settle down before approaching the subject again. I hoped he opened up without me forcing the issue.
He remained angry until we pulled up to the event. Then he focused on the sizeable crowd and the sea of motorcycles. All the talk about Sam had made today more stressful. Maybe this was what we both needed.
“Hey, Jade and Junior,” the mayor greeted us, trailed by three large and insanely hot, but very dangerous-looking men covered in tattoos and decked out in leather vests, black jeans, and boots despite the warm weather. They could’ve stepped out of the latest edition of a biker magazine. One I would love a subscription to if these were the men I’d get to look at.
Mary Covington was Charlotte’s first black female mayor and had worked hard to make this charity ride happen to support my organization.
Not too many people knew my late husband had been homeless when he was younger. He’d lived on the streets of Charlotte from the age of thirteen until his eighteenth birthday when he enlisted in the military. After I got over my anger after his death, I’d understood why his service had meant so much to him. The military saved his life. Gave him the structure he’d lacked, the home he’d desired, and the family he’d never had as a child. Now, with my organization, I hoped to give vets a place to come home to instead of the streets my late husband had called home.
Returning to civilian life was grueling. When Aaron returned after deployments, adjusting had been difficult for him, too. How homeless vets coped with the stress of getting back to a normal way of life and not having anywhere to live was unimaginable. To date,Aaron’s Hopehad helped over six hundred veterans with permanent residences and another two hundred with temporary housing.
“Hey, Mrs. Covington.” I hugged her tightly. “This is so amazing.”
I’d never seen so many beautiful motorcycles in all my life. All colors and sizes lined both sides of the street and filled multiple parking lots not too far from where the ceremony was being held in the park. Men and women in leather and tattoos sat waiting for everything to begin.
“I wasn’t expecting such a large turnout,” I said.
“Well, let me introduce you to the man responsible for this amazing turnout.” She turned, motioned to the three bulky bikers, and they stepped forward. “Jade, I’d like you to meet J.D. Stevens, the President of the North Carolina chapter of Demons United, and the person who brought this to fruition.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, J.D.” I reached out and grasped his hand, the wide silver ring on his left ring finger glinting under the North Carolina sun. The muscled planes of his chest rippled underneath his fitted white t-shirt and leather vest. His wife was one lucky woman. “This is my son, Aaron, but we call him Junior.” He shook Junior’s hand. “Thank you so much for doing this.”
“It’s nice to meet both of you,” J.D. responded, crossing his burly arms over his chest. “And it’s no problem. A lot of the guys are vets. So, anything we can do to honor that service, we’re all in. I’d like for you to meet the guys.”
“That would be wonderful.”
“This is Jose Lopez, but we call him Caesar. He’s my vice president.”
A large, tall man with dark, shoulder-length wavy hair, intense dark eyes, and a drop-dead gorgeous smile stuck out his hand, and I grasped it.
Lord, all these men are gorgeous.
“Hey, Mr. Lopez, or should I call you, Caesar?” I asked.
“You can call me whatever you’d like, beautiful.” He winked.
“Okay.” The heat rushed to my cheeks, and I cleared my throat. “Well, Caesar, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jade, and this is my son, Junior.”
“Nice to meet y’all too,” he replied, that sexy smile never leaving his face.
