Page 58 of Choosing My Happiness
He frowned at me and shut the door. “What are you doing here?” he growled. I waved my phone.
“Taking a phone call. I have to go and rescue someone in trouble.”
Bull bounced his eyebrows up in acknowledgment, then crept over and fell into his chair.
“What a fucking shit show out there. Morons celebrating the life of an idiot.” He shook his head. “How can you trust someone to have your back when you can’t trust him not to fuck your girlfriend?”
“Rumor has it that he never touched ol’ladies. Once they were claimed, they were off-limits to him.”
Bull sneered at me. “Don’t defend him. He couldn’t be loyal to his own ol’lady, how could he be loyal to the club?”
“Fair point.” I shrugged. “Is that why you never promoted him?”
Bull groaned and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes.
“Partly that, and the fact that he pissed off everyone he met. The only people who actually liked him are out there, and only a few of them out there are the ones who liked him. I actually used him to break off some alliances. Told them that either they deal with him, or not deal with us. Guess which option they took.”
I chuckled as I walked a few steps to the door.
“Is it Daisy you’re rescuing?”
Bull kept his eyes closed as he spoke. I turned to look at him. He heard me stop.
“Yeah,” I acknowledged. He grunted again.
“Be careful, Midwife. Don’t go chasing trouble. She’ll come to you when she’s ready.”
I nodded and then opened the door. Janie stood there with a fierce look on her face, and shoved a helmet into my stomach.
“Go on,” she hissed at me. “Get her, and keep her safe.”
I took the helmet and saluted her as I ran for my bike.
38
Chapter 38: Daisy
I sat in the bus shelter, crying. I had no idea what I should be feeling, or why I was being treated like this. I had a sister, a sibling, someone I could have had a relationship with, except that my mother wouldn’t accept her. She couldn’t accept her husband’s illegitimate child, yet she pushed me to accept my husband’s child. My own mother was pushing me to accept what she didn’t.
I chuckled to myself. Those cheap trashy TV shows had nothing on me lately. I had a sister who fucked my husband, and a mother who wanted me to forgive him. My life was screwed.
I heard the roar of a motorbike and stood up. Jim pulled to a stop and unhooked a helmet. I reached for it, and then dropped my hand. Taking it would mean accepting the very thing I wanted to do, but I couldn’t get on the back of his bike. Not yet. We could be seen.
“Anyone who fucking cares is at the wake,” Jim yelled over his bike, understanding my hesitation. He was right.
I took the helmet and pulled off my hat. Jim kicked down the pegs, and I climbed on, stuffing my hat and purse between us. I reached around his belly and held on. His body felt good under my hands, and I partly regretted having my stuff between us.
The wind whipped around us, blowing my skirt up to show my legs, and drying the tears on my face. I felt Jim move his hand to where I was clasping him, and he gently covered my hands on his belly in a gesture conveying comfort. The tears ran anew. This man was worth risking exposure for. He was worth coming back for. He was worth putting up with this town for. I pressed my face into his back and hid, for reasons other than recognition.
Jim swung down a dirt road and continued carefully until we pulled over into a secluded area. He held out an arm for me to lean on as I hopped off the bike. I stood up, removed the helmet, and straightened my dress while he put the stand down and took off his helmet. I watched his body unfold as he got off his bike and held out his hands.
“Come here, Daisy,” Jim called, and I walked into his arms. He just held me. I didn’t cry anymore. I was where I wanted and needed to be. I buried my face into his body and took a deep breath, filling my lungs with his smell. Fuck the rest of the world.
“What happened? I haven’t seen you this angry since I first met you…actually, even then you weren’t this angry. And you were being betrayed in the worst way possible,” he rumbled.
I sighed. “It’s just another type of betrayal. Dad had an illegitimate daughter,” I replied.
“That girl that you introduced me to?” he guessed.
