Page 16 of Skid
“My friend Kayla is watching her.” Her smile widened. “She lives in our apartment complex, and she helps out when she can.”
“That’s good. Does Baylor like her?”
“She loves her,” Laken laughed. “Kayla spoils her rotten, but I don’t mind. Baylor deserves to be spoiled a little.”
She had her hands folded on the table, and her eyes were locked on mine. She looked absolutely breathtaking. Her hair was down and spilling over her shoulders, and she was wearing a soft sweater that fell just above her waist, which gave a teasing glimpse of skin above her long skirt. I’d never been one to think much of long skirts, but damn. On her, it looked sexy as hell.
And every time she smiled, I damn near forgot how to breathe.
“Baylor seems like a great kid.”
“She is. I don’t know what I’d do without her.” Her smile faded momentarily, but then, she changed the subject by asking, “Enough about me. Tell me something about yourself.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, I don’t know a lot. Just that you grew up in a biker club, and that they call you Skid.”
“Yeah, my dad played a pretty big part in that,” I chuckled. “Guess it’s time you knew my real name. I’m Thatcher, but people close to me call me Thatch.”
“Thatch?” She smiled. “I like it. So, Thatcher, Thatch, and Skid. A man of many names and talents.”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“I know the guys taught you how to work on engines.” She leaned forward as she asked, “What else did they teach you?”
“Things like loyalty and trust, and how to work hard and play harder, and everything in between.”
“So, they taught you how to be a man.”
“Yeah, I guess they did.” I leaned back in my chair as I said, “Don’t get me wrong. My pops taught me a lot, too. He was a hard ass. Hell, he never let me get away with anything, but he was always there when I needed him.”
“There was a time when I could say that about my father, but no such luck anymore.”
“I hate to hear that.”
“It’s just the way things go sometimes. It’s okay, though. There are a lot of people out there who have it a lot worse.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t make it any easier for you.”
She shrugged. “I’ve got Baylor. She’s all I really need.”
“You’re a good mom. She’s lucky to have you.”
“We’re lucky to have each other.” Laken smiled as she asked, “Have you ever thought about having kids?”
“I haven’t put a lot of thought into it, but yeah. I figure I’ll have a couple.” I gave her a slight smirk. “I just gotta find the right girl first.”
“Yeah, that might help.”
We continued to talk until the waitress came over with our drinks. She placed them on the table as she said, “Your dinner will be out in a minute.”
“Great. Thanks.”
Once she was gone, I turned my attention back to Laken. I sat there a moment, just watching her, and it was hard not to be a bit spellbound. She was so damn beautiful. And she was smart and determined and a hell of a mother who was giving it her all to give her kid a decent life. I couldn’t believe someone hadn’t already snatched her up and claimed her.
I was wondering if that someone could be me when she noticed me staring. “Is something wrong?”
“I was just trying to figure out how I got lucky enough to be sitting at this table with you.”
