Page 18 of Biker's Baby

EIGHT

Iris

It didn’t takeme long to see just how much things really had changed in the past few years. Sure, Abe told me himself how Tad and the MC had changed, but even watching the local news and seeing the way he reacted was enough to tell me that things were different now.

They weren’t nearly as peaceful as they were before. There was an urgency about him that remained even when he was just sitting in his chair. It seemed to me that he wasn’t able to relax even if he wanted to.

But I wasn’t here to take care of Abe. I had hoped that he would be more willing to jump in and be more protective of me as he had been the first time I’d come to him for help, but I wasn’t the same person now that I was then. I could take the steps to take care of myself.

I had to take care of Tristan, too. He was my number one priority, and if Abe wasn’t going to step in and put his shield of protection around the two of us like before, then I would stick to what I’d told him in the first place and only stay here for as long as it took me to find a new situation.

“This is Tristan then?” Abe asked me suddenly.

I hadn’t noticed my son coming out of the bedroom, and he hurried to me with a toy in one hand, dragging his blanket in the other. He wasn’t happy to be in this house, and he looked scared when Abe talked.

“Yes, this is Tristan,” I said. “I call him Tris. Tris, you want to meet Abe? He’s letting us stay here with him for a little while until I can get us a new place to live. Isn’t that nice?”

I turned Tristan to look at Abe, and for the first time, he didn’t seem like he was going to burst into tears over the fact we were here. I had a feeling it would be quite some time before I would be able to set him down with Abe in the room, but that was okay with me.

Abe talked to him a little, but it was awkward. I got the impression Abe didn’t have a lot to do with children and wasn’t quite sure how to handle this one. I braced myself the entire time for him to start asking about Tris’s father, but he never did. And I was incredibly grateful for that.

“I was thinking I’d buy us some food,” I offered. “Since I’m going to be here for a few days, it’s only fair that I share with some of the cost of being here, right?”

I wasn’t expecting much from Abe these days at all, but I’d hoped for more than just a nod out of him. Still, if that’s all he’d give me, I’d take it.

“I’m going to hit the shower. I’ve got a meeting,” Abe said rather suddenly.

“Okay.”

He rose and headed to the bathroom, leaving me alone with Tristan. I looked at my phone. Tristan would probably be hungry enough to eat something by now, but I still wasn’t hungry myself. I hadn’t eaten much since leaving home. Being on the run made me so anxious. It was hard to eat even when I did feel hungry.

But I’d put it off a while longer. I could buy something that sounded appealing when I did some grocery shopping, then go from there.

Abe didn’t stay long after he got out of the shower. I did my best to keep my eyes focused on Tristan as he ate his food, but I couldn’t stop myself from taking a deep breath in when he walked back into the room. He smelled like he’d stepped right out of heaven, and I wanted nothing more than to bury my face in his chest and inhale the rich scent of him.

That was something from another time, however, and I had to stay put. I knew it was a bad idea to even let my mind go in that direction, though there were plenty of times when it felt impossible to control myself. I had to stay focused on Tristan and the real reason why I was here.

Not think about what might have been if I had made other decisions when I was here before.

Even though that was just a few years ago, it felt like a lifetime to me.

“You have my number if you need anything,” Abe said. “I’m taking off.”

“Okay,” I replied.

I wanted to keep talking but held back. There had to be those barriers in place, or I didn’t know what I’d let myself do.

Abe said very little on his way out the door, so I kept conversation to a minimum as well. I had other things on my mind, and once I was alone again, I grabbed my phone.

There weren’t any messages from anyone back home, which filled me with relief. I knew Maria would let me know if Joel was stalking around the place, so if there wasn’t any word from her, he must not have come back to my apartment.

But that didn’t mean I was in the clear.

Joel knew I was from Holbrook.

Even if he didn’t go to anyone and hear from anybody straight that I had come back here, I had a sneaking suspicion he would be on his way sooner rather than later.

The only way I could guarantee the safety of me and my son was for us to stay one step ahead.

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