Page 24 of Biker's Baby

I knew he wanted to keep me a secret, and I’d agreed to it. But, when I was faced with things like this, it felt like a slap in the face. It wasn’t that I wanted him to be telling the entire world that I was here. In fact, I was glad that he hadn’t seemed to tell anyone that I was around.

I tried not to listen in on the conversation, but it was difficult not to hear what he was saying when I was just in the next room. He was talking loudly enough that it wasn’t hard to hear what was being said, and I tried not to take any of it personally.

When he finally did come out of his room, he wasn’t dressed in his normal clothes he’d put on around the house. Instead, he was dressed from head to toe in his biking leathers. I didn’t have to ask to know that he was leaving, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking where he was going.

“Is there still food in the house for you? Or are you going to need to order again?” he asked.

“There’s food here,” I said. “Do you want me to order something?”

“Not unless there’s something we need,” he said.

“I don’t think there is,” I said again.

“Is there anything you need from me?” he asked, and I looked up at him in surprise.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Come on, I know you well enough even now to know when there’s something on your mind, and if there’s anything I can do to help you out, let me know,” Abe said.

“Well, there was one thing,” I started, “But I really hate to ask.”

“Oh?” He raised his eyebrows.

“I was hoping you might be able to accompany me back home to get a few things my neighbor got out of my apartment. She said she wasn’t going to get anything out of my apartment, but then she grabbed some paperwork she thought I might want, and I don’t want to leave it behind if it could help me,” I said.

“Can’t you have her scan it and email it to you?” he asked.

I thought for a moment and shrugged. “I guess that could work. I don’t know. I could talk to her.”

“If you need my help, let me know,” he said. “But right now, I’ve got to get going, so if it can wait, we’ll talk about it more when I’m home later, okay?”

“Do you plan on being home tonight?” I asked, then immediately wished I hadn’t. The way he looked at me told me he was thinking the same thing I was, and I waved my hand. “Never mind. I guess it’s a force of habit.”

“I’ll let you know if I’m not coming home tonight,” he said.

“Thank you,” I told him. “But don’t feel like you have to. I don’t want you to think I’m keeping tabs on you or anything.”

“No worries,” he said.

Before I had the chance to say another word, he walked out of the house. Within minutes I heard the roar of his bike as he pulled out of the garage and pulled onto the street. I still had no idea where he was going, and I was glad that I hadn’t asked that much.

It was hard not to be full of questions. I was here, sure, but he had a life. He had always had a life of his own, even when I was here before. But before, I was young and scared. I was scared to even sit too close to any window out of fear someone would break the glass and pull me out of the house.

Now, I wanted things to change.

I didn’t want to be that same scared girl that I had been before. I didn’t want to be the girl who was always looking over her shoulder and scared that someone was about to snatch her away. I wanted to have some backbone of my own. I wanted to be able to take care of myself and my son.

Things had changed. They had already changed in ways that I hadn’t wanted. But there were more things that I knew I could make change for the better. I didn’t want to be helpless anymore. I wanted to be strong, and I wanted to show him that I could handle things on my own.

The fact of the matter was that I had spent too much of my life being with the wrong men. I had terrible taste in men, I knew that, but I also knew that Abe would be another bad choice if I were to let myself fall for him. I had to be smarter about the men I spent my time with, that was for damn sure.

I had to think about Tristan first and foremost. I had to think about us.

We would be moving away from here, and I’d start fresh.

It was time that I took care of me and my son, and no one else. I knew Abe was helping me, and I would forever be grateful for it, but I couldn’t keep relying on him as my lifeline.

I had to make some of my own decisions.

I was the one in control of my life.

And it was time I took charge.

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