Page 32 of Biker's Baby

“Makes sense,” I nodded.

It didn’t. It didn’t make any sense at all to me. But Tad wasn’t the person I remembered. There was a time when I thought I knew him. He had been friends with my father when I was a kid. But from the sounds of things, he was a lot different now than he had been then, and it didn’t sound like he was someone I wanted to spend my time with now if I could help it.

“How was work?” I asked. I didn’t want to talk about the fact that the past few days I’d been so tense that I had hardly done anything around the house. This was the first time I’d cooked since that night I thought someone was trying to break into the place.

Abe told me that there hadn’t been anyone in the house, but I wasn’t so sure. If Joel was in town, it would only make sense to me that he would try to get in if he thought he could get to me alone. Maybe he was watching me to the point that he knew I was alone at night, and he was going to make his move when there was no way I could call for help.

But I wasn’t going to bring all this up to Abe. I didn’t want him to think I didn’t trust him. I had come to him for protection, and if I complained about the help he was giving me, what good would that do? He said I could stay in his house, and if he was safe here, then I had to trust that it was safe for everyone.

After all, he was part of a dangerous lifestyle, so it only made sense to me that he would choose to live somewhere that he considered safe.

“Busy enough,” he said with a shrug. “How was your night?”

“I was able to get more sleep last night than usual,” I told him. “Tristan is getting used to being here, I think, so he’s sleeping better at night which makes me also sleep better.”

“Good.” Abe nodded.

“Are you going to be gone all day?” I asked. Abe gave me a look, so I continued, “I was going to make some lasagna for dinner, and I was wondering if you wanted me to wait until later to start it so it was fresh when you got back.”

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be, so feel free to put it in the fridge. Don’t wait for me,” Abe said. “If I’m going to be out late, I’ll let you know so you can lock up the place.”

“Thank you,” I said.

I was sure by now he was more than ready for us to be out of his hair, but it was difficult for me to imagine what life was going to be like next. I kept telling myself that I was only here until I made the next step, and I was still looking for a job and for a place to stay, but it wasn’t an easy decision.

I kept doubting myself. It was as though my entire self had been frozen in this state of indecision, and I didn’t know how to break out of it. I didn’t want Abe to ask me to stay again, but I wasn’t sure what I would say if he did. Of course, with the way he was hiding me from those in the MC, I knew that there was a reason why he hadn’t brought me up to them.

There was no way he was going to ask me to stay in his life now. Whatever had changed at the MC, it must have had something to do with my father. I didn’t know, I just knew that he didn’t want those men to know that I was here, and I best not get my hopes up for sticking around.

We continued to make small talk throughout breakfast, and immediately after, Abe changed into his riding leathers and headed for the door.

“Call me if you need anything, but please try to make sure it’s really worth the call before you do,” he said.

“Don’t worry, I’m only going to call if it’s an emergency,” I told him.

“Do that instead of just showing up if you can,” he replied. “If you have to leave the house, go somewhere public and call me from there. If you show up at work again, I can’t say what might happen.”

“Noted.”

He gave me a nod and walked out the door, leaving me with my son and the mess from breakfast. I sighed. I knew it was on me to clean up the mess I’d made, but I wasn’t feeling the enthusiasm or motivation that I’d had before. I could easily just curl up in a ball on the couch and sleep for days if it wasn’t for Tristan needing me.

He was getting agitated with staying in his high-chair, so I knew I needed to hurry with cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Then I’d take him out of there and get him ready for the day, too.

Since he was getting up so early, he would take a nap later in the afternoon, and that would give me the time to look online for more jobs. Or places to go, for that matter.

I knew I had to make a decision and soon. I didn’t know how long my welcome would last, and I didn’t want to overstay, that was for damn sure.

I had to get my act together, and I had to start making steps to moving forward with my life. Abe was kind enough not to tell me to hurry up, but I knew he would be happier when I was out of his hair and back on my own. That would give him his life back, and I could focus on moving forward in my own world.

It was time to stop dreaming about the past and thinking about what might have happened and instead start focusing on what had happened and what was next.

It wasn’t his job to take care of me, it was mine.

And I was determined to start.

Sooner rather than later.

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