Page 36 of Biker's Baby

SIXTEEN

Iris

“So,if I’m hearing what you’re telling me, it’s that you don’t have any plans at all today, right?” I asked.

“I’m starting to sense there’s some sort of ulterior motive to you asking,” Abe said as he looked up from the paper. “Is there something you want to do?”

“Oh, I don’t know. If you’re not doing anything at all, I was hoping that maybe you might be able to take me and Tris out for a walk or something, you know?” I asked.

Abe looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“You want me to take you for a walk?” he asked. “Like you’re a pet?”

“No!” I said, slapping him playfully on the arm. “Like I’m someone who has only left this house twice since I got here. I would love to go out and get some fresh air and sunshine, but I know I really can’t do that unless you come with me. You’ve been so busy I didn’t want to ask unless you were free.”

He looked at me for another long minute, and I almost wished I hadn’t said anything at all when he finally shrugged.

“Alright, but we’re not staying in town,” he said.

“Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know, but it’s got to be somewhere away from here.”

We packed Tristan into the truck, and I climbed into the front seat next to Abe. I didn’t know where he wanted to take us, but I also didn’t care. It was a chance to get away from the house for a while, and there wasn’t any reason at all besides the fact that we were going out.

Since I didn’t have anything in particular planned, Abe decided to take us to a small park in a little town about forty miles away from Holbrook.

It seemed like a nice, quiet little place, and I almost envisioned what life would be like if I were to move there. I told myself it had nothing to do with the fact it was within driving distance of Abe, but I knew deep down inside, that had a lot more to do with it than anything else.

“How’s this?” Abe asked.

“Just fine,” I said. “Let’s go.”

I didn’t expect him to get out and play with Tris, so I was rather surprised when he walked over to the picnic tables with us. He sat on a bench while I took Tristan over to the jungle gym and watched him play with the toys that were made for younger children.

There were a few other younger parents there with kids who looked close to Tris’s age, and I couldn’t help but envision what life would be like when he finally made some friends again. He had a couple friends back at the complex at home, but he was still so young, I knew he would make more.

And once he did, any place we lived would start to really feel like home.

Abe was on his phone over at the picnic tables, but I didn’t mind. I was so wrapped up with how Tristan was having fun, I hardly noticed another young mother come over with her child.

“You’ve got such a sweet little family!” she crooned. “I wish my husband would come to watch Alyson play like your husband does. It must be nice to have a father who’s involved in your kid’s life.”

I smiled, though I could have laughed out loud. Sure, Abe was here and keeping an eye on Tris with me, but he had no idea he was watching his own son play. He might be the father, but he might not ever know that was the truth. I’d thought about telling him more than once, and finally landed on the idea that I would tell him after I left.

But for now, I wanted to keep the truth a secret. Just something that I knew. I didn’t know how it might change things with Abe – whether it would make it better or worse that I was at his house, so I felt it was best to err on the side of caution.

“Thank you.” I smiled. “We’re just passing through here, so maybe that’s why I got lucky enough to have him come with me.”

“Whatever the reason, it has to be nice.” The other woman sighed.

I was glad she didn’t ask too many questions. I was used to making up details about my life on the fly, but I was also getting tired of it. I wanted to settle into a new life where I could be myself. I didn’t want to have to keep hiding.

Of course, I didn’t know for sure why I had to be so hidden back in Holbrook. I understood that it could be dangerous for Joel to know where I was, but I really didn’t know why Abe was so insistent on keeping me hidden from the other members of the MC.

There was a part of me that wanted to ask him if there was something my father had done wrong, or if it had to do with me personally, but I chose to keep silent about it.

I had, after all, showed up on his doorstep out of nowhere, asking for a place to stay. It was remarkable that he was even able to open his doors to me in the first place. For all I knew, he was with someone when I walked into his life.

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