Page 41 of My Three S**y Bikers

My stepdad hadn’t tried anything with me then. He was like a bear with a sore head, just shouting and throwing things across the room. He was building up to be the violent man he’d ended up being. It used to annoy me, until that annoyance turned into disturbance when things got really bad.

Both lost in our thoughts, we stopped walking, not looking at each other and ignoring passersby. It was as if we were in our own world.

“I had a secret fantasy to always be rescued by you,” Mel said quietly. “You did it and I should be happy, but I’m not. It doesn’t mean I didn’t want you to rescue me…”

I turned to face her, stopping her from talking and wanting to do what I’d craved so badly. I pressed my lips against hers and then backed away. I was still in love with her. I needed to be that hero. I hadn’t shown it until now, but I knew deep down it wasn’t too late. I could be the man she needed me to be, and a father to Dwayne if she let me. I pulled away, but I could tell that Melinda wanted more, because her face was flushed.

“What about this burger joint? All this walking on the road to nowhere has really worked up an appetite,” I said half-heartedly.

She nodded. “Sure. Looks good and quiet.”

Quiet was the reason it stuck out. We could talk and eat something in peace.

* * *

After eating,I knew it was time to tell her exactly what happened in the past and why I had been such an ass to her. “You see, my stepdad went from being a little abusive to very abusive.”

Mel nodded. “I gathered from the way you spoke before, and the scar on your face.”

“I found out about my real Dad and then I had to go in search of him. Then once I did found him, Nan passed and then Mom, too… It just got too much for me. I took a dark path, one that I’m not proud of.”

Mel cleared her throat and sipped some water as I hung my head. The old Mel would have tried to comfort me, kissed it away. I wanted her to be that person so badly, but I didn’t deserve the right to put that pressure on her. I’d been an ass which was why we were so distant now.

“Do you think we can start again?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not the person I was back then. I think some part of me died when Dad left to get married again and have a new family, then Mom kicked me out when I was pregnant.”

“She did what?”

She chuckled when she saw the shock on my face. “Yeah, my family life wasn’t as perfect as we both thought it was. She gave me an ultimatum. Terminate or get out. I suppose part of me thought you would come back for me. You never did.”

I stretched out my hand, letting her know what I did back then was stupid. “I was a coward. Running. I thought you left me for another. And you were pretty superficial back then. You were happy when I was the sport’s star and going to be a doctor. I worried that if I told you the truth, that maybe I wasn’t going down that path, then you wouldn’t be interested anymore.”

“You’re right, Drake,” Mel said, face turning red. “I did act like that. Whenever there was something hard to deal with, I tended to avoid it. I wanted the perfect house, to be a housewife, even though I could barely cook. Now, all that seems silly, and all I want is peace and love in my life.”

“Mel, can we start again?” I shifted off the bench and stood, then I motioned for her to do the same. “Hi, my name’s Scar. Nice to meet you. And you are?”

“Mel. But my full name’s Melinda. But all my friends call me Mel.” She giggled as she said it, then we shook hands and sat back on the bench.

We talked as if we’d just met, as if we hadn’t known each other before. Both of us had changed, and I wanted to be the man she needed, not the man she had before.

22

MELINDA

We sat and talked for hours in the burger joint until we got kicked out. I’d imagined us doing that, when we were first reunited, but it was as though we had to go through all the shit of me being kidnapped to get there.

He told me about Mom, and her telling him that I’d moved on.

She was my mother, but she was a real bitch, too.

Her only daughter, and she didn’t care about me, let alone her only grandkid.

Drake was going to try to be a father to Dwayne. He’d introduced himself as Scar, but to me, he would always be Drake, no matter what.

“Don’t go,” I purred as I took his hand and led him into my room when we reached the motel.

I knew Playboy would knock on the door if there was a problem, but he was well versed with looking after kids, since he’d been doing it with his nieces and nephews for so long. If anything, he probably had some tips he could give me.

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