“I sense I’m not going to like where this is going,” Stone replies with narrow eyes.
“Her Father is Gunner Gruppe.”
Stone blinks. “That slimy motherfucker who outed the M.C. brotherhood back in the day?”
Ruthie hangs her head.
“That’s the one.”
“How the fuck have you been among us and not said anything, little girl?” he growls.
“I didn’t think it mattered. Not until Skull and I got serious. We don’t talk, I haven’t seen him in over three years and that was at my sister’s wedding. The only connection we had to him after what he did growing up was the checks being deposited in our bank account.”
“You expect me to believe that bullshit?” Stone asks.
“It’s the truth. You’re going to find what I say is true. The courts ruled him an unfit parent. He couldn’t even see us, unless it was a monitored visit. We changed our name and moved to escape the fall out. I never told Blue because by then, it was a habit not to tell anyone. When Skull and I started, it wasn’t anything serious.”
“And then what? Cause last I checked y’all were on the rocks,” Stone says bluntly.
“I…” She glances at me.
“She got knocked up,” I say with a shrug.
“I don’t like complications, Skull.”
I clench my jaw. “I know. Brought it to you as soon as I heard,” I say skating around descriptive details to keep from lying. I took my patch in, seriously.
“Little girl, if I hadn’t known since you were knee high to a bean pole, I’d be ruining your life right now. As it is, we’re going to turn your shit upside down. I want access to bank accounts, emails, phone records, your home. I’m not putting my family at risk. From here on out, I want to know if you father so much as says boo to you. Understand?”
“Yes,” Ruthie says.
“Go wait at the bar for Skull.”
She pauses before she complies, closing the door behind her.
“What are you doing with that, man?”
“Making her my Old Lady.”
“Better make sure you can control her ass.”
“It won’t be a problem,” I answer, furious about how weak she’s making me look.
“Make sure. If I have to step in any further, it’s going to get ugly, brother.”
“I hear you,” I say.
“Good. Damn. A dad and an old man all in one pop?”
“Never was one for being dull,” I reply with a shrug.
“Get out of here and tell the brothers you have an Old Lady. The vultures out there love fresh meat and we all heard about your flower shop deliveries.”
I roll my eyes and make my way out to the bar.
Wizard’s Old Lady, Nevada, and her best friend Mimi, Riker’s woman are keeping her company. I sit back and watch her from the hall. She’s at ease in our world.
I let that familiarity fool me into thinking she knew what she was doing. I put my fingers in my mouth and let out a wolf whistle. “Listen up. The redhead sitting at the bar is now officially mine, so hands off you pervy bastards.”