My eyes widen as I take in the size of Pam’s belly. She looks ready to pop.
“Heard you were in town. You planning on sticking around?” She massages her belly as she leans against the end of the bar. I don’t have anything else to do besides hang around and wait for my brother to tell me what the plan is to get me out of this tangled web.
“I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“Already slid back into bed with Hound I see.”
I shrug and she smirks.
“Always did like the two of you together. You got a costume for tonight?”
“I kind of only have the shirt on my back, literally.”
“We fixin’ to change that. I have plenty of shit at the house I’ve outgrown thanks to this baby. You’re coming home with me, and I’m going to set you up. I just stopped by to make sure no one fucked with my decorations for the party. I’ll drop you back at Hound’s after or you can get ready at my place and ride with Link and me to the party.” Pam is the kind of woman you don’t argue with like ever. “I just need to grab Conner from his daddy. Wait here.”
I give her a smile. I never thought I’d witness the day Pam became a mother. The woman is a bit of a nut, but she has a good heart.
“Jesus, fuck. The rumors are true. Gimme’ a hug, girl.”
“Hey, Smoke.” I give him a hug. “How’ve you been?”
“Got a divorce. Other than that, I can’t complain.”
“I’m not sorry to hear that. Though to be fair your wife was a cunt.”
That earns me a smile.
“Shit.” He shakes his head and heads down the same stairs Pam disappeared down.
She returns a few minutes later with a little boy on her hip who doesn’t look a damn thing like her or Link. For one the kid is black and he’s too damn adorable to be related to Link. “This is Conner.”
“Hey, little man.” He grins then buries his head in her shoulder.
“Let’s roll.”
I follow Pam out to a charcoal gray Nissan Pathfinder. She gets Conner strapped into his car seat. I get in the passenger side and when she turns the engine some ear-splitting kid’s music belts from the speakers. I glance over at her, and she turns the volume down a decimal giving me a look that says, ‘don’t say a fucking word.’
I hold my palms up but laugh under my breath.
“Conner loves this shit and if it keeps him calm, I will listen to it on repeat forever.”
We arrive at her house, and I hang in the living room while she puts the little one down for a nap. There are some pictures on the coffee table from a cookout at the clubhouse. I can’t help but stare at the photo of Hound with his arm around Link’s sister. He’s wearing a goofy grin on his face. She’s looking away but blushing. He looks content with her. Zoe would be a much better match for him. I doubt she has a drug lord propositioning her for sex and attempting to blackmail her.
“All right, let me have it.”
“Have what?” I look over to Pam as she collapses into a chair.
“Your story. Why are you in town and what the hell is up with you and Hound. Man has been sniffing after Zoe for months then you show up and bam it’s as though you never left.”
“I didn’t know he was seeing someone. Are they serious?”
“Nah. Link was hoping, and I thought they were headed toward something, but he never has looked at her the way he did you.”
“Good to know.”
“You going to keep talking or do I need to beat it out of you?”
“There’s nothing to tell. I’m here to visit my brother, then I’ll be moving on.”
“Did you leave the Royal Harlots?”
“Kind of…I’m still working that out.”
“Mhmm. You’re hiding something but we’ve got more pressing matters like finding you something to wear to my party.” She holds her hands out. “Help me up.”