ChapterSix
Nerves ate at my stomach as I walked the sheriff out. The guys were not so unobtrusively hanging out in the clubhouse, waiting to meet Opal, and I regretted not asking them to stay upstairs until I was done with my meeting. Their eyes tracking my every move had me jumpy as hell, and it was setting off the sheriff’s radar.
“You taking on new members?” he asked as he stopped short, blocking the door. We both knew he was fishing for who they were and what they were doing here. If I didn’t fess up now, he’d only poke around until he got enough information to run a background check on them. Embarrassing as he could be when his curiosity and suspicions were piqued, he was an unofficial asset to the club and a friend as well.
“Josh, don’t you dare start. I have it handled,” I warned in a low voice that wouldn’t carry. Just because I knew he’d keep on didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to send him off for the time being. He grinned big enough to show his dimple, but the challenge in his eyes had me rolling mine and spilling enough to get him off my case before he got on it. “You remember when I had Opal?” He nodded, expression instantly hardening. “Well, the two that look alike? One of them is her father. They’re not so dead after all. There was some sort of mix-up, then crossed wires, and last night they showed up to deliver my shipment.”
He wasn’t quick enough to hide the reaction I’d expected, but he was quick to cover it up. I knew he’d been biding his time, dropping hints here and there that he was interested in getting back together even though it had been more than a decade since we’d dated. I was grateful that he pushed that topic to the side when he finally responded. “I thought they looked an awful lot like the photos you have in your office, but I figured it was coincidence since they’re supposed to be dead and all.” The last was said with a hint of bitterness, and I had to wonder if this was going to be a problem. I trusted him and wouldn’t entertain the thought that he’d turn on me. He’d destroy his own life, as well as the innocents we worked to protect, if he attempted it, but he could make himself a thorn in my side if he really wanted to.
Running my fingers through my dark hair while releasing a breath, I shrugged and offered what I didn’t mind sharing. “I’m sure it will all come out eventually, but right now, it’s more than a little awkward, and I’d rather keep it private until we’ve sorted out how we’re going to go about them being in Opal’s life.”
“Them? And just Opal’s, or yours too?” Of course he’d caught on to the first part. I knew it was bound to be a hot topic.
“They don’t care who the biological father is. Plans are currently in the beginning stages since they haven’t even met her yet, but they’d both like to fill the role. They have this whole thing about sharing, and that was part of their life plan…” I trailed off as Josh’s eyebrows climbed until I thought they’d raise plumb off his face if they got much higher. “Maybe that was a bit of TMI. Sorry about that.”
“You had a threesome with them?” he asked loudly enough for me to hush him.
“Yes!” I hissed back. “Now lower your voice before everyone knows my damn business.”
“I thought you’d just— Never mind, that’s not important, I suppose. Are you sure you don’t want me to stick around? Are you comfortable with them being here?” His concern was palpable, yet the ulterior motive lurking just behind it had my head shaking in response before he’d quite finished.
“Nah, I’m good, but I’ll give you a call if that changes. Your package will be ready for you late tonight, and I’ll have Tee run it by if that works for you.”
He hesitated, and I thought he’d insist on picking up the documents himself, but then he seemed to think better of it, nodding before slipping his sunglasses on and heading out.
I stood there, staring at the closed door, while I prepared myself for my daughter to meet her other parents. It was a surreal moment, one I’d never thought would happen, and despite the misgivings I might have about them in general, I was strangely content that they wanted to be there to watch Opal grow up.
* * *
“Ican’t get over how well she talks. I can actually understand most of what she’s saying,” Gus marveled at our toddler, who was holding court in her bedroom. She’d introduced just about all of her dolls and stuffed animals to Lochlan, and the man was just as enthralled as his cousin. The feeling was mutual from Opal, though I wasn’t sure that she completely understood that they were her dads yet.
“She still has quite a bit of baby jabber going on, and I imagine that’ll last another year or so, but without too many kids her age to hang out with, she’s mostly been around adults, so she’s picked up a lot of words since she started talking.” I wouldn’t mention the profanities she’d also adopted. So far, she’d been a good little darling, but I knew it was only a matter of time until she popped off with an F-bomb.
Lochlan spoke up, letting on that he’d been paying attention to both of us as well as Opal. “You’ve done great with her, Sevey. I can’t decide if she looks more like you or us. She’s changed some since the photo where she was looking like a mini Boudreaux.”
Emotion squeezed at my chest as my eyes met his. He seemed just as affected given the vulnerable expression he sported. “Kids grow and change quickly, especially when they’re younger. Opal turned two back at the beginning of summer; that picture was from her birthday.” I didn’t address the compliment, uncomfortable with the praise since I hadn’t raised her alone. Aunt Flo helped tremendously with the day-to-day care, and even the crew stepped in when I had business that couldn’t wait.
Gus’ attention turned from where Opal was now picking at her snacks on her tea table to me at the mention of her birthday. Confusion wrinkled the space between his brows as he asked, “When was she born?”
With the anxiety that still creeped up on me every now and then when I remembered how Opal had arrived in the world, more prominent today with the shock of their arrival, I missed the undercurrent of accusation in his voice. “June tenth.”
“We shipped out the first week of October,” Lochlan said flatly. Glancing between the two of them, I found disappointment and anger mirrored from one to the other.
It dawned on me that they were getting at the dates not adding up, and I had to bite my tongue to avoid laying into them. Opal, sensing the change in the atmosphere, abandoned her snack sorting to climb on her bed and get behind my back, further pissing me off. Trying to play it off, I shot a glare at both men then stood up before scooping my little miss into my arms.
“Do you want Aunt Flo, or do you want to play in here? I have some work I need to do, but I’ll be back by dinner time, and we can have a game night.” The promise of games, particularly the dancing video game, perked her right up, and I even got a grin as she told me she wanted our aunt. Packing her off downstairs with me, I handed her off to Aunt Flo at the bottom. She was all smiles for Opal, but coolly aloof with Lochlan and Gus. She might not know what had happened, but she was an intuitive woman. “I won’t be too long. Text if you want me to order something in for dinner.” She nodded and headed back up the stairs with Opal after the guys moved out of her way. As soon as they disappeared past the landing, I stabbed a finger toward the front door. “Get the fuck out of my house.”
“Are you seriously pissed at us? We have the right to know if she’s not ours.” That time, Lochlan was conscientious about Opal being in the house, yet even though he kept his voice low, there was still a deal of venom in his tone.
“Sure you do, and I would have told you last night if she wasn’t, but you don’t bring shit like that up in front of her!” I hissed back at him. “Did you miss the part where I told you I had her early because I was so upset you were dead?”
Gus blanched when he realized how badly he’d stepped in it by questioning Opal’s date of birth. “You didn’t elaborate, so I assumed they stopped it.” He looked at Lochlan whose face was stony, but I was starting to get that that was a default for him. The fun-loving guy from the rally wasn’t the norm when there were even semi-serious matters at hand.
He shrugged instead of offering the apology I’d expected. “I didn’t think to ask how early she was. Like Gus, I figured you’d have said if there was something we needed to know.”
I hadn’t realized I’d been holding on to a tiny bit of hope that we could maybe be a family until it dissolved in the face of their recalcitrance. “Opal was a couple weeks earlier than the safety window, but thankfully, she didn’t have any complications from it. She’s healthy, happy, and I’ll make damned sure she stays that way—so don’t fuck with me.”
The short drive across the property to the clubhouse was a silent one, and when Coot asked what was wrong, as none of us had pleasant faces, I just shook my head and walked away. While finishing up the admin work Aunt Flo had passed on to me for the bar, all four of my guests showed up. They had a few more stops to make for deliveries, but Lochlan and Gus wanted to stay while Coot and Preppy finished up, and the latter also wanted to return. Permanently. I couldn’t fathom how the cousins and I would get on after the last twenty-four hours, but I didn’t have it in me to deny them a full-time relationship with Opal. And apparently where they went, so did the other two.