“Son, don’t talk back to your mom.” She knocked me upside the head. No one was around, or I might’ve reprimanded her. I was the fuckin’ prez, for Christ’s sake. That alone earned me respect. Of course, with Lady M, my mother, she didn’t recognize titles. Not when it came to her children.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s better.” She kissed my head and sat beside me. “Your father warned me not to interfere, but when have I ever not interfered?”
“Never.”
“That’s right. This mother”—she tapped her chest—“will never stay silent when it comes to her babies.”
“Lady M, I’m a grown man. Almost thirty-fuckin’-four years old. I’m no baby.”
She did her usual tsk tsk after I dropped an F-bomb.
“I need to go.” I pushed my chair back.
“Not so fast.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “I want to know what’s going on with you.”
“I don’t have time for this. I gotta get to the club.” It hadn’t been easy avoiding her questions about my sucky attitude the last several months. I didn’t have the kind of answers she’d want to hear. But I was at my limit, waiting for Karma to come around and open up to me.
“Son, you better make time for your momma.”
I groaned. If I didn’t give her something, she’d nag the shit out of me until the whole fuckin’ house knew my business. I didn’t want my brothers or sister to know Karma was back in my life. They could make matters worse, sticking their noses where they didn’t belong.
Silas, the youngest boy in the family, had hated me after Karma left town. He’d grown up with her. They were friends, but my little brother had crushed on her since kindergarten. I had no idea how he’d react, or anyone else with Karma being back, and having had my baby.
It didn’t really matter. Karma was mine, even if she didn’t want me.
“Since right before Christmas, you’ve been a pill to be around. Don’t tell me it’s club business. I know it has to do with a woman.” And she was off like a runaway train. “Who is she? I know she doesn’t live in town. Is she connected to Storm’s club? You’ve been going to Minnesota a lot.”
Lady Mwas a sassy brunette spitfire. The woman had birthed six babies upstairs in her bedroom with the help of a midwife and no pain meds. She was tough as nails, fiercely protective, and she would not be dismissed when she asked a direct question. I should’ve been grateful it had taken her this long to broach the topic of my foul mood.
“What makes you think it’s a woman?”
“Mother’s intuition. If you had a child, you’d know what I was talking about.”
I rolled my eyes to hide the ache in my chest. If I had a child? Fuck me, I was positive I did have a kid. I stared at my plate of uneaten food and willed myself to not throw it against the wall.
Not that I had proof Nova was mine, just a gut feeling. Karma sure as fuck wouldn’t give me any straight answers.
I might go mental if someone else had gottenmygirl pregnant.
“Who is she? It had better not be one of the club girls.” Lady M didn’t like the women who hung around during parties. She called them club girls. They weren’t officially connected to our MC. Not like some clubs who had sweet butts, bunnies, or like my cousin Storm’s club, they had kittens. Ours were hang-arounds. Chicks we partied with a few times a month. Chicks who wanted to be an old lady. Chicks Lady M monitored like a crazy-ass mama bear.
Yep, my mother seemed to forget regularly that her kids were adults. But as she’d said, when did she not interfere? Never.
“No, it has nothing to do with any of them.”
“Good. But it does have to do with a woman.” The confidence in her voice made me bite down on my back molars. She drummed her fingers on the table. Her nails were painted a dark blue today. “The rest of your siblings will be charging in for breakfast any minute. Get talking if you don’t want them to hear.”
Fuckin’ hell. She would not let it go.
Served me right for not moving out of my childhood home sooner. We all should’ve flown the coop a long time ago. Well, everyone except Piper. My baby sister should never leave home. She should live under my parents’ roof and the protection of my brothers and me forever.
“I saw Karma.” Might as well tell the truth, so lightning didn’t strike me down before I officially met my little girl.
“You did?” Lady M grabbed my wrist and squeezed it. “Where?”
“Bastion Township.” I shook my head as the smoldering fire in my belly ignited.