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He looked at me, and I knew he was asking as my dad as well as my club president. “Are you up to running things on your own for a while?” I agreed, thinking Pic’s absence might actually make things easier.
“I think your boy’s been doin’ that anyway, Prez,” Cowboy said, causing Trick to snicker and nudge my shoulder. A small smile twisted my lips, but I didn’t say a word as King gave me a knowing glance.
“Trick, I need you to come with me while we have a little sit-down with Pic. Make him see the error of his ways,” King said as he pushed away from his desk and stood.
The four of us traipsed out of the office, with Trick and King veering off toward the stairs to head to Pic’s room. I saw Chris sitting at the bar talking to Bull and Sinner, and walked over to join them, with Cowboy on my heels. After confirming with Chris that Pic was going to be fine – “he needed a half-dozen stitches and I left a bottle of antibiotics for him, but he’ll live” – I ordered a beer.
Cowboy leaned close to be heard over the loud music still pounding out of the speakers overhead. “Don’t you think maybe enough bad decisions have been made tonight, brother?”
I turned to find him eyeing me, with no judgement, only concern showing on his face. I sighed and nodded. “Yeah, wasn’t thinking, man.” The prospect passed over a beer at that moment, which I handed off to Cowboy with a slap on the back. “Thanks for the reminder. I’m going home to my woman.”
Cowboy raised the bottle in a salute as I turned and headed for the door.
Chapter 6
Abby
I’d been vaguely aware of Caleb’s return in the middle of the night, and now, as I lay in bed listening to the sound of his breathing, I felt guilty for my doubts last night. I trusted my husband. He didn’t lie to me, even when he knew I wouldn’t like hearing the truth. He’d never tried to hide his drinking, even when he knew I’d be upset, so if he said he hadn’t had a drink in two months, then I believed him.
I heard the bathroom door close down the hall, so I knew Ethan was up. I rolled out of bed as quickly as my belly allowed and began my day, trying to be as quiet as possible so Caleb could sleep a while longer.
Over breakfast, Ethan asked if we could carve pumpkins today. We’d bought some earlier in the week and Ethan had been looking forward to carving his jack-o’lanterns. It was hard to believe that Halloween was only two weeks away.
“Sure, sweetie. I’ll see if Daddy can help this afternoon when he gets home from Church.”
Caleb came downstairs a little after nine and downed a cup of coffee before leaving for the clubhouse.
“We’re meeting a little early today, since there’s a lot of shit to go over after last night.”
“Is everyone OK?” I asked quietly, knowing he could at least tell me that much.
Caleb sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, Pic’s a little banged up, but he’ll be fine.”
“That’s good,” I responded, thankful that it didn’t sound too serious. “Will you be home this afternoon? Ethan wants to carve his pumpkins, and you know he won’t be satisfied with my artwork.”
Caleb snickered and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “You are a woman of many talents, but art is not one of them.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“I should be home around one if all goes well. I’m not planning to stay for lunch after.” The Morgan men typically gathered for lunch on Sundays after Church, but it was clear that Caleb was fed up with all things club-related at the moment.
After kissing me, and giving Ethan a hug and a high five, he headed off to meet with his club brothers.
I went upstairs to shower and dress for the day, then busied myself with housework for the next few hours, putting a pot roast in the crock pot for dinner, vacuuming and doing some laundry. Ethan helped me with the latter two, and I ignored the fact that large swathes of carpet had been missed in his attempt to vacuum. It was the thought that counted, and I appreciated his effort. He’d insisted on carrying the laundry baskets up and down the stairs, and I’d wished for the millionth time that our house had a laundry room on the second floor.
My phone rang as I was switching a load of towels from the washer to the dryer, and I fished it out of the back pocket of my maternity jeans to see that it was my mother calling.
“Hi Mom,” I greeted, balancing the phone between my shoulder and my ear as I moved the last few towels into the dryer. I added a fabric softener sheet and shut the door, then pushed the button to start the drying cycle.
“Hi, sweetie,” she greeted me. “How are you feeling today?” I rolled my eyes a little. My mom had called me several times a week with the same question. She’d done the same thing when I’d been pregnant with Ethan.
We spent the next few minutes talking, with me telling her about my recent checkup with my doctor and the playset that Pop had installed for Ethan. We then moved on to the subject of my cousin’s upcoming baby shower, and more importantly, her parents’ visit to Indianapolis for said shower. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the visit. Aunt Charlotte – Mom’s older sister – was an especially unpleasant woman, who didn’t hesitate to complain about anything and everything. I ended the call with a promise that we would join them all for lunch when Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Ron got into town on Saturday. It made my mom happy, but I knew my husband would be less than thrilled.
Ethan and I had just made turkey sandwiches for lunch when I heard Caleb’s bike coming down the road. I quickly made an extra sandwich, and slid it onto a plate just as Caleb walked in.
“Hello, beautiful,” Caleb greeted me, nuzzling my neck before dropping a soft kiss there that made goosebumps break out over my skin. The man knew my neck was highly sensitive there, and he laughed softly as I shivered in response.
“Missed you,” I whispered back, kissing his cheek. “Did everything go OK?”
