Club Scars (8 page)

Kat let him ease her back from her clench and looked up at him. His gaze burned into her. His expression was fierce, and sexy. She smiled and nodded.

“You’re right. I’m not that little girl anymore. I’m a biker bitch and I don’t have to deal with him.” 

“You’re
my
biker bitch,” Crux said with a little chuckle as he leaned forward to press his forehead to hers. “And that’s
our
little one. We’re going to protect that rug rat and give him the type of childhood neither of us had. Trust me.”  

Leaning against the back door, Kat watched her man climb into his truck. She knew he was uncomfortable in a vehicle, but it seemed Cam’s arrival had made him think. She smiled as he tossed his hand up to her as he rolled out. Slipping back inside, she locked the door behind her. The last four days had been great. They’d had a few visitors to see the newest family member, but for the most part it had just been the three of them.

She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of watching Crux hold their son. He’d been a little unsure at first, but once he’d realized his son wasn’t going to break, he’d relaxed a little. It was a beautiful sight to see Crux’s weathered, grease stained hand cradling Cam’s head and stroking his thick dark hair. Retrieving her coffee mug from the living room, she peeked into the Pack N’ Play beside the couch. Cam was sleeping peacefully.

They were blessed. He was a good sleeper so far. Crux had gotten after her for “bothering the baby” because she’d checked on him so many times in the night to make sure he was breathing. Daddy hadn’t been overjoyed to have the basinet set up in the corner of the master bedroom either. He had emphasized the
master
part of the room designation before giving in with a grumble to her promises that it would only be for the first couple of weeks…maybe a month. As much as she needed Cam close right now, she understood the sanctity of their bedroom and loved it as much as he did.

Hitching up her baggy fleece PJ bottoms, she wandered into the kitchen. The remains of baked nachos from a late night snack sat on the stove top and coffee grounds littered both the counter and floor. She grimaced. Her husband was not a clean freak. While that was nice when it came to his expectations of her and the house, it also meant that if she didn’t do it, it wasn’t likely to get done. Wrapping the nacho remains in the aluminum foil on the cookie sheet, she pitched them with a shrug. He had a lot of other great qualities.

It didn’t take long to wash up the dishes and wipe down the counter. Putting some water on to boil, she swept the floor and pitched her gritty slipper socks in the laundry. As sore as she still was, climbing the stairs to grab a clean pair didn’t sound pleasant, so she settled for a pair of Crux’s white tube socks from a basket of clean clothes. Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of a vehicle in the drive. It was early. Hurrying to the front window, she peered between the slats.

A car sat in the drive with its lights on. Biting her lip, she waited for the driver to make a move. She couldn’t tell in the glare of the headlights what kind of car it was. Deserting the window, she retrieved the .38 from the end table drawer and went to the front door. Her hand hovered over the switch for the porch light. The driver’s door on the car opened, the dome light illuminating Ginny’s beloved features. Kat breathed a sigh of relief and opened the front door.

“Hey you! What’re you doing?”

“Hey!” Gin called back, jogging carefully up the snow covered walk. “I stopped at the bakery this morning and Miriam had just pulled a batch of applesauce donuts out of the oven. I had to bring you some on my way to work.”

“You are the best!” Kat said, accepting the bag and hugging her friend enthusiastically. “Do you have time to have one with me? I have coffee ready, or water is boiling for instant cappuccino, tea, cocoa…” she continued hopefully.

Gin checked her watch, teeth sinking into her bottom lip in indecision.

“What the hell? I own the place, right? Let me text Eva and make sure she goes down and opens up for prep.”

“Awesome!” Kat said, clapping like a little girl. “Come in!”

“Let me shut the car off and I’ll be right there. You get back inside before you freeze your ass off,” Ginny ordered, nudging her back in the door before running back to the car.

Kat was stirring up cappuccino when Ginny came back in trying to text and shrug out of her coat at the same time. She dropped her coat and purse in the breakfast nook and tiptoed in to peek at Camden.

“He’s so beautiful, sis,” she whispered, coming back to sink into the booth.

“Thank you. Even Crux has decided he is a keeper.”

“Men,” Ginny snorted, wrapping her hands around the warm mug. “So tell me, how’re things going?”

Kat smiled and tore a bite off one of the applesauce donuts.

“It’s going good. We couldn’t ask for a better baby. He’s eating and sleeping well. He’s sleeping so well that I have to get up and make sure that he’s breathing. Crux rolls over and mutters at me to
leave the baby alone
.”

Ginny laughed at Kat’s growly imitation of her husband’s voice.

“Is everything else okay? I saw that Crux went back to work today.”

“It was nice having him home with us for a couple of days, but he was ready to go back. He doesn’t know what to do with himself when he’s not working.”

“Zeke is the same way. It makes you wonder what they will be like when they retire, doesn’t it?”

“Bowie will probably have to throw Crux out. I can’t imagine him not working,” Kat said around a mouthful. “Which I guess is good seeing as we waited a little long to start a family.”

Ginny choked on her donut.

“Jesus, Kat! You’re hardly old!”

“I’m just saying I didn’t start as early as some of you did. Your baby is fourteen. Amber and Bowie’s girls are eighteen. The only little one is Kennedy.”

“So you didn’t step out of high school and get knocked up like some of us. You’re only thirty-four. That is hardly ancient,” Ginny scoffed.

“And thirty-nine is? You didn’t seem too inclined to pop one out when I suggested that you might be pregnant.”

“I said that Zeke would kick my ass. I didn’t say I was too old. And yes, it would be a lot different for us because we do have two twenty-year-olds and a fourteen-year-old. Your old man might want to work forever, but mine keeps promising me retirement and travel if we can clear the nest.”

“Are you falling for that?” Kat asked.

Gin rolled her eyes and shrugged.

“At the very least I might get him to use his vacation time and take me somewhere.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

“Hush. You’re just jealous,” Ginny said, throwing a bite of donut at her.

“My father came to the hospital.”

Ginny fumbled her cup, sloshing cappuccino on the table and her lap. Kat started to get up and Ginny waved her back, standing to grab a hand towel and a dishrag.

“Sorry,” she muttered, swiping at her pant leg and the table simultaneously. Red-faced, she dropped back into her seat. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I just blurted that out.”

“Because we don’t keep shit from each other.”   

Kat nodded, self-consciously turning her coffee cup.

“What happened?” Ginny asked. “Daddy Dearest hasn’t sniffed around in fifteen years.”

“He came in while we were sleeping. I woke up and he was standing over the basinet.”

“Jesus! Where was Crux?”

“I think he woke up a half second before I did. He came flying out of the chair and clotheslined my father. They were rolling around on the floor. I was screaming like a banshee. An orderly and a nurse came out of nowhere. I don’t know if they were already in the room, or they heard me scream. All I know is they grabbed Crux and pulled him off my father before he could kill him. Then Security showed up, and a deputy. Why is it that everyone knows my husband by name? The cop called him Croston, just like the bartender over at Hillside that night he got into it with the college boy that felt me up.”

“Why am I just now hearing about this? Did they arrest him?”

“No. He wanted them to arrest Crux for assault or some bullshit like that. The deputy said he wasn’t wasting his time and didn’t back down when my father pulled his
do you know who I am
bullshit,” Kat said shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I was upset and I just wanted to bring Cam home and forget about it.”

Ginny’s frown crumpled in sympathy and she reached across the table to cover Kat’s hand.

“I don’t blame you. How did he even know? It’s been years since he came around.”

“That’s just it. We’ve been asking ourselves the same question,” Kat admitted, biting her lip in worry.

“Did he say what he wanted,” Ginny asked, a frown twisting her features as she picked at her donut.

“Cam has a penis so he is worth something in my father’s eyes. He was spouting off about making Cam his heir.”

“Did you tell him to go to hell?”

“I told him he would have nothing to do with Cam. Crux would lose his shit if I ever accepted a cent from my father.”

“God Kat, please remember that. Crux is a proud man and he loves you. Rich or not, he takes good care of you.”

“I would never do that do him. Crux would do anything for me. I know that. He would bust his ass to give me anything I wanted. Trust me. I don’t miss my father’s money. From the beginning Crux has given me something that John Merrick can’t buy. He makes me feel safe and loved. That’s all I ever wanted,” Kat said fervently.

Ginny stood and slipped into Kat’s side of the booth to wrap her in a tight hug.

“I love you, little sister. Don’t you forget, anything, anytime.”

“I know that, and right back at you.”

Ginny reached across the table to retrieve the rest of her cappuccino. They sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their worries and picking at their donuts.

“Lately it seems like we’re cursed. It’s always something,” Ginny murmured.

“I know. I swear nothing stays buried in Trinity.”

“What does Crux think?”

“He thinks if we refuse to let him in, he will eventually crawl back under his rock.”

Ginny lit a cigarette and nodded chewing on her thumbnail.

“Has he changed much?”

“He’s a little balder on the top, but he hasn’t changed much more than that.”

“I think I’d still recognize him. He’s a hard man to forget. His eyes still haunt me. I thought Zeke’s could be cold.”

“They’re like a shark’s, so pale they’re almost clear,” Kat said, hunching her shoulders against the chill the mental image inspired.

Suddenly straightening in her seat, Ginny turned, her eyes wide.

“Kramer. Fucking Kramer said that he talked to your dad. You said you didn’t know how he knew about the pregnancy. Remember when you ran into the little weasel at the festival? You said that he congratulated you on the baby and that he said your father was worried about you. Maybe he told your dad that you were pregnant.”

“Oh my God, he did! He said that my father was concerned for me and for his
grandchild
!” Kat said, hand covering her mouth. “I remember thinking how much Kramer sounded like my father, a raving nut job, but I completely forgot about him saying that until just now.”

“A lot of shit has happened since then,” Ginny said, shaking her head and taking a long drag on her cigarette before she looked down at it. “Jesus! Why didn’t you remind me that I can’t smoke this in here? Shit!” she said, jumping up to douse her cigarette under the faucet.  

“Because you’re worried about us and you smoke when you’re stressed.”

“You’re trying to quit and Camden doesn’t need to breathe my nasty habit,” Ginny said waving ineffectively at the smoke.

Kat reached out and caught her friend’s hand.

“It’s okay, Gin. No harm, no foul. Crux smokes. It’s not like we’re going to be able to keep it away from Cam completely. We’re just trying not to smoke right around him. Give his lungs a chance before he decides to take up cigarettes or the welding booth.”

“Is Crux still filling in for Reaper?”

“He was before he took the vacation days. I don’t know what might have happened while he was off. I guess I will find out tonight. At least I can tell him I have an idea what prodded Daddy Dearest’s interest again.”

Camden’s cry interrupted their talk.

“Hark! Mommy duty calls,” Ginny said with a sympathetic smile. “I better get going. Call me later.”

“I will, sis. Thanks for the donuts and the chat. I always feel better when I talk to you.”

“I’m the same way. I hate secrets between us,” Ginny said giving her a hug. “Take good care of my nephew and I’ll talk to you soon.” She paused at the door and looked back. “Put this away so you know where it is if you need it.”

Kat glanced at the .38 she’d left on the foyer table and nodded with a blush. Locking up behind her friend, she took the gun and put it away. Ginny missed nothing. Kat hadn’t been kidding; it felt better to tell Ginny what was going on. Even if Gin couldn’t do anything, it just felt better to share with her sister.
Troubles shared are troubles halved
; her nanny had used to say. When they had met, that saying had finally made sense to Kat.