Page 67 of Hardy

“You came,” Tabitha said,wrapping her arms around Simon.

“I promised Iwould.”

Simon looked over her shoulder to theirparents.Angel was talking with his mom and dad.He was so happyright now.Every moment he was away from Tabitha was hard for him.He missed her all the time, and when he tried talking to his dad,Devil simply brushed off his fears.

Dancing together, he turned heraround, holding her close.He didn’t entirely understand everythingthat was going on, but he didn’t care.Tabitha was there, and for the momenthe was happy.

“Hardy wanted to make Rosehappy,” Tabitha said.

He listened to her talk, explaining to himeverything that had happened, how Angel and her mother, Eva, haddecorated the clubhouse.

The pink was gross, and he’d neverallow the Chaos Bleeds clubhouse to look like a girl’splayhouse.

“How long you staying?”Tabitha asked.

“Don’t know.”

Anthony shoved him in the arm, andSimon turned to hug him as well.Daisy held onto Tabitha’s hand asthey all stared at each other.

****

“That’s the next generationof all of us,” Tiny said, looking at the group of kids.Rachel,Miles, and Tate’s Simon had joined them.In a few years Kelsey’sson would be joining them, along with his own baby, Rose’s kid.They were growing every year, and Tiny was so happy to see TheSkulls working hard.

“They look so damn happy,” Devilsaid, holding his son close to him.Elizabeth and Josh were holding Lexie’shand.

“How is everything going inPiston County?”Tiny asked.

“Fine.Snake and Jesse aregetting married in a couple of weeks.Dick’s took off to gosomewhere, don’t know where exactly.”

“He said there was someonehe needed to see,” Lexie said.

“Don’t know who.Everythingis going great.Family is building, getting stronger.”

“I’m glad.”Tiny wrappedhis arm around Eva.

He and his wife had talked long and hardabout Tabitha and Simon.There wasn’t anything they could do aboutthe bond the two had formed.Tiny only hoped when the two grew up,they grew apart.He’d never known two different clubs unite as one,and he didn’t want to lose his daughter.The last thing he wantedwas for his little girl to ever be caught in a crossfire betweentheir clubs.

****

Whizz looked in the back of his car atSally.She was resting her head against the window pane, and lookedso damn pale.Her only belongings were in a black plastic bagbeside her, and his heart broke for the young girl.No girls shouldever have to deal with that kind of rejection, and yet Sallyhad.

“Do you think we should just goback to the house?”Lacey asked.“They’re having a prom at theclubhouse.It may be a little too busy for her.”

“I don’t mind staying inthe car if you want to go and have some fun.”

“It’s not about us having somefun, honey.Hardy, one of the men, wanted to throw a prom for hiswife.It sounds more complicated than it actually is.I promise,”Lacey said.

Whizz saw it didn’t matter to Sally.Shewas out of her foster home, and that was all she was happy about.He wondered if she had some kind of bet on how long she was goingto last in their lives.

“We’ll stop by the club.It’s only right for all the brothers and their wives to meet ourdaughter,” Whizz said.Just like he predicted, Sally turned hergaze to him.

“You don’t have to be niceto me.”

“I’m not.I’m saying how it is.As far as the rest of the world is concerned, you’re my daughter.”The more he said it out loud, the better he felt.

Turning down a road, he started to makehis way toward the clubhouse rather than toward his new home.Therewas a lot of decorating still to do, but the home was livable, andthat was all that mattered.

Lacey kept talking to Sally,asking her about school, and what she liked.Most of the time theanswers Lacey got were one word answers.The social worker had toldhim that therewas a detachment between teenage adoptions and babies.Itcan take time to build on that same attachment with theirkids.

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