Page 27 of Full Throttled

I watch as Drake rolls his shoulders. His clear sign of unease. “I’m only going to talk about this once because it brings up too much anger for me. Jules, Aubree’s mother, is not in the picture at all. She left our baby daughter and I can never understand how she did it. She just took her to my dad and Jagger at the shop and left her without ever looking back. I do this by myself.” Silence fills the room before he continues. “Well, that’s not completely true. I get a lot of help from my parents, Dawsyn, my uncles and their wives and of course the club. It’s kind of an all hands-on deck situation, but when it comes to parents. I’m her father and mother.”

My heart breaks for both Drake and Aubree. I only got to spend a few minutes talking to her and I already couldn’t imagine abandoning her like that. I’ll never understand that. However, my respect for Drake just grew so much. He really is the white knight, but not just mine.

Twenty

Zoey

We make it out of the clubhouse without running into Zayde or anyone else for that matter. When we walk outside, I look for Drake’s truck, but I don’t see it. I watch as Drake walks over to a lime green Ford Mustang. I laugh to myself because I’m not really shocked to see him in a car like this. He comes from a family that lives and breathes all things cars. “Nice ride,” I tease him.

He chuckles. “Thanks. I didn’t pick the color, just so you know.” He makes his way to the passenger side of the car and opens the door.

I don’t know why I’m shocked to see Drake open the door. He’s always been nothing but a gentleman and his southern manners were always something that made my heart and stomach somersault. I guess it’s just been so long since I’ve been around him, that everything comes as a surprise to me. “If you didn’t pick the color then who did?” I’m curious because green was his favorite color. Maybe, not this particular shade but it’s still a form of green.

“Aubree. She was about a year and a half at the time, but every time I’d put her down in dad’s office she’d crawl or wobble over to this lime green paint that had been sent to us by accident. One day, I grabbed it because we were supposed to ship it back, but when I picked it up she started bawling. Aubree rarely cried as a baby so it was odd. I put the paint back down and she calmed down. So, I bought the paint and saved it until I got this car. It was perfect because this car needed some good ol’ fashioned TLC.” I look up at him and smile and he shrugs. I slide into the seat.

The inside is clean and smells like leather and baby lotion. It’s a nice combination. “Thank you, Drake.”

Drake cocks his head to the side. “For what?”

I shrug and look down at my hands in my lap before pulling my sunglasses down over my eyes from the top of my head. “For everything, for being you.”

“Anytime.” He closes the door andhobblesaround to the driver side. I’m not surprised when the radio comes on tuned into the classic rock station. Another thing about the James brothers that Drake probably got from them was a love for classic rock, big hair 80s rock bands. “We’ll grab Aubree then head to lunch.”

As we pull up to the restored house, I’m shocked. It’s a corner lot that's full of green grass and every color of flower imaginable as well as trees. Around the side, away from the street I can see a playground set up for children. The tall black iron gate encloses the pretty large, two story house. It’s brown brick with cream colored accents and bright blue front door. It feels inviting yet secluded. “I’ll be right back. Their day ends at one thirty but I have to go inside to pick her up.”

“Shouldn’t you be on crutches?” I ask him.

He chuckles. “You’re starting to sound like everyone else.”

“Well, shouldn’t you be using them?Yourankle is clearly in bad shape and not using them will only make your recovery time that much longer and harder.”

He gives me a wide eyed look. “You sounded just like a mom,” he admits with a laugh.

“Well, they do say we have motherly instincts by nature,” I tell him with a shrug. Drake climbs out of the car and I follow behind him. “I have an idea. Stand just inside the gate. I’ll knock on the door and explain that you’re injured. She can step out and see you and then let Aubree go. It’ll save you time, energy, and pain.”

Drake nods. “Okay, I can do that.” I leave Drake by the gate and head up to the front door. When I reach it, I place my sunglasses back on top of my head and ring the doorbell. A short, plump lady appears, she smiles and her friendly face lights up. “Hi, I’m Zoey. Drake is here for Aubree. I’m sure you noticed his ankle was injured this morning. He’s standing just inside the gate. He was hoping if you saw him that would be enough to release Aubree for the day.”

“Oh, let me just look outside here.” She steps out onto the porch and spots Drake. She waves at him and he waves back. “Well, I don’t see why that would be a problem. Let me just get Aubree ready to go.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll just wait here,” I tell her.

The lady disappears into the house. The door reopens a few minutes later with Aubree beaming up at me. “Zoey!” She throws her arms around mylegstightly.

I hug her back. “Well, hello there, Beautiful. How was your day?”

“It was so much fun.” She tells me all about her day before I can point out that her dad is just down the sidewalk. Once she finally pauses to catch a breath, I smile down at her. “You came to pick me up?”

“Well, I came with your dad,” I tell her, as I point in his direction. Her little face lights up. It’s like seeing the Christmas tree being lit up for the first time of the season. “We’re going to go to lunch.”

“Yes! Pizza!” she cheers, as she grabs my hand and pulls me down the steps of the porch and the sidewalk until we are close enough for her to jump into Drake’s arms. “Daddy!”

“Hey there, Love Bug,” he tells her. “Did you have a good day?” Aubree proceeds to tell him all about her day. The same story I just heard a few minutes ago. Her excitement is contagious. “Well, I’m glad you had a good day. Do you want to go get some food?”

“Yes please.” She smiles at Drake and I swear my heart melts watching them interact.

“Let me guess…pizza?” Aubree nods her head vigorously, causing her ringlet curls to bounce. Drake chuckles before pressing a kiss to her rosy cheek. “You got it.” Drake places Aubree back on her feet and we make our way back to the car. I step in front of Drake.

“I can get her in the toddler seat. You just get off that ankle.” He gives me a look that is unreadable. I lean into the back seat and get Aubree secure. We make our way to Pippa’s Pepperoni Palace with Aubree singing along to the classic rock on the radio. Pippa’s Pepperoni Palace is a buffet pizza place with a salad and dessert bar and arcade games throughout. You trade in your tickets for silly and small prizes, but the kids love it. I haven’t been here in so long. It was a place that Zayde and I came to often back in the day. It was our escape from the real world.

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