Page 51 of Property of Stone
She waited on the deck just in case Stone had any problems installing the booster seat in his truck. More importantly, she wanted to make sure he actually used it.
Not even five minutes later, he reversed his old truck—old in age, not in looks—out of the garage, did an impressively smooth K-turn, then headed down the driveway.
As the restored Ford passed her, she could see Sunny pouting in the middle and Wren with his nose pushed up and smashed against the passenger window so he looked like a piglet.
Smearing snot on Stone’s window wouldn’t be a very nice thank you for the favor he was doing her by taking Wren to school.
Slapping a hand onto her forehead, she whispered, “How is this my life?”
How did she get to the point she had an instant family with an outlaw biker?
One who had no problem breaking the law and even beating up people to within an inch of their life. All thisinstant family needed was a broken, white picket fence, a rusty minivan, and a damn three-legged dog.
Vic.This was all because of Vic.
Proof that one bad decision could cause a rippling effect that created havoc in every other aspect of her life.
Her cell phonelit up on the counter when it rang.
Shit.It was the school so she had no choice but to take it. She glanced around to make sure her client wasn’t within earshot and answered it, covering her mouth to contain the sound. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Gentry?”
That reminded her: when she had some spare funds, she needed to change her last name back to her maiden name. She was tempted to change Wren’s last name, too, but that might infuriate Vic even more.
“Yes?” she whispered. “Is something wrong with Wren?”
“Not quite. A teacher saw him heading toward a man on a motorcycle and stopped him. Do you know this person or should I call the police?”
Was it Stone? It had to be. “Did he say who he was?”
“We didn’t ask. Only two other people besides yourself are on your authorized pickup list. Gail Howard…”
Her mother.
“And Victor Gentry.”
Her blood ran cold. Did she forget to remove him? “Can you remove Mr. Gentry from the list?”
“You want Wren’s father removed from the list?”
She ignored the mix of surprise and condemnation in the woman’s question. “Yes. Can you do that for me?”
“No. Unfortunately, I’d need a court order for that.”
Shit. “He’s being released from prison soon and?—”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Gentry, but I can’t stop a parent from picking up their child unless a court order is in place.”
She pulled in a breath. She couldn’t argue with a school official in her client’s kitchen. “Then, can you add Stone for me?” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry, Stone is his nickname. His name is James Conrad.”
“Is that who’s waiting at the curb? Do you know he’s wearing a vest that’s tied to a local biker gang?”
Crap. Crap. Crap.“I have no idea if it’s Mr. Conrad. It could be one of his associates.” She grimaced. She should’ve usedfriendinstead ofassociate. It made it sound like hedidbelong to a criminal organization.
“Well, if the person isn’t on the authorized list…”
“Can you give me a moment, please, for me to check with him?”
