Page 34 of Pumpkin
Gods, she still couldn’t believe how wrong she’d been about him. She didn’t know how to get past that. Howhewould get past that.
After seeing Pumpkin with his son last night? It was easy to anticipate his reaction when he discovered she’d hidden a daughter fromhim all these years. Would he believe her? Understand that she’d done what she’d done toprotecther daughter? Even if that meant protecting her from her own father?
Dosia’s eyes fell on Pumpkin’s jacket in the corner, the patches on the back of the leather illuminated by the morning sun. The man really was sweet. The temperature had dropped lower than Dosia had anticipated—and Calliope had encouraged her to only have a light sweater over her dress. Pumpkin had immediately taken his jacket off and put it over her shoulders.
“I have others,” he’d said when she’d tried to give it back to him in her grandparents’ driveway.
Dosia wanted a father like him in JJ’s life, a father who was kind, funny, and despite his size, gentle. JJdeservedthat, and gods above and below help Pumpkin if last night was some fucked up act he’d put on for her. Some twisted game he played to try to win her back over.
Dosia didn’t think so, but she couldn’t be too careful. Not when it came to her daughter. Maybe she needed a clean slate, to not think about who he had been to her. Put Vodka to rest and discover whoPumpkinwas. And then, once she felt comfortable and assured that he wouldn’t break her daughter’s heart or try to take her daughter away from her, she would tell him about JJ.
It wasn’t oftenthat Pumpkin was wrong, but he wasn’t so stubborn that he couldn’t admit when he’d made a mistake. The day SJ had been born, his mother, Cheryl, had been executed by the club. The guilt Pumpkin felt about her death had nothing to do with her, but the fact that it meant SJ would grow up without a mother.
He’d been wrong.
Being around the club and the mix-and-match families some of his brothers had, Pumpkin really should have known better. It should have been obvious to him, and not something that only occurred to him once he was face-to-face with the woman he would call his.
Because Dosiawashis.
Fucking old biddy who interrupted their near kiss by clearing her throat. Sure, they were blocking the bathroom hallway, but the lady couldn’t have waited a few minutes? Isn’t that why they madeDepends?
In the long run, that kiss didn’t matter. Disappointing, yes, but didn’t matter. Because Pumpkin had still claimed her. Maybe it was a bit manipulative and sneaky, but he’d gotten his cut on her. Thank God for the cold mountain winds and flimsy cardigans.
The look Frankie had given him when he’d placed his jacket over Dosia’s shoulders screamed volumes, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. At least, until Dosia was no longer in the cage with them.
“If you don’t tell her the significance of her wearing your cut the next time you see her,I will,”Frankie had threatened.
And good on her. While Pumpkin wasn’t intimidated, and he would tell Dosia when he was good and ready, he appreciated Frankie’s defense of Dosia and he was proud Frankie was comfortable enough with him to make the threat. That took courage Frankie didn’t normally display.
Frankie was taking SJ over to the clubhouse to play with his club cousins that morning. Pumpkin, unfortunately, had physical therapy. Darrin was playing chauffeur again for him and Bones, but Pumpkin had no intention of going to PT. He’d feign forgetting something and needing Darrin to drive him “back”, but really, he’d have Darrin drop him off in town.
Pumpkin wasn’t ready to share his discovery or claiming of Dosia with any of the club yet. It was still too new, and those Chatty Cathies woulddefinitelytell Dosia the significance of her wearing Pumpkin’s cut. He also hadn’t told Keys.
Mount Grove might be a small town, but Pumpkin was a transplant. Unlike Lucky, Bear, Bulldog, and Carlos who had grown up here, Pumpkin didn’t know who lived in every house in town. While he knew that Dosia was living with her grandparents and that’s whose house he’d dropped her off at last night, he had no ideawhoher grandparents were. But he’d been able to discern from their conversation the night before that Dosia was taking over a family businessfrom her aunt.Thatwould be news that the townspeople could not keep to themselves. A stop by the bakery, a friendly chat here or there, and Pumpkin should be able to figure out where Dosia worked without involving Keys or anyone else from the club.
Hell, she hadn’t even given him her last name when she’d put her number in his phone. Just ‘Dosia’, which was so unhelpful. She was a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but Pumpkin would figure her out. He’d learn everything about her, andthenhe’d claim that kiss.
Dosia looked in the box.She really shouldn’t have. The salty, fishy smell was enough to make her gag without even trying one of the samples. Calliope, though, was ecstatic!
“Look at all they sent me!”
Dosia covered her nose and took a step back. “Yeah, um, congrats. Now get that thing away from my books!”
Calliope just laughed and shook her head. They were standing behind the counter of the bookstore just after lunch. An elderly couple Calliope knew by name were the only customers in the store at the moment, but that was fine. Dosia was hoping for an uptick after school let out thanks to her flash sale on kids’ books. The local single mom’s group Dosia had joined online had all joined the bookstore’s social media sites. Her hope was that by announcing spontaneous afternoon sales based on genre, she could decrease the afternoon lull.
A dead store from the hours of three to five gave a different meaning to the ‘witching hour’ when the store had been owned by an actual witch.
Calliope was working hard this week getting her New Age store ready to open. She’d wanted it to be on or around Samhain, but the more work she did, the more work she found she needed to do. Dosia wished she could help more, but she’d already completely taken over running the bookstore so Calliope didn’t have any responsibilities there anymore. It was a bit of a Catch-22.
However, Dosia had volunteered to help her sample retail items.She hadn’t minded when it had been what selection of tea Calliope should stock. But now that a company who produced seaweed snacks sent Calliope a box of samples?Gag.
Calliope reached inside and pulled out a bag of seaweed chips. “Oh, these look good.”
Dosia’s voice came out stuffy as she still had her nose covered. “Calliope, if you open that bag, I will ban you from my store!”
Calliope very dramatically put her fingers to the sealed edge and started to slowly pull at the foil.
Dosia picked up the nearest thing to her and threw it, which happened to be a square tissue box.
