AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I wouldn’t be so stressed if they didn’t hate me,” she retorts. “They don’t cry like this when Ricky’s home.”
“Because he’s soft, and they already know it,” I grunt.
“Dad!”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Well, not as such. “I meant that they sense his easy-goingness. And when Rick’s home, you have help.”
Between Sally and Kyla, they get the boys fed, changed, and settled into their crib. I stand in the bedroom doorway.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed. Me and your father will stay and deal with them if they wake again.”
I step to the side as they leave, and I step into the room. Neither Mason nor Myles is asleep.
“Now listen up, boys, you can cry when you’re hungry or need your diapers changed… or when your Daddy’s looking after you, but when your Momma has done everything you need, you can’t gang up on her. You’re gonna let her sleep now you have full bellies and dry asses, and in the morning, she won’t be so tired.”
They both look up at me, and such innocence pours from the both of them. Yet there’s a twinkle in both their eyes that isn’t quite light but not quite darkness.
“They don’t understand what you’re saying, you know.”
Sally steps up behind me, rubbing her hand up and down my back.
I look back down at my grandsons. “Yeah, they do.”
Kyla scared the shit out of me when she was born. But not my grandsons. They’re the future, not just the family’s future but the club’s too.
“Why don’t you get your head down in the guest room? I’ll watch over the boys.”
She doesn’t argue and kisses me goodnight. I pull up the chair and settle in beside the crib.
I’ve told them about their father and me a few times since they were born, but I figure if I keep repeating myself, it will sink into their souls and become who they are.
“Family is everything. You’ll both grow strong, and you’ll protect your Mom and grandma, the same as me and your Daddy do. And when you’re old enough, you’ll patch into the club and protect the club. You’ll both be strong and ruthless. You’re loved beyond anything that’s explainable, and you willboth have great lives. I just hope I live long enough to see you become men.”
I reckon it’s possible that given they’ll grow up with two parents and with grandparents who will be in their lives just as much, they’ll be the perfect mix of strength and vulnerability. I never gave much thought to continuing my bloodline when I was younger. But when Kyla and Ricky got married, I started to wonder what it’d be like to have a legacy through blood.
I make myself comfortable in the armchair and close my eyes. Years ago, when I closed my eyes, all I saw was my father’s face as he stood over the dinner table, preaching the good word of God. Then I met Sally, and she replaced him. Now, I see my grandsons and their future.
The floorboard creaks, and my eyes shoot open. Daylight tries to seep through the thin curtains, and Sally checks on the twins still sleeping in their crib.
“How have they been?” she asks in a whisper.
“Perfect. They didn’t wake up once.”
“You probably scared them to sleep.” She laughs.
Rising from the armchair, I stand and stretch my arms above my head. My back clicks, pushing out the kinks.
“Is Ky still sleeping?” I ask her as I usher her out of the room.
“Yeah. I checked in on her, and she was out for the count. I don’t know the last time she slept properly.”
We head down to the kitchen, and Sally prepares the morning coffee.
“Do you know when Ricky’s due home? I don’t want to leave her alone with the boys, it’s too much for her on her own at the moment.”
The sound of a motorcycle saves me from having to give an answer she won’t like, as in, I don’t know. It depends on many variables that affect the runs the club makes. As Ricky is home not long after sunrise, I already know the run went smoothly.
The front door opens, and I take a seat at the kitchen table. I listen as Sally prepares three mugs for coffee, and Ricky kicks off his boots and hangs his cut up in the hall.
