Sunday Morning (Damaged #7.5)(24)

“The day I ran off like a bitch, I stopped in a little town. I had wanted to keep going, but I saw the sign and suddenly felt exhausted and needed to stop. The next day, I knew I had to come back even if I was still feeling like a bitch.”

No doubt Kirk worried I wouldn’t like the name he had in mind. I worried too, but I was thoroughly stuck in my search for the right name.

“Coopertown was the town. It’s stuck in my head, and I was thinking about Cooper for our boy’s name.”

The name didn’t sing to me immediately. Something about it bothered me, but I couldn’t figure out what I didn’t like until I stood in the little white church with Kirk.

Staring up at him, I asked, “What if people make fun of him and turn his name into Pooper?”

Kirk cupped my face and stroked my cheeks with his thumbs.

“No one would dare mock our boy like that.”

“Because he’ll be tough like his daddy.”

Kirk kissed me softly. All of those months without him, I often forget how tender he could be. I only imagined him hurting people in Ellsberg and claiming what he wanted. I never thought of him being gentle.

As we stood in the church, Kirk revealed the kind of tenderness I dreamed he would show me for the rest of our years together.





19 - Kirk


I never worried Jodi wouldn’t like Ellsberg. This was a woman who could find something good about Chesterfield. Our new home was going to blow her mind.

We arrived at the rental house around three in the afternoon. Jodi parked the car behind my Harley in the driveway and then climbed out. I knew from her expression that she was dazed by all of the changes. Her wide eyes focused on me, and she gave me a smile that made me feel like a f*cking man. I’d done right for my family, and deep inside that was the best accomplishment I could hope for.

“A dishwasher,” Jodi said twenty minutes after we arrived.

Her tone cut me deep, and I feel primal. Caveman shit where I needed to mark my woman.

Jodi gasped when I picked her up and started walking to the bedroom. Rebounding, she wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Is the bed comfy?” she asked, wearing a grin.

“Oh, it’s a solid bed. Only the best for my woman.”

Jodi laughed. “I love you.”

Resting her on the bed, I yanked off my t-shirt. “Do you like it here?” I asked, needing to hear what I already knew.

“I love it nearly as much as I love you.”

Grinning, I nipped at her bottom lip. “I’m feeling a little threatened now. I better make you love me more.”

Jodi laughed again. In Ellsberg, she laughed often. Everywhere we went, she smiled. Hell, even the grocery store made her happy.

She could have easily enjoyed her new life without worrying about my new club, The Reapers. Jodi viewed us as a team. I might do the heavy lifting, but she was my sounding board.

Jodi came up with the idea to make backyard parties a regular thing. Neither of us is the friendly sort, but she knew building loyalty was more than wearing the same patches. The fact was we’d be perfectly happy to spend our time alone. Now we were part of something larger, and I was in charge.

Most of the guys in the club came with old ladies and kids. Grilling on the weekends made our business situation into something built on trust and loyalty. If one of the guys got in a bind, he wasn’t on his own. He had a team of men willing to kill and die to have his back. Thanks to Jodi, I’d create a crew worth spilling blood over.

The guys and I got into a habit of taking long rides while checking out our expanding territory in Kentucky. We’d stop for lunch and bullshit.

The men were solid, but I was happy to settle in at home with Jodi. By Thanksgiving, she couldn’t get out of bed or chairs on her own. Jodi was all belly and sexy as hell.

A month after her eighteenth birthday and a week before her due date, Jodi woke up at three and said she was either in labor or dying. An hour later, she managed to give birth to my ten-pound son.

“My woman is a tough bitch,” I said, kissing her forehead as she held a red-faced Cooper.

“I think he got smooshed on the way out.”

“He’s tough like his mama,” I said, kissing her again and nearly crawling into bed next to her. “He’ll rebound.”

A tired and sweaty Jodi looked at me and smiled. “I could do this again.”

“Hell yeah, you could.”

“Cooper needs a little brother or sister to give him shit,” she said, caressing the quiet baby’s lips. “He’s too perfect. Without someone hassling him, life will be too damn easy.”

“Can’t have that,” I whispered, finally giving in and sliding next to her on the bed.

Jodi studied my face. “You look scared.”

“You just shoved a ten-pound kid out of you. I’m feeling more than a little guilty.”

“For helping me make a gorgeous kid?” she teased.

“That was impressive.”

“It was fast. My biggest fear wasn’t the pain, but it taking all f*cking day and night.”

Cooper whined and shivered before falling silent. We watched him, and I struggled not to cry like a baby myself. Jodi and Cooper were more than I could have ever dreamed for, yet they were mine.





20 - Jodi