Ride Steady(44)

I would have sworn I heard Joker make a noise like a swallowed grunt but I ignored him.

“Yeah,” Rush answered over Joker’s noise.

“That’d be so cool, you could come,” Tabby said. “It gets rowdy but it’s a great time. And we girls need to let our hair down, you hear me?”

I heard her, she was right in front of me.

But after I heard her, it hit me and my world went dark.

“I work the afternoon shift. I don’t get off until late.”

She grinned again. “Babe, this is a biker party. It’ll go until everyone is hooked up or passed out. Come whenever.”

I had a feeling their rowdy would be well beyond my rowdy since I’d never really done rowdy. But I also hoped Joker would be there, and in a party mood, so I was going to have an open mind and I was most definitely going to show.

“Do you work every day?”

I turned my head to Joker since he asked the question.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Every day?” he pushed.

“Yes,” I repeated. Then explained, “Mostly. See, my manager, Sharon, is super nice. She tries to schedule me for as many days on as she can when Aaron has Travis, so I can have my days off when I have him so I can save on daycare and I want to spend my time with him. And in return, I take afternoon and evening shifts when Travis is with his dad because people prefer day shifts.”

“So when you don’t have your kid, when do you have a life?” Joker asked, sounding strangely annoyed. Or more annoyed than he already had been.

“My life is Travis,” I answered and something moved over his face that I didn’t like, knowing about what his mom did to him. But I did my best to ignore it since he likely wouldn’t like me to make note of it, especially in company, and kept speaking. “And anyway, it’s only eight and a half hours a day, so it isn’t like I’m always there. Except the overtime,” I mumbled the last bit. “Everyone can use it and Sharon’s fair, but she throws a good amount my way because I need it.”

He stared at me, still looking annoyed, and I stared back, not annoyed even a little bit.

I wasn’t because you didn’t get annoyed for a girl you didn’t like and possibly want to ask out on a date which would end in a kiss (I hoped).

So as he stared at me, I stared back. I also smiled brightly.

His eyes dropped to my mouth and he looked even more annoyed.

My smile got bigger as my belly felt warm.

At that point, the door to the Compound opened and I unfortunately had to look away from annoyed-biker-handsome Joker toward the door.

“Hey, Pete!” Tabby cried to the man lumbering in.

I said nothing.

Instead, I made the instant decision that, if he would look after Travis, I’d let him.

This was not because he had on a beat-up leather vest over a black T-shirt that had been washed so many times it was gray. It was also not because his jeans were faded, too big on him (which was a feat, he was not a small man), and had stains on them, though the jeans were clean. It was further not because he had a very long goatee, stubble on his cheeks, bushy sideburns and a mass of lead-gray hair pulled back in a ponytail at his nape. Lastly, it was not because he had a gut that shouted I love beer!

No, it was because he had kind eyes, a face that lit up when those eyes hit Tabby. The overall look might be scary to some, but to me, he looked like Biker Santa Claus.

“Hey, darlin’, how you doin’?” he called to Tabby.

“I’m good, Pete. This is Carissa.”

Big Petey trudged to me and did it with a grin and beefy hand lifted my way. “Figured you were. Hey, girl.”

I took his hand. Its calloused warmth closed around mine firm but not hard.

Yes, I was going to let him look after my son.

“Hey,” I replied. “Nice to meet you.”

He gave my hand a squeeze before he let it go and leaned into the bar. “Your * still got your boy?”

I assumed correctly by the a-word that he meant Aaron. “Uh, yes, until Monday.”

“Bummer, darlin’,” he muttered.

“Agreed,” I muttered back.

He gave me a grin. “Tyra keeps her boys with her in the office a lot but I also got ’em a lot so your li’l bugger’ll have company.”

“Uh… is that too much for you?” I asked.

“I’ll amend,” he declared. “Tyra keeps her boys with her in the office a lot and her old man likes their boys with him a lot, so I have ’em a lot but not a lot so your boy will have company but also he and me’ll have alone time.”