Chapter Seven
Sledge
Sledge could hear Derek and Beth coming before he even saw them. He knew Amber had gone to their room. He just hoped it wouldn’t add more stress to the situation. Looking up, he froze when he saw them enter the room. So did everyone else.
“Shit,” he mumbled, when everyone in the room stopped eating and stared at Beth and Derek.
Thankfully, Reaper was quick to react. “Put your faces back towards your food,” he ordered, and everyone went back to eating and talking amongst themselves.
“Thank you, Brother.”
“Don’t mention it man,” Reaper said, clapping him on the back when he took his seat again. “Seems like the girls may have become friends.”
Looking at his sister and Beth, it definitely seemed that way. He watched as Amber bent down to talk to Derek. He was too far away to know what she was saying, but Derek turned to look at Sledge. Glancing up at his mom, she spoke a few words to him and Sledge watched as Derek made his way over to his table.
“Dad, can I sit with you?” Derek asked quietly.
Hearing his son call him dad, caused a warmth to spread through his chest. It was a feeling that Sledge had never felt before.
“Absolutely, son.” Pulling the chair out next to him, Derek sat down looking at Sledge like he hung the moon.
“I like that,” he said quietly.
“Like what buddy?” Sledge asked.
“That you call me son. It means you like me, right?” the hopeful plea in Derek’s voice about shattered what was left of Devin’s heart.
“I more than like you, kiddo. I love you very much. From the first moment I saw you.” How could he explain to a child that even though they missed out on the last eight years, even though he had just learned about him less than twenty-four hours ago, he still loved him with everything he had.
Sledge pulled Derek’s chair closer to him. “What do you say you and I hang out today? Get to know each other a bit?” Sledge realized he had the same hopeful tone in his own voice.
“Yes!” Derek shouted, causing everyone in the room to look in their direction. Sledge burst out laughing. “Aunt Amber said that we already have stuff in common. My favorite cereal is Fruity O’s. She said that was yours, too.”
“Aunt Amber is right. I love Fruity O’s,” Sledge admitted, showing Derek his half-full bowl of cereal.
As the girls walked over to the table, he noticed Beth was nervous. She wouldn’t even look at him and for some reason, that bothered him. He wanted her to be comfortable here, comfortable around him. He tried to tell himself it was because if she was, then she would stay; she wouldn’t take Derek and leave when this mess was cleaned up. But he wasn’t entirely sure that was true.
“Here you go Derek. Eat up!” Amber said, as she handed him his bowl. He looked up at Sledge with a huge smile. The same smile Sledge saw when he looked at his own reflection.
“Umm... I am just going to go eat in my room,” Beth said quietly. Sledge’s heart lurched, he didn’t want her to leave. But he kept his mouth shut. Spending more time around Beth would not be a good idea.
“Nonsense!” Amber told her, pulling out a chair next to Reaper. “Sit right here,” she indicated the seat next to her own.
“Yeah mom. You can’t leave me in here.” Derek’s eyes were wide with concern.
Placing a reassuring hand on his small shoulder, Sledge leaned over to him so he could speak to him at his level. “Nobody here will bother you, Son. And if anyone does, you come tell me or Uncle Zander, and we will handle it, okay?”
“Who is Uncle Zander?” Derek asked. Reaper leaned around Sledge and waved his hand at Derek. “That would be me little guy,” he smiled. That seemed to put Derek at ease. He said okay and continued to eat.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sledge kept glancing at Beth. She kept her face covered by a curtain of hair, which he noticed she wore a lot longer than she used to, and it was hanging with its natural curliness. The blonde locks were almost to her waist. Sledge wanted to reach over Reaper and Amber and move the mass of curls out of her face. Instead he gripped his spoon harder and focused on eating.
When everyone was finished, they stood as a group and started for the door. “Beth, I would like to keep Derek with me for the day,” he announced. He watched as her frame became rigid. “I just want a chance to get to know him. We won’t be leaving the compound,” he told her softly, trying to ease her fears. It’s not like he was going to run off with him. Shit! This was his home.
“Okay,” was her only answer.
Squatting down in front of his son, Sledge asked, “What do you say Son? Want to spend the day with me?” again the hopefulness was in his voice, but honestly, he didn’t care. He needed, no wanted, to spend time with Derek.
Derek squealed excitedly, jumping up and down. “I take that as a yes,” Sledge laughed. “Run back to your room and get dressed. I’ll be by in a few minutes to grab you.”
Sledge watched as his son and Beth head back upstairs. He couldn’t help the smile on his face. “Be careful Devin,” he heard his sister say.
“I’m spending time with my son, Amber. What part of that requires me to be careful?”
“I’m not talking about your son, idiot. I am talk about his mother.” Devin knew she was looking out for him. He could see the worry in her eyes.
“Honestly, I am not sure that is possible either. No matter what, Beth will always be in my life now. She is the mother of my child. But as far as anything else, I am not looking to rekindle anything. The last time burned enough.” He hugged his sister tightly and turned to make his way down the hall to get his son. Just that word was enough to bring the smile back to his face.
The afternoon flew by quickly. Sledge and Derek spent time at the pool, in the office, at the gym, and even in the garage. Sledge started to teach Derek about motorcycles - the parts and how they worked. For lunch, he ordered Derek’s favorite pizza; which happened to be his favorite too - pineapple and Canadian bacon, on thin crust. The entire day Sledge was overwhelmed by Derek. He was so smart for an eight-year-old and picked up on things very quickly. By the time they were finished in the garage, Derek could name every part of a bike, and the majority of tools used to work on one. Sledge learned all about Derek too. Favorite color, favorite animal, favorite bedtime story, and the list went on.
Walking back into the house for dinner, Sledge realized that today was the best day he’d had in a long time; and he hated for it to end. He also hated that he had missed so many years with Derek. First words, first steps, first day of school... he missed them all. And he had nobody to blame but Elizabeth and her father. Once again, the anger was back. He tried to swallow it down. He didn’t want anything to tarnish the amazing day he’d had with Derek. Later, when he was alone, he would reflect on everything else; but for now, he would concentrate on Derek.
Entering the kitchen, his eyes landed on the curvy blonde standing next to Viper. What the fuck was Beth doing talking to him?
If that fucker touches her, Devin would break his Goddamn neck! The sight before him made his stomach turn, or maybe it was his reaction to it that caused the nausea. Trying to clear his head, he made his way over to his chair, with Derek walking beside him. Sledge couldn’t help the sense of pride that filled his soul.
Taking his seat, he waited for his plate to be delivered. He could get it himself, but the club girls liked to cater to him, so he let them. Most of them did it thinking it would lead to a free ride in his bed, but Sledge wouldn’t touch the pussy of any clubhouse girl. His standards were far too high. The only club girl that wasn’t a whore was Rachel. Sledge couldn’t think of a single guy she’d fucked since being here, now that he thought about it. Once things were settled down and the latest problem was solved, Sledge would have to look into that. There was more going on with that girl than what she presented.
He came back to the present when his plate was placed in front of him. Looking up, he noticed it was Candy today. She also handed Derek a place. “For our mini President,” she smiled.
“President?” Derek asked.
“Your daddy is the President of this club.” At his confused look, Candy said, “He’s like the boss. Everyone here has to listen to him.” At that explanation, Derek smiled his understanding.
Sledge looked up to find Amber and Beth staring at him. Neither woman looked happy. Did Beth know what was happening, he wondered as Amber whispered something into Beth’s ear. He watched as her gaze narrowed. If she didn’t know before, Sledge would bet she knew now. He would have to remember to thank Amber for that bit of knowledge, he thought sarcastically. He didn’t know why, but seeing Beth get upset over a woman trying to ‘feed’ her way into his bed, made Sledge almost happy. Almost.