Annabelle
After the party, Phoenix and I discussed the Old Lady thing. I knew it was the equivalent of a marriage in most biker clubs. I also knew that once a woman was claimed in front of the club, she couldn’t do anything about it unless her Old Man unclaimed her. I wasn’t sure if once unclaimed, one could be reclaimed. Not that it mattered, Phoenix would never do that. He had claimed me, I was his Old Lady, and there was nothing I could do about it, not that I wanted to.
The next morning, I had to get up while it was still dark outside, which was rather difficult given the party the night before. I had an early flight to L.A. to catch. I knew Nathan’s schedule was tight, but he said he would have some time for me over the weekend. After Ember confessed that she really wanted Nathan to be at her wedding, I made the decision to tell him the truth about our past. That was most definitely a conversation that had to happen in person.
Phoenix drove me to the airport and walked me as far as they would allow him to go. He hugged and kissed me, fawning all over me. “I love you, baby. Be safe. Call me when you land, okay?”
I smiled. “I love you, too. I promise to call when I land.” I laughed, “You’re acting like I’m going to be gone for weeks or months. I’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“Sorry, doll face. I’m just not ready to let you out of my sight again. The last time we were at an airport saying goodbye, I didn’t see you for 20 years,” he said sadly and squeezed me even tighter to his chest.
“Oh,” I replied. I hadn’t thought about it that way. Determined, I said, “Well, that won’t happen this time. I’ll be back tomorrow. I promise.”
The flight to L.A. was uneventful, though I did manage to catch up on some missed sleep. When I landed, I was pleasantly surprised to see Wave and Token waiting for me at the terminal. I was planning on taking a cab to Nathan’s hotel. “What are you two doing here?”
“Good to see you, too, Tater tot,” Wave said with a laugh.
I waved my hand dismissively. “Oh, shush it. You know I’m happy to see you. I was just surprised.”
“Your man called and asked if we could pick you up at the airport. He sounded a little worried and we didn’t have anything going on, so here we are. You ready to go?” Wave asked.
“Yep. I’m just staying the night, so I’ve got everything I need in my backpack,” I answered.
On the drive to the hotel, I learned that Phoenix had not only asked Wave and Token to pick me up from the airport, he asked them to stay at the same hotel and return me to the airport the next day. Basically, he arranged 24-hour personal security for me. I wasn’t sure if I should be angry or flattered.
I also decided that Wave and Token needed to know what I was going to tell Nathan so they could be there for him if he didn’t take the news well. They were strong male figures in his life and he may need to talk to someone after this had time to sink in.
I kept the story short and to the point. I didn’t go into details about my feelings and all the other crap that went along with the worst period of my life. I just told them the facts of the past.
“You flew out here to tell him what you just told us?” Token asked. I nodded my head. “I’m going to make a suggestion. Maybe a little less robot and a little more human when you tell him that sordid tale you just shared.”
I felt my cheeks heat. “Sorry, I was trying to keep my emotions out of it.”
“I get that, but he’s going to need to see the emotions to understand.”
We arrived at the hotel and checked into our rooms. I wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn my room, as well as theirs, had already been paid for and were located side by side. I shook my head. That man needed to learn some boundaries, but I couldn’t blame him. Honestly, I didn’t like being away from him either. If having Wave and Token nearby eased his worries, I had no problem with it.
After getting settled, I picked up my phone to send a text to Nathan when it started ringing in my hand. Phoenix’s name flashed on my screen. Crap. I forgot to call him.
“Hey, Nix. Sorry, I forgot to call when I landed. Everything is fine. I was just shocked to see Wave and Token waiting for me,” I rushed out.
“I was worried, doll face,” he rumbled.
“I know and I’m really sorry. If you had told me you were having them meet me there, it wouldn’t have thrown me for a loop, and I wouldn’t have forgotten to call you,” I retorted.
He barked a laugh. “Doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to redden your ass when you get home for this.”
“All right, hornball, I just got here and I need to talk to Nathan. I love you, but I really don’t have time for this right now.”
“It’ll be fine, Annabelle. He loves you and he’ll understand. Just be honest with him.”
We said our goodbyes and I sent a text to Nathan to let him know I had arrived and what room I was staying in. He knocked on the door a few minutes later.
“Mom!” he exclaimed while picking me up and swinging me around.
“Holy crap, Nathan! You’ve gotten so much bigger in just a few short weeks. How is that even possible?”
He chuckled. “It’s very possible when you spend all day five days a week working out and training. Now, you want to tell me what you’re really doing here? It’s not like you to schedule a trip at the last minute.”
“You’re right. I do have a reason for coming out without much notice. Um, are you free all afternoon? This is probably going to take a while.”
“I’m free all day today and tomorrow,” he replied.
The room I was staying in had a little sitting area when you first entered. I led him over to the sofa and gestured for him to sit while I remained standing. I knew I would need to pace as I got farther along in the story. I didn’t waste any time beating around the bush. I launched right into the story, starting with Phoenix.
I told him everything. It took several hours to get through the entire story. There was yelling, crying, long periods of silence, and ultimately, forgiveness and acceptance.
“I understand why you did it, I really do. Mom, please don’t be so upset,” Nathan pleaded with me.
“I’m not crying because I’m upset, sweetheart. You have no idea what a relief it is to finally have it all out in the open. I hated lying to you. I thought about it every day, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to protect you from that evil bastard,” I explained.
“Mom, I’m glad you lied to me. I don’t know how I would’ve handled it if I had known when I was younger. I could’ve grown up with an unfounded anger against you or I could’ve grown up scared and always looking over my shoulder. Instead, I grew up happy, always feeling safe and secure,” he said.
Despite who his biological father was, my son was a good man. I was so incredibly proud of him and the way he was handling this information. “So what made you decide to tell me now?”
I cleared my throat. “Your sister. That sounds weird, doesn’t it? Anyway, your sister is getting married in two weeks and she really wants you to be there. She waited to have the wedding until they found me. Now that she knows about you, she said she would postpone it again so you could be there.”
“In two weeks? I’ll still be at training camp,” he explained.
“I know. Do you think you could fly out Friday night or Saturday morning and fly back on Sunday? Like I did this weekend?” I asked, hoping his answer would be favorable.
“I don’t know. We have the weekends free, but the trainers didn’t say anything in regards to leaving the area. Most of us are too damn tired to get out of bed on the weekends. I’ll have to ask.”
“Not to be pushy, but can you do that now? Ember and Coal want us to video chat with them this evening. I was hoping we would be able to tell Ember one way or the other about your attendance during the call.”
Nathan nodded and placed a call to whoever was in charge and explained the situation. He was told that, normally, the team members had to stay in the city during the day and were to be back at the hotel at night on the weekends. Since this was a special circumstance, he granted Nathan permission to fly out Friday evening after practice. He had to be back by Sunday evening.
With that settled, we placed a video call to Ember. She was in her office at the farm, with Coal sitting right beside her. “Hey, Mom. Is he there?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes, he is. I’m going to set my phone on the table so you can see both of us. Just a sec.” I fiddled with my phone until Nathan and I were both visible on the screen. “Okay, can you see us?”
Ember was bouncing in her chair. “Yes! Hi! I’m your sister, Ember, and this is our brother, Coal. We’re so happy to meet you!”
Nathan laughed. “Hi, I’m Nathan. It’s nice to meet both of you, too.”
We were all silent for a moment, then Coal spoke, “So this is a weird way to meet your siblings, right?”
After that, the conversation flowed. At one point, Phoenix came in and joined the conversation. I wasn’t sure how Nathan would take his presence. I didn’t want him to feel like he was an outsider in our little family, much the way I did when I first met Ember and Coal. Leave it to me to worry about nothing.
“So, Phoenix is the man you modeled my pretend father after?” Nathan asked, while we were still talking to Ember, Coal, and Phoenix.
My cheeks were on fire. “Um, yeah, he is,” I muttered.
“What was that?” Phoenix asked.
Nathan didn’t hesitate to fill him in. “When I was younger and asked about my father, Mom told me he was a Marine and he was killed during a deployment. She said her heart belonged to him and only him, which was why she never dated. She told me a lot of stories about my ‘father’ and I just wondered if those stories were really about you.”
Tears were streaming down my face. I covered my mouth with my hand to hold in the sob that wanted to escape. “Doll face, what’s with the tears?” Phoenix asked.
Nathan turned to me. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head. The words were desperate to leave my mouth, but I didn’t want to say them. Nathan put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. “Mom?”
“I wanted it to be him. He should have been your father. I love you with all my heart, but it should have been him,” I sobbed into my son’s shirt.
Nathan rubbed my back gently, trying to soothe me. After a few minutes he asked, “So, what, you want me to call him Daddy?”
I looked at my son like he was crazy and then threw my head back and laughed. Laughter from the three on the phone filled the room. My sweet boy, he always knew how to put a smile on my face.
We wrapped up the phone call, with me promising to call Phoenix later. When I told Nathan that Wave and Token were next door, he didn’t hesitate to invite them over. After some hugs and chit-chat, we enjoyed a nice dinner out. I had missed Nathan a lot, as well as Wave and Token. I made a mental note to thank Phoenix for having them tag along.
I met Nathan for an early breakfast the next morning. Then, he rode with Wave and Token to drop me off at the airport. After another tearful goodbye full of hugs and kisses, I was once again in the air.