A hundred feet away from the clubhouse, Sydney carried Stassi in her arms as Jackie walked beside her. Jett planted his boot on the bench of the picnic table and leaned his forearm on his bended knee watching the small group walk through the field. Instead of joining the women on Family Day, Sydney chose to entertain his little sisters away from everyone.

For the last two weeks, he'd witnessed Sydney fall into a depression. She continued to clean, cook, and sleep with him every night but she refused to open up or answer his questions with more than a yes or no.

Nothing he'd tried bolstered her spirit. Every day that passed without her sass, he felt her slipping away from him.

"I don't trust her with my kids," said Chief.

"I do," said Johanna. "I'm not leaving her alone with them, but I've seen how she treats them over the last month. She's really good with Jackie and answers all her non-stop questions and Stassi is fascinated with her and settles contently when she's held."

"Don't let our kids out of your sight."

"I never do." Johanna kissed Chief. "Don't be so hard on the girl."

Jett stayed out of their conversation. How Chief wanted his kids raised was up to him. Those kids were the only thing that made Sydney smile lately, and Johanna wasn't the only one watching her. He practically stalked Sydney twenty-four/seven to make sure she didn't do something foolish like try to run away again.

A group of Brikken members shouted in amusement over at the line of motorcycles. He glanced over at the barbecue where the women gathered, chatting and laughing. Family Day was planned around the success of shipments of chopped motorcycles to California. A day of celebration for the men and a gathering for the women. The children, depending on age, broke off into small groups—some flirting, while the younger ones chased each other around.

He'd spent his whole life within the club. Since walking out of prison, he'd set himself apart. His future as the president weighed heavily on him. While his father raised him for the responsibility, he'd hit the age where he wondered if he'd be able to settle down like Chief, like Rollo.

He gazed back out at Sydney. She'd sat down in the field with his sisters. He could see her mouth moving and Jackie's rapt attention on her. Sydney had Stassi cradled in her lap. The baby flapped her arms at the sound of Sydney's voice.

Sydney brought contentment to him, despite her reluctance to be with him. He'd never had a moment in his life where he felt like he needed someone. Surrounded by his brothers, his mom, Chief, he also had all of Brikken. Even during his time spent in prison, he had Brikken members within the penitentiary so that if problems came up, they were only a phone call away.

But, something about Sydney made him crave time spent with her. Hell, they could both be silent, and he was content to have her near him. He spent hours enjoying the way she moved. She took eating a cold slice of pizza and made him happy to watch her take each bite and pick off the pineapple to save until last.

She brushed her hair in quarters. First the sides, then the back, and she bent at the waist and brushed underneath. There was no explanation for how she went about the simplest things, he only knew she was different.

He walked toward the corner of the building and cut through the field, approaching Sydney from behind. Unnoticed, he stopped within ten feet of her and listened.

"What did they do?" asked Jackie, getting up on her knees. "Did they cry?"

"Oh, no." Sydney's soft voice caressed his stomach. "The two sisters held each other's hands and very bravely approached the wild ivy that hung from the sky and climbed, and climbed, and climbed until they were standing on top of the cloud."

Jackie scooted closer to Sydney. "They didn't fall through?"

"No."

"What was up there?"

Sydney swayed side to side with the baby on her lap, curving her upper body to keep the sun off Stassi's skin. "Everything a little girl could want."

"Candy?"

Sydney laughed. "Yes, lots of candy."

"A swing?"

"A very sturdy swing that swung by itself. They didn't even have to pump their legs." Sydney held still. "And, parents."

"Momma and Chief can come up to the cloud, too?"

"Yes." Sydney inhaled loudly. "You'll have to share the story with your mom, so she knows the stories are only pretend, okay?"

Jett caught up in the lies, tried to understand why Sydney was making up stories for his little sisters. He barely remembered his mom reading books to him, Olin, and Thorn. None of them had been big on sitting still for long, but he had to have been interested in make-believe as a child.

"Jett!"

He looked at Jackie. "You being good, sister?"

"I am." Jackie scrambled to her feet and jumped up and down. "Sydney knows how to play on top of the clouds. The big fluffy ones and you can jump up high. Can you play there, too?"

Little girls were out of his scope of knowledge. Since Jackie had been born, he'd learned that nothing was written in stone. One week, Jackie liked racing after butterflies and the next week, she'd break out in tears if one landed on her arm. Last month, she wanted to learn how to ride her big kid bike and earlier today, she'd informed him that she was going to ride her tricycle forever because she didn't want to hurt the trike's feelings.

He squatted. "Nope, I don't walk on clouds."

Jackie turned her head. "Sydney is that true?"

"Of course, it is." Sydney smoothed the wispy hair on top of Stassi's soft head without looking in his direction. "Everyone knows boys aren't allowed on top of the clouds to play. Only daddies."

"But, I want my brother to go." Jackie pursed her lips and leaned against him, wrapping her slim arms around his neck.

Amused at the way she currently called him Brudder, he rubbed her back. "Girls need a special place to go. Men have Brikken, right?"

"The clouds aren't real," she whispered loudly. "We're pretending."

"Ah...I see." He stood.

Jackie ran away. He yelled at her to stop. Surprised she listened, he said, "Where are you going?"

"Karla's here." Jackie pointed. "I'm going to see if she knows about the clouds."

"Go ahead." He turned to Sydney who'd stood up with the baby in her arms to watch Jackie dart across the field.

Sydney stepped forward, following Jackie. He strode after her and slipped his hand under her arm and stopped her.

"She's fine. Johanna is standing outside the clubhouse watching her." He waited until Sydney found Johanna in the crowd and assured herself that his sister was being watched.

"Who's Karla?" asked Sydney.

"My mom. Jackie's safe with her."

Sydney nodded and pulled away from him. He stopped her from distancing herself.

"Give me the baby," he said.

She frowned and reluctantly gave him his baby sister. While the others had eaten, she'd entertained the kids.

"I'll walk you over and get you a plate of food." He headed toward the front of the clubhouse.

She never argued that she wasn't hungry or admitted she was starving. Every day, she followed his suggestions without a word.

He was damn tired of her silence.

At the barbecue, he had Deana, Keeffe's wife, fix a plate and then took Sydney over to a vacant picnic table in the shade and sat down. Stassi had gone to sleep in his arms, and he motioned Johanna over to take her baby.

Alone with Sydney, he watched her eat. Used to women catering to him, he had to work at involving himself in her life. The only time he felt he had her completely was in bed at night, and he spent the whole time holding her, hoping that she would turn toward him.

His patience left days ago. His balls ached. And, he wanted her attention. He wanted her to want him.

"When you're done eating, we're going on a ride," he said.

He'd already tried pushing her into hanging with the members of the club. She'd hung back or sat there, contributing nothing to the conversations. Knowing her sass, he'd assumed she'd join in on the teasing and bullshit. She hadn't.

When he brought her to Family Day, she instantly took responsibility for his little sisters, alienating herself from the daughters of the members who were around her age.

Taking her off the property, alone, he hoped she'd find whatever spirit she needed to get out of the funk she'd fallen into.

Sydney concentrated on her plate, eating one bite after another. He doubt she tasted any of the food. Eating was only one more chore she completed to keep from answering him.

Maybe if he took her away for a few hours, she'd rely on him. His leg bounced and he found himself agitated. He needed to be alone with her.

Sydney straightened, pressing a hand to her stomach. His gaze lowered to her breasts. She had no idea how the simplest movements appealed to him.

She had a way of clicking her tongue before she talked, when she wasn't guarding her words. The more animated she became, whether that was upset, excited, or scared, the more she played with her hair. She'd sweep it over her shoulder or run her fingers through the strands only to bring the ends up and inspect them. What she looked for escaped him.

It'd been awhile since she'd let herself be happy, or at least relaxed around him. As long as she stayed keyed up and kept her thoughts to herself, he wasn't going to be satisfied with the duller and depressed girl.

He wanted the Sydney he knew back.

"I'm done," she said, picking up the paper plate.

"Run up and grab the extra helmet and sunglasses out of our room and meet me at my motorcycle." He watched her hurry away with more energy than he'd seen in her in a while.

He rubbed his hand over his mouth and down his beard. Finally, he found something she looked forward to doing with him.