Chapter Ten

Anna

Taz has been a bit stressed the last few weeks. I don’t know exactly why but I’m sure part of it is the chat Axel and Voodoo came over to have with me. I was surprised when Scott called to tell me they were coming over and to not freak out if I saw Tigger hanging around or being wherever I was. I know better than to ever ask about club business, which is why Axel’s words shocked me.

“Anna, I won’t tell you what the club vote was,” Axel begins to say. He quickly notices that I am starting to panic and adds, “Just know that we are going to take care of the situation. It is going to be awhile before anything happens though. We are looking into a few things and we want to see if he tries to step up and claim CeCe or help you in any way. If he tries to contact you, let only me, Voodoo, or Taz know. This needs to stay quiet for now. The brothers know the past, but the three of us decided to see what he tries to do next.”

“I won’t say that I am happy that he will be allowed to try to contact me,” I say to the room, “But I will tell one of you immediately. He better not show up here though or I make no promises as to what will happen. He is not getting close to my daughter.”

“Tigger is not gonna let anyone other than the three of us near your door,” Scott tells me, resting his hand on my bouncing leg. “He knows what is going on and is more than happy to be trusted to protect you and CeCe. He is pissed he didn’t see what was happening that night and is looking at this as his redemption.”

CeCe lets out a cry and all three of them jump up to go get her. Taz has a huge grin on his face as he reaches her first and the others just glare at him. I burst out laughing at the dejected look on Scott’s face when he doesn’t get to hold her right away. Taz quickly changes her diaper while Axel ribs him about being domesticated. My man acts like he doesn’t even hear him, while he coos at ‘his princess.’ I move over to CeCe and take her away from him, which earns me a frown especially when I hand her to Scott and ask if he would like to feed her. Axel tells Scott he is gonna teach CeCe to call him “Uncle PooPoo” which makes Taz and I almost fall over with laughter while Scott flips Axel off.

After CeCe eats two jars of peaches, she and Scott both need a bath. I quickly clean her up and find Axel waiting for me to hand her over. He takes her into the nursery and rocks her to sleep. Taz and I take the moment to sneak a few pictures that I am sure will be passed around later to the club. But this is one of those moments that you can’t pass up taking a picture of.

Axel’s phone rings, and whatever is said sends Scott and Taz to their bikes to follow him. They all give me a kiss on the forehead as the leave, but Taz comes back for a kiss that leaves me wishing he could stay. I see Tigger sitting across the street and give him a quick wave. I’ll need to talk to Taz later about that. If he is going to keep people from my door then it seems he would need to be closer. When Taz is gone I guess he could be in the living room. But I will think about that later.

After locking up the door, I decide that I’m going to take a nice hot bubble bath and let the worries wash away. I must have fallen asleep while in there, because my ringing phone wakes me up. As i quickly dry off and reach for my phone. It says caller unavailable but last time that was DCF. When I answer it all I hear is breathing then it disconnects. It makes me a little nervous, but I shrug it off as a wrong number and head to bed. I got a new nightie since Taz liked the last one so much and decide that I will wait for him in that. It is in the early hours of morning before I hear him drag his tired body to bed. Once he is in bed I curl into his side and feel him totally relax as we both slip into sleep.

I try to sneak out of the bed so he can get some more rest when I hear CeCe. She is cooing and trying to eat her feet when I walk into her room, I take my time getting her dressed and ready for the day. After putting her in her highchair while I start the coffee and get her cereal made, I hear her saying her first word. “Da da da da da da da da,” of course it was not mama but whatever. I turn to cheer her and see Taz sitting in front of her. He has a look that is a combination of awe and hope. I walk over to them, while keeping my eyes on him.

“Yes, my angel that is da da.” I say, seeing the biggest smile on both their faces as he grabs me, pulling me on his lap for a hug.

“Baby girl are sure that is what you want?” he asks me cautiously. “Cause if we’re going down that road, there’s no going back.”

“You are the man I want her to look up to and I am hoping that you plan to stay around. I don’t expect you to make me your old lady. I just want us to be together however that looks.”

“I want us,” he tells me. “I was not looking for you or CeCe when I came here. I never expected to fall in love with either of you, but I did. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

“I was positive I would never even like another man after what happened,” I say with tears falling down my face. “I would never even think to dream that my life would be this amazing. I have my daughter, whom I expected to watch grow up from a distance, and I have sexiest man by my side, who I love with my whole heart. I thank God that you broke down that day.”

CeCe decides she needs in on the love fest and begins whining until I pick her up from her highchair. Placing her on our lap, she leans in for some cuddling. Taz tells me that he will feed her while I get dressed then we can go to the Cookhouse for our breakfast. CeCe will get lots of attention there as it is where the club will most likely be grabbing breakfast themselves.

When we arrive, I see I was correct. There are several bikes in the parking lot. Walking in the door, I see Scott making a bee-line for us before Axel has a chance. It makes me laugh to see these two grown men fight over who gets to hold my daughter. I am glad I put the vest on that he had made for her. When we get to the table, I see that Axel knew we were coming as he has a new toy for her. It is a little stuffed toy shaped like a wrench. She is going to grow up to be a mechanic if he has his way. I don’t care what she does because I know she will be surrounded by love. To the outside world, these men might look rough around the edges and gruff. To me, they’re family and I wouldn’t trade a single one of them for anything in the world. Skid is the only one that I want nothing to do with. If I never see him again it will be too soon.

Hearing the bell ring as the door opens, I turn and watch as Skid walks in. I tense and see that several of the club members look at me. Taz and Scott both lay a hand on my leg in support. The only thing I want to do is jump up and scratch out his eyes, but I just go about reading the menu as if I don’t know it by heart since I hear meals ordered off of it daily. Axel takes CeCe from Scott’s hands when Skid walks over towards him. Scott stands to meet Skid so he can let him know whatever errand they made up for him to go do. Not one single time does Skid look at me or my daughter. He acts as if we’re not even sitting at the table with the men. Once Skid leaves the diner, everyone releases a sigh of relief.

“Well, that went fairly well,” I giggle as I pick up my cup of coffee. CeCe takes that moment to let everyone hear her new word, much to Taz’s enjoyment. The club looks over to gauge my reaction. “What can I say? She has laid her claim!”

The rest of breakfast goes off without a hitch. I notice that Scott and Taz are exchanging a look, which in turn has Axel making a phone call. They are up to something, but I have no idea what. Turtle tells me that he has seen the court date for next week for CeCe’s custody. I gasp at hearing this but should not be surprised that he is watching the courts. He tells me that no one else has filed any claim on her so that should make this an easy win. The idea that I might not get to keep her fills me with fear but Taz puts his arm around me and says that no one is tearing apart our family.