Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

P aige was sorry to see Demo leave. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such fun. Their flirting certainly wasn’t ethical on her part but was a relief all the same. Demo had been a distraction to the worries and shame of her current life.

She looked down at her phone where the notification on the fetish site still stood open. She’d seen it come in while letting Demo rest and it had immediately soured her mood. Frankly, she was a bit surprised it hadn’t been snatched up yet. She hadn’t looked to see what the private request was. Demo’s cash and tip were still sitting on her counter. She did not like the idea of accepting a fetish modeling gig after the time they’d just spent together.

But she had to feed her babies. Demo’s treatment bill had been her standard rate of one-twenty-five and he’d given her a generous tip of fifty dollars on top of that. One-hundred and seventy-five dollars should not be the saving grace it was. But it still wasn’t enough. She was over a thousand short this month between her mortgage and insurance payments, paying back rent, and utilities. The electric company’s error helped, but it would only give her a break for maybe the next month.

Paige glanced at her phone. She shouldn’t be so ashamed of becoming a foot model. The site was anonymous, so it wasn’t like there was a glaring sign that stated she was Paige Hannigan of Mount Grove, Pennsylvania. No one knew they were her feet in those pictures and videos. She knew that some models, both men and women, did foot fetish posts for a living. She had nothing against those people. That was their choice and she did not shame them for it.

But there was a difference between choosing to become a foot model because she wanted to and becoming a foot model because she had to.

Paige had a Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. She’d spent four years of her life studying at Michigan State University with over twenty-one hundred lab hours and eleven-hundred training clinical hours. She was proud of her profession.

Perhaps part of her guilt derived from allowing Richard to talk her into quitting her job when she became pregnant with Mikey. She hadn’t wanted to quit. She’d argued against it for months, but Richard had been insistent. She knew his words were meant to hurt now. They’d been manipulative and made her already emotional state worse. He hadn’t told her she was a bad mother by staying at work. Instead, he’d said, “You don’t want to be a bad mother, do you?” She’d taken his words as genuine concern for their child.

Stupid and foolish.

After Mikey had been born, she’d discussed going back, but Richard had convinced her she would only have to quit again once she got pregnant with their next baby. “You want more kids, don’t you? ”

And she did—she still did.

The difference was, she refused to bring another child into this world without knowing she could financially take care of him or her. She was barely taking care of the two she had. If she didn’t have Cindy willing to watch them for free and had to pay a daycare to do so, she had no idea where she would be or how much deeper into financial debt she would be. Cindy might not be able to help her out with physical cash, but she was able to help her out in other ways.

Would CPS see her inability to pay for a daycare as a bad thing? Would they hold that against her?

Her anxiety spiking, replacing the joy Demo’s visit had given her, Paige turned her phone over on the reception counter. Even if the money was worth it, she was not in a good frame of mind to answer a private request. She needed to go clean the therapy room she’d just been in with Demo. After that, if her mood had improved and the request was still open, she would consider it.

She needed to find a way to better stomach those requests. She knew it shouldn’t be shameful, but it was.

“Um, Paige?”

Paige jumped at the voice coming from the front of her clinic. She quickly put down the disinfectant spray, took off her gloves, stood, and donned her lab coat. Rushing out of the therapy room, she found Kelly, the waitress from the diner, standing in her lobby.

Kelly was one of the few locals who had welcomed Paige and Richard when they’d first come to town with a smile instead of a sneer. Then, after Richard had walked out on her, Kelly had whispered to Paige that her boys could stay at the diner with her while Paige looked for work. It had been one of the sweetest conversations she’d ever had with a complete stranger. Paige had never taken her up on it but had nevertheless appreciated the offer. At the time, neither Cindy nor Ronald were speaking to her much and Paige had felt extremely alienated in an unknown town by everyone except Harper.

To this day, it made Paige wonder if Cindy or Ronald knew something about Richard walking out on her, even though they swore they didn’t. Their four-month silence suggested otherwise. But Paige was too desperate for help to argue with them. At the very least, she knew her kids were safe with their paternal grandparents. Richard might be an asshole, but his parents loved her boys.

“Kelly, hi.” Paige walked forward with a gentle smile. “What can I do for you?”

Kelly held up a white plastic bag filled with Styrofoam to-go containers. “I got your lunch order.”

Paige blinked, confused. “My lunch order?”

“Yeah.” Kelly placed the bag on the counter and then lifted a second bag with even smaller containers inside. It was just as full as the first. “Demo said you wanted your usual. I put in your garden salad with grilled chicken order and he practically balked. Told me to tell you to stop eating like a ‘fucking rabbit’. He added on an order of chicken parmesan and an order of a BLT, not knowing which one you would prefer. I also have the boys’ chicken nuggets and fruit cups here.” She put her hand on the bag with the smaller containers and said, “I hope you have a fridge or freezer in here. If not, I can hold this one at the diner for you until you’re ready to go home. I’ve got three slices of apple pie, three cups of vanilla ice cream, and three cups of caramel drizzle for you guys to pig out on later. Demo said it wasn’t a part of your order but he wanted to do something to say thank you for helping him.”

Paige’s jaw dropped. “I don’t… I didn’t…” The diner was a relatively cheap place for her to take the boys to eat. Their portions were generally big enough where she had leftovers for one or two of them for a later meal. But this order was going to take a good chunk out of what Demo had just paid her.

“Here’s your receipt.” Kelly passed over a long thermal piece of paper.

Paige took it and looked down in shock. In big red letters Paid in Full was scrawled at the top. There was even a spot at the bottom where the tip was filled in and Kelly had crossed out the delivery fee of five dollars and ninety-nine cents.

She hadn’t ordered this food and she certainly hadn’t paid for it. Obviously, Demo had. But for some reason, he made it sound like Paige had placed the order. Why? He’d made a comment before about her not eating enough, but that didn’t mean this . Who goes out and buys a massive amount of food for someone they, technically, just met? Their doctor, no less.

“So I have a question,” Kelly went on, either ignoring or completely oblivious to Paige’s shock and confusion. “I have an old knee injury from when I slipped and fell in the diner. Mrs. Groveton keeps begging me to go into Pitts to see an Orthopedic there, but I keep putting it off.” She shrugged, a little self-consciously. “I don’t really have the extra time or money for something like that. The Grovetons are great with their employee benefits, but it’s still a small-business insurance policy and the injury is old enough that insurance might not cover it. Anyway, I was wondering if you could take a look. Demo said you worked wonders on his shoulder in only one session.”

Paige felt like someone had taken an AED to her brain. “What?”

“Do you have time now?” Kelly asked hopefully. She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her white apron around her waist. “I have a little more than forty-five minutes left of my lunch break before I have to be back.”

For some reason, her statement stuck Paige as odd. “You brought me food on your lunch break?”

Kelly nodded. “Demo offered but I said I’d take it to see if you had an appointment available.”

The dead silence of the clinic should have told her that Paige had no appointments at the moment—or for the rest of the day.

“Um, yeah. Let me…” Paige glanced over her shoulder at the therapy room she’d been in with Demo. Since her clientele numbers were so low, she rarely used the second room and hadn’t cleaned it in a very long time. “I was just wiping down from my last appointment. Let me finish and I’ll be right with you.”

“Thanks!” Kelly said appreciatively.

She turned and headed towards the door. After a glance at the waiting room chairs, Kelly pulled a rag from her apron and wiped the dust from the faux-leather cushion. Paige’s cheeks flamed at the amount of dust on the chairs. How could she have forgotten to wipe those down too?

Quickly, so Kelly didn’t see her blush, Paige headed back into the first therapy room. It took her just over five minutes to finish up and get her embarrassment under control. Taking her cleaning caddy out of the room with her, Paige walked it to the lockable storage cabinet across the hall between the two therapy rooms. Then she walked down the hallway to the waiting area.

Kelly still sat there patiently. “This place is adorable,” she commented when she saw Paige enter. “I can’t believe it’s taken me over a year to come here.”

Paige walked Kelly back out to the lobby following her treatment. “Let me find you that company for the shoes you need to help with your knee pain,” she was saying. Not paying attention, she didn’t realize her lobby had another person in it.

Paige nearly skidded to a halt before she recognized Steel. The VDMC President stood with his back to them, hands clasped behind him, as he stared out the lobby window onto snowy Main Street. He turned upon hearing them enter the waiting area.

“Steel,” Paige smiled. “It’s good to see you. Give me a minute to check Kelly out.”

Kelly walked around the reception desk and did a full three-sixty spin. “Did you put the food away when you left me to relax earlier?”

Paige shook her head. She’d been so perplexed by having a second patient that day she’d optimistically gone into the other therapy room and started cleaning it up while trying to hold back tears of excitement that maybe she could get some more clients. Kelly worked at the diner and was a gossip. If she recommended Paige’s clinic, there was no doubt in Paige’s mind that she would have more clients soon.

“I saw it sitting on the counter and put it in your fridge in the back,” Steel offered. “I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t want the food to spoil.”

Had it been anyone else, Paige would have minded. If she had employees, she would call the back room a break room, but since it was just her, it was the junk room. The fridge had come with the lease and housed some of her cups for cold therapy. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else in it most of the time. Paige had stopped packing lunches for herself and didn’t have enough clientele to warrant the expense of the water machine she’d wanted to have when she first opened the clinic.

She hoped it didn’t smell, she thought offhandedly. Out loud, she said, “Thank you, Steel.”

“Yes, thank you,” Kelly echoed. She turned back to Paige behind the counter. “So, as I was saying, my mom makes scented candles and soaps. She sells them on Etsy but not enough to have her own brick and mortar store. If you don’t mind, I’m going to send her over here to talk to you. I think it would be beneficial to both of you if you could sell her products in your store. Plus, it would keep her from having to lug orders to church every Sunday.”

Paige’s heartbeat picked up with her excitement. “I would love that! Thank you, Kelly.” Paige picked up her phone to open the Point of Sale app to ring Kelly up. The waitress had already told her that Mrs. Groveton had given her cash to pay for the treatment, but Paige wondered uncomfortably if Mrs. Groveton knew how much the standard acupuncture treatment was. What if Kelly didn’t have enough cash on her or claimed the treatment was too expensive and told others in town not to come?

Paige nervously glanced at her price chart to her right on the wall. It clearly stated what an individual treatment was as well as what it would be if they bought a multi-treatment package. Should she offer Kelly a discount?

Glancing up, she caught Steel’s eye over Kelly’s shoulder. It was like the man radiated enough strength to transfer some to her. Paige straightened and squared her shoulders. She stood behind her treatment and her prices. Some of the chain clinics could offer sixty-five, seventy-five dollar treatments because they had the backing of a corporation. She had the backing of her years of experience and the small-town hospitality. Her rates might be more expensive, but she was worth that cost.

As if Steel knew the thoughts running through her head, he tipped his head slightly in approval.

Paige unlocked her phone and paused when she saw she had multiple text messages from an unknown number.

Unknown number: A salad is not lunch, Doc.

Unknown number: I still think you’re a witch. What the fuck did you do to my shoulder? I haven’t had this much range of motion in MONTHS!

Unknown number: Just in case it wasn’t obvious, this is Demo.

Unknown number: My headache is gone too. Did you dance naked in the moonlight to get your powers?

Unknown number: If you did, can I be there the next time you have to get naked?

Unknown number: Under the moonlight, of course. Don’t worry; I’ll join you so we can say we’re just naked friends worshiping the universe for our witchy powers.

Paige nearly laughed. She had to stifle it with a hand over her mouth. Shaking her head, she exited out of the messages app and pulled up her POS app.

“I know that look,” Kelly said with a sassy voice. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

Paige’s eyes flew to Steel and then back again. She couldn’t admit it was Demo because that would be extremely inappropriate. Kelly knew that Demo had just had a session with her. What would Steel say if he knew how flirty that session had gotten?

“It’s nothing,” she insisted. Danced naked in the moonlight? She shook her head again at the thought. “Your total today comes to one-twenty-five.”

“Worth it,” Kelly exclaimed. Paige let out an internal sigh of relief that she hadn’t balked at the cost. She handed over two one-hundred dollar bills. Thankfully, Paige had the ability to make change from the cash Demo had just paid with. She hadn’t been keeping much cash on hand. “This was excellent, Paige. Thank you for squeezing me in.”

Kelly’s treatment had taken longer than the forty-five minutes of her break, but she’d texted another waitress who agreed to cover her until she came back.

“Thank you for coming in,” Paige emphasized. “I’ve got you on the schedule for two weeks and here’s my card to take to your mom.” She offered the small piece of thick paper along with Kelly’s change.

Kelly waved to both Paige and Steel before heading out into the cold, her pink fluffy jacket going around her shoulders. Thankfully, it wasn’t bitter cold out today and the wind was manageable. Some days, the wind off of the mountain felt like splinters of ice against her skin.

As soon as the door closed behind Kelly, Paige turned her attention to Steel. “All right, what did you do?”

Steel was the ideal silver fox. His silver hair was thick and he’d had a closely cropped beard around his mouth for as long as Paige had known him. He stood tall at six-two and was caked with muscle. Twenty years with the Marines had given him a natural confidence Paige had always lacked. He wore all black from his long sleeve shirt under his cut down to his jeans and biker boots. Paige did not see a jacket on the wall behind him and had to question his sanity for going out in this weather without a coat on.

Steel raised an eyebrow, his face an emotionless mask. “Me? What makes you think I did anything?”

“I haven’t had this many people in my clinic since my Grand Opening when I offered a day of free services. Spill.”

“I only came by to make sure Demo came in for his treatment.”

Paige’s eyes narrowed. “I call bullshit. You did something,” she pointed at him. “Demo, Kelly, Kelly’s mom…” She held up her phone to show him her schedule. “Abby has been the only person on my Tuesday schedule for months . Now I have six people on the schedule for tomorrow?” She’d seen the notifications when she’d opened the app to ring up Kelly’s bill. “What did you do, Steel?”

“While I am flattered you think I have that sort of power over this town, I can assure you that I do not. However, I do know that Abby has been singing your praises recently. Perhaps the town is finally taking notice of your unique talent.”

His voice was too smooth, too even. But she also highly doubted that she was ever going to get a straight answer from him. She knew Steel was a straight shooter and did not bullshit his way through life like Richard did, but there was an honor about him that was rare in today’s society. He would never admit that he helped her because it would be a bruise to her pride.

Paige lowered the phone and made sure her appreciation showed through. “ Thank you ,” she emphasized. “Whatever it is you didn’t do, thank you.”

Steel’s lips twitched but he didn’t offer her one of his rare smiles. He stepped closer to the reception desk. “I owe you an apology, actually. It was an oversight on my part that you’ve been struggling for as long as you have.”

Paige felt her stomach do a little flip flop. “I don’t understand. My,” she cleared her throat, “struggles are my own. You didn’t cause them and you aren’t responsible for them.”

“There lies the second apology I owe to you.” His eyes held emotion that his face did not, Paige realized. She saw sorrow there, regret. For a man like Steel, she had to wonder how often he felt those sorts of emotions. “You’re family, Paige. The moment Lucky put a cut on Harper, you became family. Your boys too. I offered Cindy a hand of friendship a long time ago, but somehow you slipped through the cracks. I am incredibly sorry for that oversight.”

Paige’s mouth flopped open and closed for several seconds like a fish out of water. Her brain was having trouble processing the gravity of his words. He spoke as if he was royalty or nobility accepting her into his ranks or offering her the protection of his title. That might also be because Paige had a proclivity for historic romance novels full of scandal, passion, and forbidden love.

“Steel, I?—”

“You and your boys are welcome at the clubhouse at any time for any reason. Neither Lucky nor Harper has to be there. If you need something, you call me . Day or night, rain or shine. I don’t care if it’s because you need a lightbulb changed in your house or if you hear something creepy downstairs. You call me , Paige. You’re Via Daemonia . You have been and I’m sorry it took me this long to acknowledge it.”

He looked around her clinic. “Same goes for here. You’ve got Angel immediately across the street. Lucky’s studio and Jenna’s shop are on this strip too. There are many of us around at all times. Do not hesitate to reach out if you need something.”

Steel tipped his head towards the right. “We’re also looking to add a daycare on club property. As long as everything goes to plan, we’ll have it built and furnished by the spring. This would not be a community daycare center and only available to club kids—which yours are.” There was a hardness to his eyes that brooked no argument at his statement. “I know Cindy has been helping you out with childcare. It’s your choice whether you choose to continue with that, of course, but your sons are always welcome with the club. Also doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing schedule. Cindy can have them part of the time and you can bring them to the club at other times. Completely up to you,” he added.

Then he leaned forward, placing his hands on the raised portion of the desk between them. “I heard about your parents’ threat to take your boys away, Paige.” Her eyes widened as she let out a gasp, her blood running cold at his admission. The only people who could have told him were Cindy and/or Ronald. They were the only ones who knew about the threatening voicemail. “I’m here to tell you that I will never let that happen. You’re a good mom, Paige, and your family sounds like a bunch of assholes.”

Paige couldn’t help but let out a snort at his words. He was not wrong.

“If they do more than verbal threats, if they make a formal complaint about you or show up in person to take the boys, you call me. I hope this isn’t too forward of me but I contacted our attorney, Susan Black. Her specialty is business law. However, she told me to tell you to call her if anything progresses more with your parents. In the meantime, if you have anything you can use against them, text messages, voicemails, instances with witnesses, where you can prove they are not safe guardians for your boys, contact Susan and she can start the process to get a restraining order against them. Even if a complaint is made, CPS cannot place them with your parents if there’s a restraining order against them. And she said to remind you that CPS will only take the boys immediately if there’s obvious signs of abuse. Otherwise, it is a long investigation that involves multiple court hearings. Pennsylvania also does have a history of allotting grandparents rights to their grandchild, but your parents are out of state, so that should work in your favor.”

Steel pulled a business card out of the inside of his leather cut and handed it to Paige over the desk. She hadn’t realized she’d sat down until she had to stand to take it. Her hand shook as she accepted the card.

“Susan also said to not worry about your husband or a divorce. Richard lost his parental rights to your sons after six months of no-contact with them. Even if he came back today to demand custody, he would not even make it inside a courtroom.”

Paige gasped, her eyes flying up from the lawyer’s business card to Steel. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” he parroted.

A shiver ran through her body, tears of relief filling her eyes. “Thank you.” Even with Richard being the cause of her current debt, she feared his return would mean having to split custody of her boys with him. Paige quickly wiped at her eyes. “Thank you,” she repeated. “You have no idea what a relief it is to hear that.”

“I can’t help you with the divorce. Pennsylvania doesn’t acknowledge a legal separation or divorce without the signature of both spouses.” Paige nodded; unfortunately, she already knew that. “However, I can hire a private investigator to help find him. I know of a few in the area who might be able to help.”

Paige immediately shook her head. “I can’t afford that?—”

“I don’t think you heard me.” Steel’s voice was stern but held no irritation. “ I can hire a private investigator to help find him. You would not have to pay a penny.”

“No,” Paige insisted. She tried to keep her voice steady, but it wavered. “Steel, no. I can’t have you do that. That could cost thousands?—”

“The club has contacts with several PIs,” he told her smoothly. “Keys has his license for his security business, though he doesn’t do active cases often. Let me do this for you, Paige. Let me help you get the distance and separation you deserve. Let me help you be free of him.”

Paige bit the inside of her lip. It was so tempting, but she couldn’t allow Steel to take on such a burden. It didn’t matter that Steel was ‘claiming’ her—whatever that meant. Her morals could not let him carry such an expense on her behalf.

“I really appreciate the offer, Steel, but I can’t let you do that for me.” Even if he never asked for payment, she would still feel obligated to pay him back.

Steel shrugged offhandedly. “Well, it’s a good thing you’re not doing the hiring then. You see, I have a reason to find Richard myself so I’m doing the hiring and the finding. I’m just offering you the opportunity to serve him divorce papers once he’s found.”

Paige’s eyes narrowed. She’d never heard such a load of horse crap in her life. Steel had never even met Richard. What reason could he possibly have to need to find him?

“Please, Steel, whatever misplaced guilt you feel you have for not ‘claiming’ me earlier is not worth the money it will cost to find Richard. He is not worth it.” Steel seemed like the type of man who would argue if she said she wasn’t worth it. “I can wait for my divorce. I appreciate the additional business. That will definitely go a long way towards helping me. You don’t need to do more.”

Steel leaned closer. “You’re family, Paige Hannigan. There are no limits to my aid, no expense too high, no risk too great. I will guide you and protect you with all that I am. You need to wrap your head around this—preferably sooner rather than later.”

She swallowed hard. “Why sooner than later?”

Despite his nearness, there was nothing romantic about his declaration. Steel was a happily married man and loyal to his core. Paige truly believed he meant it with every fiber of his being. Like a vow that went deeper than mere words.

That rare Steel-smile she’d heard the others talk about tipped the side of his lips up. “Demo made another appointment without me having to blackmail, hoodwink, or bully him into returning. As much as I believe that your treatments could and did help him, only one thing would make that man end his stubborn streak and make another appointment to see you.” Steel tipped his chin down towards her phone on the desk. “You should probably answer his text messages before he finds a reason to stop by again to ensure you’re still alive.”

Paige’s cheeks flushed. Steel knew those flirty text messages were from Demo!

“I hope you’re prepared for his attention, Paige. When my boys fall, they fall hard and fast. Nothing will stop them from protecting and claiming their women. Demo’s no different.”

At that moment, her phone alerted to another text message. Paige glanced down to see another message from her unknown caller.

Unknown Caller: Did you eat yet? Don’t make me come back and force-feed you. You need to eat, beautiful!

Though his expression did not change, Steel’s eyes held a glimmer of arrogance. They seemed to scream I told you so at her.

Paige turned her phone over so the screen was down without responding to the text message or the ones from earlier. “Demo and I are just friends.”

Steel nodded once. “Keep telling yourself that, Paige. I give it a month before you’re wearing his patch.” Paige shifted uncomfortably. She liked Demo—she really did—but a month? That was too fast. Harper had told her being an ol’ lady was irreversible. There was no divorce in the MC world. “Still want me to not hire a PI to find your husband?” Steel asked with a raised eyebrow.

Paige fiddled with her lab coat. “I suppose finding him couldn’t be a bad thing,” she hedged slowly. Maybe she’d be able to convince him to take on his own debts and relieve her of their burden.

Steel wrapped his knuckles on the desk twice in quick succession. “Great to hear. Now, on a more serious note, what do you know about late onset multiple sclerosis?”

Paige’s back stiffened. Her eyes looked up and down, assessing Steel’s strong body. The most outwardly signs of MS were fatigue, dizziness, and muscle spasms. She saw none of that with Steel. Which meant he wasn’t asking for himself. Was it someone in the club?

“Many with MS seek out alternative medicines, including Chinese medicine. Acupuncture, acupressure, and even daily uses of certain herbs can help with MS symptoms and even slow down flare-ups.” The amount of hope on his face made her add, “I’ve seen acupuncture work miracles, Steel, but there’s no evidence that it can slow the progression.”

“But it can help relieve her pain?”

Her . Paige got a very sick feeling at the pronoun. There was no doubt in her mind whom he was asking for. Harper had mentioned more than once how rundown and tired Jenna had seemed since the holidays.

Paige nodded. “Yes. I can devise her a schedule and recommend some supplements to also help flare-ups.” She was sure he knew this already but felt the need to add. “There is no cure, Steel.”

“Do you have any more appointments this afternoon?”

His voice revealed none of the pain in his eyes. Paige couldn’t imagine Steel without Jenna or Jenna without Steel. They seemed like the perfect couple with the strength and fortitude every other couple should strive to be.

“I’m free,” she told him softly.

He nodded once and then turned to leave her clinic. Paige stood there, cold as stone, for several long minutes. Jenna? She knew the statistics, but still… MS was a difficult diagnosis. She had to fight against many odds in the coming years. Even if she did, the disease would eventually claim her life. The average was five years following diagnosis. There were many cases, more in recent years, where the patient lived to ten or twelve years past diagnosis. Treatments and new therapies were being developed each year to help with symptoms.

But no cure.

The door opened. Steel guided Jenna into the clinic, using his body almost like a shield against the elements. Paige noticed immediately why Steel wasn’t wearing a jacket—because Jenna was wearing his jacket. She certainly looked more haggard from the last time Paige had seen her before the holidays.

Paige came around the desk. “Hi, Jenna.”

Jenna was walking on her own accord, which was a fantastic sign. Paige wondered how long it had been since she’d gotten her diagnosis. She placed Jenna in her late fifties, which put her in the ‘late onset’ category as Steel had said. Despite wearing two coats, she shivered like she was still cold. “Hi, Paige. How’re you?”

“I’m doing well. The bigger question is how are you?”

Jenna shrugged, trying to brush it off but Paige saw pain mixed with fear on her face. “I’ve had better days. My hands don’t seem to want to cooperate today and I can’t seem to get warm. Jack left me in the car with the heater running on high and I was still shivering.”

For some reason, Jenna referring to Steel as ‘Jack’ made Paige’s heart clench in her chest. She’d never heard anyone but Jenna call Steel by his legal name.

Paige was glad she’d cleaned up her second therapy room while Kelly had been resting in the first. Jenna’s symptoms did not surprise her. “Let’s get you back into my room. Steel, can you grab the heat lamp from the first room?”

“Of course.”

As they walked back towards the second therapy room, Jenna said in a soft voice. “They don’t know. I haven’t had the heart to tell them.”

Paige knew instantly who she meant. “You’re going to need to tell them eventually. You’ve got a doctor and a nurse living next door to you. They’re going to figure it out.”

“I know,” she said in a sad voice. “Maybe I’m just hoping to keep from burdening them a little longer.”

“You’re not a burden!” the women heard Steel call out from the other therapy room.

Jenna caught Paige’s eye and rolled her own. “Damn his Vulcan hearing.” The affection in her voice was accentuated by her smile. Jenna had the most beautiful red-orange hair Paige had ever seen. It always shone like her hair was on fire.

Once getting Jenna settled on the massage bed, Paige said, “Let me go get a new patient chart. I’ll be right back.” Paige passed by Steel carrying the second heat lamp on her way out. “You can plug that one in over there and get both of them turned on her how she needs.”

“Paige?” She turned around in the doorway to face Steel. “Grab some food while you’re out there. You still haven’t eaten. You don’t need to stand on formality with us.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he snapped, “Eat your damned lunch, Paige. Demo would never forgive me if I let you starve while sitting here talking to us.”

The mention of Demo brought a blush to her cheeks. She nodded. “Can I get either of you anything? There was some of the diner’s pie in the bags?”

Both Jenna and Steel shook their heads. Paige left to get a new chart and the necessary paperwork and then went back into the junk room to get one of the containers of lunch Demo had delivered for her.

Despite the sadness she felt at the knowledge of Jenna’s illness, the fact that she had three patients in a row was hopefully a sign that she was going to continue to have a good day.

Demo glanced down at his phone again. Still nothing from Paige. It was possible she was busy, but too busy to reply? He didn’t like the thought of that. Had he talked to too many people today and sent multiple patients over to the clinic where she couldn’t handle them and reception herself?

Maybe he should swing by the clinic after he was done at the club’s Harley-Davidson dealership. Though he had an office at the clubhouse and the club’s bar, Demon on the Rocks , Demo also kept one at the dealership. It was just easier to keep certain papers and items in certain locations while he, his laptop, and his legal pads traveled to where he needed to go on whichever date.

When the club had first put forth the idea over two years ago to purchase the dealership up for sale, Demo had gone through the old owner’s books with a fine-tooth comb. At first, he was fearful that the owner was fudging his sales numbers. How else could he explain selling so many motorcycles in the winter in Pennsylvania? But the man was a bit of a genius. He put forth and marketed such winter sales that people would come from all over the state and even surrounding states just to get a new Harley-Davidson that they wouldn’t be able to ride for months at a massive discount. He might have sold the occasional bike, but the real sales during the winter were on merchandise. Selling the amount of shirts, helmets, and even offering discounts on maintenance and services kept the dealership running just as smoothly during the cold, unrideable months as it did during the summer. The man never went into the red over the winter.

Steel had put Demo in charge of the books for the dealership. As the club’s Treasurer and accountant, that made sense. What Demo had not been expecting was for him to suddenly have to become an expert in retail. That had been a bit of a learning curve. Thankfully, the previous owner’s records and notes were so meticulous that Demo had been able to catch on fairly quickly. After a couple of bumps and what Scotty would call an oopsie mistake, Demo seemed to have found his footing.

The biggest concern when purchasing the dealership was employees. One could not have a sales business without salesmen. The previous ownership had been family-run with only a few non-family members working. When they’d moved, they were taking a good chunk of the workforce with them. The idea had been put forth that the best representation for the club would be if the patched members were the salesman, except every patched member but Jumper already had full-time jobs and careers. Lucky had then suggested that the patched members be put on a rotating schedule. Rather than a couple of them working full-time at the dealership as salesmen, all members worked one or two part-time shifts during the week.

It had taken some finagling, and some Tetris skills Demo hadn’t known he’d possessed, but he’d finally been able to get a potential schedule to present to Steel, showing that Lucky’s idea held merit. Since then, the club had lost two members, gained two patched members, and had three new prospects. The ol’ ladies even took the occasional shift—so long as they were never left alone in the dealership.

Demo himself had purchased his hog from this dealership when it had been with the previous owner. Unlike Steel, Bulldog, and Jumper, he hadn’t come to the VDMC officer table knowing how to ride a motorcycle. Lucky, Bear, and Demo had gone through the classes to get their licenses together. Scar had just shown up one day with a motorcycle and no one had the guts to question him as to whether it was acquired legally or if he even had a license to drive it.

The service department was taken over by the club’s auto garage that Grumpy managed. Two of his techs were already certified in motorcycle repairs and one had been interested in getting the certification. Those three moved over to the dealership and Grumpy hired on new mechanics at his garage for the workload there. He’d since lost Jumper as a mechanic due to Jumper’s head injury.

Like Demo, Jumper had been severely injured in Jasmine’s kidnapping. His head injury had required surgery and resulted in him being unable to drive either his Indian or his cage for over six months. In fact, if Demo remembered correctly, he had a driving exam coming up to have his medically suspended driver’s license reinstated. While Jumper spent his days with Jasmine at her veterinary clinic and didn’t need his license during the winter, Demo knew that Jumper wanted to get it reinstated in time for Jasmine and Jumper’s honeymoon in April and May. They were taking their motorcycle with the sidecar for Aerial on a cross country trip to see some of the more famous National Parks, like Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon. They had other stops both there and back but hell if Demo could remember the long list. Their plan was to be gone approximately six weeks. A vet from Johnstown that Jasmine had worked with before and was considering offering a partnership to would be coming into town for the six weeks to cover Jazz’s clinic during her vacation.

Jasmine had taken the necessary lessons and classes to get her motorcycle driver’s permit. It meant she couldn’t drive a motorcycle without a licensed driver accompanying her, either riding behind her or separately next to her. Pirate, Jumper’s brother and Jasmine’s soon-to-be brother-in-law, had been helping Jasmine get some of her needed driving hours in prior to them having to put the sleds away for the winter. Once Jumper’s license was reinstated, the two of them could take turns driving during their honeymoon. While Jumper appreciated his brother’s help, there was also a strict rule in place that Jasmine and Pirate were to practice on separate bikes unless there was an emergency. Jumper trusted his brother implicitly, or he wouldn’t allow Pirate to be in charge of Jazz’s lessons, but that didn’t mean Jumper wanted Pirate holding onto Jazz while riding a motorcycle.

Demo certainly wouldn’t want Paige riding with any other brother unless absolutely necessary.

Fuck!

Talk about a full circle train of thought. How the hell had he gone from thinking about the dealership’s work schedule and inventory to Paige and not liking the idea of her riding as someone else’s backpack? Others might call it ‘riding bitch’ but many in the VDMC had gotten out of that habit due to Scotty and the other club kids. For a long time, Scotty, Jenna, and Sissy had been the only passengers on their club runs. It had seemed so disrespectful to say ‘riding bitch’ when referring to a child, an ol’ lady, and a young lady. The members said it when referring to each other having to double up on a bike for whatever reason, but not in deference to the women and kids.

Plus, Scotty used to run up to random members before club runs and hop onto their back, yelling, “I’m a backpack!” Then he would proceed to be carried around on his uncle’s back while everyone was still getting ready for the club run. He’d been a lot smaller back then and there had been less club kids going for rides with them. He’d had his pick of drivers because, per Scotty, Lucky drove like an old granny.

Neither Demo nor any of the other brothers felt right about saying Scotty was ‘riding bitch’. In that regard, as well as many others, the VDMC was a tame motorcycle club. They did not traffic guns, drugs, or people. They ran legitimate businesses that were neither a strip club nor a porn company, and they were looked at respectfully by the town they called home. Demo knew that if Steel had propositioned him for a one-percenter club, he would have turned him down. That just wasn’t how Demo lived or wanted to live.

He loved that family meant everything to his club and it wasn’t just talk. Every decision their club made revolved around protecting the women and the club kids.

The number of club kids had exploded recently. Steel’s kids had never really been into the motorcycle life or lifestyle. When they attended functions, they wore their cuts, if only out of respect for their father. Melanie, Steel’s daughter, had never even ridden on a motorcycle and would instead drive a cage with a prospect if she was attending a club run. So while Carter, Jordan, and Melanie were ‘club kids’, they weren’t counted on for club run numbers. Sissy had been sixteen when the club had been formed and had gone on most club runs with her dad and brother.

Now there were Bree, Aaron, Ollie, and Lila who rode with them regularly too. Bree was Angel and Cage’s paraplegic adopted daughter, Aaron was Cage’s biological son, and Ollie was a foster child Steel and Jenna were looking to adopt. All three were teenagers at fifteen, sixteen, and sixteen, respectively. While Bree had a special harness that could allow her to ride on the back of anyone’s sled with them, Angel preferred Bree ride on her Harley-Davidson Trike. The three-wheeled motorcycle provided Bree with more balance and also meant Bree could remain on the hog while parked without risking falling off or over.

With the number of ol’ ladies also increasing, the club members would soon be outnumbered. Only a few of them even rode solo anymore. Sophia wasn’t a club kid or an ol’ lady and she also had a tendency to join them for club runs.

Demo wondered if Paige would allow Mikey and Nelly Bean to ride with them. Currently, when the boys joined the guys on their outings while the ol’ ladies had their get-together, they rode in one of the cages with a prospect and the other kids too small to ride. Hell, pretty soon Demo was going to need to look into purchasing another SUV or two for the club because they were running out of room with only three eight-seaters.

In Demo’s opinion almost four and five were too young to be on a motorcycle. Bulldog allowed Lila to ride. She was almost seven and had gone through a lot of practice runs around the club property before going on her first club run last April. Bulldog also placed her specifically with Ghost, his Enforcer, and made Ranger ride tandem to keep an eye on her. Despite her mischievous nature, Lila had not caused any problems or done anything dangerous while on a motorcycle. It would seem she took Bulldog’s warning of “one mistake and you’ll be riding in cages for a year!” very seriously.

Tessa and Harper would be out for most of the upcoming season. Neither of their men would allow them to ride while pregnant and neither of them would be in any condition to ride after giving birth. That meant Bear and Lucky were able to take a club kid riding with them. Sophia was almost always riding with Pirate.

Sissy usually rode with Demo. But with her girlfriend, Sara, about to be patched over, it would make sense for Sissy to start riding with her. Which would free Demo up to have Paige?—

“Hey, man.”

Demo looked up from his desk to see Keys and Pumpkin standing in the doorway. Pumpkin had some cloth wrapping around him that strapped SJ to his front. Though not without some learning curves, the man was thriving as a single dad. Demo knew how freaked out Pumpkin had been about the idea of having a son but was exceedingly proud of his friend for stepping up as he had.

“Hey,” Demo responded automatically.

“What’re you up to?” Keys asked as they walked into the office. Keys took the chair opposite Demo’s while Pumpkin started doing some weird bouncing-walk back and forth across the office parallel to Demo’s desk.

Demo’s eyes glanced down at his laptop, only to see it had gone dark. How long had he been sitting there lost in his head and not working? “Not much,” he said nonchalantly. “Just catching up on some invoices.”

Keys glanced at the back of Demo’s laptop and then back up at Demo, clearly not believing the line of bullshit Demo had just tried to feed him.

“How did your treatment go this morning?” Pumpkin asked, his big hands rubbing up and down the back of SJ’s covered back. He wore a skullcap with the VDMC logo on the rim.

“Better than expected,” Demo answered honestly. “I can’t remember the last time my shoulder didn’t feel like there wasn’t a twenty pound weight sitting on it.”

Neither Keys nor Pumpkin responded right away. Both were just staring at him. Pumpkin had even stopped pacing.

“What?” Demo demanded.

“Dude, you’re smiling.” Keys said it like Demo had just walked on water.

Demo felt his cheeks fall and knew that Keys had not been lying. He tried to school his features better. “It’s just a relief to not have a stabbing pain every time I move my arm.”

Pumpkin’s eyes narrowed on him. Even from across the room, Demo felt like his friend was looking at him through a magnifying glass. “No, it’s not that. There’s something different about you.”

“No, there’s not,” Demo insisted. He was not sure if that was a lie or not.

“Is it Paige? Did you find something out about her parents?” Keys asked.

“No—” Demo started but Pumpkin cut him off with a loud exclamation. “It’s Paige! Holy fuck!”

Both Demo and Keys looked at him in surprise. There was an innocence to Keys’ expression, almost like confusion, that made Demo take a second look at him. The kid wasn’t that young. He knew he’d been with the Honeys at parties and such.

Pumpkin continued, pointing an accusatory finger at Demo, “You fell for her! What the hell, man? We were supposed to go down as the last of the club’s bachelors!”

Demo knew the vehemence in Pumpkin’s voice was feigned. They’d never once said such a thing to each other.

Before Demo could argue Pumpkin’s statement, Keys turned back around towards Demo. “You fell for her? How? You said you’d never met her before.”

“I hadn’t,” he told Keys. “And I didn’t,” he told Pumpkin.

“Oh, please.” Pumpkin resumed his pacing. “I know that look. You’ve got the same look on your face as the others after they met their ol’ ladies. You fell.” Then he leaned forward and slapped Keys on the shoulder. “Text the women. I need them to know I wasn’t the next to fall.”

Keys looked both shocked and confused. “Fall for what?”

“Kid, we need to get you out from behind your computer screens more if you’re not following along with this conversation,” Pumpkin told him with all seriousness.

Demo had to agree with that statement at least. “I didn’t fall for her!” he insisted again. “I like her, yes, and I enjoyed my morning with her, and I wanted to ask her out but she reminded me how unethical that would be, plus she still thinks she’s married, for Christ’s sake, and I don’t want to move too fast… I just think it’s best for us to be friends.”

Both Pumpkin and Keys stared at him for another long moment.

Demo sighed in frustration, “What?”

“Okay,” Keys nodded, “now I see it.”

Pumpkin let out a loud laugh. His son started to squirm and he quickly cut off the sound. Increasing his bouncing and rubbing his son’s back, Pumpkin said in a much lower voice, “Friends, my ass. I’d bet SJ’s entire college fund that you were daydreaming about her when we walked in here. You had the goofiest look on your face.”

Demo’s eyes narrowed on him. “You have, like, ten bucks in his fund.” Demo would know; he’d been the one to set up the fund as soon as SJ’s social security card and birth certificate had come in the mail.

“Kid’s barely three months old. I’ve got like eighteen years to build it up,” Pumpkin said with defense.

Demo chuckled. “Look, yes, I like Paige. But nothing can come of it while she still thinks she’s married.”

Pumpkin waved that off. “We’ve faked worse.”

Keys snorted. “Yeah, you helped so much with that,” he said dryly. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Pumpkin gave the kid a cocky smile before turning back to Demo. “If you like her, go after her.” Then he added, “Just make sure the ol’ ladies know you were the next to fall. Apparently, they think babies will automatically attract single women like sharks to blood and I was going to be the next to fall.” Pumpkin rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a woman to raise my son.”

Demo had to bite his tongue against reminding Pumpkin he’d been singing a different tune not too long ago. “Are they still placing bets on us? I thought that stopped after Bulldog took the last plot in the Pentagon?”

The Pentagon was the club’s name for the five houses that had been built on club property. When the club had purchased the former distillery, there had been the main building, a large garage, an outdoor pavilion area, and a lone rundown house that Steel and Jenna had moved into with their two teenage kids. One of the first projects that the club did together was rebuilding Jenna’s new house to her specifications. Nearly five years later, Lucky had added a modular home next to Steel’s house after his had been burned to the ground by Richard Hannigan. Four months after that, Bear and Angel added their homes following Tessa and Bree entering their lives. Angel’s house was handicap accessible and designed specifically for a wheelchair user. The four houses had remained there for nearly six months with no club member claiming the fifth and final plot in the pentagon shaped area.

Then Abby had returned to Bulldog’s life.

“It did,” Pumpkin nodded, “but they recently started it back up again. Something about the next plot of land…” He shrugged. “I don’t know about you but I have no desire to move out of the clubhouse anytime soon. Steel even gave me permission to turn my apartment into a double with the one next to mine once SJ gets old enough to need his own room.”

Demo was impressed by that news. Steel would have never allowed that if the Honeys were still around. He wondered if it would affect any of the single men living in the clubhouse to have a kid living in there too. Before club kids had only visited the clubhouse, but none lived there.

Then Demo frowned. He hadn’t included himself in that wondering.

He was single. Nothing about Paige’s and his flirting during his treatment that day had changed that. And yet…

Demo didn’t want to be single anymore. He hadn’t since he’d gotten shot. But he also hadn’t been actively looking for a woman. Between healing, therapy, and the nerve damage, finding a woman had been put on the back-burner.

Paige had been right under his nose for nearly two years. He knew a lot about her life from tearing apart Richard’s finances with Keys. But today had been the first day he’d spoken with her. If only he’d known…

Known what? It was ridiculous to think he was in love with her. He didn’t believe in love at first sight. Love took time, energy, and commitment.

But hadn’t Bear taken one look at Tessa and known? Lucky made it sound like he’d been hit with a sledgehammer rather than Cupid’s arrow when he’d laid eyes on Harper for the first time. Jumper had been secretly in love with Jasmine for four years before the two of them got together. Despite his womanizing ways, Cage claimed he knew he wanted Angel from the very beginning but overheard her tell another brother that she would castrate any patched member who tried to hit on her with a dull spoon.

Abby and Bulldog were in a league all their own that transcended the laws of physics, time, and space.

Was it so out of the realm of possibility that Demo had fallen for Paige after just one meeting? His eyes landed on his phone next to his right hand. He’d been checking it all day like a dumbstruck teenager who had given his number out to his first crush and wondering why she hadn’t texted him back yet. Hell, he’d just been considering going back to her clinic to check on her because she wasn’t answering him.

Keys tilted his head. “What’s going through your mind?” Demo noticed he’d been squinting his eyes more recently and wondered if the kid needed glasses.

“Contemplating how much stalking I can get away with before it becomes creepy,” Demo muttered without thinking. Then felt his cheeks heat when he realized he’d said that out loud.

Pumpkin threw his head back and laughed. “None! Fuck, man, you have it bad.”

Sadly, Demo wasn’t sure he could argue with his friend.