4. Rory

4

Rory

“ G ood morning, Brother. What are you up to?” Sebastian asked when he answered the phone.

“Not much. Trying to concentrate on this brief and prepare for a deposition. I can’t seem to focus. The words are kind of swimming around in front of me.”

“When’s the last time you had a vacation?”

“It’s been a while. I guess I need to schedule one of those,” Rory said. “Maybe I should take the kids to Disney World or something like that.”

“They would probably like that. You can take their pretty new nanny, too.”

“I think they would like that. They’ve become very attached to her,” Rory said. “That’s actually why I’m calling.”

“Uh-oh, what has she done that has your dander up?”

“Nothing. She is perfect with the kids. Like I said, they adore her. Her references checked out, and Conner seems to think the world of her.”

“So, what’s the deal?”

“I don’t know why, but I feel like she is hiding something from me. There’s no specific reason for it.”

“Do you think that maybe it’s because your job has you a little paranoid about everyone?” Sebastian asked.

Rory laughed and said, “That is a possibility. I’ve seen some of the worst that humanity has to offer wrapped up in the persona of a sweet, little old lady schoolteacher.”

“Hopefully, you don’t have a serial killer taking care of your children,” Sebastian said. “I’ll see what I can find out about the secret life of one Savannah Winters from Cheyenne, Wyoming.”

“I appreciate it.”

He had a chance to go home for lunch. Rosa was just about to call the kids into the kitchen when he walked through the door.

“I’ll go get them,” he said.

He heard a lot of laughter coming from out back. It seemed that Drake, Cat, and Savvy were having a jump rope contest. Ropes were flying, feet were jumping, and everyone was smiling as they competed to see who could continue jumping the longest. Savvy saw Rory and purposely tripped on the rope, disqualifying her from the contest.

“They have me outjumped,” Savvy said, laughing. “I was starting to get tired.”

“We should continue the contest after lunch. Rosa says that it’s time to eat,” Rory said.

Both kids immediately stopped jumping and handed their ropes to Savvy so they could go wash their hands.

“I think they were starting to get a little tired, too,” Savvy said. “Although they would rather die than admit it.”

“They might be a little stubborn that way, like their father.”

“I don’t know their father well enough to judge, but I will agree with the stubborn part,” Savvy said as she headed up the stairs to put the jump ropes away.

Rory watched her walk and thought, Very nice ass. Then, Knock it off. She’s your kids’ nanny, and she’s off limits.

Still, he couldn’t help but admire the beautiful woman. If it were under any other circumstances, he would definitely be hitting on her.

He noticed that Drake’s and Cat’s table manners had improved in the short time that Savvy had been around.

When they finished eating, Drake asked, “Can we finish our contest now?”

“You have to let your food settle for a while. If you go out there and start jumping on a full tummy, your lunch will revisit you, and not in a good way.”

Both kids made a face and rubbed their stomachs.

“How about if we work on our cloud posters for a while, and then we can finish jump roping later,” Savvy suggested.

“Just remember, you got out so it’s between me and Drake,” Cat said.

“I will remember,” Savvy said.

Rory watched as she got down on the floor with them and they talked animatedly about the different types of clouds. Her face was almost angelic, and he could smell the jasmine and her essence. It drew him in like a hypnotic drug. He remembered the look on her face when she saw him naked and wondered what it would feel like if she touched him.

“How is this, Savvy?” Cat asked.

“Perfect. You have them at the right levels and shapes,” Savvy said. “I forgot, though. What are clouds made of?”

“Water vapor,” they both said at the same time.

Rory clapped and they all looked at him as though they didn’t know that he was there.

“Do you want to join us?” Savvy asked.

As much as he wanted to lie down on the floor next to her, he said, regretfully, “I would love to, but duty calls.”

He hugged the kids, smiled at Savvy, and left. On his way, he saw Mark leaning into a car window. He shoved something into his pocket and passed off a small envelope. Rory pulled up behind the car, which took off in a hurry.

“Rory, what are you doing here?” Mark asked nervously.

“Heading back to work. What did I just see?”

“You didn’t see anything.”

“Uh-huh. I’m pretty sure that I just saw a drug deal go down. Are you using, dealing, or both?”

“Neither,” Mark said. “I just delivered a letter that was sent to my house by mistake. The guy tipped me for it.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?”

“I don’t give a damn what you believe,” Mark said.

“If I called the police, what do you think they would find if they searched you?”

“Nothing I shouldn’t have,” he said.

“I think I’ll call your bluff,” Rory said.

“Look,” Mark said, pulling his pockets inside out. “Nothing but a little cash.”

He was right. There was nothing. Rory was pretty sure that was because he had already sold the drugs he had on him.

“You can’t toss me out of the club for having cash. I bet you have more than this in your wallet,” Mark said. “You have no proof that I’m doing drugs.”

“If it was just up to me, you would go. However, it’s not, so you’re safe for now. But you need to make sure that you aren’t doing anything stupid.”

Mark gave him a mock salute and then roared off on his motorcycle.

Rory called Sebastian when he got to the office and told him what he saw and about the conversation.

“It sounds like he’s dealing,” Sebastian said.

“Matthias thinks so, too. The bear shifter clan is looking into it. If there is proof, they will exile him. He’s not well-liked by the clan and doesn’t contribute to the clan.”

Rory was good friends with Matthias, the alpha of the bear shifter clan who hung around the same area that the wolf shifter pack did.

“We could bounce him on principal,” Sebastian said.

“That is an option, but we agreed to take a majority vote, and most would say innocent until proven guilty.”

“You’re right. Maybe Matthias can come up with something. I’ll have my guys nose around some, too, when they get a chance.”

The Griffins held a meeting at the clubhouse after dinner that night. Sebastian stood up and called for everyone to settle down.

“We’ve had word that the Silver Fangs bike club has been wreaking havoc in the area,” Sebastian said. “They are suspected of several robberies and a couple of muggings. They destroyed the bar in the town just south of us after one of them started a brawl. They almost tore the entire thing down.”

“What are we going to do about it,” one of the Griffins asked.

“Nothing, unless they come to Angel’s Creek. We aren’t the law and we aren’t vigilantes. The law enforcement and shifters in those areas can take care of the problem.”

Several people grumbled and one woman spoke up, “It’s people like that who give motorcycle clubs a bad name.”

“You’re right, but again, we aren’t law enforcement and we aren’t vigilantes. We’ll defend our territory if we have to, but we aren’t going to initiate an attack,” Sebastian said.

A few people grumbled, but they weren’t going to go out on the attack by themselves.

“Who are they?” another Griffin asked.

“From what I understand, they are a bunch of shifters who were exiled by their packs and clans. They are not what we would call upstanding citizens,” Sebastian said.

“If you do happen to come across any of these guys in our territory, let either Sebastian or me know. We’ll decide what course to take. That’s all for now.”

Everyone started talking at once. The beer was passed around and money was placed on the pool tables for friendly bets.

After hanging out for a while, Rory headed home. He was a little disappointed to see that Savvy wasn’t on the deck. He would have liked to hang out with her.

The next day, he decided to work from home, although he spent most of his time watching Savvy and the kids. She got them up and dressed and down to breakfast by eight. Then, she took them outside and let them run around and play for an hour. They went into the house and did a science lesson and came back outside and lay on the grass, looking at the clouds.

Colby noticed him watching the kids from the patio window. “She’s good with them.”

“I’ve never seen them so well-behaved,” Rory said. “I think they listen to her even more than they listen to me.”

“She’s prettier,” Colby said.

“You think that’s what it is?” Rory laughed.

“It has to be.”

“What do you think of her?” Rory asked.

“Rosa, Amy, and I love her to death. She has a magnetism that draws people to her.”

“Like a moth to a flame? I just hope no one gets burned,” Rory said.

“My, my, my, what cynicism.”

“Can you blame me?” Rory asked.

“No, I ’spose not.”

That afternoon, he took the pups for a run, making sure that Savvy was in the house before he stripped, although he did like the look on her face when she saw him the first time. It certainly boosted his ego.

As they meandered through the trees, he and the kids talked telepathically.

“How’s Savvy working out for you guys?”

“We love her,” Cat said. “She’s like having a mom.”

“Even though she makes us do schoolwork,” Drake added.

“What kind of schoolwork?”

“We’ve been learning about weather,” Drake told him. “We made a book about different kinds of weather.”

“We add stuff and read books,” Cat said.

“She makes us write sentences, too,” Drake said.

“Is that a bad thing?” Rory asked, amused.

“No,” Drake and Cat said at the same time.

“She’s helping me write a story about my favorite superhero,” Drake said.

“That sounds fun,” Rory said.

“She plays games with us, too,” Cat said.

Drake added, “She’s pretty.”

Rory laughed and asked if pretty was a requirement.

“No, but it helps,” Drake said. “That’s what Uncle ’Bastion says.”

“Remind me to have a conversation with your uncle.”

They ate dinner together as a family, with Colby, Rosa, and Amy joining them as always. Then, the kids announced that they wanted to play Sorry!.

“Savvy, you have to play, too,” Cat said. “We have to all gang up on Daddy.”

“That’s not very nice,” Savvy said, taking her place at the table as Drake set up the game.

“All’s fair in love and war,” Cat said gravely.

“Where did you hear that phrase from?” Savvy asked.

“Uncle ’Bastion,” Drake answered.

“Definitely going to talk to him,” Rory said.

After a couple of games, which the kids won, Savvy ushered the kids upstairs for their showers. Rory read to them and put them to bed.

He found Savvy on the deck with some sweet iced tea and a book.

“Mind if I join you?” Rory asked.

“Of course not,” Savvy said.

“The kids love you,” he said.

“I’m pretty fond of them, too,” she said.

He sat down and she asked, “Why did you decide to start a motorcycle club?”

“Sebastian and I loved to ride motorcycles. We’ve been riding since we were little. Mom and Dad started us off with dirt bikes and rode everywhere. In our younger days, we did a little motocross and river races. Then, we discovered the world of street bikes. There is something about the freedom of riding a motorcycle everywhere that is more magical than being in a truck or car. The wind hitting our face and seeing the world is amazing.”

“Sounds awesome. Unfortunately for me, I struggled to keep my balance on a bicycle. I can only imagine what a motorcycle would do to my poor face, elbows, and knees.”

“Maybe a trike?” he asked.

“I wrecked by Big Wheels.” She laughed. “So how did you and Sebastian become a club?”

“We knew other people who liked to ride and they started joining us on adventures. They knew people, who knew people,” he said. “We decided to become a formal club. We like to do charity runs and, of course, we honor the fallen. Mostly, though, we just like to hang out and ride when we can.”

“You must suffer from withdrawal when it’s snowing or icy out,” she said.

“I do,” he says. “What do you do for fun?”

“I’m pretty boring. I hang out with Beth, Taryn, and Conner. I like to read and the theater. Over the last few years, I’ve seen a few off-Broadway shows. I love nature and enjoy botanical gardens and zoos that really take good care of the animals.”

“Not too boring. Sounds relaxing in your own way. We’ll have to take the kids to the zoo and other places,” Rory said. “They really love having you around. They said you were like having a mom.”

“That’s sweet. Can I ask what happened to their mother?”

Rory sighed and said, “Eva is still alive. She went on a reality show and got discovered. A soap opera producer invited her to try out for a part. She left when Drake was a year old and has been a star ever since.”

“I can’t imagine anyone leaving these kids behind, especially their mother,” Savvy said angrily. “I’m sorry. It’s not my place to judge.”

“It’s all good. I’ve thought the same.”

“Their mother is missing out on so much. They make it easy to love them. They are such great kids. It does help that they have an involved, caring father.”

Rory smiled. They held each other’s gaze for a minute, and Rory felt his heart beat faster.

She shook her head lightly and said, “I need to get to bed. I have a busy day with the pups tomorrow. Good night.”

She touched his arm as she walked past him, sending a wave of heat exploding in his body.

If just that simple touch sets me off, imagine what throwing her down on the bed and having sex would be like. Rory felt himself start to get hard. She’s the nanny and is off-limits. Cold shower and bed.