Chapter Eight

R oam grabbed a cup of coffee on his way into council. He was running on fumes. They'd moved Sprite in and then he'd spent a small part of the evening spending time with his kids. The twins, Georgia and Casper, were cranky and hadn't settled down to sleep until after midnight. At three in the morning, they'd both woken up and woke up their older brother Grant. At four in the morning, he'd given up trying to get everyone to sleep in their own beds and taken them to his.

Even though he lived with his parents, no one came during the night unless he asked. And he didn't ask. He'd gladly accept everyone's help during the day, but he could take care of his kids.

When he'd first moved in, his queen size bed was in the middle of the room. After being there a couple nights, he'd moved his bed so the left side was against the wall. Grant liked being there and then he could put the twins in between them. Georgia had still been restless and ended up kicking him in the crotch multiple times until he got her settled. He wasn't walking crooked this morning, but he was aching.

He'd given War so much crap when Remi nailed him in the balls, and he figured today was just a karmic payback. He settled in his seat and prepared to give War his answer. When War and the guys returned, they'd all accepted officer positions in the club. Although War had pushed for him to accept VP, he couldn't. Not only because he wasn't suited for the job but becoming a single parent overnight had him scrambling. In a couple months, the guys would have been here a year and War deserved to have his support.

Having his house almost done and ready to move into, along with Sprite at the shop, would give Roam the time he needed to be an officer in the club.

"Okay, let's get this started," War grumbled as he sat down with two cups of coffee in front of him.

"Why are you grumbling? You're the dick president that set our morning meeting for six a.m.," Cannon groused.

"It's the only time everyone was available before work and tonight they've got a huge ‘welcome to the MC party' for Sprite, Clara, Blake and Oakley," War said, glaring around the table while gulping his first cup.

"Oh yeah, speaking of Sprite. Is she available? Those tatts and that pink hair are sweet," Speedy asked.

"No, she fricking isn't up for grabs. Hands off," Roam snarled.

Flick and Bear handed money to Cannon.

"Seriously, I had the fifteen-minute mark but didn't know Speedy was Cannon's ace in the hole. How much did he pay you, Speedy?" Flick asked.

"We're splitting the winnings. He said the rules of the bet didn't say a non-betting brother couldn't mention it."

Roam smirked, seeing all the glares around the table toward Cannon.

"Well, should we order a property cut? Do we need to plan on moving her stuff along with yours into your new house?" War questioned.

"Okay, it's too early in the morning and we need to be at the shop on time. I'm her boss. Roam plans on dating her but how about we cut him a little slack," Rascal said.

Roam hid a smile because Rascal had become softer when he fell in love with Meg. He'd always had the soft center but usually was one of the ones teasing the other brothers. Roam didn't care how it happened, but he was happy to have Rascal take some of the pressure off him.

"Okay, so we have two items to discuss. The treasurer position and the secretary position. Now, Mom and Baron have been covering the treasurer position, but we need to make a decision. Any discussion."

Roam stood up to get everyone's attention. "I appreciate the time you've all given me with becoming a single dad and dealing with all the paperwork of her leaving. With us hiring Sprite and finally having the hang of being a single dad, I'm ready to take on treasurer. I already do the books for Bluff Creek Ink along with the gun range. I think I can add on the other businesses, the MC account and other duties. I can't thank you all enough for giving me the extra time and taking on extra duties. Brotherhood feels pretty good and I'm ready to do my part."

"We were glad to give you the time, but your mother and I would be thrilled for you to take it over," Baron said.

"All in favor of Roam assuming the Club Treasurer position along with receiving the officer's pay for this position?"

All his brothers supported his nomination and relief washed through Roam. He'd known the brothers had his back, but sometimes, the doubts of how Shanna had made him feel less-than overwhelmed him.

"Congratulations, brother. I'll leave it up to you to visit with Baron and Mom on how you take it over. Now, on to Club Secretary. Scoop has been covering it along with tech. Scoop, are you interested in continuing to hold both positions? If so, we need to make it official."

Scoop shook his head no. "With the amount of leads we're tracing and the hours we're spending checking, it's more than I can handle. Sarah and I haven't had a free night this week and it's not sustainable long term."

"Nominations for the position or does someone else want to cover?"

"I think Slice is doing a great job since he's come to the MC. I know it would be soon to promote him to officer, but we did it with Cruise because of their prior military experience," Flick suggested.

"I agree with Flick. Slice is calm, methodical and is someone I think would make a great officer."

Heads around the room nodded at Cannon's words and Roam agreed. Slice was one of those he could see in the position.

"All in favor of Slice being offered Club Secretary?"

The ayes echoed around the room.

War smiled. "Let's have the party for Sprite and her family tonight and plan on doing the promotions at our Friday party. Now, get out of here and get to work. I need some more coffee."

Roam cracked a smile and stood to leave. Pats on the back and congratulations from his brothers slowed him down. But it was a good feeling to know his brothers had confidence in his abilities.

Now, he needed to go pick up his kids and Sprite and her kids to show them the daycare. All the kids were going to spend a couple hours there while Sprite and Clara went on a tour of the town with his mom. Then they'd pick up all the kids for playtime with Bear's kids before lunch. Roam was glad he'd planned a light day because he wanted to spend time with his kids and Sprite at lunch, but first, he needed to get some work done.

He walked out of the clubhouse and headed back to his house. Waving at the guys opening the garage, then passing Sprite's house to head to his parents'. He wondered if his parents would stay in their house since it was near Rascal's or want to build something in the area War, he and Bear had their houses. It was farther into the heart of the compound and provided more protection. But his mom talked about how much she loved their house, so his dad would have to build something amazing for her to give it up.

He'd get the kids. With seven of them, they could easily fit in the modified side-by-sides the MC had bought. He could take them on the scenic route through the compound to their daycare. He'd see if Sprite wanted to drive on the way back so she could learn the way while driving.

SPRITE WALKED OUT OF the daycare, trying to hold it together. This was the first time she was leaving her babies with people she'd just met. She trusted Roam and the MC but it didn't make it any easier. She followed Roam out to the side-by-side and started to get in the passenger side.

"Why don't you drive us back, so you'll know the way better. I want you to feel comfortable being able to get to your girls."

"Okay," she sniffed, trying to hide her tears, walking around the vehicle. Roam's arms came around her and she snuggled in. She was trying to be strong but this leaving her babies freaking sucked.

He reached in his pocket, pulled something out and handed it to her. She looked at what he'd given her. She'd expected maybe a tissue, but the man had given her a handkerchief. She didn't know men still used these, but it was sweet.

"Thank you," she said as she wiped the tears off her face.

"So, I brought it because I remember getting a little teary-eyed the first time I brought my little ones here. It's hard leaving them, but once you see how happy they are and how much fun they have, it will get easier. I know you've had a huge amount of change in a short period of time, but I think you're rocking the mom thing."

Sprite turned to look up at Roam. He was smiling down at her. It had been hard leaving what they'd known, but she had a good feeling about Bluff Creek.

"Thanks."

She pulled away and got in the vehicle. It looked like a souped-up golf cart but with three rows of seats along with a small bed to carry stuff in. She loved all the toys the MC seemed to have to make things easier.

She followed Roam's directions, memorizing so she could always get to her kids. She was looking forward to Regina taking her and Clara around the area to get to know it. Plus, a little time away from her kids would be good. Although she'd been gone from them this weekend, it hadn't been restful because she'd been nervous about the competition and then her night with Roam hadn't included a lot of sleep. Today, she wanted to enjoy the area and get to know some people.

Regina had also said when they picked up the kids, they could go to the farm as she called it and pick some sand plums and blueberries. Oakley didn't understand, but Phoebe had raved to Blake about getting to eat the berries right off the vines. Blake had thought through her clothes this morning because she didn't want to ruin her outfits with berry juice.

Blake definitely took after her father. Her brother was the biggest freaking planner and overthought everything, which served him well in his job. Sprite could see that trait in Blake every day. She just wished he would check in. The longer he was unavailable, the more she worried.

She pulled up in front of the house and parked.

"Okay, so I'm heading into work, and I was planning on being back to have lunch with all the kids and you. Are you good with that?"

Was she good with that? Heck yeah, but it was becoming harder to remember she had to work with him. She knew Rascal had made it clear he was her boss, but Roam was still one of the owners, though she guessed since the MC helped own it then they all were.

She realized she hadn't answered him.

"Sure. Are we fixing something?"

They were stocked up and she thought she'd have time to cook.

"No, Mom said the last place she would take you and Clara would be to the diner to grab food. I suggested she get some different items so Blake and Oakley could for sure have something they liked."

Once again, he was doing the unexpected. At least, unexpected as far as she'd experienced.

Growing up, she wasn't sure how she would have survived without her brother. With him being overseas, she'd been all alone except for Clara. To know they had this huge group of people who already considered them family was daunting.