CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

-:- DESTINY -:-

Thursday Morning.

All Jessica’s clothes and toys are packed and at the front door, ready for Garrett to collect. Jessica is half excited and half devastated to be leaving. But as I’ve told her, this is an adventure for her and her papa to have together. I told her to look after him, and be a good girl, which she promised. Now she’s waiting quietly, but I know she can’t wait for Garrett to arrive.

Rock is at work this morning, so I’ll be seeing Jessica off with Garrett alone. He spent extra time with Jessica this morning before he left, and he made sure she had his phone number and he gave her a hundred-dollar bill to keep safe in case she had an emergency.

Knocking on the door grabs my attention, but Jessica’s flying past me, grabbing the chair at the front door to check the spyhole, then dragging the chair away before opening the door and shouting at the top of her voice, “PAPA!”

It has me in a state of excitement for Jessica that she has her papa back with her, and sadness that soon she’ll walk out of the front door and never live with me again.

After the hugs, and a few tears pass, Garrett closes the front door and walks into the kitchen where I’m quietly watching what has been happening. I have to admit I have a few tears in my eyes, and an enormous lump in my throat.

“Come here, Dest,” Garrett says, opening his arms, and I easily walk into them, wrapping my arms around his waist. I am not embarrassed to say I shed a few tears.

Stepping back from Garrett, I wipe the tears from my cheeks and give him a watery smile. “Are you alright, Garrett?”

Taking a seat and lifting Jessica onto his lap, he replies. “I’m good. Thankfully, out of that place, which I owe Rock’s MC for. My record has been wiped clean, and the people involved in all of it have been reprimanded.”

I take a seat and give Jessica a smile, as she’s hanging onto her papa. “That’s good to hear. They should never have arrested you in the first place. What’s happening with Jerica?”

“I’ve been told the divorce will be fast, as I have the proof of her stepping out on the marriage. I saw Jerica at Ryker’s MC, and if I’m honest, I hardly recognized her. She was dressed like the skanks that hang around the club. But I got the signatures I needed once I showed her the proof of what she’d been doing to Jessica. As far as it goes she’s out of my life. Don’t let her come here to you, Dest. She needs to face the world on her own now.”

“I don’t want anything to do with her. She’s never been a sister as such, so I’ll not miss her in my life as she was never in it. But I’ll make sure Rock sorts her out if she turns up.” I give the grin I’ve seen all the Ol’ Ladies do, but Garrett frowns, so I feel forced to comment. “That grin didn’t work, did it?”

Garrett laughs, “No, I don’t think it did because it looked like you were constipated.”

Jessica laughs, and when I look at her she states, “That means you can’t shit, Aunt D.”

My eyes fly to Garrett, who throws his head back, laughing before he kisses Jessica on top of her head. “It sure does, Jessica.”

“You two are so bad. Now come on, get moving. You’ve a lot of driving to do to get to Nebraska.”

“Yeah, I do. Come on, Jessica, let’s get this adventure started.” Now Garrett calling it an adventure is great because that’s exactly what I’d told her myself.

After putting all Jessica’s things in the SUV, Garrett makes sure she is safely strapped into her seat, then turns to hug me once more. “I’ll let you know when we arrive. I have an apartment and a job. I’ll be delivery driving for the time being. It’s not great, but it’s a job and I’ll get something better when I get the chance. I have Jessica scheduled to have her IQ checked, and I’ll let you know about that. But I’ll move again if we have to for any school she may have to attend. She is my first thought, and I’ll make sure she gets what she needs.”

“FaceTime me some time please, and know I love you both. Take care and I’m always here for you if you need me.” I kiss Garrett’s cheek as he hugs me one last time, lingering a little longer than you would for a sister, but I understand he feels vulnerable at this time. He’s clinging to what is familiar, but in the long term, we would never have worked.

After Garrett and Jessica have gone, I walk into the house, and it feels empty already. I can’t stand being here for the moment, so I call an Uber and head to the clubhouse under the pretense I’m checking how Jo had gotten along at the book signing.

Walking into the clubhouse, Mia is sitting in the common room looking like she’s ready to burst. “Hi Mia, how are you? Apart from looking like you are ready to burst, that is.” I give her a sympathetic smile.

“I have three weeks to go, but between us, I’m not sure I’ll go that long. This little girl seems to be ready to face the world. Not sure Axel is, mind you. He keeps talking about extra weaponry.” We give each other a look then burst out laughing, which has the Three Stooges joining in with comments of their own. “What are you doing here at this time of the day?”

“I wanted to check on how Jo did at the book signing. But if I’m really honest, I didn’t want to be in the house alone now Jessica has gone.”

“Ah, we understand,” Bitty says, nodding her head and giving me a sad smile.

Turning when we hear my name, Jo is walking over and giving me a bright smile. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Jo with anything but a smile on her face,” I say to Mia more than the others.

“That’s because she’s always having sex. She has nothing but an orgasm face. A constant smile of bliss. Wait until she gets pregnant and carrying Knuckles' giant baby. That’ll take the smile off her face,” Mia grumbles.

A giggle has me turning to look at Bitty, who is nodding at Mia, in agreement, I’m sure. Sybil and Amelia just laugh out loud, and have no shame in the fact either.

“Oh, shut up, Mia. I’m not having babies for a long time. So, I’m enjoying my man until then, you’re just jealous you’re so round you can’t see your coochy.” Jo giggles as she takes a seat next to me.

Placing my hand over my mouth to stop the smile or laugh escaping because Mia’s face is so shocked she looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Well, I’ll remember all this when I’ve had my daughter, don’t you worry. I’ll be meeting you on Sunday mornings for training.” Mia stands belly first, with her body following, and she snaps her teeth together at Jo.

Jo, however, giggles and shows no sign of worry at the threat. “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she sing-songs to Mia, who huffs, throws her nose up in the air and waddles away, which somehow takes the emphasis away.

“Did things run smoothly at the book signing?” I ask Jo. I frown when the Three Stooges giggle as they jump out of their seats and head for the kitchen.

“It went very well. I only brought back a few copies of the books I had taken. The merchandise you and Amelia made for me sold like hotcakes. I was amazed. But Star and Meat’s performance had people grabbing copies as though they were on fire.” Jo laughs.

“What do you mean Star and Meat’s performance?”

“Well, they came with me dressed as my characters. You know the Marriage of Convenience, the Regency era. Gosh, they both looked amazing. But during the day, they played out a scene from the book, and I’ll tell you Dest, it was darn hot. I would have had to take Knuckles into the nearest closet.”

Blinking because I am trying to envisage what they were doing. But it’s not somewhere my mind wants to go. Seeing Meat and Star in a passionate embrace! Nope, not wanting to see that.

“Did you upset other authors?”

“Nah, they were amused and gave applause after each performance.” Jo laughs again.

“Let’s see what the organizers have to say when they send their standard thank you for attending letter. Marie always does that, even though it’s not the norm for most book signings. She always goes the extra mile. If she’s upset about it, you can be sure she will tell you.”

“I’ll tell you this, Dest. The ladies were all eye-fucking Meat and Star just laughed. I’m not sure I would have been able to cope with that, but she kept kissing him to show he was hers. Meat, on the other hand, played to the crowd and whirled Star around the table, grabbing women’s hands and kissing their knuckles. Honest to goodness, he was amazing.” Jo has this faraway look in her eye and obviously revisiting what she’s speaking of.

“I’m not sure if I’d have wanted to see it or not. But if the other authors were good with it, then I don’t see a problem.”

“We’re going outside and show you how to ride bitch.” Jo jumps to her feet, grabs my hand and drags me through the kitchen and outside.

Walking to Jo’s home where her trike is parked, well, that’s what she’s told me. She had it all ready for when I came to the clubhouse.

“Climb on, and let’s do a few laps of the compound. We are not allowed out of the compound without one of the brothers at the moment. Axel is making sure we have none of that gang hanging around. Knuckles said they got them all, some gone, some with Forest. Don’t ask Dest, it’s best not to know in my experience.” Jo starts up the hog and I’m thinking we’ve no helmets on. Should I tell her or just go with it?

Thankfully, Jo drives steadily and we go around the clubhouse, doing a few figures of eights so I can learn to lean into the bends, apparently! I think I could control one of these!

When Jo stops outside her home I can’t help but ask. “Can I drive it?”

“No, you cannot. Geez, you are not getting on my girl to ditch it like you did the other hog. No way, nope, nada, not happening.” Jo fiercely replies, taking me by surprise because she is usually so mild-mannered.

“Oh, okay.” I scrunch my nose up in disappointment, but it is her trike, so I’ll not push my luck. She said I’m a… let’s get this right, ‘I’m a good little bitch!’

Rock comes to get me from the clubhouse when he’s finished work, and said he’s taking me for a ride. I thought it was a ride on his massive Harley, but nope, it’s a truck!

“Come on, Red. Climb in and let’s go for a ride to the ice cream place. Have a few minutes chillin’.”

“Okay. Let’s go. I’ve got to keep my mind occupied or I’ll think about Jessica leaving.” I admit, more to myself than Rock, but he gives me a hug, kisses my forehead, then slaps my ass as I climb into the passenger side of the truck.

On the way back from having our ice creams, I’m driving and I have to say, I’m loving it. It’s easy to handle and seems to be a great fit for me. I turn the radio on and hum to the music as I drive. I notice Rock smirking at me, but I ignore it. I’m enjoying myself and that’s all that matters.

Back at the house, Rock locks the truck, and we walk inside. Locking the door behind us, Rock picks me up and climbs the stairs. We spend a good two hours in the bedroom and I can tell you it was some of the best two hours I ever spent. My man is damn hot, and he knows how to make me explode with a passion I didn’t know existed.

Turning in his arms, we are facing each other lying on the bed. I kiss him gently, then whisper onto his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Red. Now let me show you how much.” That’s exactly what he does all night, and by morning I'm more than exhausted.