Chapter Three

Megan Caldwell sat at the breakfast bar with five of her sons and two of her nephews. Her youngest son, Gunner, and youngest nephew, Blade, sat on each side of her, the stools topped with booster seats so they could reach the counter and take part in the coloring activity. Although Axel wanted Ryder and Ransom to accept him into the fold as more than just the adorable little face who got them a lighter punishment after their diabolical escapades, Axel still loved to color. He was belly down, stretched out on the island, near the big basket of colors, still in his pajamas, as they all were.

Well, not Meggie. She wore a blue silk charmeuse gown with lace trim and a deep V-neck with a matching robe tied tightly at the waist, so she didn’t accidentally expose her breasts. If she’d known Christopher would head to the club so early with Rebel, Mattie, CJ, and Rule, Meggie would’ve opted for pajamas.

Even better, she should’ve gotten up and changed the moment she heard Christopher’s plans. Why she’d thought her boys wouldn’t do something that would have her running from her room with barely enough time to grab the robe, she wasn’t sure.

Ryder, Ransom, JJ, and Axel decided to make breakfast burritos with refried beans and Mexican rice. Shocking, since every attempt she’d ever made to teach her boys to cook failed miserably.

Later, she learned it was JJ’s teasing that spurred them on. Apparently, her nephew loved to watch his mother cook. Unfortunately, he hadn’t learned the art of cooking. Throwing uncooked rice into a skillet without water or oil was a recipe for disaster.

Luckily, she’d put out the fire with the nearby extinguisher kept in the kitchen for just such emergencies. By then, Gunner and Blade were screaming for her attention. She’d ordered the older boys to stay put while she saw to her two-year-old nephew and three-year-old son. After throwing cold water on her face and brushing her teeth, she’d ordered Rule to the kitchen for breakfast.

She’d baked two cans of biscuits, ignoring the boys’ complaints they preferred when she or Bunny baked them from scratch. She’d also scrambled eggs, fried sausage and bacon, and brewed coffee.

Then she’d sent JJ to the den for the coloring books and crayons.

Now, Rule stood on the other side of the island, reading his bible, while Ryder, Ransom, and her nephew, JJ, alternated as DJs, determined to have Meggie award one of them with the title, Boy Who Knows Mom’s Music Tastes the Best.

She’d suggested Megan Caldwell instead of Mom to include JJ. Of course, Ryder and Ransom vetoed the idea, and JJ capitulated to their demands. This wasn’t a battle worth fighting, so she’d let it go.

Meggie glanced at the clock over the door. Almost 10AM. Less than twenty-four hours from Jo’s eye surgery. Hopefully, her baby would be on a true road to recovery and they could all breathe a sigh of relief.

“Where’s Dad?” Ryder asked.

“At the club,” Axel said, without lifting his head from his coloring book. “Duh.”

Ransom putting his song on prevented Ryder’s response.

The minute Beat His Ass by BigMoneyHundun started, Meggie listened to the lyrics, then scowled at her son. Thankfully, it was a short song.

“What do you think, Mom?” Ransom asked, smiling.

Gunner turned to her, his black hair a riot of curls, and his chubby cheeks melting her heart. She bent and kissed his cheek, then turned to her other side and did the same to Blade.

“Aunt Meggie, can we go outside and play?” JJ asked, squirming in his seat, blond like Johnnie and Rory, although Blade had Kendall and Mattie’s red hair.

“I like that idea,” Ryder said, his face lighting up.

Seeing Ransom’s nod of agreement, Axel laid his crayon down and shoved his coloring book away. He sat up. “Yeah, Mom, coloring is for fucking weirdo babies.”

“Jo is a baby, son. Gunner and Blade are babies. They aren’t weirdos.”

“You’re a chick,” Ransom pointed out, rolling his eyes. “It’s a requirement for you not to find babies weird.”

“Yeah,” Ryder agreed. “It’s coded in your DNA.”

Laughing, Meggie shook her head. “That’s a load of sexist crap. Don’t buy into it.”

“That’s not true, Mom,” Axel protested, screwing his little face into an imitation of Christopher’s glare. “As the men in the family, we know best.” He stuck out his narrow chest. “Womenfolk are supposed to listen to us.” He looked at Rule. “It’s in the Jesus book. I heard Rule talking to Aunt Bunny.”

Ransom, Ryder, and Axel, known collectively as the Terrible Triplets because of their antics, roared with laughter. JJ joined in as did Gunner and Blade, following the lead of the older boys.

“One day,” Rule said darkly, not lifting his head from his bible, “lightning will smite you.”

“No, dumb ass, only a blow can smite you,” Ryder said, his humor abruptly dying.

Stiffening, Rule lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at Ryder. “You dare question me? I’m a biblical expert.”

“No, you’re a biblical jackass,” Ryder retorted. “And I didn’t question you. I told you that you are wrong.”

Rule started toward Ryder.

She was only taller than Axel, Gunner, and Blade, so if she had to break up a fight, chances were high she’d fail.

“Don’t you dare move another muscle, Rule Caldwell,” she warned in a steely voice.

Halting, Rule folded his arms and glowered at her. Meggie swore it was to intimidate her.

Why she thought today’s plans would go off without a hitch, she didn’t know.

She’d given Bunny the day off, thinking Christopher would stay close to home, Johnnie and Kendall would’ve picked up their kids by now, and Rebel and CJ would be here. Meggie and Christopher agreed it would be a low-key family day with nothing too taxing because of Jo’s early morning surgery.

Hopefully, her friend and children’s nanny enjoyed her time with her husband and children. Even better, Meggie prayed Kendall and Johnnie’s getaway brought them closer and calmed the beast inside him.

“Correct your son, Mom,” Rule ordered. He must’ve realized he couldn’t bully her.

One on one, she had a fifty-fifty chance against anyone. Over the years, Christopher taught her techniques. Well before then, though, she’d defended herself and her mother against Thomas.

“I just corrected my son,” she said coolly. “You. Now, behave. You two will not fight.”

“God smote people with lightning,” he declared fiercely, still glaring at her.

“I don’t know enough about the bible to comment on that,” Meggie admitted.

She took her kids to Mass at least once a month and had enrolled them in Sunday School that Father Wilkins used as an additional money grab.

Once, she’d asked Christopher why he never had the club’s PI, who happened to be Bunny’s father, investigate the priest. He’d shocked her when he’d revealed that the priest took over the church the year before Big Joe’s death. Apparently, her father deemed him a good man.

Meggie sometimes wondered how well her father knew Father Wilkins, a question the priest refused to answer, and Christopher shrugged away as unimportant.

For so many reasons, beyond Sundays, she didn’t open a bible. She prayed regularly, though.

“Misinterpreting the bible doesn’t justify you threatening your brother,” Meggie said, getting back to the matter of hand.

The fierceness on Rule’s face unnerved her.

“You’re a hypocrite and a sometime Christian, Mom. If you go to church, then forget everything the minute you leave, you aren’t serious about your faith.”

“The bible includes several details and lines you don’t follow,” Meggie pointed out.

Rule glowered at her.

Studying her third eldest son, Meggie drummed her fingers on the counter. Grinning, Gunner grabbed a swath of her hair and yanked. She winced before gently extricating her hair from his chubby little fingers. Grabbing his coloring book, she flipped the page, then set it in front of him again. She pointed to the pony standing next to his momma.

“Color,” she instructed.

“’Kay, MegAnn,” he said in his gravelly baby voice.

One day, he’d heard CJ refer to her as “MegAnn”. Ever since, Gunner saw her as MegAnn. Nowadays, though, her potato called her mom.

She turned to Blade and flipped the page in his book, too. She pointed to the baby bear surrounded by two siblings and his mama. “Color too, Blade.”

“’Kay, MegAnn.”

As Rory once parroted CJ, Blade now mimicked Gunner.

With the two youngest boys once again occupied, Meggie looked at Rule. He’d returned to his place on the other side of the island. Instead of reading his bible, his gaze fixated on her.

“I respect your beliefs, son,” she told him.

“Do you?” he challenged.

“Yes,” she hissed. “What you aren’t doing is questioning me or my faith or how I choose to practice my religion. It is unfair to me and unworthy of you. Never do it again. Am I clear?”

“Burn, bitch!” Ransom chortled to Rule, high-fiving Ryder.

Not wanting to be left out, Axel crawled across the counter to his two brothers. They hi-fived him and ruffled his hair. He whooped.

“Leave Rule alone, you three,” Meggie said firmly. “Respect him in the same way I expect him to respect you.”

“Dammit, woman!” Axel said crossly.

Ryder dragged him to the edge of the breakfast bar and helped him to stand up. This part of the counter was forty-two inches tall.

As his intentions dawned on Meggie and she screamed, “no,” Axel jumped. Ryder’s perfect catch revealed this wasn’t their first run.

Sagging against the back of the stool, Meggie closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. She needed a moment to erase the horrible images of her sweet Axel landing hard on the floor. He could’ve injured his spinal cord, broke his bones, or somehow fatally injured himself.

“Fuck!” Ransom exploded. “Mom’s pale as a ghost.”

Ryder sat Axel on his feet. “Awww, damn,” he said woefully. “She’s going to tell Dad.”

“No, Mom. Please don’t.” Axel rubbed his butt. “My ass still burns from Dad’s last beating.”

“As it should. You doused me in poop.”

“Meant for Reb,” Axel protested. “Just don’t tell Dad. I didn’t break nothing. Even my cock and balls are fine. Last time, they swolled up really big and Ryder made me sit in ice for fucking hours.”

Horrified, Meggie squeaked.

Before she could ask questions or demand answers, Ransom slapped Axel. “You can’t talk about your dick to Mom. She’s a girl and girls got pussies. They don’t know about dicks. Especially swollen ones.”

“Boys!”

They ignored her.

“Mom knows about dicks,” Axel yelled, shoving Ransom. “She’s seen ours.”

Ignoring JJ roaring with laughter and Blade’s happy clapping, Meggie cringed at the conversation. Somehow, she’d lost control of her sons.

“You make Mom sound like a perv, Ax,” Ryder said with disapproval. “She knows about dicks cuz of Dad. He lets her see his sometimes.”

Embarrassment roared through Meggie and her cheeks flamed. She groaned.

Axel considered her thoughtfully, then swung his gaze to Ryder. “Does that mean he sees her pussy?”

“Enough!” she snarled, outraged. She jumped to her feet and frowned at her three errant sons. “This conversation is over. It is entirely inappropriate.”

“Even your neck is red, Mom.” Axel looked her up and down. “Your feet, too. Your bright pink polish is pretty.”

“Thank you, son. But—”

He pointed to her chest. “Your nipples are poking against your robe. Can I see them?”

Meggie prayed for the ability to evaporate. Or, maybe, the ground to open and swallow her. Mortified, she crossed her arms over her chest.

“She’s Mom, Pervy Mervy,” Ransom said with a shake of his head. “Her nipples harden whenever she’s cold or embarrassed, so shut up. Only freaks wanna bone their mamas.”

“Nah-uh!” Axel screeched. “I’m not Anuspus Tex.”

Ryder guffawed so hard, he pounded the counter top. “Oedipus Rex, dummy,” he said when his laughter died away.

“Out! Now!” Meggie looked at JJ, who was still immensely enjoying himself. “Please, go upstairs and change into jeans and T-shirts, then go outside.”

She turned to Blade and Gunner, dismissing the other heathens so she could get over her humiliation and allow her flaming face to cool off.

“I can change Blade,” JJ said. “I do it sometimes at home.”

“It’s okay. Go and enjoy—”

“We’ll take care of them, Mom,” Ryder promised. “We helped Aunt Ophelia with Blade and Tarmac when you were in the hospital.”

“Want Ry, MegAnn,” Gunner told her.

“Fine,” Meggie said, completely thrown off by her hooligans.

In the future, she needed to prepare for anything when she dealt with them.

Without a word, Rule headed for the door.

“Wait, Rule,” Meggie called, rushing to unbuckle Gunner and Blade from their booster seats and then setting them down on the floor.

Once she was alone with Rule, she went to him and hugged him. “I love you, son. I want what’s best for you, but I want you to remember there’s a big wide world out there if you give it a chance.”

His green gaze touched every corner of her face, studied her lips, and stared into her eyes. Meggie lifted a brow at him.

“The world is evil, Mom. People are evil,” he added bitterly. “Money and sex drive their world. It’s easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.”

“Stop it, Rule! You cannot throw bible verses at me to suit your narrative. I don’t see you turning down your allowance or declining any of the perks of wealth.”

He rolled his eyes. “If you work hard enough, you can get what we have. Take elaborate vacations. Wear expensive clothes.” He eyed her. “Dress and act like a harlot.”

Meggie reminded herself if she lost her temper, she might lose her only chance to help her son. “You will respect me, Rule. I have never spanked you, but I can tell your father and I can stop your allowance. And don’t you ever devalue what your daddy has done for us. The wonderful home and life he’s given us.”

Disgust twisted his face. “Spoken like I’d expect of Dad’s whore,” he spat, and stormed away, leaving Meggie standing there, heartsore and on the verge of tears.

Finally, she decided the worst was over for the day. Once the original plan was back on track, she’d put Rule’s hurtful words behind her. After Jo’s surgery, she’d try to talk to him one final time. She’d already decided he needed psychiatric help. He just wasn’t normal.

Right now, her baby girl took priority.

Swiping at an escaping tear and sucking back her sadness, Meggie cleared away the coloring books and crayons, returning the basket to the den, along with Rule’s bible. He’d figure out its location soon enough.

Back in the kitchen, she rested her elbows on the island and glanced around, studying the area with the enormous table they used for their family get-togethers. To create this added space, they filled in half the moat. If Meggie wouldn’t mind the chaos, she’d tell Christopher she wanted this wing redesigned, so she’d have an open kitchen that included the den and the specially made dining table.

On the other hand, combining the den and the kitchen might dampen socializing. Usually, the women huddled around the island while they heated the food. Afterwards, they went to the den, where Christopher and the guys talked around the bar and the women sat together on the other side.

Even as big as the rooms were, somehow, they still created intimate gatherings. Merging two immense rooms might change the dynamics.

Besides, such a redesign would also require altering Christopher’s man cave and the dining room. She’d leave well enough alone and stick to finally replacing the chandelier in the entrance hall.

Meggie glanced at the clock again. Twenty after eleven. Still no sign of Christopher and the kids.

After she decided upon lunch, she’d text her husband. And if he didn’t answer, she’d text Rebel.

Something wasn’t right. Aside from Axel, Ryder, Ransom, and Rule.

Admittedly, knowing the work of Sophocles wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but the way her boys used their knowledge was a tremendous problem.

However, while the inappropriateness of her sons needed handling, Meggie had to prioritize. She didn’t want to think about the venom in Rule’s voice when he’d called her a whore.

Pressing her lips together to swallow her tears, she drew in a deep breath.

Once Jo’s eye surgery was over, Meggie intended to get her Christopher back on track. Since her release from the hospital, he was eating healthier, thus picking up weight and sleeping better, which helped him to think much more clearly.

Hopefully.

Because why had he come home yesterday afternoon looking so…so…frazzled?

Not the right word for her husband, but she couldn’t find a better one. If Rebel and Mattie hadn’t gone with Christopher and CJ, Meggie would’ve been much more suspicious.

She’d trusted Christopher…

No, she trusted Christopher. She wouldn’t allow one screw up to ruin that. Besides, that one issue encompassed so many other problems, it was difficult to unpack everything.

As Christopher’s wife, her primary job was to keep the house running smoothly, so he could focus on his club. They’d been together for too many years, been through too much, to allow her insecurities to undermine their love and the life they’d built together.

Her appointment with Doc Will would happen soon. She’d decided she wanted to get the birth control shot. It would last for three months. Hopefully, by then, she would have scheduled her hysterectomy.

Nearly two months out from Jo’s birth, Meggie was growing stronger as well and thinking clearer. Without Johnnie’s viciousness and the upheaval of Torie in their lives, Meggie could focus on what she had to do for the sake of her family. Their sanity. Her sanity. And especially her beloved Christopher’s.

She’d put enough gray in his hair.

Giggling at the thought, she wondered if maybe they should spend the day at the club instead of at home. Perhaps the distraction would do them all some good. They weren’t together anyway, focusing on Jo’s surgery and what would happen when it succeeded. Or, God forbid, if it failed.

Or, maybe, not. It was entirely possible Christopher had taken the kids to the club to…?

Meggie didn’t know.

Besides, Rebel and Mattie would tell her anything they thought she needed to know.

Meggie could always bake cookies and bring them to the club, then see what was in the freezer in the big kitchen, so she could cook. She could enlist Roxy, Zoann, Bailey, and Ophelia, since Kendall would be tired, and Bunny already had the day off. She refused to rock another boat with Digger by calling his wife in to help.

Dinner at the club would also show everyone she was getting back to normal. Once she decided on the menu, she’d text as many old ladies as possible and tell them to head to the club with their kids.

Sunday afternoons normally saw a sizeable crowd of brothers, anyway.

Once she checked on the boys, she’d start her cookies and—

Her ringing phone interrupted the thought.

Snatching it from her robe pocket, she frowned.

If she didn’t know better, she’d swear it was…

No, it couldn’t be!

Clearing her throat, she answered and sat on a stool. “Hello?”

“I need more money.”

She was right. Jo’s former nurse and Christopher’s whatever was calling her.

“Did you hear me, Megan?”

“Loud and clear, Torie,” she spat. “But hear me: you aren’t getting another cent from me.”

Meggie had been prepared to give Torie much more than she was originally supposed to receive. All for the nurse’s son, Dex. Allegedly, everything Christopher did on her behalf had been for the little boy.

“I suggest you don’t fuck with me.”

“Right back at you, Torie.”

“Fucking dried up old bitch. He laughs behind your back. You’re nothing but a fucking bore.”

“And you’re nothing but a whore,” she snarled.

“You know you can’t compete against someone like me. Younger and more beautiful than you’ll ever hope to be. The night he took me home, I sucked his cock—”

Meggie hung up. She refused to listen to that witch’s lies, allow her to get into her head. She knew Christopher. Her husband loved her. He’d never, ever cheat.

Never.

There wasn’t a month that went by that some woman wasn’t trying to get into his bed. He rebuffed each one of them. Sometimes in front of her. Other times, he’d tell her. What he left out, the other old ladies filled in.

Her phone started ringing once more. Torie again.

It stopped and started three times. A moment after the last ring died away, a text message came through.

Torie: Answer me. Unless you want him to be sent to prison for a very long time.

Anger at Christopher’s stupidity rose in Meggie. Ruthlessly, she shoved it away, reminding herself that Torie had taken advantage of him. Even if there was a remote possibility that Torie sucked his cock—

Meggie covered her face and the sob she’d been holding back after Rule’s insults escaped her now.

The phone started ringing again.

Sucking back her tears and pressing her lips together, Meggie accepted the call, although she didn’t speak.

“You stopped the five hundred, ho? Well, I want a mil. Or I’ll go to the police and tell them all about Brett.” Torie laughed. “I heard he was missing.”

The nightly broadcasts and local newspapers had plastered the financial advisor’s image everywhere. Police believed he’d run away because he’d been embezzling money. Meggie knew Christopher had killed him. Unfortunately, he’d blurted his intentions in front of Torie.

Meggie’s brain scrambled for a solution. She always settled on Torie’s death, but then she’d shove the idea away. Hurt and jealousy consumed her. If Christopher had cheated, it wasn’t Torie’s fault. It was up to him to respect Meggie and remain faithful.

“I love Outlaw,” Torie said thickly. “And he loves me! He was furious that you kept my money away from me.”

And there it was. Christopher’s reprieve. Meggie’s reprieve to stop Torie from shaking her down.

“You love him, Torie.” Overwhelming pain and sadness sent tears to Meggie’s eyes. “You’ll do nothing to jeopardize his freedom. Especially if you spout a bunch of lies. He’d never forgive you.”

“They aren’t lies! I heard him. That’s why Kendall had me sign the NDA.”

Meggie drew herself up. “My husband isn’t involved in anything that requires the police.”

Torie fell silent.

Just the idea of how much Christopher trusted Torie to know both crushed and infuriated Meggie. “You’re not getting a penny from me or him ever,” she said flatly. “You couldn’t have burned through fifty thousand dollars in a little over a week.”

“It doesn’t matter what I’ve done with the pittance you gave to me. I was supposed to get so much more. You don’t get to have him, his cock, his tongue, and his fucking money, ho.”

“Nice try,” Meggie said, her stomach churning, her mind racing, and her heart breaking.

She refused to allow Torie to know how upset she was. She’d handle her as she had the many, many, MANY women who’d try to catch her husband’s eye. “Christopher belongs to me. Nothing you say will make me believe otherwise. You’re a charity case and you use your son as a pawn to garner sympathy. Christopher will never leave me. Least of all for you, a woman who’ll just as soon use what she thinks she knows against him. All to have her way.”

“I want more money.”

“You aren’t getting more, so—”

“So shut the fuck up, skank. He told me I suck his cock better than you. I can still give him babies and courteous, mannerly children who know their fucking place. What can your used, stretched snatch give him? Not healthy kids. Or respectful ones. They’re a bunch of freaks.” She giggled. “Except Diesel and CJ. You’re whiny, uninteresting, immature, jobless, brainless, and a stupid cunt. Case in point? You’re willing to threaten his freedom as a flex. Well, boo, bitch. Joke’s on you. I expect my money tomorrow and whenever the fuck else I call.”

“Then you’ll be waiting a while. Because we both know you’ll never get him for false information. You want revenge on me, so you’re going to the police on the man you claim to love? Be for real, Torie.”

“You clingy, insecure, weak slut. You think you’re so high and fucking mighty. Well, guess what? The night he put me on the back of his bike, I told him to lick my pussy the way you like yours licked and he did. After I sucked him off. I wouldn’t let him fuck me, although he begged for my juicy pussy. I didn’t want to catch your cooties.”

“Fuck off.” Meggie hung up.

Stunned, she stared into space, sobbing so uncontrollably, her entire body shook. A plea that Torie was lying ran through her mind.

Breathing in deeply, Meggie knew if she didn’t get up and stick to some of her plans, she’d be in no shape for tomorrow and Jo needed her.

Standing, she stumbled to the refrigerator. Though tears blinded her and she was no longer interested in going to the club, she had to start dinner for her family and pull herself together.