Sunday Morning (Damaged #7.5)

 

We arrived at the rental house around three in the afternoon. Jodi parked the car behind my Harley in the driveway and then climbed out. I knew from her expression that she was dazed by all of the changes. Her wide eyes focused on me, and she gave me a smile that made me feel like a fucking man. I’d done right for my family, and deep inside that was the best accomplishment I could hope for.

 

“A dishwasher,” Jodi said twenty minutes after we arrived.

 

Her tone cut me deep, and I feel primal. Caveman shit where I needed to mark my woman.

 

Jodi gasped when I picked her up and started walking to the bedroom. Rebounding, she wrapped her arms around my neck.

 

“Is the bed comfy?” she asked, wearing a grin.

 

“Oh, it’s a solid bed. Only the best for my woman.”

 

Jodi laughed. “I love you.”

 

Resting her on the bed, I yanked off my t-shirt. “Do you like it here?” I asked, needing to hear what I already knew.

 

“I love it nearly as much as I love you.”

 

Grinning, I nipped at her bottom lip. “I’m feeling a little threatened now. I better make you love me more.”

 

Jodi laughed again. In Ellsberg, she laughed often. Everywhere we went, she smiled. Hell, even the grocery store made her happy.

 

She could have easily enjoyed her new life without worrying about my new club, The Reapers. Jodi viewed us as a team. I might do the heavy lifting, but she was my sounding board.

 

Jodi came up with the idea to make backyard parties a regular thing. Neither of us is the friendly sort, but she knew building loyalty was more than wearing the same patches. The fact was we’d be perfectly happy to spend our time alone. Now we were part of something larger, and I was in charge.

 

Most of the guys in the club came with old ladies and kids. Grilling on the weekends made our business situation into something built on trust and loyalty. If one of the guys got in a bind, he wasn’t on his own. He had a team of men willing to kill and die to have his back. Thanks to Jodi, I’d create a crew worth spilling blood over.

 

The guys and I got into a habit of taking long rides while checking out our expanding territory in Kentucky. We’d stop for lunch and bullshit.

 

The men were solid, but I was happy to settle in at home with Jodi. By Thanksgiving, she couldn’t get out of bed or chairs on her own. Jodi was all belly and sexy as hell.

 

A month after her eighteenth birthday and a week before her due date, Jodi woke up at three and said she was either in labor or dying. An hour later, she managed to give birth to my ten-pound son.

 

“My woman is a tough bitch,” I said, kissing her forehead as she held a red-faced Cooper.

 

“I think he got smooshed on the way out.”

 

“He’s tough like his mama,” I said, kissing her again and nearly crawling into bed next to her. “He’ll rebound.”

 

A tired and sweaty Jodi looked at me and smiled. “I could do this again.”

 

“Hell yeah, you could.”

 

“Cooper needs a little brother or sister to give him shit,” she said, caressing the quiet baby’s lips. “He’s too perfect. Without someone hassling him, life will be too damn easy.”

 

“Can’t have that,” I whispered, finally giving in and sliding next to her on the bed.

 

Jodi studied my face. “You look scared.”

 

“You just shoved a ten-pound kid out of you. I’m feeling more than a little guilty.”

 

“For helping me make a gorgeous kid?” she teased.

 

“That was impressive.”

 

“It was fast. My biggest fear wasn’t the pain, but it taking all fucking day and night.”

 

Cooper whined and shivered before falling silent. We watched him, and I struggled not to cry like a baby myself. Jodi and Cooper were more than I could have ever dreamed for, yet they were mine.

 

 

 

 

 

20 - Jodi

 

 

Cooper was a runner. If not for the fence around our rental home, he’d run out the back and keep going. I spent most evenings chasing him around the yard. Half of the time our new puppy, Mork, helped me corral Cooper. The other half, he tripped me so I couldn’t catch Cooper. The dog had some seriously shifting loyalties.

 

I tucked my blond baby into his crib and watched him doze off. Kirk soundlessly joined me in the room and took in the sight of our little guy. Cooper was a dream, and I was already cooking our second. Kirk swore this one was a boy too, and I was pretty sure he was right. Potential basketball team be damned, I’d keep popping them out until I got my girl.

 

Kirk and I shut Cooper’s bedroom door and retired to our own. I turned up the sound of the baby monitor before studying Kirk stretched out in bed. I admired the tattoos on his wrist with Cooper and my name.

 

“I’m sticky from the heat,” I said.

 

Kirk flipped through the TV channels for nearly a minute before his brain caught up with his dick.

 

“I should help you in the shower.”