Dalton"Would you turn that damn thing down?" I yell at Jagger. He's got the radio up so loud I can't hear myself think. There's a problem with the bike I'm working on. I know there's a solution, but I have to think. To think I need quiet, and thanks to that goddamn radio, there is absolutely no quiet in the garage bays today."I'm older, shouldn't I be the one saying this shit?""You probably can't hear with all the shows you've played anyway," I mumble."I might not be able to hear but I can read lips," he tosses back. There are some days I hate that all of us are so close. I'm ready to tell him where to take his lipreading when a hand clasps around my arm. It's Drew, and his face is pulled tight."We gotta go talk to Caelin. He got some more info on Laura and Owen."Took him long enough. I'm feeling particularly uncomfortable with them being around lately, and I'd like to know what we can do to get rid of their presence in town. "This have anything to do with the i
MandyThe guys told us to stay here, and that's what we're doing. In all of my years being a part of this family, I've never questioned what I've been told to do. But today, I almost didn't want Dalton to go. Not because I don't trust he'll keep himself safe, but I truly felt like a part of my heart was leaving on his bike.I've always loved Dalton, but until I learned to love myself, I never let him in deep.He's there now, and I know he'll never go away.Just like I'll never go away again.I'm pissed at myself for all the time I allowed us to waste. Me being irritated at him for not being what I needed him to be, but then never letting him know what it was I needed. The two of us, we're a damn pair."Mom?"I'm so deep in my thoughts, Walker scares me, but I'm happy to see him. "Yeah?""Dad's gonna be okay, isn't he?"It's times like this I wonder what we've done to this kid. He seems to go around in a perpetual state of worry, and it's because of us. One thing we
DaltonIt's been a hot minute since I broke in anywhere, especially a low-level drug dealer's house. Probably since I was a prospect for the club. Any other day we would have allowed the two watching this house to do it, but these are different circumstances."What's taking so long?" Jagger whisper shouts from where he's keeping watch."He's got a damn video doorbell. Took me a minute to bypass it. Technology is really fuckin' us up, man.""That it is, but we need to hurry this along. If he comes back and finds us here, I don't know that we want to deal with it."I'm not sure we wanna deal with it either, I'm getting too old to throw down, and I don't necessarily want to have to use force either. Finally I feel the lock give way. "We're in.""Are you losing your touch?""You're gonna lose your guitar hand if you don't shut the fuck up," I hiss at him. "You're on my damn nerves.""Somebody needs to get laid," Jagger teases in a sing-song voice.I turn to Drew. "I'm gon
Dalton"Did you hear the news this morning?" Drew asks as he comes into the shop, sipping on his mug of coffee."News really wasn't what was on my mind this morning.""Judging by that goddamn hickey on your neck, I can just imagine what you were busy with," he grumbles."Don't hate, he'll start sleeping through the night again.""Not soon enough for me," he takes a healthy drink of the coffee this time. "I don't understand how one baby can be so much more work than two were.""Would you like me to cry you a river, or are you going to tell me what news I missed?"He gives me an annoyed look, but I'm having way too good a morning to pay any attention to it. "They pulled a body outta Barren River last night."Now I'm paying attention. "Oh really? Anyone we know?""Judging by the info they've released so far, it's Owen. We'll confirm with our source at the medical examiner's office, but at least we know for sure what happened to him."There's another piece of that puzzl
DaltonThree Weeks Later"Whatever." I fling a rag at Caelin. "You absolutely did not get a woman my age to pay for your damn meal last night.""I didn't ask her to," he argues. "Talk to Remy, we were together. She paid for both of our meals."I shake my head. "You're so full of shit.""She did!"We've been giving him a hard time this morning. He and Remy went out for their weekly dinner and drinks, but they came back with this story about an older woman paying. "Pictures or it didn't happen."He throws the rag back at me. "I don't need you all to believe me, I know what went on."I'm still chuckling as I make my way back over to the bay I'm working in. There's a car up above my head, and I'm getting ready to change the oil when I feel a vibration in my pocket. Pulling my glove off, I reach in and grab my phone out. I'm surprised when I see Mandy's name.M: I need you to come home.D: Home? I thought you were at work.M: I had to leave. I need you here, D.D:
Mandy"I'm scared." I reach out for Dalton's hand, holding it tightly as I press into the contraction. "It's been a long time since I had to do this.""You're the strongest person I know, babe. You've got this."A part of me wonders if he's right. Do I have this? Can I bring this child of ours into the world? There were times these last eight months I wondered. Like when they put me on bedrest, and that one time we couldn't find the heartbeat. I'd almost crumbled, but Dalton had been there to hold me up. We've fought, but instead of each other this time, we've fought as a unit, to bring this baby into the world.It's a surprise. If it's a boy or a girl. He gets to pick the name for a girl.I get to pick the name for a boy, and I know exactly what I'll name our son. "I don't know, feels like it hurts a lot more than it did last time." I grit my teeth, pushing into the contraction like they told me too. "And the room isn't done. What are we going to do?"He kisses me on
CaelinInside the sounds of the party spill out, to where I'm sitting on the back porch, finishing up the last of this particular pack of cigarettes. I always tell myself this one will be it. The final one.But within a few days I'm right back to the familiar hard pack. It's my go-to for everything. When I'm stressed, when I'm bored, and when I'm doing my absolute best to keep my hands off Justice Walker, I smoke.The party going on in there isn't about to stop anytime soon. The Walker twins are popular at school, and the fact they're turning eighteen on a Friday night into Saturday isn't lost on anyone. My phone vibrates and I take a minute to look at the pictures my sister sends me of my niece. Just what we needed, another girl around here. But she's got me wrapped around her little finger. All of a sudden, I hear voices start yelling."Ten!"The countdown has started, it appears."Nine!"I'm supposed to be watching over them, but I had to come out here to get rid
JusticeGazing out the window next to my bed, I look up from my laptop. I've been writing on her for years, and she's having a hard time keeping charge, but I'll keep her around for as long as I can.She's seen it all. The aftermath of the kidnapping with Travis, the bond Caelin and I have forged from one of the worst nights of our lives, and the kisses we've shared since. Going to the folder I've labeled as my journal, I look for a few particular documents. When I see them, I click on each, taking a moment to read how I felt in those moments. The AftermathDoc Jones said it would be good for me to start writing my feelings out. This is my first attempt. Here it goes…I was kidnapped and Caelin Blackfoot saved my life.SafetyIt's slightly insane. In the five years since the kidnapping, I've started to only feel safe with one person. Caelin.Although I know the people in my life would move heaven and earth to save me, the only person who's ever gone through with that is him. A