"Hello?"
The frog in his voice revealed that I'd probably woken him up. "It's almost noontime, Sam, and you're still in bed?" I teased with a smile.
He groaned and cleared his throat. "Holly? Jesus, this is early for me, sweetheart. Everything okay?"
"Yes. I'm just calling about my shift tonight. Am I still scheduled?"
I could hear him moving around on his end, and then he released a deep breath. "Yeah I still have you down, but figured you wouldn't be coming in while you’re on lockdown at the clubhouse."
Damn. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to leave, but I hated letting Samson down, and I needed the work. I only had one more week at Grinders before I started my new job at Crickets, and I didn't want to have to dig into my savings. Still, I doubted Demon was going to let me leave the clubhouse. Lockdown meant no one in, and no one out, unless it was one of the men. The last thing anyone wanted to do was to get on Demon’s bad side by ignoring his orders.
Samson made a sound between a laugh and a grunt. "I can almost hear you thinking, sweetheart."
I laughed and confessed, "I may have been contemplating sneaking out for just a minute." Even though I had thought about it, being kidnapped twice in my lifetime was enough. I wasn't about to tempt fate. I supposed I was going to have to dig into my savings after all, because rent was coming up.
"I hope you're smarter than that," Samson grumbled. "We'll miss you, but we will get by."
I knew they would. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything stupid. I have Ava to think about now. This was my last week," I reminded him. "I guess you should go ahead and replace me."
He snorted. "Sweetheart, the club created that position just for you. I won't be replacing you."
That didn't surprise me. The Desert Rebels took care of their own, and they still considered me family. I had to wonder if it was because I'd been with Sax for so long and had also formed deep friendships with members in the club.
"Don't be a stranger," Samson said in his gruff voice.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure there will be girls' nights in my future," I laughed. We said our goodbyes and I let my mind drift to my new job at Crickets. God, I prayed that we were done with lockdown by the time I was supposed to start, because it was going to be a problem if we were. I knew that they couldn't keep me in the clubhouse if I really wanted to leave, but did I really want to cause bad feelings with the people who were my friends? The people who I loved? They were looking out for me and Ava.
I smiled down at Ava. I'd brought her outside for some fresh air and sun, laying her on a blanket with some toys. She'd played and looked around for a little while, mesmerized watching the other children running on the playground. Gradually she'd drifted off. The noise of their laughter and chatter hadn't bothered her in the least.
I reached for my iced tea. I was sitting next to Ava with my legs criss-crossed, or "criss-cross applesauce" as one of the older kids on the playground had laughed out earlier as he'd run past me. The mothers with children on the playground were obviously taking turns watching them, because I'd watched two arrive and then two take off more than once. Our little group was doing the same thing, and I'd volunteered to take the first shift. A playpen had been brought out, and both Izzy and Samuel were playing contentedly in it. One of the prospects had erected a large beach umbrella over our area to protect us from the hot desert sun.
The ground around the playpen was littered with the toys that Izzy and Samuel had tossed out. I'd picked them up a dozen times before I’d realized they were just going to keep doing it as long as I picked up after them, so I quit. A couple of the bigger kids had run over and picked the toys up once or twice, too, but they were smarter than I was, giving up much sooner.
I watched one of the mothers, Kathy, I believe her name was, fan herself. "There's room over here if you want to get out from under the sun," I called out.
She returned my smile and walked over. "Thanks. I'm not a sun worshiper as some are. I don't care for the heat either, but when you have kids you can't keep them cooped up inside."
I could tell by her pale complexion that she wasn't an outdoorsy type. She was pretty enough to be a model, and it was obvious that she took care of herself. Her short, blonde hair was shaved on the sides and long on top in a flipped over style, and her hourglass shape belied the fact that she'd had any kids, much less the three I’d seen her with today.
"Lockdown isn't easy for anyone," I agreed, making room for her on the blanket.
"Especially for my crew." She had three boys. "Holly, right?"
I nodded. "Kathy?"
She nodded in turn. "How old is your little one?"
"Ava is six months."
"She's a sweetheart. My boys are four, six, and eight." She looked out at the playground, as if searching for them. "I hope this last one is a girl."
My jaw dropped with surprise before I could stop it. "You're pregnant?"
Kathy laughed with a nod. "Just found out. I told Dale this is it. No more. I'm not going to provide him with a baseball team."
We both laughed at that. I didn't recognize her husband's name. "What does Dale do?"
"He's a writer when he's not playing warrior. Once in a while the club calls him in to help out with something. Of course, he doesn't share the details with me because it's considered--" She did air quotes, "’club business.’"
I detected a measure of bitterness in Kathy's tone. "You don't like him being part of the MC?"
She inhaled a deep breath and released it, pulling her gaze away from the playground. "I know when he's called in that whatever he’s doing is dangerous. I don't like that part. But then there are the other things, like the charity runs, and helping out in the community, the club barbeques..." She shrugged. "I don't mean to complain."
I understood how she felt. Belonging to an MC wasn't for everyone, and when your man belonged that meant you did, too. "How long has Dale been a member?"
"Fifteen years," she said without hesitation. "How about your man?"
I didn't feel like getting into it with her about my situation with Sax, so I just said, "About the same."
Samuel and Izzy were both on their feet and watching us, and I wondered if they'd finally tossed all their toys out. I got up and went to them to make sure that they weren't getting overheated. They seemed fine, but I got them each a bottle anyway, and while they threw themselves down to drink, I went around and picked up all their toys. "Last time," I laughed, throwing a look over my shoulder at Kathy.
About that time I heard familiar giggling, and looked over to see JoJo and Ellie walking in my direction. My smile disappeared when I noticed that Goldie and Cherry were also walking a ways behind them. Great. What were they doing out here?
"How are they behaving?" JoJo walked directly to the playpen and glanced down at her son.
"We decided to give you an early break," Ellie smiled, doing the same thing as JoJo. "Hi, Kathy." She reached for Izzy, touching her skin, and I knew that she was doing the same exact thing that I'd done only moments before, checking to make sure she that her daughter wasn't hot.