Sanctuary (Freaks MC Book 2) (2 page)

THREE

He was leaving today. He'd surprised Emma and stayed for another week, but finally their time together was coming to an end.

He'd woken her up in the best possible way, and was now cooking her breakfast while she took a shower. She smiled at the memory of his hands on her body and contemplated calling him in to join her, before deciding that she was too hungry. And they could always fit in a quickie before he left. Grinning, she dried herself and threw on a yellow sundress before heading into the kitchen.

“Hey.” He turned and kissed her temple. “You hungry?”

“
Starving. That smells great. You want me to butter the toast?”

“
No, I want you to sit your ass down. I got this.”

The toast looked like it had been cut with a chainsaw and the scrambled eggs were a little rubbery, but Emma devoured every scrap. Not only was she ravenous, she was also completely disarmed by his insistence that he did this for her. “Thanks for this, Deke.”

He shrugged. “Least I could do. All I've done for these past couple of weeks is sit back and let you take care of me.” He took her hand and brought it up to his lips. “Seems to me like you get the shitty end of the stick here. I dunno why you don't just tell me to take a hike.”

“
I like taking care of you.” She took a sip of the coffee and grimaced. “You might want to let me make the coffee next time, though.”

“
That bad, huh?” He took a sip and laughed. “Yep. Maybe next time I'll stick to man work.”

“
Maybe.” She had wanted to move the chicken run this week, but had decided against it. Deke would have insisted on doing it, and although he was much improved, it was obvious his ribs and leg were still hurting. “Just make sure there is a next time, okay?”

“
Always.”

“
Deke...” The words died on the tip of her tongue.

He let go of her hand and ran a callused finger down a cheek. “Gonna miss you, little witch.”

~ oOo ~

It took eight hours to get from Emma's little house in Idaho to Seattle, and by the time Samson pulled up outside his brother's rambling old house, his muscles were objecting loudly. He dismounted and stretched, then walked around the back and let himself into the kitchen.

“
Samson!” Beth turned and threw her arms around his neck. “Jesus, Samson. I've been worried sick. Joe said you'd been hurt, and then you just drop off the face of the planet. After what happened, I thought..... Shit, I thought all sorts of things.” She kissed him on the cheek and pushed herself away from him. “I am so pissed at you right now.”

“
Sure you are.” He grinned and, opening the fridge, helped himself to a beer. “Tiny around?”

She shook her head. “He'll be home soon. He's just gone to pick Abi up from Yaz's. Are you hungry? Dinner will be a while, but I can make you a sandwich.”

“Nah, I'm good.” He leaned on the counter and eased his weight off his aching leg. “What about you? How's my boy coming along?”

“
We're both fine.” Beth smiled and laid her hand across her rounded belly. “Are you okay? Where were you, Samson?”

“
I'm getting there, baby girl. Few bruises still, but I'm on the mend.” He scowled at her expression. “I was staying with a friend. Happy now?”

“
A friend?”

“
A friend. Stop grinning. You know how it is.”

“
What's she like?”

He couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face. “A cute little witch.”

“You like her!”

“
Fuck, Beth. How old are you? Of course I fucking like her. I wouldn't be..... Stop fucking grinning. She's a friend, okay?”

“
An old friend?”

His best glower had absolutely no effect on her; she was Tiny's old lady after all. “She's an old friend and yeah, she's cute and I like her.”

“So why am I only finding out about her now?”

“
Because it's none of your fucking business.”

She held up her hand and laughed. “Okay, I get it. Butt out, Beth.” She touched his arm. “It's good to have you back, Samson.”

“Good to be back, baby girl.”

“Samsam!”

He turned and smiled as Beth's daughter trotted across the kitchen with her arms outstretched, closely followed by her grinning father. Ignoring his screaming muscles, he bent and picked her up. “Hey there, princess. You're all snotty.”

She sniffed loudly and Beth laughed. “She's got a cold.” She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and wiped Abi's nose. “Don't get snot on Uncle Samson. He'll get all growly.”

Abi patted his cheek. “Growly Samsam.”

“When am I ever growly?” He kissed her cheek and handed her back to her mom, then turned to Tiny. “Brother.”

Tiny grinned. “Prez.” He slapped him on the shoulder before kissing his old lady. “She been giving you shit?”

“No more than usual. Thought you'd have reined her in by now.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “Why don't you guys go into the den. It'll be a while before dinner, and I'm sure you want to talk man stuff.”

Samson eased himself onto Tiny's sofa. “Say what you gotta say, brother.”

Tiny shrugged. “Ain't the first time you dropped off the grid, bro. Shit that went down... don't blame you from wanting to keep your head down.” He frowned. “You healed?”

“
Healed enough. What do we know?”

“
Not much. You been in contact with Wolf?”

“
Not yet.” He leaned forward. “Figured if there was something he would've called.”

“
So you dragged yourself away from pussy long enough to check your calls, then?”

“
Ain't like that.” For reasons he didn't quite understand, he really didn't like Emma being described as 'pussy.'

“
Makes no difference to me.” Tiny smirked. “My ol' lady might have something to say, though.”

“
Oh, she's said plenty already.”

“Are you okay, Samson?” Beth laid her hand on his forearm. “You're very quiet.”

“
Am I?” He smiled. “I'm fine, baby girl. And this is great, I swear no one cooks as well as you.”

She beamed. “Thank you. So... can your friend cook?”

He sighed and ignored his brother's smirk. “Yes, Beth. My friend can cook.”

“
Friend, huh?” Tiny grinned and continued cutting up a meatball for his daughter.

“
Jesus. Don't you two have enough going on in your own lives?”

Beth looked over at Tiny. “Actually. We do have some news.” She grinned. “We're getting married.”

“About time.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Congratulations. I'm really happy for you both.”

There had been a time, after Amy had died, when he had thought they weren't going to make it, and there could be no doubt that losing her had had a massive impact of them both. Even now with little Abigail, who was the apple of her father's eye, and another on the way, there was a fragility about their relationship. Their love for one another was clear to all, but they were more careful with each other than before. Despite this, he couldn't think of a couple who were so well matched, and no one deserved to be happy more than them. He pushed his chair back and stood up, pretending not to notice Beth's frown at his involuntary wince. “I'm gonna go out for a quick smoke, then catch some sleep.” As he passed, he laid his hand on his Tiny's shoulder. “Smartest move you've ever made, bro. Do not fuck it up.”

~ oOo ~

As a nomad of over twenty years, Samson had learned to sleep pretty much anywhere, and Tiny and Beth's guest bed was one of the most comfortable he'd ever slept on. Despite this, sleep eluded him.

In the room next door, Abi began to cry. He sighed and pulled on his jeans. No point in the whole house being awake. “Hey, hey, Princess. You all stuffed up?” He lifted her out of her crib and grabbed a tissue from the dresser. “Here let's get rid of all that gunk. You wanna go down and get some juice?”

Abi whimpered. “Mama.”

“Your mom's asleep, Princess.”

“
No, she's not.” Beth crossed the room and ran her hand across her daughter's curls. “Between Joe's snoring, this little one and her brother sitting on my bladder all night, mom doesn't get a lot of sleep these days.”

“
Go back to bed. I got this.” Samson shifted the toddler onto his hip and picked up the sippy cup. “I'll take her downstairs for a while. She's too stuffed up to sleep.” He sighed as she frowned at the sight of the faded bruises on his back. “I'm okay, Beth.”

“
I know.” She smiled and, standing on tiptoes, kissed him on the cheek “I think I'm going to make some cocoa, you want some?”

“
Sure, why not.” With Abi on his hip, he followed her downstairs. “Although I'd rather have a Jack.”

Samson bounced the little girl on his knee and took a slug of the bourbon. “So how'd you talk Tiny into getting hitched?”

Beth laughed and sat opposite him at her huge kitchen table. “I didn't. He just came home from a run and announced that he thought we should get married.”

“
You got a date fixed?”

“
Not really, but soon. Before this one's born.”

“
So...er.... has he thought about who'll be his best man?”

“
Not really, probably Spike. They've always been close. And we want to get married in Fillmore, just a small thing, just really close friends and family, so it makes sense.”

“
Oh, okay. Yeah, I guess it does.”

Beth smiled. “He wanted to ask you, but I said no.”

“Oh. Any particular reason why?”

“
Figured you'd be too busy walking me up the aisle.”

He grinned. “I guess I would. Wow. You really want me to do that?”

She nodded. “Will you?”

“
No question. It'll be an honor.”

“
Thank you.” She smirked. “You should bring your friend.”

“
For fuck's sake, Beth.” He put the - now fidgeting – toddler onto the floor and watched as she trotted over to the toy box in the corner. “You're reading far more into this than it is. We're just fuck buddies is all. Me and Emma are fine as we are. Don't matter how much you push, I ain't gonna be taking an ol' lady.”

“
I know.” She sipped her cocoa. “I still think this one is more than a fuck buddy, though.”

“
Gonna share how you came to that conclusion?”

She shrugged. “You were gone for two weeks. I know you, Samson. You're a fuck 'em and chuck 'em guy. You don't stick around. I figure this Emma has something the others don't. So, c'mon. Tell me I'm wrong.”

“I dunno why this is so important to you. But if it gets you off my back. Yeah, she is different from the others. I like being around her.”

“
How long have you known her?”

“
A while, must be four – no five – years. We hooked up when I was on my way back from Sturgis one year, and I've been going back ever since.”

“
And she's happy with this arrangement?”

“
I guess. What? Don't give me that look. If she wasn't, she only has to say.”

“
And when she decides she's had enough. Then what?” Beth took his hand. “Samson, you have been a nomad for over twenty years. What happens when you can't do it any more? When you finally want to settle in one place and the one person you could settle down with has gone?”

“
Makes no difference. I got no right to ask her to be my ol' lady, even if that was what I wanted. You know how it is, Beth. This life... it ain't easy. Emma has a nice life, she don't need my shit.”

“
Your shit. Samson, listen to yourself. I know what happened two weeks ago, and it was her you ran to. You could've laid up and healed here, but you didn't. The noise in your head was too loud.” She smiled. “That cute little witch of yours makes that noise go away, doesn't she?”

Samson didn't answer. Beth was right. Emma did quiet the noise in his head. Didn't mean he was prepared to sit and listen to any more of this, though. Abruptly he stood... and sat back down again as his left knee decided now was the moment it wasn't going to work. “Fuck.” Beth said nothing... she didn't need to. It wasn't the first time it had happened and it sure as shit wouldn't be the last. The bullet that had ripped through his thigh and the subsequent infection had damaged his femoral nerve, and even after all those years, it still plagued him sometimes. It wasn't so bad. He could walk and run okay, and he could ride. But sometimes after long rides, if it wasn't strapped up, his knee gave out. He sat for a moment avoiding the steely gaze of his brother's old lady and waiting for the burning in his thigh to die down. “Not one word, Elizabeth.”