“I’m not playing anything,” she replied, glancing down the bar nervously. “I haven’t said anything to anyone, because I prefer my privacy.”
“Right,” I spat.
“It didn’t work out,” she said through her teeth. “There’s no victim here. But right now, you’re being a colossal dick. Go home, Mack.”
I laughed, irritated as hell that I couldn’t get a rise out of her. I wanted—needed—something. Any sign that she was as fucked up over all this as I was. I’d given her time to think shit over, and I’d kept my distance, but this was complete bullshit.
“You’re seriously throwin’ it all away,” I said flatly. “Because I don’t want more kids. Jesus, I know you’re young, but figured you were more mature than that.”
“From what I can see, the only immature one here is you,” she replied. “Finish your drinks. They’re on the house. Then get the fuck out.”
She walked away before I could say anything else. It was then that I started to feel stupid as fuck. Jesus Christ, what was wrong with me?
I threw a couple of twenties on the bar and left, not bothering to finish anything.
When I got home, Kara, Charlie, and Farrah were sitting on our front porch.
“Shit, sorry,” I called as I shut my bike off.
“No problem,” Farrah said. “We just got here.”
“You got your key?” I asked Kara.
“She already put her stuff inside,” Farrah answered. “But she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to have company inside.”
I looked at Kara in surprise.
“Alright,” Farrah said. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted us in your house when you weren’t there. No big deal.”
“For future reference,” I said as I reached them, “if I’m not here when you drop her off, you can go inside, or she can stay on her own.”
“I can?” Kara asked excitedly.
“When I know you’re comin’ home and I’m on my way?” I replied. “Sure.”
I ignored the way Kara rolled her eyes.
“I’d love a cup of coffee, thanks,” Farrah said as she got to her feet.
“I didn’t ask,” I said as I opened the front door.
“Could’ve sworn I’d heard you,” she said easily, following me inside.
The girls immediately ran upstairs, leaving me with the barracuda. The back of my neck tingled as I made a pot of coffee, and I knew she was staring at me. Farrah was tiny, closer to Kara’s size than Rose, but she might’ve been the most terrifying woman I’d ever met. You just never knew what she was going to do. The only thing that gave me any comfort was that she wasn’t carrying the shotgun she liked to pull out when shit got rowdy at the clubhouse.
“What’d you do?” she finally asked as I set a cup of coffee down in front of her.
“Why does everyone think I did somethin’?” I asked in frustration. “Why don’t you ask your niece what happened?”
“She’s not talking.”
“Then why don’t you respect that?”
Farrah laughed. “Not the way it works, kid.”
“I’m not that much younger than you.”
“You’ll always be that much younger than me,” she replied, taking a sip of her coffee. “Even if we were the same age—which we aren’t. Not even close.”
“Say what you need to say,” I replied.
“This is your show,” she announced, waving her hand toward me. “Start talking.”
“Nothin’ to say.”
“Oh, yeah?” she said, tilting her head to the side. “Where were you tonight?”
“None of your fuckin’ business.”
“Not hasslin’ my niece at work, I hope.”
“The fuck?”
“Casper’s got eyes everywhere, kid. Not a damn thing happens that we don’t know about.”
“Then why the fuck did you let that shit go on with Copper so long?” I shot back.
Her eyes darkened. “Can’t see what happens behind closed doors,” she said.
“Because you shouldn’t. It’s none of your goddamn business.”
“My kids, my business.”
“Last time I checked, Rose was Grease and Callie’s.”
Farrah chuckled. “If you think that, you haven’t been paying attention.” She pointed at me. “That girl is as much mine as she is Callie’s. Her brothers, too.”
We stared at each other for a long time, the girls’ laughter in the bedroom the only thing breaking the silence.
“She wants kids,” I finally said, irritated that I broke first.
“And you don’t?”
“I had a vasectomy years ago.”
“Fucking hell,” she said as her eyes widened. “I forgot all about that.”
“Guess it’s a deal-breaker,” I said, keeping my expression neutral.
“You didn’t tell her?” Farrah asked.
“Thought everyone knew.”
“Assuming makes you an ass.” Farrah glanced toward the bedroom. “Can’t those things be reversed?”
“If I wanted it reversed,” I replied.
“Ah,” she said in understanding.
“Ah, what?”
“There’s a difference between, sorry, baby, I did this before we met and sorry, baby, I don’t want any more kids.” She stood up. “The first one can be fixed—plenty of ways to build your family without sperm. The second one can’t.”
“That’s it?” I asked as she started around the table.
“What?” she laughed. “You want my advice now? Alright, here it is. If you don’t want more kids, then stay away from Rose. Even if by some chance you get her back, you’re stealing away something precious. Because even if she agrees to go along with it, she’ll never be happy. She’ll resent the hell out of you.”