The Secrets That Find Us (The Devils Dust MC Legacy)

Lee carries Penelope and leads the way to the front door. There’s a gray box on the door handle and he opens it up and punches in a code. Erica must have told him about it, and the door clicks open. Following him in, it smells of fresh paint and it’s well lit with natural lighting. There are wooden floors leading into a kitchen with an island with just enough space to the left for a kitchen table, and a beautiful view above the kitchen sink. Turning on my heel, the other room is carpeted and a fireplace sits in the corner. I can’t help but think of Penelope and me here on Christmas morning with a fire going.

“It’s definitely nice.”

His voice carries as he comes out of a door at the back of the house.

Coming back into the foyer, we head up the stairs, the banister shiny and smooth with a light hanging down to showcase the steps. At the top of the stairs there’s a bathroom, to the left there’s a room and to the right another room. I follow Lee to the left, coming into what looks like the master bedroom. It’s big and has a bathroom attached with a shower and tub. The counter has two sinks even. Running my hand along the marble top, I think about what side he might give me for when I stay over. My little black toothbrush holding its place just by the faucet.

“What are you doing with the other room?” I ask, following him out of the bathroom. I bet he’s going to make it a man cave filled with video games and weight lifting crap.

“I don’t know, let’s go see how big it is,” he tells me just as he lets down Penelope and she runs across the room, following Lee out of the bedroom, past the banister, and to the other room.

He opens the door and she disappears inside giggling, a sound I’ll never get tired of hearing.

Finally catching up to them, I watch Penelope run up to the window and look outside with curiosity. She’s so damn cute!

“Wow, this would be perfect for a kid, D.”

My head snaps in his direction but he’s looking at Penelope with a lost look on his face.

“What do you mean?” I need more information than that. Like he wants to have kids one day, or is he talking about Penelope? Is he wanting us to move in here?

His eyes finally slip to mine.

“Stay here with me, Penelope will have her own room, a nice house, and you can still have the garage you wanted.”

My mouth opens to protest, but Lee presses his hand over my lips to silence me. Anger bubbles at the surface but the way he looks at me has me simmer down and melt into his hold.

“Don’t think. When you do that, your pride talks. I want you here with me, and I want Penelope too. Hell, the little girl hasn’t even been in my life twenty-four hours and I already can’t imagine not having her around. I have this gut feeling inside of me like I need to protect her, keep her close. Ya know?” His hand falls from my mouth and I watch Penelope running around the room, and know exactly what he’s talking about.

“It means, it would be good for her to have her own room and the garage I was going to buy wouldn’t give her that,” I think out loud, biting my lip in thought. “I could even decorate it for her.” I know she likes frogs, but she and I could pick paint out and bedsheets. I wonder what her favorite color is?

“Exactly, you’d fucking rock making this room up for her. Plus, it’s close to the club so your dad won’t chime in about you being too far away,” he suggests like it’s no big deal but it is.

Lee and I just became official and now I have a kid, and he wants us to move in together. Couples take months, sometimes years, before they reach this milestone.

“You don’t think this is too fast?” I finally ask, looking to him for an honest answer.

He laughs, grabs me with both hands and picks me up in one jerk. I wrap my legs around him and my arms hold on to the back of his neck.

“Baby, you think too much. You wanna know what I think?”

“What?”

“I think it’s time to cowgirl up.” His tone takes on a southern drawl and I throw my head back, laughing before resting my forehead against his.

“You take us in, then you have yourself a family, Lee, not roommates,” I whisper, telling him this isn’t just a temporary situation, this is as serious as it gets just short of a marriage when you involve a kid. I can’t have him in mine and Penelope’s life just to walk out because he discovers this it’s too much.