“What the f**k is going on now?” Tiny asked.
“I invited Cheryl for a girls’ day at the spa. She loved it, and now he’s acting like we were trying to lure him back to the club through his woman.” Eva shot a glare at him.
Tiny wrapped his arms around Eva. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. Look at her. She’s so sad by what he said.” She pushed Tiny away from him. “You know what, Butch? You’re an ass**le. Cheryl, honey, I came to see you because I wanted to get to know you. We’re not a bad lot of people, no matter what people think.” She glared at Butch. “Today had nothing to do with you. You’re the one who left the club. She’s got a son with another member, so stay the f**k away from it all. In fact, she’s got more right than you, so stay the hell away.”
He watched Eva storm to the car. Her face turned into a smile when she saw her children. Butch felt like an ass, the shame clawing at him as the other members left. The humiliation was deep.
“Are you going to take me home?” Cheryl asked.
Crap, what the f**k was he doing? She didn’t deserve his anger or anything else he had to say to her.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Why did you leave the club?” she asked.
Looking down at the ground he shook his head. “This conversation needs to take place in private.”
He straddled the bike then waited for her to climb on behind him.
You’re a f**king bastard for what you just did.
Feeling selfish and stupid, he turned the ignition on. Once her arms were tight around his waist, he made his way toward her home. The sun was setting. She headed inside her home as he put the bike away. There was a time when he’d spend hours cleaning his machine after riding on it. Since meeting Cheryl, he didn’t find the time to simply clean a machine that got him from one place to another. He preferred to spend time with her.
Locking the door behind him, he heard her in the kitchen. She was banging pans and cups as she worked around the small room. He really needed to find them a bigger place to live.
“What was that outside the spa? If you had a problem with me getting to know them you should have told me,” she said, turning on him with hands on her hips. She looked so f**king sexy when she was angry.
“I don’t have a problem with you hanging out with them. I overreacted, and I shouldn’t. I’m an ass**le.”
“Yeah, you’re an ass**le. We’re all getting the fact you’re an ass**le.” She started to laugh. “What do you want from me?”
“Nothing. I just want you, Cheryl.” He reached out, taking her hands.
“You’re confusing me.”
“I left the club because I didn’t want you hurt,” he said. It was time for her to know the truth. “Angel, the woman everyone keeps mentioning, she’s on vacation in Italy. A much needed vacation. She’s been through so much in the last couple of years.” He stopped, gritting his teeth. The truth needed to come out. “Angel has lost a baby, and it almost drove her mad. She’s been hurt, beaten up, and shot because we’ve all got enemies. This is what she’s been through. Tate, Kelsey, all of them have been through their fair share of f**king pain. I did not want to bring that to you.”
Her eyes were wide. “What?”
“The Skulls is dangerous. We’re a club that takes care of the town, but it all comes with risks. We’ve had members die because of it. Women get hurt. I don’t want you to get hurt or Matthew.”
“You quit the club before we were even a couple,” she said.
“I knew what I wanted. The only way I could take a chance with you and Matthew was to be free of the danger.” He cupped her face.
“You shouldn’t have left the club.”
“I’m not going back.”
She pulled away from him, folding her arms, shutting him out.
“They’re your family, Butch.”
“Not anymore. We’ve got our own family here. We can make this work for us.”
Cheryl chuckled. “We can make this work with you washing dishes and me working at a florist? The Skulls always being there with no chance of ever leaving the town.”
“It wouldn’t be like that.” The doubts reared their ugly heads.
“How can you know that? You’re a Skull, Butch. A lot of people know who you are. How do you know you’re not a liability to Matthew and me?” She looked past his shoulder. “You can’t do this. You can’t quit the club because of me. This is not who you are.”
“We can do this.”
“No, we can’t! You’re not supposed to spend your f**king life in front of a kitchen sink, Butch. You look out of place in the café. In fact, you looked miserable. Staying inside a building, confined there for hours at a time is not suitable for you.”
Butch tightened his fists. Staying in the café for hours at a time was driving him crazy. He’d been ready to hurt anyone who told him he couldn’t wash dishes when Cheryl turned up today. The moment he saw her it felt worth it.
“I can do this.”
“Stop it. The club has been your life for a long time. You told me that you grew up in a club.”
Her mention of his past reminded him of the conversation he’d had with Becca, the doctor who saved him. He’d warned her that Frederick was out looking for her. The doctor knew what to do to go to ground. She was leaving her life behind and heading for the hills away from any apparent danger. He had to believe she’d be okay. There was nothing else he could do to protect the older woman. She’d told him to watch his back.
Butch took a step back. Her words were finally getting to him, holding him in place. Staring at Cheryl, he smiled. “You’re telling me to go back to the club?”
“I’m telling you to think long and hard about what you want. You’ve always been in the club, and I don’t want you to hate me when you can no longer find a reason to not be with them.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“How do I know that? In fact, how do you know that?” she asked, firing the questions at him.
Butch hadn’t seen past the immediate future. What would he do in years to come when there was no threat? Would he blame her? Start to hate her?
The thought of hating Cheryl didn’t sit right with him. There was no way it could happen, but again, he couldn’t know for certain how he’d feel.