Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
All these comebacks she had one day thought to have with her mother, would have all worked on the woman her mother had been in the past. Not the woman now. Now, she saw the helplessness. The agony from years of neglect and abuse she had dished out, and yet Nikki was still here with her mother, enjoying a meal.
But the only reason this had happened was because her mother had changed so fundamentally. It was shocking to see. At times, she didn’t know if she could believe it or not, it seemed so far-fetched. The truth was she hadn’t been here. Her mother had gone through something life-changing.
“Yes, I remember, he is kind of too scary to forget.”
She smiled. “Well, he, uh, he pretty much faked me getting a job.” Seeing her mother’s confusion, she told her everything she knew—the run of bad luck she had, her car, her trailer, and then her job. How this placement at the salon was like a dream come true, only for her to find out it was all a lie. A fake. She hated being lied to, and she hated being pitied.
“So, you quit?”
“Yes, I got a job at this fast-food place, and Darlene, the owner of the salon, called and said my job is still there, but I can’t go back.”
Ethel frowned. “Why not?”
“It was all based on a lie. How can I take something that is a lie?”
Her mother sighed and seemed to stare into the corner of the room. “I can see why that is difficult. Did you enjoy working with this Darlene?”
“Yeah, she was great. I learned so much from her and I loved studying the course.” She shrugged. “It just doesn’t feel right and I don’t want to bump into him, or anyone at the club. He was too embarrassed to be seen with me.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter if I loved the job, it was all a lie, and that sucks but it doesn’t change it.”
Silence met her answer. She twirled some more spaghetti onto her fork and stuck it into her mouth.
“I get that he has hurt you, and I am not telling you to forgive him, but I don’t see why you should stop doing something you love because of what he has done.” Her mother winced. “Does that sound bad?”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“These meatballs are good.”
“They are, aren’t they?”
Chapter Fifteen
Hawk was not a happy man. Everyone at the club knew to keep a wide berth from him. It had only been a week since it had blown up in his face, but he was ready to explode. The women didn’t go near him. He dealt with work, the club, and on rare occasions he made it out to the small mechanic shop where he liked to work on project cars. It was where he ended up taking Nikki’s car to get it fixed. He did all the work on her car, as he didn’t trust anyone else to get it right. He was the only person he trusted with her.
Even though he was freezing his balls off, he was under an engine, looking at the rusted parts, knowing it was going to take a lot of work. He didn’t mind getting his hands dirty.
With the snow set to fall, any potential runs came to an end. He, nor his father before him, willingly risked the lives of the club for anyone. They would take the runs that were not a risk to life, and snowy, icy conditions were too extreme to take that chance.
So, he was staying close to home, and every time he saw Trixie or the women at the club, even Lindsey, he was pissed at them. He’d come close to tossing them out on their asses, but he held himself back. It was not their fault that he fucked up. He didn’t have to make their lives harder.
As for Nikki, he was giving her space, but he now knew she worked at a busy fast-food place. She would often take her lunch break in her car, drinking a large cup of coffee.
She didn’t call him or text. According to Darlene, other than one call, she still hadn’t heard from her either. He’d already called ahead to the college and asked for them to hold on her course. He didn’t want her to have to start all over again. Everything was fucked up, and he was pissed off.
“Hey.”
He looked up to see Darlene stepping out of her car and coming toward him. She was wrapped in a large puffy jacket, wearing a wooly hat, scarf, and gloves.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I came to see you. You know, what friends do and all.”
He stared at her and waited.
“I guess you and I are no longer friends?”
“I don’t know what you want, Darlene. It’s getting cold, so I suggest you get your ass back in the car and leave.”