I went to take a step toward her when I remembered Kendra hanging on me. Fuck. The dickhead was right—there was no comparison between Kendra and Brenna. Even with her skin pasty white and pain written across her face, Brenna would win hands fuckin’ down.

Poet walked up to Brenna and made eye contact with me. I knew he’d take care of her, so I left her standing there in the driveway while I took my old lady inside. Kendra seemed completely unaware of what she had stumbled into, and as we walked inside, she was talking about how much she’d missed me and all she’d done the past two weeks. Was she always this goddamn annoying? Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard, and I had never realized it until I heard Brenna’s husky rasp again. And why was this bitch talking like a five-year-old? Did she think it was attractive? She hadn’t done that shit before I left. I was going to have to put a stop to it. If she pulled that shit while I was fuckin’ her, I’d go soft, guaranteed. I wished she would just shut the fuck up for a second.

Trix ran to me as soon as we sat down in some chairs in a corner of the room. I pulled her close as she called me Papa over and over. Her hands clenched in the neck of my T-shirt, stretching it to shit, as she burrowed herself under my cut. My girl was a little shaken up, so I just held her tight and let her do her thing.

Kendra had a strange look on her face, but I didn’t give a shit. I’d tell her and be done with it. If she had a problem with my girl, she could kick rocks. Bitches were thick on the ground; it wouldn’t take long to find someone else. Fuck, if I were being honest, I wouldn’t go looking. There was only one woman I wanted in my bed.

I glanced back up at the door, but Brenna still hadn’t come inside. Fuck, but I really wished I were out there, taking care of her myself.

I ended up taking a nap with Trix, and we didn’t see Dragon again that night. I assumed he had taken his bitch home to make sure she didn’t need to see a dentist. I was pretty sure I’d knocked some shit loose. I was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I had just knocked a chick out like a common club slut. It was not my finest moment.

However, as I went over it again and again in my mind, I realized that I would do it again. I was pissed that Dragon had an old lady, but that wasn’t her fault. She probably didn’t even know about me—not that there was much to know, except for one night five years ago. I hated the fact that he was with her, but I wouldn’t have hit her for it. However, I could not and would not let her anywhere near my daughter. The way she looked at Trix still made me want to hit something. Who the hell glares at a four-year-old little girl when she thinks no one is looking?

Eh, I just hoped I wouldn’t have to see her again.

After dinner that night, Slider informed me that we would be moving into the little house the next day, so I needed to pack my shit. I was relieved to get away from the tension in the clubhouse, and I couldn’t wait to sleep without a flailing Trix. I missed having our own space, but I was also really nervous about being out there alone. One of the guys would always be close to our place, but that didn’t keep my fears at bay.

The morning of the move was rainy and wet, and I had never been so glad that we didn’t have many things with us. Pop and I packed our stuff into my little car, and I followed the dirt road to the far edge of the property. The house was nice…little but nice. It had a front porch that begged for a rocking chair and plenty of grass out front for Trix to play in. The inside had an open floor plan, and the front door opened directly into the living room with the outdated kitchen behind it. A little hallway held a bathroom and two bedrooms the size of postage stamps, but I figured they would work just fine for Trix and me. We didn’t need much space.

I spent the day familiarizing myself with where everything was, making a grocery list so Vera could run to the store for us the next day, and getting our little house all finished.

Vera had rounded up the old ladies, and they all pitched in furniture and other household stuff I forgot I’d needed until I had to start with nothing, giving us things they didn’t need or just didn’t want. The ugly couch in the living room was still in really good condition, so I was pretty sure that was in the didn’t want category. Nothing in the house matched, and it caused a little anxiety in my chest when I looked around. I was used to keeping things immaculate, and even when our little house was clean, it would never look the way I’d been forced to keep things before.

Trix and I both had beds and dressers in our rooms, which I was really thankful for. My queen-size bed seemed massive in my room with little space to walk around the edges. The dresser had actually been moved into the closet because there wasn’t enough room otherwise. Trix’s room was perfect though. Her twin bed fit perfectly against one wall, and she had plenty of room to store her toys and clothes. I couldn’t wait to take Trix to pick out some character bedding and matching curtains. At Tony’s, Trix’s room looked like something out of a magazine, all muted colors and cream carpets. I wanted her to have a kid’s room here—a room where she could leave Barbies on the floor and put those little glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the ceiling.

The rooms were situated in such a way that Trix’s windows faced the front of the house and mine faced the back. I was happy with this at first because it meant that sunlight would be streaming through my windows at the ass crack of dawn and not Trix’s. I could sleep through it; she could not. It took me about one minute before the fact that our rooms faced different sides of the house started to freak me the hell out. If someone were trying to get into Trix’s room, I wouldn’t even hear it. I’d be completely oblivious. Shit. I didn’t know if I even wanted Trix that far away from me. What if something happened? I decided to push my thoughts away in favor of puttering around our new little house. I could stress about our bedrooms when it was time for bed; there was no need to worry this early in the day about sleeping arrangements.