She rubbed his thigh. "Do you want to take my car, so you can hang with both the kids for a while?"
"No. The ride on the Harley will be good for Travis. He needs some wind in his face. I can put a lot in the duffle, and he can carry a bag with whatever doesn't fit." He lifted his arm and put it around her shoulders, holding her close. "Thanks for staying for the family meeting."
"Mm..." She kissed him. "I wanted to be here."
"What time do you have to leave?"
"At seven o'clock. You have plenty of time to shop."
He grunted. After telling her he wouldn't be able to go to Riverside Bar and watch her shoot pool, he'd hoped she'd stay home with him. The warning from Tarkio that Dean would go after those he loved included her.
There was no question that Joey had filled the holes in his heart and became a part of his family. To have her there and him staying home sat wrong with him. But he couldn't deny her a chance to play. She had a goal to hit, and she wasn't there yet.
The only way he could make sure she was safe was by calling Tarkio and asking them to watch over her. He was in debt up to his eyeballs to the club. In return, he would depend on his crew to do the two remodel jobs on the schedule and would take the days off to hunt down Dean and hand him over to the motorcycle club.
He hoped he could end the outside threats to his family, so he could concentrate on the future.
He wanted Joey under his roof. His kids to be happy and thriving, knowing they had two adults that would do everything possible to make sure they knew they were loved and safe.
Joey owned his heart. She'd healed him. And thank fuck she had, so he could see how much he loved her.
Chapter 29Joey
THE STACKS OF CASH grew in front of Joey. She set the one-hundred-dollar bill in the first pile, the fifty in the second pile, and two twenties in the third pile. Picking up her pen, she jotted down the new total.
Her front door opened, and Wyatt walked in. She gathered the money and straightened the bills before slipping it all in the small tin safe where she kept the winnings from her pool games.
"Getting close?" He leaned down and kissed her upturned lips.
"Mm..." She shrugged. "Five thousand and five hundred dollars."
"You're over halfway there." He sat down at the table beside her.
"It's September. Even if I played every Friday and won the pot each time, I'd be five hundred dollars short." She slipped off her chair and sat in his lap, hooking her arms around his neck. "I have about a thousand I could take out of the safety fund for the apartment unless I hit up Kingston Bar a couple of times, then I'd be over the amount I need."
"That place isn't safe. It's not worth it."
She nuzzled his neck. "You could go with me and protect me."
"I could, but I don't want you associated with that place. All it takes is one time when you're alone, getting your hair cut or doing some shopping, and one of those guys recognizes you from the bar, and I guarantee, there will be trouble."
She doubted that. Most of the men there wouldn't connect her with the sexed-up woman who played pool. They'd probably mistake her for an apartment manager who was wildly in love with a biker and his two kids and leave her alone.
"Are you listening?" He smacked her butt.
She jolted on his lap and laughed. "Yes, sir."
He growled. "Don't start something you have no plans on finishing, tiger."
She turned his face, kissed his lips, and said, "You have to take Travis to the clubhouse. It's his last day of punishment. School starts Tuesday."
"About that..." He palmed her breast through her shirt and trapped her nipple between his thumb and index finger. "Tomorrow is Labor Day. Tarkio is throwing a party tonight. The kids have been invited to Banks' house. You think I should let Travis go?"
"He hasn't done anything fun in weeks, and today is his last day cleaning for the club." She shivered as her nipple hardened. "He's been good. I think he's talking more and seems happier."
Wyatt rubbed his hand between her breasts. She sighed, content to sit here the rest of the night, and let him touch her.
"I'll let him go to the party."
Happy for Travis to have time to enjoy something he liked to do and be around kids his own age, she kissed Wyatt deeply. "I think you made the right choice."
"You know what this means with both kids at the party for hours?"
"Hm?" She stroked his beard.
"I'll have time to come back here and be with you." He slid his hand under her shirt and rubbed her stomach. "Alone."
She kissed him. "I like that idea."
He picked her up and set her on her bare feet at the same time Travis and Jess came through the front door.
"I'm ready to go to the clubhouse." Travis rolled his eyes and turned his head. "Geez, really?"
"Maybe you could knock first." Wyatt refused to let go of Joey and spare them the cuddles. "Give me a minute, huh?"
Travis went outside. Jess stayed. "Tyler's waiting in the parking lot to take me to his house for the party. Can I go now?"
"Yeah. Be good." Wyatt wound his hand in Joey's hair. "Oh, and Jess?"
Jess stopped at the door. "Yeah, Dad?"
"I'm going to let your brother go to the party after he cleans the clubhouse. Keep an eye on him," said Wyatt.
Jess beamed him a smile. "Rad."
The door shut. Wyatt brought Joey to her toes and kissed her deeply. "You know what I want to do to you later?"
She laughed. "I couldn’t even guess."
"You naked with your legs wrapped around me, wearing those red heels
