Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
But from the look on his face, Lash knew he had no choice.
“We’ll talk after Christmas.” He held his hand up, as his son was clearly going to dispute it. “After fucking Christmas. That is final. You don’t leave. You don’t make any final decisions until I say so.”
“Did you allow Tiny to make those kinds of decisions?” Anthony asked.
Lash smiled. “Son, why do you think I’m standing here right now? I knew when to be a wiseass, and then I knew when to shut the fuck up and be a man. I suggest you do the same.”
Chapter Three
Angel stepped back and looked at the tree in her living room. It was a deep green. Lash and Anthony had picked well. There was something going on between her husband and their son. Anthony looked even more miserable than usual.
She kept a smile on her face, as even Connor looked pissed. He loved going out and picking trees. His glare came and went in between coughs. Poor boy. Her children, no matter how old they got, would always be her kids, her babies. She loved them all so much.
Chloe, her daughter, sat on the sofa. “It’s a pretty one,” she said.
“Who would like cookies and hot chocolate?” Angel asked.
All three kids raised their hands.
She gave Lash’s hand a squeeze and then made her way into the kitchen. Lash wasn’t far behind her. She poured out the milk into three mugs, and then looked at him. “Want one?”
“Yeah, I do.”
Angel chuckled. Her hot chocolate even worked on her husband.
With five mugs measured out, she poured the milk into a saucepan and placed it on a gentle heat.
“Do you want to tell me what is going on with everyone?” she asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“You and Anthony picked a beautiful tree and now won’t stop glaring at each other. That tells me that something is going on.” She grabbed her Santa spatula and stirred the milk in the saucepan to keep it from scalding. She’d already made a batch of fresh chocolate chip cookies, and they were once again in her themed jar.
She really did love this time of year. Having Christmas all around her filled her with so much joy.
Lash looked behind him and then turned toward her.
“Anthony is thinking of joining the Nomad Chapter.”
“Oh,” Angel said. “He is?”
“Yes. Don’t worry, I’m going to talk him out of it.”
Angel felt disappointed. She loved her children so much. She looked toward the doorway and sighed. “But what if he needs it?”
“Angel, come on, babe. You and I both know that’s not what he needs.”
“True, but he feels like he needs it.”
“You want him to go away?”
“No, definitely not. He’s our little boy, but … what if this is something that he needs?” She could quite easily be selfish and get Lash to talk Anthony out of it, but that didn’t feel right to her.
Lash sighed. “You do know there’s still a lot of danger out there. The Nomad Chapter has to deal with The Skulls’ reputation.”
“I get that. Trust me, I understand, Lash.” She sighed. “I just want the best for them all.” She forced a smile to her lips.
Lash groaned and moved toward her. He stood directly behind her, and just having him close was a comfort to her.
“Tell me what you want,” Lash said.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I do. I can’t have you sad on me.”
She leaned back against him. “There are some things in this world that you’re not going to be able to fix, Lash. I know you.” She rested her head against his chest. “We’ve got to allow him to grow and to do his own thing, even if it does go against everything we want for him.”
“Did I ever mention that I think parenting sucks?”
“You love being a daddy.”
“Yeah, and that’s why I know what is best for our babies.”
Angel rubbed his chest. “Do you think he can’t handle it?”
“I know Anthony can handle it. That kid can handle anything. That’s not the problem.”
“Then what is the problem?”
Lash opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. She knew she had to be patient.
“I don’t want him to go,” Lash said. “He’s my son. I don’t, he’s mine. I don’t want the Nomad Chapter to have him.”
Angel cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you.”
“I don’t quite love myself right now.”
She went back to stirring her milk as she saw the heat rising. “There is only so much we can do for them. At least we both know we’ll be there for him if he decides to go.”
“I don’t want him to go.”
She didn’t want Anthony to go either, but like his father, he could be pretty damn stubborn.
Angel removed the milk from the stove and made her way into the pantry, finding just the right chocolate chips as well as the vanilla.