Ghost rolled over in bed and opened his eyes to stare up at the ceiling, assessing if he was still drunk or just hungover. Surprisingly, he was neither. Not wanting to face the day, he rolled over to bury his head in her pillow and breathe in her scent, but he encountered an arm … a leg … a gorgeous, curvaceous ass.
He sat up so quickly, his head spun. Sidonie’s head was barely visible at the top of the blankets, but … she was there! Breathing! Alive! What the fuck? Was it all a dream? Some horrible godawful nightmare?
Suddenly a loud banging clanged in the hallway, startling him.
“Rise and shine!” Vivi yelled. Loudly.
“I’ll rise, but I refuse to shine,” Sidonie muttered darkly. “Not today, Satan!”
What the fuck was happening?
“Love you too, Sid!” Vivi called back. “Rise and shine, everyone! I cooked breakfast!”
Sidonie stretched and rolled onto her back. She smiled at him. “Morning, pretty boy.”
His hand trembled as he cupped her beautiful face. “I don’t understand.”
Concern darkened her gaze and she placed a
hand on his forehead. “Are you all right?”
“I had … fuck. I had the most horrific nightmare,” he whispered
brokenly.
“Oh, I’m sorry, baby,” she said. “Wanna talk about it?”
“No,” he said. “I never want to think about it again.”
He leaned down to kiss her and she placed her hand over her mouth. “Morning breath.”
“I don’t fucking care,” he said. Then he kissed her, sliding his tongue over her lip until she opened and allowed him inside. This was heaven. Everything else paled. The club, his past, none of it mattered. The only thing that was important was her. She was his North Star, and he’d live the rest of his days following her light.
When they broke for air, he rained kisses all over her face.
“Stop!” She laughed. “I’m gonna pee myself if you don’t stop!”
He pulled back to smile down at her. “I’ve got a serious case of déjà vu.”
Sidonie ran her fingers through his hair. “You seem very happy today.”
He kissed the inside of her wrist. “I love you.”
Her eyes widened. “You love me?”
“More than anything.”
“I love you, too. Does this mean you’ll let me pee first?”
“Always.” He laughed when she bounced off the bed and went into the en suite. He was so relieved it had all been a dream. Perhaps they should take a mini-vacation somewhere. He already knew he was going to fuck her until they both couldn’t walk straight.
His stomach growled. Rising, he grabbed his jeans from the floor and pulled them on, leaving the room to find another bathroom. Once he was done and washed his hands, he headed downstairs to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.
Vivi glanced up from the large kitchen island where she had an assortment of pancakes, waffles, fruit, toast, and cereal. There were a couple of boxes of doughnuts off to the side, and he froze in confusion.
“Are you gonna have some pancakes?” she asked brightly.
More déjà vu smacked right between the eyes. “No,” he said, frowning. “I’m going to … wait. Did you cook yesterday?”
“No, I cooked last Saturday, remember? I made French toast.”
“Right. You poisoned us.”
She gasped. “Rude. Make one little mistake and you never live it down.”
“Some fuck-ups—” He stopped. This was what he’d said yesterday. Nothing made sense. Panic filled him and he backed away as people came in to grab paper plates. With a trembling hand, he picked up a glazed doughnut and headed back to where Sidonie had just walked down the stairs.
“I’m going to give you this,” he said, holding up the doughnut. “You’re going to say I’m a fantastic boyfriend.”
She took the sticky pastry. “I thought you didn’t like the word boy.”
“Man friend sounds like a venereal disease,” he said softly.
“What?” Sidonie asked, laughing.
He shook his head. “Nothing. It’s all part of a dream I had.”
She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Love you, babe.”
As she walked away, his gaze landed on her bottom. God, he loved that ass. His phone rang and he looked down at the screen. His VP’s name popped up. Icy tendrils trailed down his spine, and he knew what this call was about before he even answered.
“Yeah?”
“Brim has a run for you,” Thorn said.
Ghost looked in the direction where Sidonie went. “I’ll go to my brother’s club if I can bring Sid with me.”
There was a minute pause. “Um, how did you know it was to your brother?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. If I can’t bring Sid with me, I won’t go.”
“I don’t see the harm, so that’s fine.”
He didn’t even say thanks, just hung up and went to find his woman. She was leaning against the island drinking coffee.
“I have a run to make and I want you to come with me.”
“Can’t,” she said. “I have to work. I’m mid-shift today, noon to eight.”
“Call out.”
Sidonie frowned. “I don’t want to call out.”
He took her hand. “Please. Just this once, please call out and come with me.”
She studied his face, and he didn’t know how else to plead with her except to show her how serious he was. Slowly, she gave a nod.
“Okay,” she said, and he let out a pent-up breath. “Let me go find someone to fill in.”
She kissed his cheek and headed back upstairs. Whatever aberration happened yesterday would soon be nothing more than a memory.
****
The trip was uneventful, but it meant everything to him since Sidonie’s arms held onto him. No more strangulation. No more morgue. No more facing a world without her in it. At the gate, they were waved in and he roared past the tall cornstalks to reach the two-story white grandstand.
When he turned off the engine, she dismounted and removed her helmet.
“Wow,” she said, eyes wide as she took in the stately house. “This is nice.”
“Thank you,” came a deep voice.
She spun. His brother Kix leaned against the porch railing, just like last time.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” Kix said. “I’m glad you did, brother.”
Ghost took hold of Sidonie’s hand and led her to the steps of the porch. “Kix, this is my woman, Sidonie. Sid, this is my brother, Kix.”
“Nice to meet you, Sidonie,” Kix said, holding out his hand.
“Same,” she replied, smiling as she shook it.
The door opened and his sister-in-law, Piper, came outside holding his newborn nephew. She smiled at them both.
“Hi,” she said to Sidonie. “I’m Piper. This is Max.”
Behind her, a little girl peeked out shyly.
“And this is Bexley,” Piper said. “Bex, can you say hi?”
She stuck a finger in her mouth and shook her head no. Ghost smiled and winked at her.
“Always good to practice stranger danger,” he said.
“Come on inside,” Piper said. “I’ll get you both some iced tea.”
It was like living the same day over but with slightly different outcomes. While Sidonie and Piper headed into the kitchen, he followed his brother into the office.
“I need to say something, Jeff,” Kix said, looking vulnerable. “I know you blame me for what happened, and I’m not trying to force an olive branch, but I asked you to come so I could tell you I’m sorry. I never meant to get you kicked off the force.”
Yesterday still played over and over in his head. How he’d talked to Kix. How anger had burned through him. But the story stuck with him, the one of him looking out for his little brother. Yes, he had, because for the most part it was them against the world.
The resentment dimmed just a little.
“I know,” he said, and he believed him. “I’m the one that chose to break the law, and I paid the price. That’s on me.”
Relief brightened Kix’s face. “Thank you.”
Ghost shrugged. “I admit, this wasn’t the future I had planned, but you hooked me up with the Death Riders. Brim is a good man. He’s a good leader.” He remembered back when all Brim wanted to do was eat a bullet to join his dead son. “In fact, I think I understand him a little a better now.”
“He is, and I’m glad he found Leia.”
“Me too. She’s pregnant, you know.”
“Oh yes, we know. Martha can’t stop talking about her new grandbaby on the way.” Kix nodded his chin toward the kitchen. “Are you two serious?”
“I have a ring. Hopefully, she’ll say yes. Can’t imagine my life without her.”
“Well, get to it, man. Life is too short.”
Yes, it certainly was. He didn’t know what yesterday was about, but that phrase hit home. Ghost wasn’t sure if it was a glitch in the matrix or a time machine malfunction. Did he fall into the multiverse, or was it simply his imagination gone wild? Whatever the case, he’d never take Sidonie’s life for granted again.
****
Piper placed the baby in a Pack ‘N Play and put her daughter in a high chair. She placed a few Cheerios cereal pieces in front of her to keep her busy. Then she gathered glasses to fill them with iced tea, pushing one in front of Sidonie along with the sugar dish.
“You have a lovely home,” Sidonie said. She dumped a spoonful of the sweetness into her tea before taking a sip.
Piper smiled at her. “Thank you. It took me and Kix a while to get to this spot. When we first met, I was hiding from a stalker who killed my parents and little brother.”
Sidonie gasped. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”
“It took a lot of time and some therapy, but I’m in a good place now. I’ve got three beautiful babies. And my life is amazing.”
“Are you trying to butter me up to the whole MC life?”
“Is it working?”
“When Ghost and I first bumped into each other, I thought he was indulging in a one-night stand. But that led to another and another, and before I knew it, I slept more at his place than mine. Then the club was attacked and I started to rethink everything.”
“I know what you mean,” Piper said. “My brother is president of the Forgotten Rebels, and I lived with them for eight years. I completely understand questioning whether to stay in this life because of the danger.”
“I think I’m in too deep now,” Sidonie murmured. “I love him too much to walk away.”
“I’m so happy to have a new sister,” she beamed. “And I’m happy you brought him back so they can talk. Kix blames himself for getting Ghost fired from the force. I keep hoping they can mend fences, so maybe we can bring them together more often.”
“Family is important.”
“Yes, it is. Do you have any family?”
“I had a great auntie who was a hoodoo practitioner, but she died a few months ago. When my apartment complex burned down, I moved to Cardinal to work in a bar and that’s where I met Ghost.”
“Love at first sight?”
“More like lust.”
They both laughed.
“Yeah,” Piper said. “Same. You two want to stay for dinner?”
“Oh, I don’t want to put you out.”
“You’re not. The entire club tends to eat as a large gathering. The more the merrier.”
“I’ll see what Ghost thinks, but I’d love to.”
****
“I didn’t think you’d come,” Kix said as they entered his office. Brim closed the door behind him.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to come, either.”
Kix nodded. “I get that. I’m glad you’re here. I don’t like this strained silence between us. I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
This previous conversation in his alternate reality came flooding back. He pulled the envelope out of his leather jacket pocket and laid it on the desk.
“This could have been sent electronically,” he said. “Lots of ways to bounce it around before it comes to rest in your coffers.”
“Yeah? Didn’t know you were a cybercrime expert.”
“I’m not. I’m not much of anything anymore except an enforcer.”
Kix narrowed his eyes. “Are you still blaming me, Jeff?”
“It’s Ghost now. Because…” My career ghosted me. That’s how the rest of the sentence went, but this time around he didn’t say it.
Seemed like he didn’t have to say it because his brother filled in the blanks. “You could’ve said no.”
“You’re my brother,” he said, calmly. Not bothering to raise his voice or speak angrily. “Of course, I wouldn’t have said no, and you knew that.”
Kix rolled his eyes. “Fine. Go right ahead and blame me if you must. I don’t even know why I tried.”
Ghost didn’t either, and although the argument was similar, he kept his mouth shut.
Kix looked resigned. “I thought we could work out our differences. After Piper gave birth to Max, it got me thinking about us. Knox is going to look out for Max for the rest of his life, just like you once said you’d look out for me. I’m sorry you lost everything, and if you have to keep blaming me then you go right ahead. But you’re losing out on your family, Jeff. Your nephews and your niece. Me.”
“I know,” he said. “And I’m trying to move past this, but I just can’t forget. I need time.”
They stared at one another for a long moment, then Kix nodded. “All right. I can give you time. Thank you for talking to me, at least.”
“Yeah, it was kinda brought to my attention that maybe I’m a little pathetic.”
“I wouldn’t use that word.”
Ghost didn’t tell him that he had, in fact, used that very word in a different reality.
“We’re getting ready to start the bar-b-que,” Kix said. “You’re welcome to stay.”
“Thanks,” Ghost replied, standing. “I’m trying, Chris. I’m really trying to move past everything.”
“I know,” Kix said softly. “And I am very sorry for my part.”