Page 14 of Peer & Coco

"Are you not feeling good?" She put the spoon in the bowl. "I could fix you something light if you want."

He shook his head and looked down the hallway before meeting her gaze again. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." She stepped back expecting him to come into her bedroom.

He lifted his chin, motioning her to come out. She followed him into the living room.

When he sat on the couch, she sat down, too. No longer hungry, she put her bowl on the floor at her feet, knowing she wouldn't eat anymore.

Something was bothering Peer. Maybe he'd changed his mind about raising Tyr away from the clubhouse and planned to move back.

"What's up?" she asked, curling her bare legs underneath her and pulling down her nightshirt.

Peer remained tense and looked across the room. She waited for him to tell her what he'd sought her out for. Whatever it was, it couldn't be as bad as he imagined.

If he was going to quit renting the house, she'd move back in with Lizzy and Roar. She'd be welcome there, and she could help Lizzy out with the baby until she figured out her next move. Since Hanne was so young she slept in their bedroom at night, she couldn't imagine them telling her she couldn't use her old room for a few weeks.

"Kelli called me," blurted Peer.

She gawked, caught herself, and slowly exhaled to compose herself. Since Tyr was left at the gate for Peer to find, Kelli had never shown back up. She'd ghosted Peer and Tyr.

Peer had tried to find Tyr's mom. He'd told her about all the dead-ends he'd run into in his search. She'd supported him, secretly pissed at Kelli.

Not that she'd ever been friends with her. At one time, when Kelli had her on-again/off-again relationship with Peer, Coco worked with her at the bar.

She knew Kelli was a jealous bitch. Even back then, she could never figure out what Peer liked about Kelli and what kept him going back to her. When Kelli had come back to Portland and informed Peer she was pregnant in front of a full crowd at The Fire Ring, she'd felt awful for Peer.

Far as she knew, he and Kelli never tried to work things out, but she knew without a doubt that Peer had always planned to be a part of his son's life.

She leaned closer and squeezed his forearm. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know what I want to do." He glanced at her. "I've been thinking about going back to Norway."

Her chest squeezed. She couldn't imagine not having Peer and Tyr in her life.

Dread filled her pounding heart. She rubbed his arm, lost on what to tell him. Of course, she wanted him to stay. If he moved away, Tyr would grow up, and she'd lose the bond she had with him.

And, she'd miss Peer.

But she couldn't tell him that. What kind of friend would she be if she pushed him in one direction because she had feelings for him?

They'd made a make-shift family, the three of them. A dysfunctional one, but she was used to living in a messed-up family. It was only her and her mom until her stepdad came around with kids of his own. Then, her stepdad left her mom and his own children.

Her mom had survived, and she'd supported all the kids that she loved, who weren't born from her.

It was total chaos growing up, and she'd left the month after she turned eighteen years old. Now that she was older and had the experience of Peer raising Tyr on his own, she could understand where her mom's strength came from.

"I imagine you and Kelli will want to do what is best for Tyr," she said softly.

Peer turned his attention to her, his gaze hardening. She swallowed, her throat constricting. Peer had shown every emotion in front of her, and she knew he was easy going until someone pushed him too far, and he could lose his temper.

She'd seen him lose it twice at the bar when a customer got too grabby with her and when someone from another motorcycle club walked into The Fire Ring as if they owned the place.

Even then, she had never witnessed the pain showing in his eyes.

"I don't want her in his life." He caught her hand, playing with the ring on her thumb. "I don't stand a chance if she wants him back. No court, no judge in the world would look at me and say I could keep him. If I go to Norway, Slag can hide me. Hide us."

She sucked in a breath, seized by the turmoil in his eyes. There had to be something she could do to help him. Running away and hiding Tyr away from everyone who loved him wasn't the answer, even though she could understand him wanting to protect his son.