Page 41 of Peer & Coco

Chapter 16

Coco walked the leavingcustomers to the front door. From behind the bar, Peer stuffed the towel in the glass he held and blindly cleaned the water spots while watching her talk.

The two men made Coco laugh.

She threw back her head and curved her spine in a way that showed pure enjoyment over whatever the men entertained her with. He glared fire at the group, his body tensing. She deserved all kinds of happiness, but he had little time to be the one to give her those free-giving laughs that'd made him fall in love with her.

"You're going to break the glass," said Roar.

Peer looked down at his hands and set the tumbler on the counter. It was a slow night, and getting slower the longer he watched Coco interact with the customers.

Roar, sitting on the other side of the counter, poured beer from the pitcher in front of him. "Everything going okay?"

"Ja." He flung the towel over his shoulder, his gaze following Coco through the room as she went to check in on the tables within her area. "It's Saturday night. What could be wrong?"

"A hell of a lot. Thankfully, Slag's holding their own." Roar looked over his shoulder toward the windows. "For now."

Peer followed his gaze, spotting the Federal Agent outside through the one-way glass, leaning against the fender of his black car. Last time the Fed came around, looking to take down the club, Brikken Motorcycle Club's activities drew him away from Slag. For a few months, they had a break. A reprieve. Things had been looking up.

"Shit always happens at the same time." Peer braced his hands on the counter. "It's all going to blow up."

Roar put down his mug. "You're usually not one to let things bring you down."

"I'm not down." Peer gritted his teeth, taking in Coco chatting with a couple by the pool table. "Kelli's hanging around Portland."

"She's here?"

He straightened. "Here. There. Hell, I don't know where she's at. She called out of fucking nowhere, wanting to see my son. Then, she popped over to the house in the middle of the night when I was out of town, trying to convince Coco to let her see Tyr."

Roar whistled low. "Not good, brother."

He scoffed, agreeing. Kelli should never have gone around him and contacted Coco.

"Do you plan on letting her back in your life? In Tyr's life?" asked Roar.

His chest tightened, spreading an uncomfortable warmth over him. With everything going on with Slag and trying to enjoy his relationship with Coco, he hadn't confided in any of his MC brothers or his president about his personal problems.

"She gave him away. Abandoned him and never looked back. He was a newborn and helpless in every aspect of his life." Peer's lip curled. "She deserves nothing."

Roar looked down at the counter and smeared the condensation mark from underneath his beer with the palm of his hand. "I can't even imagine a mother leaving her baby."

Since Lizzy had a child not too long ago, Roar would understand. There was an internal hormone bonding a mother to a baby. A physical ownership over an infant who had been nurtured and created within a woman that drove her to protect, love, care, and bond. He'd seen that warrior quality in every woman who'd had children. Hell, he'd seen the same tendencies in Coco around Tyr, and she wasn't related by blood to his son.

Somehow, there wasn't an ounce of being a mother in Kelli's body.

"I'll tell you right now if Kelli pushes me or tries to go for custody..." Peer leaned over, braced his elbows on the counter, and whispered, "I'll go back to Norway and hide deep in Slag to protect my son."

Roar's gaze intensified. "You have my full support and understanding. Always, brother. We'll prepare for that to happen."

He dipped his chin. Things would go smoother if he had the Portland Chapter at his back.

There would need to be another voting if he left. Slag would have to find another Treasurer for the club. He'd start over in Norway at the bottom and need to prove his worth and loyalty. The amount of money he'd receive from the pot, being a regular member, would barely cover his needs, now that he had Tyr. But he knew children within Slag would not go without.

His son would have a roof over his head, clothes on his body, food in his belly, and all the love a boy would need, and then some. Whether he was in Portland or Norway.

He looked out at Coco, finding her walking toward the kitchen window with an order in her hand. His head pounded. He couldn't ask Coco to uproot her life, go away to a foreign country, and leave everything and everyone she knew for him.

Yet, he couldn't face leaving her. She was a part of his life that made him whole. Without her, he was only a single father, lonely and full of rage.