Page 5 of Peer & Coco

Chapter 2

A group of five menwalked through the doors of The Fire Ring. Coco finished hanging up the order on the wheel in the window of the kitchen while the customers seated themselves. They took the table near the door, and a burst of energy motivated her to cross the room and greet them.

The tips tonight would rock.

"Welcome to The Fire Ring. What can I get you men?" She leaned next to the closest customer. "Wait. Let me guess." She studied the guys. "Beer all around?"

"Sounds good. Three pitchers to start us off." The one near her draped his arm around her shoulders.

She quickly extracted herself from his hands. "I'll get to those right away. Anything to eat?"

While two of the men ordered food, the other three turned their attention to the game going on at the pool table. A couple walked in, giving her an excuse to put the order on the wheel and attend to the other customers.

Fifteen minutes later, she looked at the clock behind the bar. She only had ten minutes until her last break.

"Hey." Peer turned his back to the customers sitting on the other side of the counter. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Run over and check on Tyr for me." Peer tossed the bar towel over his shoulder.

"No problem. My break is in a few minutes. I'll go spend it with him."

His prominent brow lowered and he stepped closer, deepening his voice. "Go now. I'll cover your customers for you."

She studied his tense expression. "Is everything okay?"

"I hope so," he muttered.

He walked down to the cash register. Concerned, she shook her head in bewilderment and walked out of the main room into the hallway. Tyr would be awake. Because of their work hours, they'd trained him to sleep when they retired for the night—usually between two-fifteen and three o'clock in the morning.

Out the back door, the fresh night air hit her face. She raised her arms out to her sides and walked across the alley to the clubhouse.

Roar, the president of Slag Motorcycle Club, stood by the door with Markus, Brage, and Elling, also members. "Are you trying to fly?"

When she'd lived with Lizzy and Roar, she'd learned that the Norwegian men making up Slag Motorcycle Club could be funny when they wanted to be. It was hard to read their facial expressions but if she listened for the lift in their rough voices, she could sense amusement coming from them before their joke hit her.

She waved her arms up and down. "If I could, I would."

"Girl, something isn't right with you." Markus grinned. "Are you running away from work? Cause I'm not taking your place."

"No worries, bud." She opened the door. "Roar's too good of a boss for me to up and quit tonight."

Going inside, she stopped and looked around at all the Slag members filling the clubhouse. She found Holly strolling around near the back wall and weaved her way through the room. A smile overtook her face the closer she came to them.

Holly followed Tyr in his walker, pretending to chase him. Love spread through her at the happiness on Tyr's chubby face.

He loved all the attention from the women and the members of Slag. They were his family and the one constant in his life. He loved them all, but when he was tired, he wanted his pappa. Only then, when she witnessed the sad cries from fighting sleep and the sweaty, red face from his struggles, Tyr broke her heart.

It was as if on his first birthday, Tyr knew something was missing in his life. That his mother wasn't there to soothe him to sleep. That his mother wasn't giving him the love he deserved.

She approached Holly. Tyr hadn't spotted her yet. He was in a race to go everywhere his tiny legs could push him in his wheeled cart.

"How's he doing?" she asked, walking with Holly.

"I just fed him, so he's wound up." Holly reached out and grabbed the back of the walker, turning Tyr to keep him from going near the stairs.

"Peer wanted me to check on him." She laughed when Tyr's head turned like a baby owl, and he blinked at her before squealing and pounding his hands against the attached tray.