Page 67 of August 20

Skye broke away from Maverick and went to Dio. "Where's Flower's momma?"

"In the clubhouse." Dio clicked his tongue. "Last I saw her, she slept on the pool table."

"Can I go see her?"

Dio looked at Maverick. He dipped his chin.

"Yeah." Dio held up his fist. "Knuckle bump first."

Skye tapped her fist against Dio and ran down the aisles toward the back. Maverick hurried after, stopping her at the door so that he could look inside first. It wasn't always the best place to bring a kid. Though during the daytime, he had less of a chance of running into the bitches that hung around. At night, the place was off-limits to kids.

Seeing a few pass-arounds on the sofa with a few members, he whistled to get their attention and then sliced his hand in the air, asking them to hold off. Then, he brought Skye inside.

The women tugged the front of their shirts higher, closed their legs, and remained on the men's laps. He caught Link's gaze and nodded his appreciation. Some men had kids and wives, but they were rarely brought around the clubhouse. However, when they were, they all respected the individual members' need to hide the activities at the clubhouse.

Skye ran over to the pool table. Seeing the cat on the felt, he let his daughter entertain herself with the former stray and headed over to Bane and Jagger at the big table.

As he approached, both men looked around the room before motioning for him to sit. He pulled out a chair and sat where he could keep an eye on Skye.

Jagger latched his hands behind his head. "Are you back full-time?"

He nodded. His life was signed over to Havlin Motorcycle. They'd given time to sort out his shit, and he needed to go back to doing his job.

There was still a part of him that was leery about leaving Skye alone with Brooke. Not because he lacked trust in how she would care for his daughter. Hell, she knew more about parenting an eight-year-old than him. But, he couldn't shake off the thought that if Brooke and Skye were together, without him, she'd take his daughter and drive away from Seaglass Cove without him.

Chapter Thirty Two

Skye buried her head into Maverick's shoulder, making herself small as possible. Brooke tucked the blanket around her niece. Their playtime on the beach had become a punishment for all of them as the sand in the wind peppered their bodies.

The breeze kicked up, throwing sand into the air.

Maverick's arm tightened around her, and his hand came up and covered her eyes. Blinded, she could only hold on to him and let him guide her to the car.

She dug her bare toes into the sand to keep up with him. The beating felt like pinpricks on her legs, her arms, wherever no clothes were protecting her.

The backpack, carrying their shoes and Maverick's boots, protected her back.

Struggling up the dune, she yelled, "Go ahead and take Skye to the car."

She couldn't keep up. Without seeing where they were going and plastered against Maverick, she slowed them down. He could go faster without worrying about her.

The storm wasn't letting up. The only way to get Skye to shelter was if Maverick ran ahead of her.

Raindrops landed on her. Breathing hard, she struggled to keep her feet moving forward and not tripping on the uneven ground.

Maverick stayed with her, ignoring her cry to leave her.

She held on to his vest and trudged through the sand. The squall of a gull carried on the wind. Even the birds were caught off guard by the storm arriving earlier than expected.

The weather wasn't supposed to change until later that night.

When they'd set out to grab lunch at McDonald's and eat on the sand, the calm before the storm had landed over the area. But once they finished eating, the clouds came faster than they could walk.

The soles of her feet hit the asphalt. More confident in her next step, she picked up her pace. They weren't parked far from where the sand ended, and the parking lot began.

Maverick's arm came off her, and he grabbed her hand. She peeked through her eyelashes, able to see where she was going now. The dune protected them from the worst of the assault.

He opened the door and swung Skye inside, closing her inside the vehicle. Then, he opened the passenger door. Brooke jumped into the car, leaning over and unlocking the driver's door for Maverick to slide behind the steering wheel.