Page 26 of Stonewall

He pulled on his jeans, picked up the rest of his clothes, and leaned down to give me one of his hot kisses. “I will talk to you in a bit…” he hesitated like he wanted to say something more but didn’t, instead walking out the door.

I sighed, rolling to the edge of the bed. Lenny had me hooked, and I wanted nothing more than to have a future with him. However, I needed to divorce Flex. Lenny said one of the old ladies named Mandy could help me; I would have to follow up and start the paperwork. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood, forcing my legs to walk into the bathroom.

Shower and then some breakfast. Today would be my first time going into the kitchen to eat. I was nervous, but I texted Tildie to go with me. I had met Travis a few days ago and was surprised at how young and handsome he was and so attentive to Tildie. I could tell he was a good man who obviously loved her, and I was thrilled for Tildie; she had been through so much.

I showered and put on a purple sundress with some sandals. Covered my bruises and headed downstairs to meet Tildie. I was amazed at the kitchen and the food provided. I sat with Tildie and Travis, who was now moving around on his own. There weren’t many people in the kitchen, and I was glad. I was introduced to Ann, Black, Silver, Jane, and Poison I already knew from last night. All seemed really nice. A member name Kickstand came in and gave me a code for the doors to the clubhouse. They took security seriously here.

When I was done with my breakfast, I still had a half hour or so before Sophia brought Gael, so I told Tildie I would see her later and went out the back door to take a short walk. I was about to start down a path when I saw a side-by-side approaching the clubhouse. It was Lenny, and he had a woman with him. She was a beautiful blonde holding a baby.

I moved back against the wall so he couldn’t see me as I watched him stop and sit and talk with the woman. Lenny cared about this woman; it was in his eyes, his intense focus as he spoke with her, and when he reached out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear, my stomach dropped, and jealousy flooded my insides.

Who was she?

The door opened, and a dark-haired woman walked out. I had never seen her before, but she lit a cigarette joining me by the wall. “I’m Lexi. Brooke, right?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I answered and then asked, “Who is that woman talking to, Stonewall? I haven’t met her yet.” I used his road name so she wouldn’t read too much into it.

“That would be Mary, Shadow’s old lady. And that’s their new baby, Marilyn. She and Stonewall go way back. Everyone knows he’s in love with her, including Shadow, but they still manage to be best friends.”

“How do you know he’s in love with her,” I asked, forcing the tremble out of my voice.

One of the girls overheard Ann, who is Mary’s best friend talking to Black about it. Apparently, Mary chose Shadow over Stonewall when they were back in high school, but Stonewall never got over her. As soon as she came back into the picture, Stonewall quit fucking any of us women, afraid she might find out. Why would he do that if he didn’t still love her?” Lexi gave a heavy sigh before finishing. “I sure do miss fucking him.” She flicked her cigarette out. “Nice to meet you, Brooke,” she said, heading back into the building.

Was Lenny in love with another woman?

And it dawned on me that he would choose Mary over me if she were available. My stomach turned, and I felt nauseous. I forced my eyes away from where they were talking and walked toward the front of the clubhouse. Sophia was pulling up with Gael when I rounded the corner.

I walked over to the car as she climbed out. “Sophia, can you take me somewhere? Anywhere I don’t care; I just need to get away from the clubhouse,” I choked, trying not to cry with Gael in the car.

“Is everything okay?” Sophia asked, alarmed.

I just need to leave for a few hours. I’m not ready to talk about why.” I gave a weak smile to Gael, who was waving at me from the back seat where he sat with Germie.

“Sure, Brooke, climb in. We can go back to my house, and when you’re ready to come back, I’ll bring you,” she replied, reaching for my hand and squeezing it before getting back in her car.

I rounded to the other side, hopping in the passenger seat. “Hey, Mommy, you coming to Sophia’s?” Gael rambled from the back.

“For a little bit, honey,” I responded, my voice thick with tears. I fought to let go. Sophia drove back out the gate, and my phone vibrated with a text from Lenny, who had seen me get into Sophia’s car.Where are u going?He wanted to know. I turned my phone off. I needed to think. I have a chance to start over, and I wanted to do that with Lenny, but I refuse to be second to another woman.

Tildie had talked about Mary and said she was smart, sweet, and quiet. She left out beautiful. I was none of those things. So if he loved her, how in the world could he possibly truly be interested in me? Maybe I was just some fill-in, someone to settle for since Mary belonged to Shadow.

A tear slid down my cheek.

“Brooke, I’m here if you want to talk about it,” Sophia said quietly as she pulled into a long driveway that led to a magazine-worthy two-story white farmhouse. “Rowen is working on the apartment Stonewall wanted to be readied for you, and Roe is with her grandparents. Why don’t you go for a walk out back and clear your head, and I’ll play with Gael.”

“That would be nice. I really appreciate this, Sophia,” I managed. My throat felt like it was going to close up. I needed to cry this out.

“Stonewall has been calling me. I’ll have to tell him something, or he’ll come over.”

“Tell him I need time to think; please give it to me,” I answered and then turned to Gael. “Mommy will be right back; listen to Sophia, okay, sweetie?” I blew him a kiss.

“Kay, Mommy,” he said, blowing me a kiss in return.

I climbed out of the car and started walking behind the house where I assumed I would find a path, and sure enough, there was a well-worn path that led through a field and what looked like a pond in the distance and a forest past that. I walked a little way before finding a tree to sit down and lean against, and I let go with a heart-wrenching cry, and the tears started flowing freely. I should have kept my distance and not let him get close to me.

But it was too late.

I already fell in love with him.