Jane gave a shocked gasp.

“Who’s going to make sure he’s warm? You know I like to keep the house too cold.

“If you don’t wake up, we’re going to have to give him formula. I’ll pick the best one I can, but that shit’s expensive, and cheaper is always better.

“Who’s going to keep him from riding the motorcycle I’m going to buy him when he gets old enough to ride?”

John began to cry louder.

“For God’s sake, Shade, pick him up.” King stood.

“When King gets too old to take care of himself, I’ll put his ass in a nursing home.”

Shade gave it a final try. “When John turns eighteen, he can join The Last Riders with Chance and Noah. They’ll have a fucking blast.”

“Shade…” King took his arm, trying to move him away from the bed.

“Let me go!” Shade snarled, picking his crying son up and placing the paci back in his mouth.

“You didn’t kill that bitch. You missed her heart. If you don’t come back, she wins, Lily.”

Tears fell down his cheeks as he stared at her. “Lily, I’m begging … please come back.”

When Lily remained unmoving, Shade turned his back to the bed and began rocking his son, placing him against his shoulder as he crooned to him the song Lily always sang to put him to sleep.

“Twinkle, Twinkle, little…”

John began to cry harder.

“Shade!” King’s voice had him spinning around.

Lily was watching him from the bed.

Shade walked back to her.

“I told you it scares him when you sing.”

Chapter 94

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Shade warned as they walked up the pathway to the clubhouse.

“I’m sure. I want to see our house before I go inside,” Lily told him, carrying John as they drew near the corner of the clubhouse to see what remained of their home.

Most of the wood was already broken apart and moved to the side so they could try to recycle as much of it as possible. The Last Riders had already begun the clean-up, moving what furniture could be saved to the storage room of the factory and throwing the rest away.

Lily stood, looking at her destroyed home.

“I’m sorry, angel. I should have listened to my instincts and had that tree cut down before I had the house built.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Lily leaned against his side, and Shade wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “We didn’t lose anything which couldn’t be replaced. We’ll build it back. That house was built for a woman who didn’t know who she was by a man who was afraid to show who he was. That’s why it was broken. The house we build now is going to be stronger, and nothing is going to break it apart.”

“You sure about that?” Shade teased.

“Yes,” Lily answered firmly, handing him John who was wrapped in the blanket Shade had dug out from his crushed dresser. It was the one Lily’s mother had made for her.

“I know someone who is going to be very happy with this,” Lily said as she started going through a box of pictures the women had found.

“Who?”

“Leonard, the man at the furniture store. I bet he retires after we repurchase our furniture.”

“You ready to go inside?” Shade asked, turning her toward the clubhouse.

“Are you sure it’s okay? A crying baby in the middle of the night is going to be hard for them to listen to until we get our house built,” Lily worried as they went inside the kitchen from the back door. The kitchen was completely empty as they walked through it to the club room.

“I’m going to lay John down then go see Beth and Razer…” Lily came to a stop in the kitchen doorway, staring in surprise at the club room.

Blue balloons were everywhere. There was a cake and food sitting on the bar counter, and the pool table was filled with presents. All The Last Riders, Sex Piston and her crew, Willa, and Beth standing with Razer filled the room.

“What’s going on?” Lily asked, staring up at Shade.

“They decided not to listen to me and threw you a baby shower,” Shade complained with a grin.

Pleasure filled Lily’s face. “I just have to ask; did you make anything?”

Shade left her side and going behind the counter, he pulled out a motorcycle with a stuffed teddy bear at the wheel. It was made out of diapers.

Lily released a giggle of laughter. “It’s a masterpiece.”

“No. John’s my best work so far, but give me time. I get better each time I make something.”

* * *

“Where do you think you’re going?” Shade glided the towel over his wet body.

As Lily paused while putting on her lipstick, he felt her eyes slide over his body in the bathroom mirror. His cock began hardening at the desire easily visible in the violet orbs.

“I’m going to work.” Her jaw was set determinedly as she stiffened at the bathroom counter. She was ready to get into an argument as to why she couldn’t go.

“Who’s going to watch the baby?”

“I am. He’s going with me. The store’s never really busy, and I can breastfeed him in the back room.”

“Are you ready to go back?” Shade rubbed his wet hair with the towel.

Lily’s eyes went to his abdomen. “Yes.” She licked her bottom lip.

His cock lengthened at her concentrated stare. He hadn’t fucked her for two weeks, wanting to give her time to recover from having her adoptive father kidnap her and then her breakdown.

“Okay.” Shade tossed the towel into the hamper, walking into the bedroom to get dressed. Lily’s look of disappointment followed him.

Taking out a pair of jeans and socks, he pulled on the jeans before sitting on the bed to put on his socks.

Lily put on her white sandals. She was wearing a pale pink dress, looking as pretty as the sunny, early summer day outside.

Shade reached for one of his boots, tugging it on. As he stretched for the other one, Lily kneeled, handing it to him.

“Can I ask you something?” The troubled look in her eyes warned him that it was a topic he had avoided since she had returned from the hospital.

“No,” he said sharply.

She lowered her gaze to the floor.

“Eyes to me, Lily.” He reached out, snagging a tendril of her hair and gently tugging it.

She did as told, scooting forward until she was kneeling between his thighs.

“I am not going to have any more lies between us; do you understand me? So don’t ask me questions I’m going to answer with a lie.”

“Why did he hide from us? As mean as he was, we would have welcomed him home. He was our father.”

Shade reached out to cup her cheek. Lily hadn’t asked about Saul before, and Shade was certain it was because her mind hadn’t been ready to hear the answers. Lily’s gentle soul still fought to forgive and understand evil, even after it had nearly destroyed her. She had been pushed to learn to defend herself, not because of her own needs, but because of the love she had for John and him.

She was feeling strong, which was why she wanted to return to work. Shade thought it would be good for her. There was no danger for her there anymore. With Brooke in the hospital under armed guard, Merrick Patterson had resigned as pastor, returning to Georgia to be with his son. Apparently, Brooke had gone to Georgia long enough to drop her child off with his grandmother before she had returned to Kentucky.