Butch

Her mother was charmed by Alex but still put him through the ringer for leaving her. She didn’t mind. Her mother knew she wasn’t going to pick Alex over anyone.

“Hello.”

Cheryl pulled out of her thoughts turning to look at the person. Eva stood in the doorway. The other woman looked sad.

“Eva, I’m so sorry. I was lost in my own thoughts.” She wiped her hands down her apron, going behind the counter.

“I figured as much. You were smiling, so that must have been a good thought.”

“It was. For some strange reason my life is actually going well.” Cheryl tucked some hair behind her ear.

“I’m glad it is for someone.”

Cheryl frowned, looking at the other woman.

“Anyway, I’m actually here to invite you to a picnic. We’re all going out to the new park, and there’s going to be some events for us all to earn money for charity.” Eva started going through her bag and pulled out a leaflet.

She took it from her and read through it. “It’s for kids?”

“Yes, it’s to help children overcome illness. Tiny likes to go and be part of events that helps others. He helped the town, and now he wants to help others.” Eva smiled, and it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Cheryl asked.

Eva was a sparkly personality, and the woman before her didn’t show any of that right now.

“Life is just being hard at the moment. It’s club business, but it’s hard. I heard Alex is making progress with you and your son.”

“He is. They’re getting along well. Butch is keeping his fists to himself,” Cheryl said, feeling the heat fill her cheeks at the memory of the bruise on Alex’s face along with the broken nose. She was going to have to talk with Butch. He may have been part of the club once, but he wasn’t anymore, and he needed to stop hurting men who could make his life difficult. “Why didn’t Alex press charges or anything?” Cheryl asked, curious.

“Butch may not be part of the club, but it’s club business. Alex won’t go and tattle for a beating. It takes more to rattle his cage.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“Not really, they’re all hoping Butch will come back.”

“I just hope they don’t attack each other again,” Cheryl said.

“Men, you can’t take them anywhere. Knowing Alex, he deserved whatever you threw at him.” Eva blew some hair out of her face.

“We’re doing good.” Glancing at the leaflet, she licked her lips. “This would be fun. Butch will come with me.”

“That’s fine. Come and enjoy some food. I want us to be friends, Cheryl, even if Butch doesn’t come back to the club.” Eva took a step back. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Frowning, she watched Eva leave the shop, and she placed the leaflet on the counter. Two hours later Alex walked in with Matthew in his arms.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey, this little guy wanted to see his mommy.”

She took Matthew from his arms, cuddling him close.

“Eva dropped by,” she said, bouncing from side to side.

“About the picnic?” Alex took a seat on the only available stool. Cheryl didn’t mind. She’d been sitting for a lot of the morning going through the books.

“Yeah, I’ve got to see Butch before I can confirm our answer. I’m sure we’ll be there.”

“Great, you’ve got to bring some food with you as well. It’s like a potluck event.” Alex pulled out his cell phone and started messaging on it.

“Sure.” She kissed Matthew’s cheek as she went around the counter to read from the book. Her son settled against her as Alex stood.

“I’ve got to head out.”

“Eva didn’t look right. Is everything okay?” she asked, concerned for her friend.

“I don’t want to piss you off, honey. It’s club business, and you’re not an old lady.”

Nodding, Cheryl let out a sigh. “Butch isn’t part of the club, so I can’t help out.”

“No, you can’t. Sorry.”

“No problem. I’ll see you at the picnic.” No matter what Butch said she was going. She kept Matthew with her for the rest of the day not even bothering to phone her mother. Humming to herself, she served the occasional customer while also keeping an eye on her son.

She asked some of the customers if there was anything else they would like from her shop. Ideas were fired at her, and she wrote every single one of them down. She had a whole file of ideas by the time Butch entered.

His arms were held up in surrender. “I’ve just got a call from Tate. We’re going to that picnic. I swear, that woman gets louder week after f**king week.”

Cheryl chuckled as he covered his ears. He rounded the counter, tugging her into his arms. She would never get bored of this. Butch surrounded her with warmth and love.

“I want to go.”

“Then we’ll go.” He kissed the top of her head, dropping down to claim her lips. “Fuck, baby, I want to take you home.”

“We can’t.” She pointed into the office where Matthew was playing with some toys she kept stored in her bag.

“Alex couldn’t hack the whole day?”

“Nah, Matthew missed his mommy.” She smiled, proud of her son even though she wasn’t jealous of Alex’s new status in his life.

“I’ve got a delivery for Cheryl Barnes?”

Glancing toward the door she saw the driver of a reputable company.

“That’s me.”

“I need you to sign here, doll.” She pulled out of Butch’s arms and signed her name taking the box, which was quite heavy.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I don’t know. We get the orders and paid to make a delivery as soon as possible.” The man tipped his hat to her and left the shop as quickly as he entered. Lifting the box onto the counter, she tore into the seal. The cardboard fell away. The box looked more like a cool box that she’d seen in medical dramas for organs.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she opened the lid and screamed. She couldn’t stop screaming, stepping away from the counter. Covering her eyes, she tried to stop herself from looking.

“Baby, what is it?” Butch asked.

“The box, what is it? Who would do such a thing?” She pressed her head to his chest, trying to forget about what she’d just seen.

“Cheryl, honey, I need to check it out. Please, go into the office, and I’ll deal with this.”