The club was a unit and we did what we could to support our men. Every one of us had a part to play, and while the club may be on the other side of the law occasionally, and some saw these guys as a gang of misfits and criminals, the loyalty and love you found within this group was unrivaled.

“I love the swings, but I think the slide would probably be my favorite.”

She nodded the gentle curls in her hair springing to life. “Good choice,” she praised, giving me a thumbs up.

I laughed. Harlyn was an amazing kid. She shocked and surprised me so much, just in the short time we’d played. She was quick-witted and ahead of the game. Sometimes that could put a lot of pressure on a child when they’re so aware of the feelings and emotions of the people around them. But Harlyn seemed unfazed and allowed the young girl in her to be let loose. She laughed, she had fun, but she didn’t miss a beat.

She was Optimus’ child, there was no doubt about that.

Neil watched us from a picnic table. I could tell he hated being put on babysitting duty by the bored look and eye-rolling that was a total give away.

Harlyn and I took a swing each.

“Do you like my dad?” she asked as she pumped her legs back and forth.

I froze for a minute, but Harlyn continued to swing back and forth casually like she hadn’t just dropped that on me. “Yes, I like your dad.”

“No, I mean do you like, like my dad,” she said, emphasizing the second like.

I laughed. “A little.”

“It’s okay if you do.”

“Well thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” I told her, amused by her crass and straight to the point attitude.

“Harlyn!” I turned to see Sugar walking across the grounds toward us from the clubhouse. She had a soft smile on her face, but it seemed a little forced.

“Hi, Momma!” Harlyn called before throwing herself off the swing as it flew forward. My breath caught in my throat and I almost threw myself off after her, expecting tears as she stumbled and rolled across the ground. There were no tears and Sugar didn’t even falter at her daughter’s epic daredevil actions. Harlyn bounced right up, brushed herself off and ran over to embrace her mother. “Chelsea is playing with me, isn’t that cool?!” she beamed.

Sugar glanced at me over the small girl’s head. “That’s great honey. You know, I saw Uncle Blizzard inside raiding the ice cream. You better go get him before he eats it all.”

Harlyn gasped. “Oh no, he doesn’t!” She started sprinting toward the clubhouse, a girl on a mission with Neil plodding along behind her.

I slowed my swing until it came to a stop and climbed off. I was nervous as hell. Sugar essentially had a lot of power here and I wasn't sure what she was going to do with it. “She’s a smart kid.”

Sugar brought her eyes back to me, only once Harlyn was safe inside the building. She nodded. “She is. I can’t hide anything from her. It’s like she has a radar for deception.” She walked closer. “You must be Chelsea. It’s nice to finally meet you. Optimus and Blizzard have both spoken very highly of you over the years.”

“I wish I could say the same. I only just found out you two existed,” I told her sadly, breathing a sigh of relief.

She smiled and gestured to the picnic table that Neil had just vacated. I followed her over and we both took a seat. “It must have been quite a surprise for you. I remember seeing your face the day we arrived. I always expected that us coming here would piss off some club girls. It’s not a secret that many of them are very...shall we say...territorial of the men. But the look on your face was pure heartache.”

I looked down at the table, picking away at a broken piece of the wood. “It was a shock.”

“I’m sorry that our presence has caused this rift between you and Op.”

My eyes shot up. It was the last thing I was expecting her to say and her words were so genuine. I shook my head. “You and Harlyn are absolutely not to blame, I would hate for you to think that.” I swallowed. “I’m happy that you’re here, and Optimus gets to spend time with Harlyn. He and I, that’s something I can’t really explain, but knowing he had this huge secret just made me realize that maybe we weren’t as close as I thought.”

She sighed. “Unfortunately that’s Optimus to a tee. He’s a protector. He has the weight of the world resting on his shoulders but refuses to share his burden with others. He keeps it locked away and apart from his brothers, everyone is maintained at a safe distance.”

It seemed like this should be awkward, meeting Sugar, the woman Optimus had once been deeply in love with. But it felt strangely comforting.

“Is it weird that this,” I gestured between the two of us, “isn’t weird?”

She laughed, it was light and soft and I couldn’t help but smile. “Optimus and I both know exactly where our feelings lie. I love him because he’s my daughter’s father. There was no messy breakup or vileness between us, we just realized that we weren’t meant to be.” She looked me directly in the eye, still grinning. “And now I think I know why it never worked.”

I blushed. “I don’t know about that. There’s only so much rejection a girl can take before she gets the point.”

“Stubborn bastard,” she murmured, rolling her eyes.

“How’d the visit go?” I almost shot out of my seat hearing Wrench’s deep voice rumble behind me.

“Jesus Christ!” I gasped, covering my racing heart with my hand.

Wrench placed both hands on the table and leaned in. I caught Sugar look up at him with a shy smile before she set her attention back on the table in front of her.

“As to be expected. I believe the words ‘disgusting,’ ‘disgraceful,’ and ‘biker trash’ were used.” Her shoulders slumped like she had been utterly defeated. “I don’t know why I thought telling them that they had a grandchild would have made them feel any different.”

Wrench’s jaw ticked as he clenched it, obviously trying not to say anything.

“I’m sorry, this is your parents?” I asked in awe.

Sugar nodded, her gaze finding me but clearly trying to avoid the hulking man who stood over us. You could feel the anger pouring from him as he just stood there, watching her.

“My parents wanted me to marry a lawyer or a doctor, something that would look good for our family.” She fiddled with her burgundy hair, tucking it behind her ear as the wind whipped it around her face. “I wasn’t one to think I was better than others because I came from money. I learned fast that people were attracted to my status, rather than my personality. Then Optimus came along and introduced me to the club and everything felt real. These guys, they aren’t fake. They don’t feel like they need to impress you. They are who they are and fuck it if you don’t like it.”

I laughed and even caught a twitch in the corner of Wrench’s mouth as my eyes flicked between the two of them. I was trying to figure out what the feeling was that was sparking the air around us.

I cleared my throat and chuckled lightly. “Ain’t that the truth?”

“So they don’t even want to meet Harlyn?” Wrench spat, clearly not impressed.

I heard a high-pitched giggle and we all looked over to see Blizzard carrying Harlyn upside down over his shoulder. “Tell me, where you hid the ice cream,” Blizzard demanded, his fingers hovering over her, threatening a tickle attack if she didn’t give him the info he wanted.

“Never!” she cried in between fits of laughter.

We all laughed as he proceeded to ‘torture’ the ice cream location out of her.

“Harlyn has everything she needs already. It doesn’t matter if they want to meet her or not. She’s happy,” Sugar murmured as she rose from the table. Wrench placed a hand on her shoulder as she passed by him. She stopped briefly, and they shared a look that only lasted a second but said everything that needed to be said before she rushed off.

“I’ll save you, Harlyn,” she called in a dramatic voice as she ran toward them smiling.