Butch by Sam Crescent

him, but she
couldn’t. For a few seconds she wanted to feel his arms wrapped around her
body, holding her close, loving her. His chin rested on her head as he held her
tighter than ever before. “I’m not letting you go.”
    His words did little to soothe the pain. She took what
he offered, pleased to have him with her. Cheryl didn’t expect him to come back
to her after the revelations of today.
    “I didn’t know who he was.”
    “Alex is a first class asshole. I’m not worried, and
neither should you.” He cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. “Do not
let him come between us. There is nothing to be embarrassed about.”
    She bit her lip trying to keep the tears inside.
    “How can you even want to be with me after everything
that has happened? He’s your friend while I’m nothing to you.” She stared at
his chest, wishing there was something more to be said.
    “You mean more to me than nothing, Cheryl. I’m not
going anywhere, not even back to the club. You’ve got me for life.” He wiped
away the tears that had fallen, forcing her to tilt her head back to look at
him.
    Her mother cleared her throat from the doorway.
    “Mom, this is not the time.”
    “I think you need someone to clear your head, honey. I
love you, and I’ll stick by you no matter what. This man is not the father, and
now that the father is in the picture, I’m not going to let you make a decision
you’re going to regret.”
    “This is not about you.” Cheryl pulled out of Butch’s
arms, turning her anger on her mother. “Alex was gone for the last three years.
He didn’t give a damn about me or about his son. When are you going to see
that?” she asked.
    “He’s back, and you can’t shove him out of your life
just because you want to.”
    Shaking her head, she sank against Butch’s arms. She
knew she should tell him to leave. Her life was no longer stress-free or
uncomplicated. Alex had made sure of that.
    “Three years he’s been gone. Three years of not
knowing what went wrong. I never loved him, Mom. Please, leave,” she said, no
longer wanting her there. Her mother didn’t understand what was going on. She’d
not seen Alex or been in his company. Cheryl knew him as did Butch.
    “You can’t throw me out.”
    “This is my home. I can do whatever the hell I want,
and right now, I want you to be gone.” She opened the door, waiting. “What
you’ve got to say, I don’t want to hear.”
    The last thing she needed was for her mother to talk
about how important it was for Alex to have a part in her son’s life. Was it
selfish of her not to let Matthew know his father?
    Butch didn’t interrupt. He stayed still behind her,
silent. He was her silent strength.
    Once the door was closed, she sagged against his body.
    “Thank you,” she said.
    “I’m not here to cause waves. I’m here because I want
to be here, baby.” He kissed the top of her head.
    “I want you here. I really do. I had no idea he was
part of The Skulls. No idea at all.”
    “Baby, stop panicking. I can smell dinner. Go, fix us
some food, and I’ll deal with Matthew. We can talk later once he’s in bed. I’m
sorry about today. I was hoping for so much more.”
    She smiled at him. “This is not your fault.” From the
moment Alex entered her life he’d caused her nothing but trouble. Seeing him
today had brought back the pain his departure had caused. She wasn’t in love
with him. In the past three years she’d gotten over any kind of feeling Alex had
once caused. Seeing him again only awakened the anger she felt toward him.
    “I know, baby. Go and finish dinner and I’ll be done.”
    Cheryl watched him go into the sitting room. Within
seconds Matthew was giggling. Licking her lips, she entered the kitchen to
finish off dinner. She loved her mother, but the other woman had a way of doing
things that were not like her. Stirring the meatball sauce, she drained the
pasta then set to serving up.
    At the dinner table, Butch kept