The Thunder Wolves MC - Maranda (Book #8)

8

Tiny

It was only around seven in the morning when I walked out my front door. I didn't have anywhere to be, but it was a perfect day to go for a ride. At least going for a ride was the plan. I put that on hold when I saw one of the kids walking down the steps and headed for the street. Looking around, I didn't see Maranda or even the other kid. Just the oldest of the two kids walking down the drive with a bag on his back. "Hey, little man, where you headed?" He stopped and turned around, looking me over. He must have decided he was okay with talking to me because he walked back up the drive a little bit. "Texas." I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. He was damn confident in his decision on locations. "Want a ride?" His eyes narrowed as he looked me up and down. "Mom says I am not to accept rides from strangers." I nodded. "Your mom sounds like a smart woman. So then, whats your plan?" He shrugged. "Walk." Sarcastic little s**t. "Well, I can see that. You know how to get there?" He shook his head no. "Hmm…Well, you know if you are going to go on such a trip may be looking up how to get there would be helpful. There's nothing like getting started and then getting lost because you didn't plan your route." He seemed to think about this a moment. Turning, he looked down the street before turning back to me. "Would you help me look it up?" Well, that wasn't the way I thought this conversation was headed. Hell, I don't even know if talking with the kid was the right thing to do. But I did know letting him walk down the road was definitely not the thing to do. So I sat down on the front steps with him, in front of their unit. Pulling my phone out, I looked up how to get from here to where he wanted to go and how long it would take to walk it. This seemed to change his mind on walking it and led to a conversation on why he wanted to go. At first, he said it was to see his dad, but that I knew wasn't the case. Then I got him to admit otherwise. 

"Because that's where my friends are. And I don't like it here. No one likes me." As he spoke, he kept his eyes down and looked at the ground. "Hmm…I get not liking it here. It's not always my cup of tea either. But I can't believe no one likes you. There has to be at least one person who wants to be your friend, even if you haven't met them yet." Shaking his head, he kept his head down. "No, no one likes me." Sighing, I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees. "Why do you think they don't like you?" He stayed quiet for a moment, then looked up at me. "Well, because Blain says his dad can kick anyone else's dad's butt, and since I don't have a dad, then I can't be friends with any of them." I scoffed, "Well if you ask me, this Blain kid sounds like an asshole." I am sure saying that out loud wasn't the right thing to do, but it made the kid laugh, so whatever. "Besides, if having a dad is what says you can have friends or not, then I shouldn't have any friends either. And I have many friends." His laughter stopped as his eyes widened. "You don't have a dad either?" I shook my head. "Nope." He watched me a moment, almost as if he was trying to decide if I was lying to him or not. "What happened to your dad?" I gave him a small smile. "Well, a couple of years ago, he had a heart attack, and we all thought he was going to get better, but then a few months later, he had another one and didn't make it." Looking back at the ground, he thought about this for a moment. "And you still have friends?" He looked back up at me. "I do. I have a lot of friends. Some of them helped your mom, and you all move here." Again he thought about what I said then nodded his head. "I think I will stay then." I nodded, "I think that is a good idea. I also think talking to your mom would be a good idea too." As if I reminded him of something, he jumped and looked back at the front door. His eyes grew large as he sat frozen. Slowly I turned around to find Maranda standing in the doorway watching us. Leaning a bit closer to him, I lowered my voice just a little. Maranda would still be able to hear me, but he would think I was whispering. "Now would be a good time to go inside and do something extra nice for your mom, like clean your room or help your sister with hers." Glancing at me, he nodded and jumped up to his feet, running inside. 

Standing, I stepped down off the steps as Maranda walked out onto the porch pulling the door closed behind her. "Um, I am not sure how much of that you heard, but I didn't mean to overstep or anything…." She waved her hand. "Honestly, it wasn't how I would have handled it but thank you. I knew he was having a hard time with all the changes, but I didn't know it was that bad." I nodded. "I have a feeling he will be fine, just got to find the right kid to be friends with." A small smile pulled at her lips. Not sure what else to do, I turned and made my way over to my bike. Pulling my helmet on, I threw one leg over it and got on my way as initially planned. Don't think my leaving was because I wanted to. Also, don't think I haven't noticed how beautiful that woman was. I had been doing good to avoid her over the last month or so since she moved in with her kids. Just looking at her did something to me that not even Gloria ever did for me. I mean, don't miss understand, my wife had done a lot for me. But there was something about Maranda that screamed Queen vs. Princess like Gloria. No, Maranda was a different kind of woman. One that not only would you take care of but one that you would worship. Gloria liked the game, she enjoyed being chased, she loved being showered with gifts, she didn't like being told no. But Maranda would be different. I was sure of it. 

Then if you compared the two physically, Gloria was beautiful in her own right, don't get me wrong. She was tall, five foot seven, blonde hair, and green eyes. She regularly went to some tanning place to keep her skin a golden tan color. She was also always very worried about gaining weight. She kept herself thin. Sometimes, if you asked me, too thin. She could have possibly been a model if she had wanted to. I had thought for years she was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes on. But I don't think I could say that now, even if we were still together. Maranda was all natural. She was also slightly taller than Gloria, maybe five foot eight or nine. Her light brown hair framed her face as it fell just slightly over her shoulders. Her hazel eyes popped behind her long eyelashes. Her ivory skin looked like it had never been tarnished by a fake tan in its life. Then there was her body. With her clothes on, I could only guess at how she looked. The dresses she wore to work only outlined her figure slightly. But they did nothing to hide the fact she had what would be the perfect chest, not too small and not too big. Just perfect for getting a good handful. Then there was the rest of her. You could tell she had some meat to her bones, but she wasn't fat by any means. She took care of herself that you could see from the dresses she wore and then, of course, the short shorts and t-shirt she had on while standing on the porch just now. Just thinking of her standing there in what I am guessing was her pajamas, I couldn't help but want to see her in that way more often. And that is why I left. Call me a f*****g chicken s**t. I don't care. I never thought I would look at another woman in that way ever again. I had promised myself to Gloria for the rest of our lives, and well, we all know how that f*****g ended. And don't think I don't know that it's been a little over two years since all that bullshit. Because I f*****g know how long it has been since then. It was nearly the same amount of time since the last time I got laid. I mean f**k, the last woman I had been with had been Gloria before everything had gone down. Sure I know the club had girls for s**t like that, but I wasn't into sharing with the other guys. Besides, we all know Bear has made his way through the club girls several times, and there was no way I could bring myself to being with a girl I know he has been with. 

Until last night I had done well over the time Maranda lived in the duplex. I had been able to keep my distance and had no interactions with her. Several times of seeing her and getting to watch her, but never actually close to her. Then she had to go and change up the routine. I had been able to avoid her completely until she decided to do her laundry on a Friday night instead of over the weekend. It hadn't taken me long to figure out she saved the washing for the weekends. So I had taken to keep up with mine during the week. I did a workout most days, so it was perfect. If there was enough for a full load, I washed and dried the load while getting in my workout. And last night, I had decided to skip the bar and stay home for once. So I guess I couldn't just blame her, I had changed up my routine as well. I usually went to the bar, had dinner, hung out with the guys there until around midnight, then came home and did my work out before bed. Maybe if I had done that, I wouldn't have run into her trying to get a jump on her laundry. Either way, there was no changing it, and I am sure my being able to avoid her all the time will be a little harder to do now.