Dragon

25 - Almost time

Kyla

“You did so well, sweetheart.”

I roll my eyes at my aunt and smile. She’s been wonderful since she arrived this morning. She dropped off her bags at my house and came right over. Of course, she was full of apologies because she couldn’t leave work the day Dragon called her. But I wasn’t expecting it to be easy for Jane to drop everything to come here. However, she is here, and I’ve never been happier to see her.

Jane stayed with me through physio this morning. Dragon would have been here, but Greer needed him. She wanted to have breakfast with her daddy before he dropped her off at school. It made me smile so wide when Dragon called to explain this to me. Greer loves her father, and he loves her just as much.

“It won’t be long before they let you out of here.”

“I know. Tomorrow isn’t all that far away,” I roll my shoulders, trying to stretch the muscles. “But I want to get home to Greer. I’ve never been away from her for this long before.”

“I know,” Jane smiles while taking my hand in her own. My aunt is a doctor, and if she says that I’ll be back to my old self soon, then I believe her. “But it won’t be long now. Besides, you don’t need to worry about Greer when she has her father taking care of her.”

I smile because she’s right. However, it doesn’t stop me from missing my baby every minute that I’m away from her.

“I can’t wait to see my little peach drop.” Jane smiles. “I’m still yet to meet Connor. Or should I call him Dragon?” My aunt smirks playfully.

“He goes by Dragon now. It’s a biker thing.” I shrug. “You’ll meet him shortly. He’ll be here soon. You’re not going to interrogate him, are you?”

Aunt Jane chuckles. “Of course not, Kyla. I’d just like to meet the man who helped create our little Greer.”

“Dragon is wonderful with Greer, Aunt Jane. I knew he would be, but he was thrown into fatherhood without warning. I never did get to meet with him before this happened.” I motion with my finger down my body.

“Let’s not worry about that now. It happened, and nothing can change that, Kyla.” I nod in agreement. “From what you’ve told me about the way Dragon took to fatherhood, I’d say you were always right. But what about the two of you?”

“How do you mean?” I know what she means, but I’m nervous about what she’s going to say. I’ve done nothing but tell Aunt Jane since the day she took me in about my love for Connor. Not once did she tell me that it was puppy love, nor that it would fade one day. Aunt Jane would smile and tell me that true love never dies.

Aunt Jane rolls her eyes with a smile on her face. “You know what I mean, Kyla. Does he still love you? Did he wait for you? Are you together?”

I laugh loudly. “Take a breath! Yes, he still loves me, and he waited for me.” Jane’s eyes widen with glee. “We haven’t spoken much about us as a couple yet. I’m not sure if he wants to be with me.”

“I thought that was a given, baby girl.”

“Dragon,” I swallow hard, yet he smiles at me with a wink. I hadn’t heard him enter the room.

He makes his way over to me and kisses me softly, making me smile against his mouth. “There is no me without you.” He whispers. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I smile. “Was Greer okay when you dropped her off?”

Dragon nods. “She was just fine. Her new friend, Meg, was waiting for her. They ran inside hand-in-hand.” He chuckles.

I’m so happy that Greer is making friends. Not that she had any problem with making friends in the past, but not everyone was nice to my little girl. They called her childish and a baby, which would upset her. I made Greer see that she never had to change to please other people. If they didn’t like her for who she was, then that was their problem, not hers.

It’s not easy for any parent when their child comes home crying, saying that some kids have been mean to them. All you can do is hold them, soothe their tears, and try to make them understand that they are perfect the way they are.

I really hope that Greer has an easier time of things at this new school. Willow sat with me yesterday and told me how everyone knows who the Snakes Henchmen are, and no one is willing to get on the wrong side of them. Parents will have warned their children who Greer’s father is, and they will have made sure to drum it into their small brains not to pick on my daughter.

I’m grateful, but I don’t want people to fear my child because of her father and the club he runs with. People should like you because you’re a good person, not because you belong to a family of bikers and the Mafia.

He pulls away from me and smiles at my aunt. He holds his hand out. “Hi, I’m Dragon. It’s nice to finally meet you, Dr. Swanson.”

My aunt shakes Dragon’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, finally, Dragon. You may call me Jane. There’s no need for formalities.” She chuckles.

Dragon nods and pulls up a chair beside my bed. He sits down and takes my hand, entwining our fingers. “How did physio go?”

“Good,” I smile. “Dr Anand said I can definitely go home tomorrow.”

“That’s wonderful.” Dragon kisses my knuckles. “The house is ready. I’ve converted one of the downstairs rooms into your bedroom for now. I know you probably didn’t want that. But I wanted to ensure you wouldn’t have to struggle.”

I chuckle. “It’s fine, Dragon. That was incredibly thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

He winks at me. “Anything for you.”

“That was really sweet of you, Dragon.” My aunt smiles. She reaches over and takes my other hand. “I’m so happy for you, Kyla. I know you’re going to be so happy now.”

“I am happy, Aunt Jane.” I look at Dragon, and he winks at me. “I’m so happy now.”

The three of us chat for a while. Aunt Jane is smitten with my man. But then, I had no doubt she would be. Dragon just has that charm about him. It fills my heart with warmth and love for the two people, aside from Greer, who mean the world to me.

“I hate to run out on you after only an hour. But I need to get to the clubhouse.” Dragon tells me as he cups my cheek. I lean into his touch and smile. “Jett wants to speak to me. I’ve been putting him off since the day of your accident. He warned me that if I don’t show up… Well, you don’t wanna know.” He laughs.

I lay my hand over his on my face. “It’s okay, Dragon. I understand.”

“I don’t wanna leave you on your own.” He sighs.

I love this man so much. All he thinks about is Greer, me, and our happiness. Greer and I are going to be just fine because we have Dragon.

“She won’t be on her own,” Aunt Jane smiles. “I’ll be here for a while longer, Dragon.”

Dragon smiles gratefully. He then kisses me softly. I smile against his mouth. He makes me feel alive again.

“I love you,” I whisper because I can’t help myself.

“I love you, too.”

I watch him leave, and I can’t take the smile from my face.

“He seems like a good man, Kyla,” I turn to look at my aunt. “I like him very much.” She takes my hand and strokes her thumb over my knuckles. “You were right, darling, he is wonderful.”

“He’s still the same boy I remember, Aunt Jane. Greer is just like him in so many ways. When you see them together, you’ll understand what I mean.”

“Just sitting with him for an hour, I could see how much Greer is like him. She most certainly looks like him. There’s no denying who her daddy is.” Aunt Jane laughs.

But she’s right. Greer is so much like Dragon in looks and personality that it’s scary. But a good scary.

“How has Greer settled with her new family? I know you said they love her, but is she okay with them?”

I nod. “Greer adores her family, and they love her so much. When you see her with them, you’ll understand what I mean. She’s so compassionate and even tried to get Dragon talking to his brother again.”

Aunt Jane’s face turns stormy with anger. “Yes, well. If he hadn’t said all of that crap to you, you wouldn’t have been out there in the street. If you hadn’t been out there, then none of this would have happened.”

I sigh.

I understand why my aunt is angry. But it won’t change what happened. Nothing will.

“Aunt Jane. No, Storm should not have said the things he said. It was unprovoked and stupid. But he was angry on behalf of his brother. They found out about Greer because she went looking for them. Should I blame her for that?”

“Of course not!”

“Exactly.” I smile. “Storm should have calmed down before he came over to my house. In fact, he shouldn’t have come at all. He should have spoken to Dragon and let him come find me. But that didn’t happen. Storm said what he said, but I should have used my head. I knew Dragon would never try to take Greer from me, but I lost my head for a moment. I was the one who ran after those motorcycles. I was the one in the middle of the road. But Storm was not the one who knocked me down. A drunk driver did that. He’s the one to blame.”

“So, you’re just going to let this Storm off with what he said? Pretend nothing happened and act like his best friend? I know you, Kyla. You’re far too forgiving for your own good sometimes.”

She’s right, I am. But Storm didn’t do this to me. I’m not going to pretend that what he said to me didn’t hurt because it did. But the fact remains that he didn’t put me in this hospital bed.

“Storm and I will have a conversation about what he said soon enough. He must be feeling awful about what happened. Dragon hasn’t spoken to Storm since that night, and I can’t have that, Aunt Jane. Greer loves her uncle. She doesn’t blame him, and she was there. I’m not asking you to love Storm. However, I am asking you not to make things difficult for him.”

My aunt looks at me and smiles. She reaches over and pushes my hair out of my face. “You always were the best of us, Kyla. Is it any wonder that Greer is as perfect as she is with a mother like you?”

I smile because her words bring tears to my eyes. I love my aunt. I could never be without her, and I wish she lived closer to us. Moving away from her was heartbreaking. But I did it for Greer. She had to come first. No matter how much I miss my aunt being around, Greer needs her family. Now that she has them in her life, now that I have Connor back, I know we’ll be alright.