Chapter 166: Wee Little Devils
*Which wee little devils? The furry four-legged ones? Or the sticky two-legged ones? – Siobhan*
Within a week, Toad was losing his patience. It seemed like no matter what, there was a cat close by. And where one was, the other two were not far away.
Kids were not allowed in his office. So, the kittens had taken to hiding out on his couch. It wasn’t necessarily the kittens that were driving him crazy. It was the collection of children that seemed to follow them.
Where did they all come from?
Molly had a good hundred or so. The other Lowery men about the same amount combined. Mia’s twins were around a lot more with one of their uncles.
And those were all just one family!
Not to mention all the other brothers who were bringing their kids around more. And the old ladies hanging out during the day.
What the hell happened to his club?
Old ladies were asking the club girls to babysit. Teen daughters of his men were asking for weekend jobs. Club girls no longer looked like whores.
But everyone seemed happy. The brothers who used to say that their women were bitching about the time spent at the clubhouse, were bringing them for the girls’ night. The single dads that used to dash out are staying with the club girls watching the kids.
His club had been shaken like a snow globe. Maybe it was because he was going to be a dad again. Maybe he was relaxed after two weeks away. Maybe it was his wife having Nessie close. Maybe it was just Nessie. But he liked the way his snow globe of a clubhouse looked.
Toad looked at the cluster of kids at his door. Two were Molly’s. Another belonged to Bear. Pagans youngest, why she wasn’t in school, he wasn’t sure. And then there was one that he didn’t recognize.
Shaking his head, he picked up his phone and called his niece. When she picked up, he unceremoniously told her to come get her cats.
“I’ll get them as soon as I get back to the clubhouse. Yeh should wake up Knuckles.”
“Where the hell are you?” he demanded and rolled his eyes as some of the kids giggled.
“At the market. Yeh want anything?”
Panic ran through him. “Who’s with you?”
“Law, Pagan and Bear.”
He relaxed.
“Acht! Can yeh call Karan and make sure that Pagan’s girl gets her medicine? And if she’s standing at yer door, tell her she needs to go lay back down.”
“Who’s Karan?”
“I am.” A club girl said from the doorway. “Come on. Mr. Toad needs to work. And you, young lady, need your medicine.”
She gathered up the youngest ones and shooed the other three down the hall.
“I swear this place is turning into a damned daycare.”
“Not a bad idea. Yeh know how much they charge?”
“Hurry up and get back.” He ended the call and then out of curiosity, searched how much daycare was.
He was certain that those rates could not be right. But when he checked with the parents in the club, he found that they were accurate. Even Karan confirmed that she kept her nephew, the child he did not recognize, when her sister needed a sitter.
After a few more days of research, he called Trigg and Brute. He asked for a meeting concerning a possible new business venture.
