A Midsummer's Caress

Chapter 26

Things were on shaky ground with the club. Jax was trying to keep from going on lockdown with this rival club threatening them. The next couple days were tense for everyone including Harlow and Gemma who had already prepared to go on lockdown. Harlow and Willow would have to sleep on cots in the main room since all the dorm rooms were taken by injured bikers already. Harlow wasn't liking the idea but there was nothing she could do about it. To her relief, so far Jax hadn't called for a lockdown. Shortly after they had sat down to dinner two days after the break in, the door opened up and Quinn strolled in making Harlow very happy. He picked his 'ol lady up and kissed her passionately when he entered the dining room making Willow make faces and Kozik laugh. Quinn set Harlow back down so she could fetch him a plate and silverware so he could eat dinner with the family. The ginormous blond asked how things had gone while he was away.

Kozik and Harlow looked at one another before the smaller blond explained about the break-in, what Tig had discovered after interrogating them, and how Jax had reacted. There was a chance of going on lockdown although it hadn't been called yet. Quinn was angry someone had broken into his home and attacked his pregnant 'ol lady but was very thankful Kozik had been there to help keep her and his daughter safe. He was even more grateful to Tig for coming to help out. He was a bit sad that Kozik had gotten hurt again during the scuffle. Harlow promised she and Willow were fine and that Kozik had done all he could to keep the intruders away from them. Willow wanted to tell her daddy all about what she'd been doing while he was away and what all she'd been learning in daycare making Harlow chuckle at her excitable daughter. Quinn turned his attention to the toddler and let her tell him all about what she wanted to tell him. The threat was still there but for now, it was all about his family.

While Harlow was cleaning up from dinner, Quinn was giving Willow her bath a little early so they could play some before bed since he'd been gone almost a week. He loved spending time with her and Harlow was very thankful he was such an involved father. Kozik headed back into the living room after dinner to watch TV before shuffling off to bed while everyone else were busy. Once the kitchen and dining rooms were clean, Harlow found a seat in her recliner to relax before she headed off to bed. Quinn read several stories to Willow before putting her to bed. She wanted to fuss and stay up longer since daddy was home again but the tall blond put his foot down about her going to bed. He tucked her in with her favorite stuffed animal, shut the light off, and closed her door. He went to go take himself a shower since he'd been riding all day and had been up very early to get back home. By the time Harlow was heading to bed, Quinn had already fallen asleep making her smile. She figured he'd head to bed early after the long day of travel. She changed for bed, slid in beside her husband, and went to sleep.

Quinn woke up to the smell of coffee and sausages. He quickly dressed and headed into the kitchen. Willow was sitting in her booster seat with a sippy cup of milk and Harlow was at the stove making breakfast. He poured himself a cup of coffee then sat down with Willow to await breakfast. Harlow was fixing omelets for breakfast which Quinn loved. It was hearty and filling. Just as she was bringing plates to the table, Kozik entered the kitchen to get some coffee. Quinn asked him how he was feeling earning a shrug in response. The taller blond frowned at his brother's reaction. Harlow cut up Willow's sausage and omelet for the toddler before turning to her own breakfast. Kozik thanked her once again for cooking for them earning a warm smile in return. As they were eating, there came a knock at the door. Quinn told his wife he'd answer it. Looking through the peephole, he found Chibs and Tig standing there. He opened the door and moved to let his brothers in. Chibs told him he'd just came to check on Kozik and see how he was healing and to change out his bandages.

Harlow greeted the two men as they entered the dining room with Quinn. They had seats around the table as the small group finished up with breakfast. The medic asked Kozik how he was feeling making the smaller blond tell him he was still hurting. Chibs' brows furrowed together as he said he'd take a look at him once he was done eating. Tig welcomed Quinn back and asked if he knew about the break in a few days prior. Quinn told him Kozik had explained what happened and thanked the SAA for coming to help out. Tig promised it was no problem. Once everyone had eaten, Harlow took their plates to place in the dishwasher before getting on cleaning the kitchen and dining table. The men moved into the living room so Chibs could look over Kozik's wounds. Despite cleaning each wound and rebandaging them twice a day, one was starting to get infected. Tig said he knew where to get some antibiotics so he excused himself to make a phone call out on the front porch. Chibs cleaned out each wound, put some antibiotic ointment over each one, and redressed it just as Harlow had been doing while Chibs was away.