into the building process for our houses and raising our daughters. I wouldn’t say I feel comfortable with the Reapers, but we do our best to stay friendly for the women’s sake.
With Shelby’s help, Lana gets silly in a way I haven’t seen before. I enjoy this side of her, along with the realization that there’ll be plenty of surprises left for us.
“I’ll be down in a few weeks,” Lana promises before they leave for the evening.
Seeming panicked, Max asks, “I thought you were coming sooner.”
“We’re just finding a groove here. I’m not ready to be away for a few days.”
Shelby wraps her arms around Lana and sighs. “You can drive down for a few hours like we did. That’s doable, right? No reason to sleep in Shasta when you got a hot bed here.”
After Shelby’s comment, Lana agrees to visit Shasta next week. She also plans to schedule Kenny’s visitation for the same day. This is a compromise I can tolerate. Having her gone for longer would drive me nuts.
Yesterday, when I came home to find her gone, I nearly lost my shit. She was only up the street, taking the girls and dogs for a walk. Yet she might as well have ditched me for Shasta based on how much I panicked.
“You’re officially whipped,” Lowell says the next night at Rooster’s. “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
“Dipshit,” I mutter, but he isn’t wrong.
The clubhouse is quiet tonight. Only Barbie starts trouble by first telling me that she has a doctor’s appointment before following up with how I’m a selfish prick. Then she stomps over to the bar top and ignores me.
Then, when I’m about ready to head home for the night, Anders asks to talk to Lowell and me in private.
“Spill it,” I say once we’re in the small side room with the door shut.
Anders rubs his thick blond beard and exhales a strained breath. “I wanted to talk about that woman.”
“What about her?” Lowell asks when Anders falls silent.
“You know how I’ve sworn off those kinds of distractions since cleaning up and moving here.”
“You get laid,” I point out.
“But only on the weekends. I make my dick suffer during the week.”
“Well, that’s great, but why is this woman a mystery?”
“She’s young, Bronco.”
“How young?” I say, worried I need to kill another Sergeant at Arms.
“Can’t be much older than eighteen. I don’t know.”
“Is she in high school?” Lowell asks.
“No school.”
I feel him working his way around to the truth. “Is she the daughter of a club guy?”
“No,” he says, rubbing the back of his large neck. “She’s from the Village.”
“And there it is,” I mutter and shake my head. “No, Anders. Just no. I don’t care how pretty she is or innocent or whatever quality has gotten you squirrely, but women from the Village are nuts. They breed them crazy. Even a stable man can’t fix that level of batshit insane, and you’re not a stable man.”
“I get what you mean,” he says, seeming to understand before instantly changing gears to protect his obsession. “I just can’t help myself. I gotta see her. She’s not like any woman I’ve ever met. I know that sounds like bullshit, but she’s gotten under my skin.”
“Of course, she’s not like anyone you’ve known,” I mutter, trying not to laugh at how childish he’s being. “She grew up in the Village. Those people aren’t kooky hippies like a lot of the locals think. They’re hardcore strange. I’m fairly sure they believe the world is flat, and the sun is the eye of God. Just bizarre shit.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Despite his words, Anders remains on edge. Shutting down is better than hearing the truth.
I soften my tone and make him hold my gaze. “Nothing this girl possesses is worth the trouble of the Village. You know what we’re dealing with now. These fuckers are stockpiling weapons, and I don’t imagine that’s for self-defense. If they want Elko, they’ll come for us.”
“I know.”
“But you just keep going back,” I mutter, losing my temper. “That must be some sweet pussy, Titan.”
“No, it’s not fucking. I don’t know her like that,” he says, and I sense he’s telling the truth about that part. “I just see her on the road. We talk. Not about fucking. Not about anything, really. But I want her, and I don’t like her living where she does.”
“In your head, how does this thing with the girl end?”
Hearing my disapproval, Anders shifts gears. “I don’t know. I’m not sure if she’s messing