His Loyal Rebel - Debra Kayn Page 0,10

the fire.

She held her breath, the closer he came. When he was within reach of touching her, he bent over and picked up the kettle, dumping the water on the fire.

Without the light to see him, she blinked to focus her eyes in the darkness.

"I thought you said Ringtail couldn't be around Angie if I was there," she said, trying to piece together what had happened when she wasn't around. "Are you setting me up to go back and get kicked out of the house again, or do you hope I'll break them up?"

"Slow your roll." He stayed beside her. "Ringtail doesn't want to lose your sister, and he's moving her into his house. Angie's paid her rent until the end of the month. You've got three and a half weeks to stay there. If you want to keep the place, make next month's rent on time. Believe it or not, I think your sister is doing you a favor, considering she mentioned how you were homeless at the moment."

"I'm not homeless," she said.

"Sleeping in your car isn't the same as having running water and heat." He walked away from her. "Or a soft bed to lay your head."

Angie had never gone out of her way to help her before. Why she'd do so now only added to her confusion. She chewed on her lower lip. Her sister must be in love, which was a change for her. Ringtail, for what an asshole he was, must care about Angie to move her to his house.

She hurried through the dark and stopped between her car and his motorcycle. "Are you saying Angie isn't home right now?"

"Nope, and isn't planning on coming back." He sat on his bike. "She left the key in the flower pot by the front door. You can let yourself in."

His motorcycle roared to life. She stepped back, even though she wasn't close to being in his way.

He rode off, leaving her alone. She looked around the area. The fire was out. Nothing was keeping her from staying here any longer.

Looking down at the pistol in her hand, a bubble of excitement rose in her chest. She laughed, amused by the giddy tone echoing off the side of the mountain.

It'd been a long time since she'd found something to look forward to. Having a house to herself until she could get back on her feet was a call to celebrate.

She opened the car door and slid into the driver's seat. Driving away from her makeshift campsite, the excess stress of dealing with leaving Big, finding somewhere to live, and being judged for her choices left her.

Warmth filled her. Angie had done something for her. She actually put some thought behind her actions.

Granted, she had no doubt Angie gave her the rental house because she wanted to live with Ringtail, but she hadn't pushed her out of her life.

It'd been longer than she could remember since someone had done something with her in mind.

Chapter 6

Whip

Tracy stood from the chair to move Rocky from Whip's side. He waved his sister away. His nephew wasn't hurting anything staying with him. It wasn't often he got to hold the little guy without him squirming.

"He's fine." He laid his hand on Rocky's head, pushing his shaggy mane off his sweaty forehead.

"Do you want another bowl of ice cream?" His sister looked at him and then at her husband, Rick, both of them shaking their head.

He was full after the meal. If he sat here much longer, he'd crash out on the couch with Rocky.

"I heard Ringtail's got a girlfriend." Tracy picked up the toys scattered on the floor and dumped them in the toybox under the window. "What's she like?"

"News travels fast." He stretched his legs out and crossed his ankles. "Some woman he met at one of the parties."

"Oh, well...that's nice." Tracy failed to hide her disappointment.

Tarkio's women were always cheering for the members to find someone to claim and bring into the family fold. But, the ladies never paid attention to the women who hung around the club.

Ringtail was only screwing around. None of the members took the women seriously. It was all a part of letting loose and getting rid of the stress Tarkio brought into their lives.

After doing a background check on Angie and Twyla, he'd found they were upstanding citizens. Except for juvenile records that were sealed by the courts for Twyla. He was more concerned about Twyla's current history with Cusclan, but Angie had sworn her sister