Joker (Hell's Ankhor #8) - Aiden Bates Page 0,27

start chopping it up to move it back to the clubhouse.”

“Gotta bring a damn truck out here to do it,” Gunnar muttered.

He joined us in the chairs and cracked a beer of his own. “So what’s the rest of the lumber going to be used for?” I asked, glancing around the circle.

“I was hoping you could help with that,” Blade said with a grin.

Excitement curled in my chest. It was looking better and better that I was going to get more work from the club, and I’d get to be involved it from the very beginning stage, too. “Well, what are the ideas?” I asked.

“Nothing solid yet,” Coop said. “We want it to be a little more functional for a larger club, but no one really knows what exactly that’s going to look like.”

“And we need to upgrade the kitchen,” Blade said.

“And get a bigger space for church,” Gunnar added.

“But it can’t just be a church space,” Jonah said. “Needs to be a space to relax, too.”

I nodded and drummed my fingers against my knee as I thought. I wasn’t much of a designer—I usually contracted out more complicated architecture needs. Stuff like the basement model I could do without much trouble, but this project was looking to be a lot more complicated.

“Like a separate but connected space,” Joker said with a nod. “What about a split level?”

All eyes fell on Joker, including mine, and he shrugged faux-casually with a little sneer curling his lips. I could recognize some of his habits, now—he was closing off because of all the attention. Serious attention, instead of just humorous, silly attention.

But he kept talking. “You know, a sunken living area, and then a few steps leading up to the kitchen and the church area. So they’re connected but kind of separate.”

“A seventies vibe,” Jonah said.

“It’s not seventies,” Joker shot back automatically. “It just makes sense.”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” Jonah said with an easy grin. “I think it’s a great idea.”

“Me too,” Gunnar said in a surprised voice. “And that’d be great for big movie nights. Could mount the television up higher on that back wall.”

“Ooh,” Logan said. “And upgrade the couch to a bigger sectional—lose the coffee table so there’s more space, and we could set stuff on the edge of the sunken-in part, like a hot tub.”

“A hot tub!” Blade barked with a laugh. “That’s a great idea!”

“I’m starting on this tree, I’m too excited,” Coop said. “Who’s helping me?”

“I’m supervising you,” Blade said, standing up out of his chair and following Coop to the tree. As those two started working on splitting up the tree and removing the upper branches, Jonah, Gunnar, and Logan kept discussing possible design additions for the new living space.

Joker took a sip of his beer and fixed his gaze at his feet. There was a small smile playing on his lips, and a slight flush built in his cheeks, but that could’ve been the chill in the air.

I scooted my chair a little closer. “I’m no architect,” I said over the occasional roar of the chainsaw as Blade and Coop worked, “but that sounds like a hell of a good idea. What else were you thinking for the common space?”

Joker shrugged. “I don’t know, I haven’t thought much about it.”

“Come on,” I said, nudging his foot with mine. “You’ve clearly thought about it a little.”

“Well,” Joker said. “I was thinking it’d be cool if we got rid of the kitchen island and dining room table, and instead had a counter-height wooden table that would fit us all. We need the prep space, and then it could double as the church meeting spot without having to cram everyone around the kitchen island.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “The kitchen’s the hub of the house, right?”

“Definitely,” Joker said. “And now that we’re so much bigger, we basically need to fit double the members in the meetings. It’s not working as-is.”

“And if you’re already planning on renovating the kitchen, it wouldn’t be a big ask to put in a new table, too,” I agreed. “Makes sense to do it all in one fell swoop.”

Joker shrugged again. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”

“Damn,” I said with a grin. “What other hidden talents do you have? First the carving, now you’re an interior designer?”

“I’m no designer,” Joker said, but his smile widened a little bit even as he denied it. “I’m not doing anything, it’s just ideas.”

“They’re good ideas, though!” Jonah said.

I glanced up—I hadn’t realized how