at the Saloon with Hugh when Shane comes looking for me.
“Busted,” Hugh says, shaking his head.
“Snitch,” I growl at him despite not even knowing why Shane’s got me on his radar.
While Hugh snickers at my situation, I follow Shane. We ride for a few minutes into the Railroad part of Shasta. He parks in front of a container-looking house with a tidy yard and single car garage. Down the residential street, kids rev imaginary motorcycles and chase each other like outlaws.
“This house doesn’t look like much,” Shane says, climbing off his Harley.
“Looks like a box.”
“The place has a weird design. The original owner tried to do something, and I don’t think the end result was what he wanted.”
Realizing he’s showing me a rental place, I ask, “Why this house and not others?”
“Shelby has several must-haves for her rental place. Fenced yard for the dogs. Check. Can’t be in the boonies. Check,” he says and then opens the house’s front door. “High ceilings so you don’t feel crowded. Check.”
I walk into the box house and see what he means. The ceilings are probably ten feet high. The inside is clean with white walls and light wood floors. It’s just one big open room. In the back of the main area are three doors. One goes outside. I don’t know about the other two.
“The kitchen is small,” I mutter, looking at the one wall of cabinets with a stove. There’s a stacked washer and dryer next to the fridge.
“Shelby doesn’t cook. You’ll be at the Victorian a lot. This place has one good-sized bedroom and one tiny-as-fuck bedroom,” he says, walking to the mystery doors. “The bathroom isn’t big, but it’s larger than the one at the trailer.”
I check out the empty bedrooms. He’s right that the master has space for a big bed. The smaller one is really a closet.
“Look,” Shane says, crossing his arms, “I wouldn’t even be showing this place to you if I thought you’d live here for more than a year. But as a temporary place, it could work.”
“Can a baby fit in that little room?”
“Sure. I have two boys in a room not much bigger than that one.”
“How come you don’t move out?” I ask, remembering how Shelby said Shane will leave once River does.
“I like where I am.”
Studying him, I shove my hands in my pockets and smirk. “I forget how young you are sometimes. Living with all your people makes things easier.”
“I’ll move when I’m ready,” he grumbles, sounding like Shelby’s kid brother rather than my VP.
“Shelby doesn’t want to leave the Victorian.”
“Sure, but there’s no room for you there, and she won’t sleep in the bedroom. The Victorian won’t work, and the trailer is too small for a baby. I also think Shelby misses having Hansel and Gretel around at night, and the woods aren’t suited for small dogs unless you have a fenced yard.”
Shane looks around the living room area. “You need a house, and this is a house. Not your dream house. Just a temporary place where you can come home to Shelby every night. Oh, and it’s only a block from Taylor’s house.”
I smile wider at that last part. “How come you’re telling just me and not Shelby too?”
“If she likes it, you’ll feel as if you have to like it too. I wanted to let you see it without any pressure.”
Shane’s words hit me like a ton of fucking bricks. He put my feelings before his sister’s. This man wanted to murder me less than a year ago. Now he’s making sure I feel right with shit. Shane’s acting like a friend. Hell, he’s acting like I’m his family.
THE WEIRDO
My baby bump flatters me. It makes my shirts look sexier, even though my boobs seem smaller. Yeah, I’ve hit the sexy trimester of pregnancy, and I plan to enjoy it. Having watched Ramona and Max through their pregnancies, I suspect the final trimester isn’t hot at all.
I think I might be strutting when I walk into the Saloon. My escort is Vowel, who is terrified to make eye contact. I bet he worries Goliath will stomp on him if we’re too friendly. He might be right. I don’t know what the boys talk about when I’m not around. Even if they said it in front of me right now, I’d be too busy strutting to follow along.
So full of myself, I barely get annoyed by Dione’s appearance at my booth.
“I’m not looking for a blowjob, darling. Vowel might be