again. “So romantic. I can totally see Rooster doing that.”
“I feel bad. But he offered…”
“Don’t feel bad.” Trinity gestures toward the rest of the clubhouse. “These guys don’t do anything they don’t want to do. And they live for a nice, long road trip.”
Trinity’s words calm the uncertainty that had been creeping up on me since last night. I glance over at Swan who returned to cooking after her calm the flock down contribution. “What can I do to help out?”
“We could use a batch of sweet tea, if you don’t mind,” Trinity says.
“Sure. I can do that. Hope you’ve got lots of sugar.” I glance at the clock. “It might not be totally done in time for breakfast but the longer it’s chillin’ the better it gets. We can pour in some bourbon for dinner.”
“Perfect.” Trinity touches my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re sticking around.”
So am I.
Rooster
“You staying for breakfast?” Wrath asks, clapping one of the bear paws he calls hands on my shoulder.
“I think so.” I glance at my phone. “Taking Shelby to a thing. Still have to ask her what time she needs to be there.”
“She’s probably doing yoga with the girls,” Ravage says. “Do you know the ol’ ladies stole our champagne room?” He waves his hand at Wrath and then Rock. “And they allowed it.”
One corner of Wrath’s mouth slides up. “You can thank us later,” he says to me before shoving Ravage sideways. “Fuck off. You guys still use it at night.”
“No, we don’t. Your wife put a lock on the door.”
“Oops.” Wrath smirks.
“Aren’t you guys building an entire clubhouse of sin down in Empire?” I ask Ravage.
“Yeah, that’s why we had to build it.”
“Build it and we will come. All over the place,” Stash adds.
I groan at the lame joke. “How are we the same age?”
Jigsaw joins them to discuss a trip down to Crystal Ball. Wrath nudges Sparky. “You might want to warn Willow there’s going to be a full house tonight.”
“Me?” Sparky’s voice climbs several octaves. “Why would I warn her?”
“I’m sorry.” Wrath scratches his chin and feigns confusion. “Was Willow sneaking out of the basement every Sunday morning supposed to be a secret?”
Muttering and cursing to himself, Sparky heads back down to the basement. Stash follows a few seconds later.
“You’re such a dick,” Ravage says to Wrath.
“The biggest,” Wrath agrees.
“Let’s go!” Z calls. “Girls are waiting. Food is ready.”
I follow the rest of the herd down the hallway, hoping Shelby’s downstairs by now.
The dining room is loud and boisterous. There are so many of us that the room has been arranged into two long rectangular tables side-by-side to accommodate everyone and their families.
This is one of my favorite things about weekends upstate. And today’s even better because I have someone who’s with me. I’ve been picturing Shelby by my side for Saturday morning breakfast for months—and now she’s finally here.
There she is. By the kitchen door, talking to Trinity. Yeah, I definitely like Shelby getting cozy with Wrath’s wife. Trinity’s opinion means something to the guys. Not that Wrath would be one of the officers to vote Shelby in—should I ever want to patch her. I just like how she easily fits in with my club’s ol’ ladies.
Trinity’s gaze lands on all of us crowding into the dining room. She nudges Shelby. A few seconds later, they approach us.
“How’s it going?” I ask Shelby.
“Good. I helped Trinity make a big ol’ batch of sweet tea.”
Wrath sort of scowls at Trinity. “I can’t drink that.”
“It’s not for you.” She pokes his side. “Beast.”
He snarls and picks her up. Trinity’s laughter rings out over the rest of the noise as her carries her to the table. Shelby watches them with an amused smile.
I don’t have a chance to ask her anything else. Heidi’s daughter runs over and smacks into my legs. “Ooster!”
“Hey, pumpkin.” I glance down at her. “You planning to play football?”
“Sorry,” Heidi says. “Shelby, this is my daughter, Alexa. Alexa, can you say hi to Shelby?”
While she was nice enough to the kids at the show last night, I have no idea how Shelby feels about them in her free time. She squats down so she’s almost eye level with Alexa. “Well, aren’t you cuter than a sack full of puppies?”
Alexa squints at her, then up at her mom. Guess she doesn’t find Shelby’s Texas-isms as fucking adorable as I do.
Shelby winks at Heidi. “I am living for these pink camo overalls.”