Halfway through the piece of toast, she asked, "What have you been doing today?"
"I went for a ride." He placed his hand on her thigh underneath the table.
She glanced at him. "Did you follow me?"
"Mhm." He shrugged. "Until you got to the store."
"I wondered if it was you, but Monica said it was probably Joel."
"He was with me." Brage wiped a crumb from the corner of her mouth. "Missed you."
Her stomach warmed. Besides knowing he wanted her sexually, that was the closest to Brage expressing there was more going on between them.
She kissed him quickly. He summed up how she had felt all day being away from him and it hadn't mattered that he'd followed her to the store. He'd trusted her to come back to the clubhouse and him.
Self-conscious, she looked up and found Coco and Elling gone from the table and they were alone in the kitchen. She no longer hid her displays of affection from the others, but she also wasn't going to act like Brage's sex partner.
She finished the toast and apple while enjoying Brage's hand on her leg. The comfort his touch brought her was right up there with him hinting at how he was feeling. He grounded her to the here and now.
"I'll put the plate in the dishwasher." She got up from the table.
As she came back to wipe off the table, a loud cheer went up in the main room.
Slag.
Slag.
Slag.
Having never heard the members shout out as celebration—and it was good— the tone of the men's deep voices surprisingly optimistic left her smiling.
"What's that about?" She tossed the cloth in the bin for dirty clothes.
"Don't know." He walked with her to the group surrounding the table with all the packages they'd bought at the store. Brage nudged Rune. "Huh?"
"Peer named the kid." Rune grinned.
Interested in what he'd chosen, Dinah leaned in front of Brage to direct her question toward Rune, and asked, "What is it?"
"Tyr." Rune nodded in appreciation. "Ballsy name."
"Ja," replied Brage, squaring his shoulders.
She smiled, not knowing the meaning behind the name. It was apparent she was missing out on why all the men were cheering for the baby.
Leaning against Brage, she wondered if her name was really even Dinah Marie Reed. Her last name wasn't Reed. Her real parents could've named her something else. Maybe something special that brought happiness to them like it had for the club to hear the name Tyr.
She would probably never know.
Chapter 22
Tyr's impatient noises grew louder. Dinah walked around the car seat on the floor behind the bar. After several days of Peer bringing the baby to work, she found it hard to take his cries seriously because they were adorable.
Everything about Tyr fascinated her. The way he gnawed on his little fist when hungry. The way his cheeks reddened when he pooped. The way his lips puckered when he slept.
"Someone's getting hungry." She watched Tyr as she set two empty pitchers on a tray.
"I'll feed him in a minute." Peer hurried to supply the drinks to the customers sitting on the stools.
"Can I?" Coco held up her hands. "I'll wash first, and my break starts in a few minutes so I can sit down with him."
"Appreciate it." Peer motioned his chin toward the kitchen door. "There are bottles in the fridge in the breakroom. Put it in the micro—"
"I remember how to do it." Coco bounced, flashing a grin. "I'll change him, too."
Dinah filled up the pitchers and delivered them to the customers at Table Four. She checked in with Monica, Heather, and Lizzy for any more orders. With all customers settled for the moment, she returned to the counter and cleaned around Peer.
"Tyr's adapting to all the noise here and at the clubhouse." She smiled at Peer. "Is he sleeping longer at night?"
"Three hour stretches." Peer flung the towel over his shoulder. "The women help during the day; I don't think Tyr cares who is holding him. As long as he has a bottle in his mouth, he's happy."
She scrubbed at a sticky spot. "Well, I'm not a baby expert, but he sure seems like a happy boy to me."
"You don't have younger siblings?" asked Peer.
A heaviness settled in her chest. Brage hadn't shared with everyone at the club about the struggles she was trying to get through. She'd been reluctant to talk about it.
She shook her head. "I haven't even held a baby before."
"You can hold Tyr anytime you want."
"Oh, no." She picked up the line of dirty glasses. "I'd be afraid of doing it wrong or making him cry. I'm a pro at observing though. He's a perfect baby."
Peer stared at the glass in his hand. Growing concerned over his lack of response, she stood beside him.
"His mom..." Peer cleared his throat and shook his head.
That was the end of the conversation. Whatever consumed Peer's thoughts were too much for the strong man.
She squeezed his arm and let him be with his thoughts. There was nothing she could say or do to help him adjust to raising a baby on his own. She could barely figure out her own life as an adult.
The closer she grew to Brage and the longer she stayed at the Slag clubhouse, she realized she couldn't hide out here forever. She also couldn't go back to Idaho.
Right now. At this time. She couldn't be in the same town as Tony or Moroad Motorcycle Club.
"Dinah," called Heather.
She looked up and caught Heather pointing to a table in her area. Smiling, she went to help the customers.
Returning to the counter, she filled the orders when Brage came in and sat down in front of her. Her chest warmed seeing him. He had his hair pulled back, and his beard was brushed. The ends of his whiskers still damp from a shower.
Thankful for the counter between them, she had a real urge to cuddle up to him and inhale
