“Ax.” Bo sent him a warning look, so the man let go of her hand and backed off.
A guy with the short Mohawk haircut and friendly brown eyes stepped up to introduce himself. “I’m Hawk.” He jerked his thumb to the guy next to him. “This is my brother, Snake.” Snake tipped his chin at her. They looked very similar, though Snake was probably a few years younger and had lighter hair.
“Did you meet Ink yet?” Silke asked, motioning to the redheaded young man who had fixed her shower.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Ink said with a gulp.
“Thank you for getting my shower fixed,” she said. “But I thought your name was Proby?”
“That’s his title,” Axle explained. “He’s a Probate. Means he’s not a full member yet. He has to pass the probationary period before he gets a patch.”
“That means he’s basically our bitch for the next year,” Hawk said with a guffaw as he jostled the kid with his elbow. Ink seemed to take the joshing good-naturedly as he laughed along.
“Ink? That’s uh, an interesting nickname.” Her brows snapped together as her gaze darted back and forth between the men, who were all wearing swim trunks and nothing else. All of them had tattoos all over their bodies, except for the Probate.
“Oh, Proby here’s got a tattoo,” Hawk said, seemingly reading her mind. “It’s just nowhere you want to see it.”
Sabrina blushed, and so did Ink.
A voice calling from behind got their attention. “Hey, guys, everything good?” It was the man who answered the door this morning. He walked up to them, though not alone; he was carrying a toddler, maybe two or three years old, whose arms were wrapped around his neck. “Sabrina, right? I’m Hardy. And this is my daughter, Annie.”
“Nice to meet you. Hello, Annie. I like your dress,” she said, nodding at the girl’s bright yellow sundress.
“Hi!” Annie smiled and waved, her curly hair bouncing around her chubby cheeks.
“Burgers are done,” Bo declared. “Why don’t you all grab some plates and we can start eatin’?”
Sabrina followed Silke’s lead and walked over to the table with food and utensils, taking the plate and utensils the other woman offered. “So, everyone here works for you?” she asked.
“For the resort, yes.” Silke piled some mashed potatoes on her plate. “Ink and Hawk are our handymen for the lodge and cabins. Axle and Snake do other odd jobs maintaining the property and double as our valet when we have special events. Hardy and Ransom help out, too, but they both work full time with Bucky in town. Arlene mans the front desk when I’m not around and heads up housekeeping, while Bo isn’t just the MC’s chaplain, but he’s also an ordained minister and performs the weddings that take place here.” She laughed as she grabbed a hamburger bun and placed one on Sabrina’s plate. “I can see by the look on your face that you’re surprised.”
She glanced over at the man in question, who was kissing Arlene’s neck as the woman giggled like a schoolgirl. “He uh, doesn’t seem like the preacher type.”
“He’s more spiritual than religious these days, he says. But he does perform an important job for the MC.”
“You said he’s a chaplain?”
“The chaplain. For the MC. It’s kind of a revered position. He’s there for anyone who needs counsel or just wants an ear to listen.” A sad expression passed briefly across her pretty face. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but they all have their own demons.”
Sabrina glanced around. All of the guys did seem like happy, normal people, but then again, that was all surface. People weren’t always what they seemed.
When they finished filling up on potato salad, coleslaw, and beans, they walked over to Bo, who served them up some burgers, then walked out by the lake. They sat on one of the lounge chairs on the sandy shore. “So, this is everyone? I mean, all the MC?”
“Hmmm.” Silke thought for a moment. “Well, there’s Logan, but he doesn’t come to these things. Prefers to patrol the territory and stay with the horses. We have a couple around for the tourists, and he does a great job with them. Oh”—she looked around, then grimaced as if she had a bad taste in her mouth—“there’s Joanie.” She nodded back at the deck, where Ransom was chatting with an older woman who was smoking a cigarette. They stood far away from everyone else, like they were in their own world.
“Joanie?”
“Ransom’s mother,” she said.
She looked back toward Ransom and the cool-blonde woman. Her head was turned their way, but it was like she was looking right through them. She flicked her cigarette to the ground and smashed it with her heel, then said something to Ransom.
“That’s your stepmother?”
That distasteful look come back on Silke’s face. “Don’t let Joanie hear you say that. To her, Ransom’s her only child.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. You said she married your father.”
Silke shrugged. “It’s all right. I’m used to it. Joanie wasn’t a wicked stepmom or anything, just indifferent. She made sure I was fed and clothed while I was growing up, but Ransom was the apple of her eye. Part of me thinks Pops married her so soon after my mom died because he just didn’t know how to take care of a baby. But he loved her in his way, and she cared for Pops. Anyway.” She pasted a smile on her face. “Let’s not spend the whole time talking about my baggage.”
A few more people had joined them on the loungers, and Sabrina actually found herself having a good time, though she mostly listened to everyone else’s stories. It was strange, really. A few days ago, the thought of being surrounded by so many strangers would probably have made her anxiety levels shoot up, but now, she actually felt relaxed. Perhaps it was the fresh mountain air and the beautiful scenery. It was inspiring really,
