I smiled, leaning down to meet his eyes. “I love you, too, Jase Vincent.”
“Let’s set the date,” he said. For the umpteenth time.
“No.”
“Why the fuck not?” he demanded, and I separated myself from him.
“I’m wearing your engagement ring,” I said, raising my hand for effect. “Or did you forget?”
“You’ve been wearin’ that ring for a fuckin’ long time, Cricket. Why won’t you set the date with me?”
“Because we are perfect just the way we are and I don’t want to fuck that up.” I snagged my skirt off the floor. “I can’t believe you ruined another pair of my underwear.”
He pushed off the chair and took my skirt from my hand, dropping it back on the floor. “One day, you’re gonna say yes, Cricket.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But it doesn’t mean I love you any more or less, honey. A piece of paper isn’t going to make my commitment more solid.”
“You wanna have kids?”
“You know I do. Eventually.”
“Then, we’re gonna get married.”
“As you’ve stated a million times.” I cupped his face. “I’m fine with that...eventually.”
He let out a quiet growl and kissed me. “Gonna wear you down.”
“I look forward to it.”
He dropped the subject and we went about getting dressed before making our way out of the room to join our family again. Luckily, the rest of the evening went off without a hitch and I was glad to see my brother and my man making an effort to get along.
Cricket
The next morning, I padded into the clubhouse kitchen to find Poppy making a huge pot of coffee. “I love you the mostest,” I said.
Poppy grinned. “It’s funny that you say that whenever I’m making you coffee.”
“Do I?” I asked in a sing-song voice, grabbing a mug.
“It’s gonna be a minute, Auntie.”
I wrinkled my nose. “A minute’s not really acceptable, Poppy.”
“And yet, I still can’t snap my fingers and make it go faster.”
I sighed. “Rude.”
Poppy chuckled. “I know. They didn’t cover that in school.”
I smiled. “What are you doing up so early?”
“I’m always up this early,” she said, pulling cream out of the fridge. “I can’t seem to sleep in anymore.”
“Where’s Sparky?”
“He’s helping Sid with one of the outside lights. I guess motion was caught in that area behind the sign, but the light didn’t come on.”
Poppy had started to call Hatch “Sid,” short for “Stand-in-Dad,” after he officially adopted her, although, she called him “Dad” more nowadays.
If I’d had coffee, I probably would have done a spit take. “Area behind the sign? I thought that was a blind spot.”
“It was,” Poppy said. “Until about two months ago when Sid decided to add cameras.”
I swallowed.
Shit.
“Who monitors the footage?”
“Recruits, mostly. Although, Flea acts as Dad’s second, so he’s the one who stores everything.”
Shit, shit, shit.
“Why?” Poppy asked.
“No reason.” I smiled. “Is the coffee ready?”
“Almost.”
* * *
Minus
“I take it you’ve spoken with Crow,” Duke said as he picked up my call.
“What the hell? You didn’t feel like giving me a head’s up?”
“Wasn’t my story to tell. Besides, I didn’t know if, or when, Crow would make it official.”
“He really buying the old Clark ranch?”
“Sure is. From what I understand, he paid full asking price. Sounds like he’s all too ready for retired life.”
“If you consider running around with a bunch of fucking alpacas retirement,” I grumbled.
“It’s good to hear your voice, Minus. Even if you sound like a city boy again.”
I laughed. “Out here, everyone tells me I sound like a hick. How’s Pearl doing?”
“I’ll tell you, that woman is gonna drive me to drinkin’.”
“But you already drink,” I replied.
“I know, and tonight Pearl’s drivin’ me to the bar so I can do just that.” I could hear the smile on Duke’s face.
“You crack yourself up, don’t you, old man?”
“Someone’s gotta do it.”
“Well, you tell Pearl Merry Christmas from Cricket and me. We’re gonna be in Savannah early next year on club business, and we’re gonna try our best to come visit y’all.”
“She’ll be tickled to hear that. We sure do love that little lady of yours.”
“The feeling’s mutual.”
“So, how did the Dogs take Crow’s retirement?” he asked.
“About how you’d expect. It’s tough enough losing a President, but when he’s the founder as well...”
I let my words trail off. If anyone had perspective on the matter, it was Duke. He’d known the founders of both the Saints and the Dogs since the beginning. Both clubs had chapters in Savannah, and although Duke had never been affiliated with either, he rode and did business freely with both. He was as trusted and as loyal as a biker could be, and despite his laid-back, elder farmer vibe, was a dangerous man back in the day. Duke was a powerful ally and had deep connections.
“Well, I’m sure once the dust settles, the club will rally around their V.P. as he makes the transition.”
“Sounds like there’s one memo you missed.”
“How’s that?” Duke asked.
“Hatch is the Dogs of Fire’s new President.”
Duke laughed heartily. “I bet that just made your day. Oh, shit. I wish I’d been there to see your face.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Good for him. Hatch is a good man, and I’m sure he’ll do his club proud.”
“You sound like Cricket. She’s all but put up a shrine to St. Hatch in our living room.”
“Listen up, boy. If you want a happy life at home and in the clubhouse, my strong advice would be to bury the hatchet with Hatch.”
“He’s the one with a chip on his shoulder. I’m over the past.”
“Horseshit. You might think you’re over it, but I know different. If there’s friction between the two of you, it’s because Hatch knows it, too.”
“Gee, thanks for having my back, Duke. If I’d known this was going to be such an uplifting conversation, I’d have called sooner.”
“I ain’t
