INDIGO

Wearing only an apron, Siobhan cooks us buttered noodles while a country song plays on her phone. I don’t walk around naked like she does. Paranoid the girls will show up unexpectedly, I slide on my boxers and jeans.

My dick feels fantastic. I’m starting to understand why guys like Golden get so hung up on fucking.

I leave my seat at the kitchen table and join Siobhan. Sliding my hands into her apron, I rest them on her belly. Siobhan turns her head and our lips meet. She smiles as the kiss ends.

We sit at the kitchen table and eat pasta. Siobhan talks about the girls’ struggles with first grade. I mention the kids I spent time with in the hills. When she suggests we bring them along to Hudson’s upcoming birthday party, I plant an appreciative kiss on her smiling lips.

“Getting swept into the world of the Backcountry Kings when I was a kid saved my life,” I explain, feeling nostalgic lately.

Siobhan’s gaze softens and fills with sadness. She’s thinking of a little boy version of me. I’ve seen that look on her face many times over the years. Siobhan owns a heart filled with sympathy for those who didn’t win the family jackpot like she did.

“Our baby won’t know those struggles,” I say, trying to distract her from feeling bad. “It’ll always have a good family.”

My words do the trick, winning a smile from Siobhan. We finish eating without feeling like we need to fill every silence with words.

After sliding on a long T-shirt and underwear, Siobhan feeds Bubbles. I follow her around, enjoying how I can reach out and touch her whenever I want.

We’re still riding our post-fuck harmony when the sound of motorcycles startles us.

“Ugh, why?” Siobhan asks after checking the security footage.

I peer out the front shades to find Zoot, Noble, and Scarecrow rolling up the driveway. They climb off their motorcycles and head for the front door. Zoot’s brown hair looks damp like he was interrupted mid-shower. Scarecrow was in too much of a hurry to put on a shirt under his club vest. His hair is wild as usual. All three men hold themselves as if they’re going to war .

“Maybe something’s happened,” I suggest.

Siobhan checks her phone. “Someone would have texted me. Just ignore them.”

I frown at her from my spot in the foyer. Only then do I remember how she isn’t wearing pants, and I don’t have a shirt on. Maybe I shouldn’t engage with Zoot just yet.

Yet, once he knocks loudly, I immediately open the door. My president has his weapon out and looks on the warpath. Once his gaze finds me, Zoot’s rage flips to confusion.

“What the fuck is this?”

“That’s Indigo,” Siobhan calls from where I assume she’s locating pants. “He rides in your club.” Hurrying around the corner wearing shorts, she adds, “Have you suffered any other dementia moments? Should we take you to a doctor?”

While Noble chuckles at her comment, Zoot pushes past me and into the house. Standing over Siobhan, he mutters, “We got word you were running around town with an unknown biker. Noble was concerned so we came over.”

Noble struts past us and points at his brother’s back. “It was all him.”

Siobhan frowns at them entering the house. “You could have called.”

“We figured you might be running around town with a creep,” Zoot says, looking around as if still searching for the unknown biker. “We figured you were slumming it with a lowlife. Or maybe the guy was blackmailing you. No telling what was going on.”

“Uh, you still could have called.”

“You’d have lied.”

Siobhan frowns at Zoot. “Hell, yeah, I would have. Why do you care whose dick I ride?”

“Wait, is that what’s happening here?” Zoot asks and points between Siobhan and me. “You better not be working your way through my club, hussy. Nothing breaks up a crew faster than fighting over a woman’s pussy.”

“Zoot, that’s your niece’s pussy you’re talking about,” Noble says and gets himself a drink from the fridge. “Can I have these leftover noodles?”

“Sure.”

“How about me?” Scarecrow asks, crowding Noble now .

“I don’t know if there’s enough for you both. Stop distracting me from Zoot policing my love life.”

“Is that what’s happening here?” Zoot asks her and sneers. “Love and hearts and flowers?”

“How did you even know about me and a biker?” Siobhan demands.

Zoot shrugs. “I pay your neighbor to spy on you.”

“And they didn’t recognize Indigo?”

“They said the guy looked familiar. Their description did fit Indigo,” Zoot says before leveling his pissed asshole glare at me. “But we figured it wasn’t you since you’ve been on vacation in the hills.”

“Is this why you wanted time away?” Noble asks as he sits at the kitchen table with a bowl of noodles. “Never suspected it was troubles of the heart.”

“What did you think it was?”

“Midlife crisis,” Zoot spits out.

“He’s thirty-two,” Siobhan snarls. “Don’t you dare imply he’ll be dead in his sixties.”

“Who’s implying that?”

“What do you think ‘midlife crisis’ means?”

“I don’t fucking know. But you shouldn’t be hiding this shit from people.”

“We’re not hiding. Mom and Dad know. Carys and Pork Chop, too. A few other people are aware.”

Zoot narrows his eyes until he looks asleep. “Does Caveman know?”

Noble chuckles from the kitchen while Scarecrow looks worried Zoot’s impending tantrum might interfere with their meal time.

Before Zoot can shove me, Siobhan steps between us. “Indigo and I are in love. We just started dating, but it’s the real deal.”

Zoot leans down until he’s nearly nose-to-nose with his niece. “ You are the reason he ran off.”

“No, you are.”

Zoot somehow frowns harder at Siobhan and demands, “How?”

Siobhan shrugs and grins at a smirking Noble. “I don’t know, but the words sounded good in my head.”

“You’re doing fine, kiddo,” Noble announces .

Siobhan wraps her arms tightly around my bare waist and tells Zoot, “You should be happy we’re together and Indigo is back in the city. Why aren’t you celebrating how he didn’t ditch your chapter and stay with Caveman? You won that battle. You’re triumphant.”

Zoot nearly tears chunks out as he runs his fingers through his brown hair. I sense he’s struggling to remain in a bad mood. Pissed off is his baseline mood.

With Siobhan still holding onto me, I’m happier than I’ve been in my entire life. That’s why Zoot’s anger doesn’t faze me. I know he can’t stop what’s happening between Siobhan and me. I’m also feeling optimistic about the baby. Having grabbed hold of this happiness, I refuse to let it go.

“I know you were worried about me,” Siobhan tells Zoot who frowns at how she’s using her “Aunt Fred” voice with him. “You thought I might be in danger. You’ve been so protective all my life but especially after those mercenaries attacked Hunter’s convoy. You were also worried about Indigo because he was in the hills with Caveman who can be a troublemaker.”

“Fuck yeah, he can.”

Siobhan nods sympathetically. “So, you came here ready for a fight, but it’s just Indigo and me hanging out. Nothing’s wrong. You don’t have to be upset. Why not sit down and eat my world-renowned buttered noodles?”

“You’re a bad cook, and I’m not hungry.”

Switching gears immediately, Siobhan demands, “Couldn’t you have just said the last part and skipped the insult?”

“You’ll never get better if you don’t push yourself, and you refuse to push yourself unless you’re repeatedly insulted.”

“I will cook any way I want,” Siobhan hisses, taking the bait. “You’re not the boss of me, Zoot O’Malley!”

“You work for me at the bar and in the office,” Zoot replies, treating this like a real argument. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“I meant you’re not the boss of my personal life or cooking skills.”

Zoot grins at how pissed she gets. Siobhan quickly realizes he’s fucking with her and pulls the plug on her temper.

“Would you like me to make you a sandwich, Uncle Zoot?” she asks, batting her eyelashes at him. “I could get you a cold beer, too. Anything for you, sixth favorite uncle. ”

Zoot’s smile disappears. “Sixth?”

Shrugging, Siobhan walks to the kitchen. “Caveman and all my uncles in the hills like my cooking. Uncle Noble does, too.”

“Ate every bite,” Noble says and takes his bowl to the sink.

“Dickhead,” Zoot growls at him.

“You’re always whining,” Noble replies and goes high-pitched with his imitation of Zoot. “ Why is Indigo hiding? Does he like Caveman better than me? Wah, wah. ”

“I never said any of that.”

“Not in so many words, but I’m an expert at reading between the lines.”

Zoot stops frowning at them and scowls at me. “Why were you hiding?”

“I thought I messed things up with Siobhan.”

Sighing, Zoot runs his hands through his hair and shakes his head. “Look, man, I’m aware my niece is a prime slice of meat,” Zoot says, trying to rile up Siobhan again. “But you can’t run away every time you piss off this woman. Just come to the clubhouse and we’ll conspire together about how to make her calm down.”

I know he’s poking at me, so I don’t react. Siobhan ignores him from her spot in the kitchen, where she informs Noble how she’ll become the best chef in the family.

“Even better than Carys?” Noble asks, and she rolls her eyes. “Even better than your aunt Dot?”

“I can make whatever they make. I’ll take cooking classes. I’ll blow your fucking socks off.”

“I like these noodles,” Scarecrow says and washes his dish. “Indigo doesn’t need fancy food.”

I grin at my club brother. “That’s true. I like what Siobhan cooks.”

Batting her eyes at me, Siobhan dances around the kitchen like she did earlier when she was only wearing an apron. My dick twitches at the memory. I nearly punch the damn thing to keep it lowkey while Zoot continues to eyeball me.

“It was really just because of her?” he asks me.

“I only want her, and I thought I lost her, so, yes.”

Zoot eyes me for a little longer, refusing to believe anyone could get that broken up over a woman. Shrugging, he asks, “Does Sync know you’re banging his baby mama? ”

Siobhan stops dancing and wings a plastic spatula at Zoot. He grabs it midair and tosses it back.

“Elvis should have taught you to throw better.”

“He did, but then my boobs grew in and screwed up my throw.”

“This is why I didn’t have kids,” Zoot mutters. “Couldn’t risk having a daughter.” After a moment, Zoot adds, “I also didn’t want a son.”

Noble grins. “On behalf of the children you won’t create, thank you for saving them from having a garbage father.”

“I’d leave the kid in a closet,” Zoot says and nods. “Might feed it once a day.”

Siobhan gasps. “Why would you be so mean?”

“That’s what your grandfather did with us, and Noble and I turned out fine,” Zoot states and then adds with an evil glint in his brown eyes, “But Elvis turned out weird.”

Siobhan only smiles at Zoot. “I’m sorry you had terrible parents. I had wonderful ones. That’s why I have so much patience for your crap.”

“Uh-huh. Well, maybe we’ll stick around and watch a movie.”

“But won’t you get hungry when you can’t eat my shitty cooking?”

“I’ll order a pizza.”

Siobhan shrugs and walks to me. She smiles softly. Then, something happens in her head. Her expression goes crazy hostile as she looks at the men and swings her finger in their direction.

“Don’t any of you dare tell Sync about Indigo and me. I plan to tell him when I pick up the girls.”

“Smart to drop that news on him when the twins are around,” Noble says. “He can’t flip out with them listening.”

“What’s he got to flip out about?” Zoot demands and looks at Siobhan. “If he gives you a whiff of shit, you send him my way. I’ll go ahead and remind him of all the drama I had to endure when he couldn’t keep his dick out of other women.”

Siobhan seems irritated by them bringing up her past until she realizes Zoot’s ready to give Sync shit in her defense. She hurries over to hug him.

“What a kindhearted man,” she bullshits, making me laugh. “I can order you that pizza if you want. A big strong man like you needs carbs. ”

Zoot rolls his eyes at her crap, but he doesn’t end the hug. His dark eyes focus on me, and I feel him sizing up the situation. When he doesn’t scowl at me, I assume he’s decided Siobhan hooking up with a club member is a good thing. I doubt he cares who the guy is as long as he wears our vest.

Twenty minutes and zero pizzas later, I’m standing next to Siobhan. Zoot peels his niece away from me and walks outside with Scarecrow and her. Noble takes this opportunity to corner me.

“If you have relationship issues again,” he says as his dark eyes dissect me, “I would suggest you come to me. There’s nothing you can say that will shock me. And it’s better than you running up to the hills and marinating yourself in bad memories.”

“Caveman gave me good advice.”

“I’m sure he did. However, you’ve never gotten right with losing your mom,” Noble insists, and his words hit me hard in the gut. “You’ve refused to let those wounds heal. So, going up to the hills is asking to throw salt in them. That’s not a smart move, no matter how low you feel. Get me?”

“I get you.”

“Even if this thing with Siobhan goes sideways or ends, you can’t let the pain kill you. That’s what happened to your mom, and she left behind a lot of people who wished she had gotten through that dark time. No matter what happens, you come to me, and we’ll figure shit out.”

Noble’s words ought to irritate me. But he isn’t wrong. I’ve got a big hole inside my chest filled with pain waiting to break free. My problems didn’t go away just because Siobhan welcomed me into her arms. I never want my issues to hurt Siobhan, the twins, or my kid.

“I’ll come to you next time,” I tell Noble. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I don’t usually fuck up like that.”

“No, you keep your shit in order, but everyone has triggers that make us want to give up.”

“It’s worked out.”

“Yeah, because Caveman and I were around that night when you were at your low point. If we hadn’t found you, things could have taken a different turn,” Noble says and rests his hand on my shoulder. “If you had walked into the woods up in the hills, no one would have likely found you. Siobhan would carry that guilt for her entire life. Those are things you don’t want to happen. So, next time, come to me and we’ll figure out an answer. If Siobhan gets pissed about something, we’ll wait out her temper like we do when Carys gets angry at Pork Chop.”

Though I can’t ever imagine arguing with Siobhan, Noble is a man who plans for every possibility.

By the time Zoot, Noble, and Scarecrow ride off, Siobhan is in a goofy mood. I think she’s happy more people know about us.

Soon, though, she’ll need to face Sync and test out if the twins will like me as much when I linger in their home.