15.

D UB

“Dammit!” I muttered as I pulled my phone out to silence it. When Elizabeth looked at me suspiciously, I shook my head and said, “It’s a fucking group text.”

“Since you’re part of the group, shouldn’t you at least read the message?” she asked.

“Some of the guys are going to be in the area in the next few days and want to get together.”

“But you don’t want to see them?”

“I do, but we’ve got a lot going on here,” I explained.

“Charlotte’s boys can’t cover you for a day or two?”

“I mean here at home. Aleta’s acting funny and . . .”

“I don’t think the woman knows how to be funny, so you’ll have to be more specific.”

“Well, for one thing, she got a cat.” Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in question and then looked over at Charlie who was sprawled out on his back while he snored loud enough to be heard over whatever the girls were watching on TV. In explanation, I said, “She hates animals.”

“Maybe it’s her familiar,” Elizabeth said with a grin. “Does it look like a demon because I’m under the assumption that she’s the spawn of Satan.”

Without thinking, I said, “I’m sure you’re not the only woman who thinks their mother-in-law is the devil.”

Elizabeth’s eyes got wide, and she reared back so hard that her head bumped the wall behind her. It was then that I registered what I’d just said but didn’t care because it felt right.

“What? I’ve been considering it,” I said with a shrug.

“Dub, honey, we haven’t known each other very long.”

“Why does how long we’ve known each other matter? And I’d say we’re more than friends, wouldn’t you? I’ve been basically living here for almost a month now, so I’d describe us as something much more than that.”

“We are more than friends, but we never even really dated. We went from zero to a hundred in the course of a few days, and now we’re living together.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Obviously not since I can’t imagine living here without you.”

“And I’ve taken you out plenty of times.”

“Okay, that’s true. We go riding together all the time and always end up having dinner or coffee, but that’s not what I’m talking about. We barely know each other!”

“Bullshit. You know more about me than any woman ever has, and you haven’t run away screaming yet. I’ve learned more about you in the month I’ve been living here than you think, and everything I know makes me want to spend the rest of my life by your side.”

“Really?” Elizabeth whispered.

“You’re grumpy as hell in the mornings, you’re particular about some of the oddest things, you . . .”

“It only makes sense to put the toilet paper over rather than under, Dub.”

“And the towels?”

“If you don’t fold them the right way, they won’t fit on the shelf in the linen closet!” When I laughed, she scowled and said, “I’m not the only one with peculiar habits.”

“I’m perfectly normal, sweetheart.”

Elizabeth raised one eyebrow and then smiled as she leaned over and slowly pulled a drawer out a few inches and then sat up straight and watched my reaction. I knew exactly what she was doing and resisted the urge to lean over to shut the drawer. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and had to reach out and push it closed.

Elizabeth burst out laughing and said, “Uh huh. That is perfectly normal.”

“I love you, Elizabeth Royce.” Elizabeth blinked a few times and took a deep breath. I wasn’t finished, though. “I want to live with you forever, either here or at my house. Hell, let’s keep both. I’ll use the other house as my workshop, and one of the girls can use it as their home one day. I want to have children with you and be there for every step of the process, from making them to birthing them and then walking the floor with them when they cry. I want to be an example for our kids by showing our daughters how a man should treat them and demonstrating to our sons how they should treat a woman. I’ll do that by loving you every day and doing everything in my power to make you happy.”

“Oh, Dub,” Elizabeth whispered as tears filled her eyes. “That’s . . . everything.”

“I want to show our children how to bait a hook, ride a horse, and change the oil in their car. I want to walk our daughters down the aisle toward men who I’ll never believe are good enough for them but love them to distraction just like I love you. I want to sit with my sons while they work out how they’re going to propose to the women they love and then celebrate with them when she says yes. I want to dance with our daughters at their wedding and dance with our daughter-in-laws when they marry our sons. And then, I want to grow old with you and drink coffee on the front porch while we watch the sunset and worry about our kids and grandkids. And once I’m ancient and feeble, I want to die before you because I can’t imagine spending a single day on this earth without you by my side.”

“You’re crazy. This is crazy. It's just . . .”

“Crazy. I know it is, but I’m just telling you how I feel, which isn’t my strong suit by the way.”

“Oh, I’d have to argue that,” Elizabeth said.

“Of course you would. It seems odd to say this, but I love that about you too. You’ve got no problem putting me in my place, and when I tell you my opinion, you at least consider it before you tell me I’m wrong. We make a good team, Karen, and I think that will make a very happy future for us.

Through a fresh round of tears, Elizabeth admitted, “I don’t know if I’ll be a good mother, Dub. For that matter, I’m not sure I’ll make a great wife. I’ve been alone my entire life. Until you and the girls moved in, I’d never lived with anyone. What if I’m not good at any of it? What if we have a baby, and I can’t connect with it just like I couldn’t connect with Sway and Sobie? What if . . .”

“Honey, I wasn’t there when they were born, and I have no way of knowing what was going through your head at the time, but I can surmise from what little you’ve told me about their conception and your pregnancy that you had way too much to process. I think it’s amazing that you had the presence of mind to know you couldn’t do that and give them the attention they needed at the same time.”

“But what if that’s not the case? What if I’m a horrible mother?”

“That’s impossible because you mother every person and animal that comes into your orbit.”

“I do not.”

“You mothered Aleta before you figured out she was the Antichrist. You even went to bat for her with me, a man you’d never met who you saw as a threat, and you held your own and managed to be sexy as hell while you did it.”

“I thought you must be a horrible person to treat your mother that way,” Elizabeth admitted.

“And then you took the girls under your wing - and I’m not even going to get into how you’ve ruined my horse. That beast hates everyone on the planet but thinks you hung the moon and stars just for him.” When I flipped the bird at my horse through the kitchen window, Elizabeth burst out laughing and then blew him a kiss. “You treat all of them like they’re your own, including the dogs that people trust you to care for, and make them the first priority in everything you say and do. You mothered me into going to the dentist and then nursed me back to health even though I was so drugged up, I didn’t know my own mind. You’ve checked on my sister every day and done everything you can to help her out during these last few weeks of her pregnancy, and you’ve become like a second mother to my little brothers who rely on Charlotte for everything since our own mother is complete shit. You might not be able to see it, but you’re the most caring and loving woman I’ve ever met, and I want to keep you close to me so I can bask in that goodness for the rest of my days.”

“I love you, too, Dub,” Elizabeth said through her tears. “I didn’t want to admit it, but I’ve loved you since the beginning. When I saw you in the diner that day, I thought it was a shame that I’d probably never see you again since I was moving away, but then fate stepped in and put you in my path.”

“And now you can’t get rid of me.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Even if that means my problems will become your problems?” I asked, tilting my head toward the living room where we could hear the girls bickering over which movie to watch.

“They’re not problems, Dub. They’re young women who never had a chance to be children. I want to make sure they have that chance.” Suddenly, a fight erupted, and without missing a beat, Elizabeth yelled, “Cut it out or the television goes dead for the next three days!”

The girls’ chorus of “Yes, ma’am!” made me smile, and I couldn’t resist saying, “I think you’ve got the mothering thing down, Karen.”

“I hope so, Kevin, because you really need some work.”

I couldn’t resist anymore and pulled her out of her chair onto my lap before I gave her a long and heated kiss.

We were both breathless when I asked, “You really love me?”

Instead of answering my question, she gave me one of her own. “If I marry you, does that mean I can legally adopt Hercules?”

I burst out laughing and rested my forehead on her shoulder while I caught my breath. When I lifted my head, I asked, “Was that a proposal?”

“Well, as crazy as it sounds, I guess it was. I want to be married before you knock me up.”

“You’re gonna have to wait until I propose to you, woman.”

“God. The more I get to know you, the more you sound like some of the men I know in Rojo. There’s an entire family of them that use that word like it’s part endearment and part curse word.”

“Maybe I should meet them.”

“You will this weekend when I introduce you as my fiancé.”

“Not your fiancé yet.”

“You’ve already got cold feet?”

“I haven’t even asked you to marry me, so how am I gonna get cold feet?”

“Cut it out, or I’ll make you . . . I don’t know what your punishment will be, but arguing is not allowed!” Laura called from the living room.

“What she said!” Mary yelled in agreement.

“That means I get them, too, huh?”

“You’ve had all of us since the instant we met.”

◆◆◆

“It’s about damn time you got here,” Rooster said as he swung his legs over the barrier separating the covered patio from the parking lot so he could hop down to the sidewalk. “It’s been a while, my friend.”

I took his hand and pulled him in for a tight hug and then slapped his back a few times before I let him go. “Too long. You’re looking ugly as ever.”

“I could say the same about you,” Rooster said with a grin before he turned to face Elizabeth. “However, the presence of these beauties brings your market value up considerably.”

I nudged him out of the way and reached for Elizabeth so I could pull her to my side. Once my arm was over her shoulders, I said, “Rooster, this is my fiancée, Elizabeth Royce. Those two young ladies are my sisters, Laura and Mary. Girls, this is Rooster. Watch him closely and take notes because if you ever meet a guy who acts anything like him you should run the other way.”

Mary tilted her head and studied my friend before she looked at Elizabeth in shock. When Elizabeth burst out laughing, Mary blushed.

When Rooster noticed, he used his considerable charm to make her feel better and put his hand out to shake hers. “I’d like to congratulate you for winning the DNA lottery because you’re way too beautiful for anyone to think you’re related to him.”

Mary’s blush got even deeper, but she shook his hand and said, “Every family needs that ugly duckling to make them feel better about themselves.” Rooster smiled at Laura as he said, “And you, my dear, look like the family wild card. I bet you give everyone a run for their money, don’t you?”

“I’m an angel,” Laura lied with an innocent smile.

Rooster touched her hair and said, “I just bet you are, dumplin’.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rooster,” Elizabeth said as she stuck her hand out to shake his. He lifted her hand up and bent forward to kiss her knuckles, and her embarrassed giggle made me see red. Elizabeth must have sensed my tension because she laughed and said, “As much as I love the fact that you’ve accepted that you’re destined to be one of my loyal subjects, I must insist that you keep your lips far away from me, or Dub might lose his temper.”

“Who is Dub? I seem to have forgotten everything but the color of your eyes and the warmth of your skin.”

“Shut up, fucker. Where are the guys?”

Rooster gave me his patented cocky grin before he said, “They split up and went to a few different parts stores to see if they could find some wire to fix up Sarge’s bike. He’s got a short somewhere, and we need to find a place to work on it before we get back on the road.”

“Is that your table?” I asked as I looked toward the patio where a waitress was standing with a tray full of water glasses.

“It sure is,” Rooster said before he nudged the girls toward the half-wall. “Ladies, can I give you a boost?”

Laura giggled as she nodded, and Rooster bent forward and put his hands on her waist to lift her up and over the wall. He did the same thing for Mary, who was blushing again, and then put his hand out toward Elizabeth.

“Oh, no. We’ll walk around,” Elizabeth said as she put her hand up to stop him.

“They’re just no fun at all, huh?” Rooster asked the girls as he swung over the half-wall so he could sit at the long table he had reserved. I could hear him talking to the girls as Elizabeth and I walked off and smiled because, as usual, he had already made new friends like he seemed to do everywhere he went.

“I like him,” Elizabeth said as we walked around the patio toward the front doors of the restaurant. “He’s different from your other friends, but a lot like them at the same time. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“It’s the hardness that comes from being in prison. No matter how happy you are or how long you’ve been on the outside, it never really goes away completely.”

“The same could probably be said about me,” Elizabeth mused.

“Possibly, but, honey, that old saying about what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger comes into play during times like that.”

“I thought I was going to die many times,” Elizabeth said so softly that I almost didn’t hear her.

It wasn’t often she referred to her time as a captive of that son of a bitch, but every time she did, it filled me with a rage I’d only felt one other time in my life - when I was helpless to stop my sister’s fate that my mother had agreed to and helped plan. The rage at the thought of the same thing happening to Laura and Mary was there, but it simmered beneath the surface. I’d held it at bay so far.

I still had my arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders and squeezed her tight to my side before I kissed her temple. “I’m glad you’re here now, Karen. I can’t imagine that I’d have ever found anyone else on the planet who can make me so happy and crazy at the same time.”

“That’s exactly how I feel about you, Kev.”

◆◆◆

ELIZABETH

“Who is going to be there, again? You said that there’d be people my age, right? What are they like? Are they nice? What should I wear? Can you help me do my makeup?”

Charlotte and I watched Mary have a minor meltdown that had started when she appeared in the kitchen fifteen minutes ago.

Once she paused to take a breath, I said, “There will be a lot of people there, some of whom you’ve already met and several who are close to your age. Yes, they’re nice. I suggest you wear some of those new clothes you got for your birthday, and don’t forget there’s a pool, so you’ll probably need your suit. I will help you do your makeup, but again, you’ll be swimming, so the only thing that will be left on your face will be the waterproof mascara.”

“That’s the one in the silver tube, right?”

“I think so. The label should say it’s waterproof.”

“I’ll check,” Mary said. She pulled her lip between her teeth and looked uncertain for a second before she said, “I’m going to try on those clothes again. I don’t think I have anything to wear. Do we have time to go to the mall? What time does it close? Can we go in the morning?”

Mary didn’t wait for me to answer. Instead, she turned and rushed back to her bedroom as she’d done several times already.

“Is it normal for a teenager to do an about-face on their fourteenth birthday because I feel like that’s what happened.” I touched my forehead and blew out a long breath before I said, “I think I have whiplash.”

“Her birthday didn't have anything to do with it, Elizabeth. That girl we just experienced is all you.”

“What do you mean? Did I do something wrong? I remember feeling that way when I was her age, so that’s normal right?”

“I mean that she’s come out of her shell because of you. The birthday itself didn’t have anything to do with it, but the party you threw for her and the attention you paid her did. I’ve never seen her act this much like a regular kid before. As wild and crazy as it sounds, it almost brings me to tears because she’s comfortable enough with you to be herself and explore a world she never knew existed before she came to us.”

“She never had a chance to be a kid, so I don’t want her to grow up too fast.”

“I think every parent has that wish for their children, but it doesn’t make time slow down.”

“I feel like this is such a drastic change from the bookworm that she’s . . .”

“Is this giving Hermione vibes?” Mary asked as she appeared in the doorway again, this time with her hair out of the long braid she always wore and teased out around her face.

“Is that what you’re going for?” I asked, uncertain what the right answer might be.

“Where are the scissors?” Mary said before she looked around the kitchen. “I just watched a video, and I think I’m going to give myself bangs.”

“No!” Charlotte and I yelled at the same time.

“I think I’d like them,” Mary hedged.

Charlotte and I looked at each other in horror before she whispered, “You hide the scissors. I’ll talk her off the ledge.”

“Done.”

It took a while, but we were finally able to calm Mary down. Since we were going to have company this evening, it was agreed that Mary and Laura would spend the night with Charlotte, so I helped them pack their overnight bags, listening to Mary fret about tomorrow the entire time. As I watched the girls leave with Charlotte on the Gator that Si insisted she use now that she was close to her due date, I marveled at the changes in both of them.

The last few weeks had seemed to awaken something in the girls that was beautiful to watch. Laura was still a child and seemed to be enjoying herself even more than she had before, especially after I told her that as long as she lived in my house she didn’t ever have to wear a dress again and was more than welcome to go barefoot every day. Mary, on the other hand, had developed an interest in clothes and fashion and had been a focused student when I taught her what little I knew about skin care and makeup.

For her birthday last week, Sin helped me get her a last minute appointment at the salon inside the Springblood resort. I’d watched as the women fawned over Mary’s hair before they trimmed it and taught her how to style it in a more fashionable way. After half an hour of lessons, Mary made the decision to chop almost half of it off. Now, rather than hair down to her waist, it hung to the middle of her back with layers that accentuated the natural curls I’d never realized she had because of the braid she always wore.

And then there was the makeup - something I’d never really taken an interest in but knew more about since watching Mary absorb all the knowledge she could from the professionals who taught her about everything from contouring to a healthy skin care routine.

Another thing that Mary had gotten comfortable with was noticing the young men around her. I understood that she’d rarely ever been in the company of boys who weren’t somehow related to her and thought it was awesome when she realized there was a whole world of people out there who had different ideas and beliefs and didn’t all look the same. It was quite an awakening when I took her shopping at the mall. She spent more time studying the teenagers around us than anything. Dub said Laura did the same thing at the arcade where they spent their afternoon.

Tomorrow was the cookout at the Tempest apartments, and the girls would be meeting all types of different people. The reunion was a time for family and friends from all over to get together, and that meant there would be people from all walks of life - from doctors and lawyers to mechanics and welders along with every profession in between.

Sin and Freya’s family - the people who had helped me adjust to life in Rojo during my recovery - would congregate in Colorado this weekend, and I knew the girls would be overwhelmed with new faces and people. Luckily, I knew almost all of them and was sure that they’d take the girls under their wing just like they had done with me.

I was excited to see my friends and even more excited to introduce them to Dub just like he’d introduced me to the friends that had come to help him last month and the group who had arrived today passing through town on their way to the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota.

Over dinner, I met the five men who had tried to convince Dub to come with them but understood that he needed to stay home because of all the drama going on with Aleta right now. I wasn’t surprised when they offered to skip their planned trip so they could stick close in case something happened. Dub insisted that everything was taken care of, but acknowledged their offer and promised to call them if something new came up.

Before I moved to Rojo, I didn’t know any bikers, but that changed when I became acquainted with the members of the Texas Kings MC and the Texas Knights MC. Since Dub was a nomad member of the Time Served MC now, I was coming to know them with the understanding that quite a few members lived in a small town in Texas called Tenillo while the majority of them were spread around the United States and even a few other countries.

Rooster, Sarge, Okie, Trout, and Dice - names that cracked me up when I first heard them - were congregated in my garage right now as they worked on one of the motorcycles before they got back on the road. When they’d arrived at the restaurant earlier, they’d been talking about finding a place to do the work on Sarge’s motorcycle, and I offered up my garage. They’d been pleasantly surprised to hear that I enjoyed working on my truck and had a motorcycle of my own and were more than happy to spend time here catching up with Dub while they traced the short in the wiring on Sarge’s motorcycle.

As I walked across the grass to the kennel, I heard their laughter spilling out of the garage, and it made me smile. Before my house was invaded by Dub and his sisters, I hadn’t realized just how lonely I was. I loved having company around, but I had to admit that it got to be a little too much sometimes, but Dub seemed to understand that. He’d even told me that there were times that he felt the same way since he’d lived alone until they moved in with him.

I heard the familiar sound of hoofbeats coming up the gravel drive and stopped to turn around and wait for my new bestie to greet me. It didn’t take long since he started moving faster the second he saw me in the yard, and as terrifying as it was to see more than a literal ton of muscle speeding my way like a freight train, I didn’t move an inch.

My childhood was spent bouncing from foster home to foster home between short stints with my parents who somehow always seemed to forget they had a child, so I’d never been the kind of girl that dreamed of owning a pony. Instead, I dreamed of things like good food and a clean home. However, life had changed recently, and I found myself a horse lover - at least where Hercules was concerned.

Gravel sprayed around his huge hooves as he came to a stop in front of me, and I smiled when he gently bumped my chest with his muzzle. I followed along with our usual greeting, making sure to scratch behind his ears like he loved while I told him about my day, but my attention shifted when I heard motorcycles pulling up the drive.

I walked around the house with Hercules at my side and wondered if there were more of Dub’s friends arriving. I was pleasantly surprised to find my former boss, a few of his brothers, and my friend Bear heading toward me on their bikes. Since the three-day reunion started tomorrow, it didn’t shock me that the men were already in town with their families. What did surprise me was that they’d taken time away from the reunion to come visit me. I had a feeling it might have something to do with the man in my life since all of them were protective over the people they loved.

It seemed that my home was about to become the meeting place for two different Texas MCs, but that was just fine with me. There was something about a big, burly biker with a heart of gold that made me feel safe, and right now, I was surrounded by them.