Chapter 20

Kracken

He disconnects, leaving me to stare at the landscape, unseeing, as I think about all the ramifications to our former brothers, as well as our new club.

"Fuck," I growl out before heading back inside to start packing. I'll let Moira sleep as long as possible while I get our stuff together and packed into the truck.

* * *

I'm drinking my second cup of coffee and turning over the bacon when her arms wrap around me, and she kisses me in the middle of my back. "Good morning," she says as I pull her around to my side.

Leaning down to kiss her, I say, "Good morning," against her lips.

"We have to go, don't we?" she asks, looking around and seeing how clean everything looks.

"Yeah, sweetheart, we'll eat breakfast, grab showers, then pack up the kittens, and head home. Some of the guys will be joining us halfway to follow us home."

"We're not safe," she whispers, fear crossing her features.

"We are safe, Brick just doesn't want to take any unnecessary chances," I reply. "Now, you want coffee or juice this morning? I have the eggs warming in the oven already."

"I'm going to have some juice and a soda. I'm not as crazy about coffee as you are," she teases, moving away from me to grab a glass.

I watch her walk around the kitchen and smirk. She's moving somewhat gingerly, but still, there's a renewed sense of self-worth and self-confidence in her that wasn't there before. And I helped give that to her. Seeing the bacon is finished, I put it on the plate then pat away the excess grease with a few paper towels before I take it and the pan of scrambled eggs to the table. She grabs the spatula and takes a portion of the eggs while I put multiple pieces of bacon on her plate before I fill mine up.

"Maybe we should take turns getting our showers," she muses after taking a sip of her soda. "That way, I can be sure everything is cleaned up."

"We'll do it together, babe," I reply. "Won't take too long. Power's still out, so we can't wash the sheets, but I'll leave a note for the caretaker so he's aware. He told me he'll come and get anything perishable, so we don't have to worry about traveling with milk and what-not."

She starts giggling, then asks, "How long is the trip home again?"

"Depends on how fast I drive," I retort, which has her laughing out loud. "Typically, though, about six hours."

"We have a cooler now, I can always make us some sandwiches for the trip so we'll only have to stop for gas and bathroom breaks."

"Perfect ol' lady, babe," I whisper. "Because that sounds like a great idea. Okay, finish eating, we've got stuff to take care of before we can head home."

* * *

With the two of us, it took less than two hours, although they were busy ones, to get on the road. Not only did I leave a note for the caretaker, but I also called him to let him know we were leaving.

Now, I'm listening to her hysterical laughter as I tell her how Scythe reacted when Selah told him the story about the China doll. Granted, I'm laughing right along with her, because that shit was funny as hell.

"How are the kittens doing, babe?" I ask once she's calmed down.

She glances in the backseat at the carrier and then smiles at me. "They're sound asleep, thank goodness."

I nod because I'm definitely not equipped to try and figure out how to give cats a bathroom break, for fuck's sake. Hopefully, they don't need to go, but if they do, we'll figure it out.

Together.

With that thought, I reach over and take her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. "No matter what, Moira, you'll always have me, sweetheart. Plan to put a ring on that bare finger of yours too."

"You want to marry me?" she asks, her voice slightly above a whisper.

"Babe, any way I can tie you to me for the rest of our lives, I'm gonna do it. How do you feel about kids?"

She bursts out laughing again. "Kids? As in plural? Um, I kind of wanna wait a little longer before I have them if that's okay."

"Then it'll just be us and those two little black panthers for a bit," I decree.

"Yes! We'll consider them practice for when we want to start having children," she exclaims, making me chuckle. "What? Some people start out with plants, then move to a pet, mostly a goldfish although I think they die early, before they have kids."

"Babe," I say through my laughter.

"I can't figure out what your ‘babe' means this time," she grumbles.

I squeeze her hand and say, "They all mean the same thing."

"No, no they don't. You use different tones and inflections. Sometimes, they sound amused, sometimes not. So, what did this one mean?"

"Just that, while I'm good with us waiting to have kids because I want it to just be us for a while, we're surrounded by some of the best people I know and a lot of them are parents. Do you really think they'll let us harm a child?"

"No," she drawls out. "I guess they won't."

"Exactly. Now, the exit where we're supposed to meet the brothers is coming up. We'll get gassed up, hit the restrooms, then be on our way."

* * *

I watch as Scythe stops to talk to Moira, then lose it, doubling over laughing when I hear her say, "So, have you seen the chop, chop China doll yet, Scythe?"

He shrieks and glares at me. "You told her? I thought you were my brother, Kracken!"

Through my chuckles, I rebut, "I am, but fuck, Scythe, it was too funny not to share and not only that, but right now, seeing your face? Yeah, it's way better than I expected it to be."

Banshee, who's been listening, joins in my laughter, shaking his head. "Brother, you're a fucking pansy," he states, pointing at Scythe. "Find your balls, it's all a bunch of made-up shit."

"Is it though? Is it really?" Moira questions, her expression innocent.

But I know my ol' lady and I suspect she's got a mischievous side to her that's going to be fun to watch as it grows.

"You're not being nice right now, Moira," Scythe retorts. "Shame on you!"

Banshee grows serious then says, "Gotta get back on the road, y'all. Load ‘em up and let's go!"

* * *

We pull into the parking lot of the clubhouse and are immediately swarmed by my brothers and their ol' ladies. Putting the truck into park, I hop out and round the front of the truck to help Moira down. Her eyes are wide, because not only Roanoke brothers and their ol' ladies are out here, but also the Cedar Creek family.

"Moira!" Belle exclaims, pushing through everyone to reach my woman's side. "I've been so worried."

"I'm sorry," Moira quietly replies. "I owe you the biggest apology, Belle. It's all my fault we were taken."

Belle adamantly shakes her head, then argues, "No, I should've had Tony check further."

"No, you don't understand. They would've gotten me one way or another," Moira states. Her nose scrunches and her lips twist as she adds, "Apparently, I was part of their ‘bigger plan' or something like that." She uses air quotes and looks crestfallen as she gazes at her best friend.

"So was I," Selah says, having come up to our huddle. "Moira, I'm so glad you found your voice again. I didn't get a chance to tell you that in Texas with everything else going on."

I watch as my woman moves from Belle's embrace, to Selah's, then I hear her say, "Your sweet Hannah helped me with that, Lah."

Selah smiles then retorts, "Seems she's been roaming around at night, too, from what she tells me."

Moira giggles while nodding. "Your girl is something else. Trust me, she kept me calm the last time, in Mississippi. So, thank you for that."

"Can we get inside?" I question since no one seems to be moving. "We have to get Timmy and Sushi up to my room and settled in."

Her face lights up and she smiles. "Wait until y'all meet them. They're so sweet!" she exclaims.