Chapter Seven

Fallon

No one was talking.

The club and girls always talked.

And now they weren’t.

“They’re not saying anything,” I whispered to Adalee and tried to keep my voice low.

“Just wait for it,” she replied. Her tone was far too calm for my liking.

“I don’t think silence is good.” My stomach twisted as I glanced at Yarder, who was working on his slice of cake. I never should’ve suggested to Adalee that we add espresso to the buttercream. What if everyone thought it was disgusting and they just didn’t have the heart to tell us?

Yarder looked up then and met Adalee’s and my gaze. Poppy leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Yup. They hated it. I was sure of it.

“Hell, that is good,” Rocky called suddenly. He set down his fork and swiped his finger through the smudge of buttercream left on his plate. “And I don’t even like coffee.”

My hopes perked up—maybe it wasn’t a complete disaster. Then again, it probably wasn’t hard to impress a teenager.

Olive shot a glare at Cue Ball. “I thought you were going to talk to him about swearing?”

Cue Ball shrugged and was completely unfazed. “I did.”

Aero leaned back in his chair with a chuckle and put his arm around Sloane. “We’ve got front-row seats to the circus of Cue Ball being a dad.”

Sloane shook her head and smiled. “I think he’s doing a good job.”

“Me too,” Dove chimed in, surprising me. “I mean, he’s at least here, right? Points for that.”

I glanced at Dove out of the corner of my eye. She hadn’t exactly been cold to me, but there was definitely distance there. I didn’t know if it was because of Russ—her dad, my boss—or something else. Russ had only mentioned Dove in passing before, usually when it had something to do with our plan to get him into office. I didn’t blame her for keeping me at arm’s length.

Olive broke the silence again as she stood and grabbed her empty plate. “That is the best cake I have ever had. It’s so good that I’m going to have another piece.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding as Yarder finally spoke up. “Yeah, I think you guys’ll make a killing once you find a place to open up shop.”

Thank god. Everyone liked the cake.

Well… everyone except for Compass.

I hadn’t seen him come into the clubhouse at all. That had been fine when the girls and I were putting away groceries and then baking, but now that everyone was digging into the cake, I wanted him in here. I couldn’t shake the urge to see if he liked it too.

Don’t ask me why. I was riding the high of everyone else’s compliments, and I wasn’t in the mood to analyze my feelings too deeply.

I went over to the half-eaten cake and cut two more slices.

“Double-fisting it?” Olive teased with a grin as she hovered nearby.

I smiled and shook my head. “No, I thought I’d go find Compass and see if he wanted a piece.”

Olive’s grin widened. “Don’t forget forks.”

I grabbed two plates, slid a fork into each, and headed out of the clubhouse.

I didn’t have to go far to find him.

Compass was sitting on the porch swing with the faint glow of his cigarette, the only light besides the dim porch bulb. Smoke curled up in lazy spirals as he stared out into the dark.

I paused for a second and watched him. He looked completely lost in thought—something I hadn’t seen from him before. Compass always seemed sure of himself and steady, like his name suggested. Seeing him quiet and pensive like this tugged at something in my chest.

“Hey,” I said softly and stepped toward him.

Compass looked up, his eyes catching the light just enough for me to see the faint surprise there. “Hey,” he replied and flicked ash off the end of his cigarette.

I held up one of the plates. “Brought you some cake.”

Compass glanced at me and snubbed out his cigarette against the arm of the swing. “Am I your taste tester?”

“I mean, you’re one of the taste testers. The rest of the club and the ol’ ladies already tried it. Now I need your opinion.” I handed him a plate and sat down beside him on the swing.

“Did they like it?” he asked and eyed the cake with mild curiosity.

“I’ll tell you after you tell me what you think.”

He chuckled softly, and his lips curved into that easy grin I’d grown used to. Then he scooped up a bite with his fork and popped it into his mouth. I leaned forward and waited.

“So?” I asked when he finally swallowed.

He leaned back with a satisfied sigh escaping him. “That is the best cake I have ever had, babe. You and Adalee made that?”

“Well, Adalee has all the knowledge,” I admitted and took a bite of my own slice. “I just put the stuff in the bowl when she told me to.” The moment the cake hit my tongue, I let out a small moan. “Yeah, that is all Adalee. I just suggested putting espresso in the frosting.”

“Whatever you and she did made a damn fantastic cake.”

The warmth of his praise made me smile. I glanced at him and noted how his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners when he smiled back.

We ate in silence, the soft sounds of forks scraping against plates and the occasional creak of the swing filled the air. When we were both finished, Compass leaned forward to grab my empty plate and set it down on the porch floor by his boots. He stretched back and rested one arm lazily along the top of the swing.

“Yeah,” he said and gave a small nod. “If you girls sell cake like that, you’re going to be rolling in the money.”

I chuckled. “Well, the first thing we need to do is find a place to sell it.”

“Fade said he knows of a few places that might work,” Compass replied and absently pushed off with his foot to set the swing in motion again. “I figure once the cameras start rolling again, we can go see them.”

I nodded and felt the cool night air brush against my skin. It was peaceful out here. “Do you guys happen to know when exactly that will be?”

“Yarder’s gonna call Don tomorrow. See what the deal is.”

I suppressed a grimace at the mention of Don. While I hadn’t had to deal with him personally, I’d been around for the fallout between him and Adalee. It was a mess I was glad to have stayed on the edges of.

For a while, we swung in silence, with the night surrounding us in a quiet stillness. I let out a content sigh. “It’s nice out here. Quiet.”

Compass nodded but didn’t say anything.

“How come you didn’t come into the clubhouse after we got back from the store?” I asked, breaking the silence. “You’ve been out here for hours.”

“Thinking.”

“About?” I pressed and turned to face him.

“The quiet.”

I furrowed my brow. “Um, what?”

“The quiet isn’t good, Fallon.” His tone had shifted and lost its earlier lightness. “When it’s quiet, it means something’s brewing. Something not good.”

“That’s... pretty ominous,” I said.

He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it, and the glow of the flame briefly illuminated his face. “It may be, but it’s the truth,” he said. “The longer we go without anything from Boone and Gibbs, the worse it is.”

He took a slow drag, and I let his words settle. “Maybe Boone and Gibbs have moved on?” I suggested, though I didn’t believe it myself.

Compass took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled a plume of smoke into the cool night air. “That’d be nice, babe, but there isn’t a chance in hell that’s what’s happening.”

“Have you guys gotten any idea where Russ is?” I asked cautiously.

Compass shook his head. “Not yet, though I know we’ll find him.”

I nodded and stared out into the darkness beyond the porch. Russ’s sudden appearance earlier today had left me torn. Part of me wanted to tell Compass about the number Russ had slipped me, but his stern warning not to involve the club echoed in my mind.

“I’m sure he’ll pop up eventually,” I said instead.

“I’m sure he will, too,” Compass agreed.

The silence stretched again, this time heavier with my own unspoken thoughts.

“About Clay...” I began, unsure of how to phrase what I wanted to say.

Compass turned to me, one brow raised. “What about him?”

“Well, when we have to pretend that we’re,” I motioned awkwardly between us, “us, it isn’t too weird for you, right? Hopefully, we can just have the crew focus on The Cakery and not, uh, you and me.”

Compass took another drag and let the smoke linger in his mouth before exhaling. “Whatever it is, it is, babe. I’m up for anything.”

His nonchalant attitude caught me off guard. “That sounded... surprisingly laidback.”

He shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Not much rattles me, Fallon.”

I smiled despite myself. His confidence had a way of grounding me, even when my own thoughts were a tangled mess.

“You really think the cake business could work?” I asked and steered the conversation back to something less complicated.

“Hell yeah,” Compass said without hesitation. “Especially if every cake you two make tastes like that one. People’ll be lining up around the block.”

I laughed, and a small flicker of hope flitted in my chest. Maybe this crazy idea of opening The Cakery wasn’t as far-fetched as I thought it was. I was worried we were only doing it to distract the cameras, but it seemed like even when the cameras were gone, The Cakery was going to keep going. “I hope you’re right, Compass.”

“I am. And we’ve got a few days before douche canoe Clay and the cameras show back up. We’ll get things figured out before they get here.”

I leaned back and rested my head against Compass’s arm. “I hope you’re right, Compass,” I murmured, and my voice was barely louder than the creak of the swing.

Without thinking, I leaned into him and let the warmth of his body seep into mine. The night was cool, but close to him, it was easy to forget the chill.

“Don’t worry about it, babe,” he said, his voice steady and sure, the kind of tone that made you believe everything he said was a promise. “It’ll all work out.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting those words settle. I wanted to believe him so badly. For once, I wanted things to go smoothly and for there not to be some unseen storm brewing just over the horizon.

“I’ll hold you to that,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure if I meant it as a challenge or a plea.

Compass chuckled softly, and the sound vibrated against me. “You can, Fallon. I’ve got you.”

And for a little while, sitting there on that swing, I let myself believe him.