15.

R OOSTER

I glanced around to make sure all the customers at the bar were taken care of and then signaled to Devon that I was going to take a quick break. Instead of going to the back, I left the bar area and walked over to the table near the front where Rosie was sitting with her friends and my sister. I was surprised to see that Jeremy had joined them.

I greeted my sister's boyfriend . . . and tried my hardest to ignore how that thought made my heart stutter before I kissed her cheek and then wrapped my arms around Rosie from behind. She put her hands on my arms and leaned back into my chest. My heart's stutter had turned into an all-out race.

I took another look around the bar and frowned at the vibe I felt - it had been that way all evening. I just couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. The customers were subdued for a Friday evening, but that didn't mean much because it was still early and most of the guests were just finishing dinner at the restaurant. I knew that it would get much busier later on with regulars from town joining the guests who decided to relax and have a few drinks, and considering the vibe I felt about tonight, things would probably get a little crazy.

"You seem tense," Rosie said as she tilted her head to the side so she could look up at my face. "What's up?"

"Something's off tonight, and I just can't put my finger on it."

"Creepy guy and his friends are back," Flora said as she motioned toward the door. "I saw them walking into the restaurant earlier which means that they'll probably show up here before long."

"That's just great," Rosie mumbled.

"Are you ready?" Madison asked Jeremy. When he nodded, she said, "We're going to a movie."

"You kids have fun!" Fauna said cheerfully. She gave them an exaggerated wink and said, "But not too much fun, you hear?"

"Do you need a ride home later, Jeremy?" I asked, trying to ignore Fauna's implication that they might get the idea to do something more than just watch a movie.

"No, sir. My dad's going to come get me. He said he'd come in and talk to you."

"I look forward to it," I told him sincerely. Jeremy's parents had been very nice when I met them before, and I enjoyed talking to his dad about our mutual interests. I loved to fish, and he had expressed interest in taking up the hobby, so we needed to put some plans in place before the weather turned too cold to enjoy ourselves. "Do you want a refill before you go up?"

"Jeremy brought a cooler, and we're going to have a picnic in my living room!" Madison said excitedly.

"That sounds romantic," Flora said. She nudged Jeremy with her elbow and said, "Maybe you need to give lessons to some of the guys I date."

"Isn't that the truth?" Fauna mumbled.

We said our goodbyes to Madison and Jeremy, and I let go of Rosie long enough to sit on the stool beside her to chat for a minute before I got back to work. It felt perfectly natural to rest my hand on her knee. I smiled at her when she put her hand on top of mine and started rubbing the top of my knuckles with her thumb.

"You act like our dad did when we started dating," Fauna teased.

"I can't help it - I'm just protective," I admitted with a shrug. "Dianna says that Madison is training me for when Kerrigan gets old enough to start dating."

"I think Mads and Jeremy are adorable together. She's so bubbly, and he's so quiet. They play off of each other perfectly," Rosie said with a smile as she watched the couple walk out of the bar.

"Jeremy doesn't drive?" Fauna asked.

"His parents brought him over to pick up Mads on their first date, and his dad is coming tonight, so I guess not."

"Does Mads drive?"

"Oh no!" I shook my head and blew out a breath at the memory of the first time my sister got behind the wheel. "We spent hours in the truck with her behind the wheel trying to get a handle on it before she finally decided that she was going to stick to golf carts and ATVs from now on. That was right about that time I started seeing my first gray hairs."

"She's not cut out for NASCAR?" Rosie joked.

"Put her on a four-wheeler, and she can race with the best of them, but she just froze up every time she got into the truck. She admitted that it was just too much for her to take in all at once, and she was terrified of other cars getting too close. I was more than willing to keep working with her, but she decided she was done."

"At least she recognizes her limits. I can't count the number of times I got an idea in my head and then just couldn't let it go even after I realized it wasn't the thing for me," Fauna admitted. "I got the bright idea that I was going to build my own greenhouse and insisted that I could do it all by myself with no help from anyone. I drew up the plans, made the measurements, bought the wood, watched video after video on how to use the power tools - the works. Now I've got this wonky wooden thing taking up space in my yard that irritates me every time I look at it."

"It looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book," Flora added as she used her hands to give us an idea of the structure. "Dad keeps telling her that he can fix it but . . ."

"I think I know how to . . ." Fauna shook her head. "No. I have no idea how to fix it."

Suddenly, Madison came bounding back into the bar and skidded to a stop next to our table. "You made a promise, Rooster. When are you going to sing?"

"I was hoping you forgot about that."

"Will you call me before you go on? I want to come down and listen."

"I will," I assured her with a sigh. "What do you want to hear?"

"My song, of course."

"I'll play your song as soon as I get warmed up so you don't have to stay up too late and be tired in the morning."

"Thank you!" Madison said before she gave me a smacking kiss on the cheek.

"If I've gotta sing, then you've gotta dance."

"I can't dance in front of everyone!"

"But I have to sing in front of everyone?"

"It's not the same."

"You're right. I won't make you dance, but I'll still hold up my end of the deal and sing for a while."

"We'll dance with you," Rosie offered. She looked over at Flora and Fauna and asked, "Won't we, ladies?"

"Hell, yes!" Flora said excitedly.

"I ain't scared," Fauna said with a shrug. "You just let us know when it's time, and we'll join you on the dance floor."

"You will?"

"All three of us will," Rosie assured her.

"It's going to be so much fun!" Madison said, so excited she was bouncing up and down in front of her brother. "Thanks, Roo. Love you!"

We watched Madison take off, headed back to her apartment, and I blew out a breath before I said, "I really hoped that had slipped her mind."

"You're going to sing?"

"Yeah. We made a deal, so I'll do it."

"Madison is a huge fan of the Rojo Kings," Rosie said with an odd smile.

"Is that so?" Fauna asked with a grin.

"Aren't they from your hometown?" I asked. When Rosie nodded, I asked, "Do you know them? I met a few of them at the wedding, but I never really put two and two together and thought about the fact that you might."

"We know all of them," Rosie said. "And I know exactly what to get her for her birthday."

"What's that?"

"It's a surprise."

"When is her birthday?" Flora asked.

"It's on Halloween."

Fauna grinned before she asked, "Are you going to take her to the party?"

"I am. I've already talked to Dianna about getting her covered at the coffee shop. I want to surprise her with a quick trip home to meet everyone." Rosie squeezed my hand and said, "Of course, I'd love it if you'd come with us."

"To meet your family?"

"Is it too soon to ask that?" Rosie asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely not."

"I'd keep him as far away from the family as you can for as long as you can. One night with everyone together all at once is enough to make even the smartest guy run for the hills."

"I think there was an insult in there somewhere," I said as I frowned at Fauna.

She reached over and patted my shoulder before she said, "It's okay, honey. You're easy on the eyes, so you don't have to worry about being book smart too."

"Maybe I should meet your family before we take Mads," I suggested.

"Why?" Rosie asked.

"Some people can be assholes when they meet Mads and . . ."

"And those people wouldn't be welcome anywhere near our family," Fauna said firmly.

Flora agreed. "Fauna's right. Mads will fit right in with everyone, and they'll love her from the start just like we did."

"I do have to admit that I was a little surprised at how easy she took to the two of you. When I found out that she was hanging out at Rosie's house with y'all that afternoon, it made me get a little choked up. She doesn't have nearly enough girlfriends."

"Well, if you're with Rosie, she's got about fifty," Fauna said with a grin. "Gamma's gonna love her, and she'll be able to talk about all things coffee with Piper and Frankie."

"That's true," Rosie agreed. "Piper and Frankie own a coffee truck."

"And you can make arrangements for her to meet those guys from the band? She likes the girls too. I think she has a signed poster from one of their fan groups."

"I sure can," Rosie assured me.

"You'll be her hero."

"Nah. You'll always be her hero. I'll just be her friend."

◆◆◆

ROSIE

"Are you nervous about taking him home with you at the end of the month?"

"Not at all. I think he'll fit right in, don't you?" I asked Flora.

"Absolutely."

"You know the guy Amethyst has been seeing is one of them, right?"

"One of them?" I asked Fauna. "What does that mean?"

"From his MC. He's the guy that rescued Zoey when she was attacked."

"Tiny?" I asked.

"Yeah. He moved to Rojo to be near his sister's family. I think he lived in Vegas before."

"I had no idea."

"Amethyst saw him at Elizabeth's wedding, but they didn't actually meet until later after he moved to town," Flora explained. "They make a cute couple."

"The last time I saw her, it seemed as if she were walking on air."

"When you get a good look at the man she's in love with, you'll understand why," Fauna said dreamily. "I think I need to find myself a big ol' biker."

"From the way you and Rooster were acting while he was sitting with us, my guess is that you'll be walking on air in the morning," Flora mused. "And now I have to hate you."

I thought back to our night together and smiled before I said, "Yeah. You should."

"I have to say that I'm half in love with the man just because of the light he gets in his eyes when he talks about his daughter, and don't even get me started on how much he cares for his sister. The guy might have a wild past and look like a gruff biker, but he's all heart."

"Fauna's right. In a way, he reminds me of Uncle Thorn. Great sense of humor, but a lot of strength and conviction to go along with it. I think you might have found a man that's the whole package."

I watched as Rooster got ready to sing, strumming his guitar a few times before he pulled the microphone a little closer and adjusted the height. Madison and Jeremy were at the table nearest the front of the room, but the girls and I had opted to keep the table we were sitting at because of its proximity to the end of the bar.

I thought about how shocked I was when he sang to Madison while she worked up the courage to give herself a shot and knew that the man had missed his calling. Pairing his looks with his personality and gorgeous voice could make him a popular figure in the music industry. Somehow, I instinctively knew that he'd never even dream of doing that because it would mean leaving his family here in Red River, something he had assured me would never happen.

As soon as he started playing the guitar, a hush fell over the crowd. I heard Flora and Fauna gasp when he sang the first lyrics. I closed my eyes and thought about the image that had sent me running that first night . . . Rooster sitting in that rocking chair on his back porch with a baby in his arms, but this time it was even more detailed and didn't terrify me the way it had before.

I was going on faith that he meant what he said when he insisted he was more than just interested in me. I was also accepting of the understanding that if I wanted a future with this man, it would have to be here with him in Red River surrounded by his family and the businesses that they'd worked so hard to build together.

And I was perfectly okay with that.

We listened to Rooster sing a few songs, and I was in awe at how he slowly but surely got more comfortable in the spotlight until he was belting out the lyrics and the crowd in the bar was singing along.

As he strummed his guitar between songs, he announced, "This next song is for my favorite brown-eyed girl. I've been singing it for her since the first time we met, and I'll sing it to her until I'm too old to remember the lyrics and she has to remind me. This one's for you, Chicken Little."

"Here we go!" Fauna said as she hopped off her stool and took off toward the front of the bar. "Come on, y'all!"

Flora and I hurried after her, and by the time we wove around all the tables to get to the small dance floor, Rooster was strumming the beginning of an old song I'd heard a million times.

I pulled Madison up by her hand and spun her around a few times before I started moving, and she got right into the rhythm with me as her brother sang just for her. Flora and Fauna danced right along with us, and by the time Rooster started the chorus, a few other women who had been sitting around the bar joined us.

When the song ended, the crowd started clapping, and I watched Madison grin at her brother, her smile so bright that it lit up the dimly-lit bar. When I looked over at Rooster, I saw him wink at her before he started playing another song. As she turned to go back to sit with Jeremy, Rooster mouthed, "Thank you!" and I blew him a kiss in response.

As I walked back to the table to join Flora and Fauna, Rooster started singing again, and somehow, I knew that this was right where I was meant to be. This small family had just enough room for me to join it . . . and maybe someday, we might just add to it.

All I had to do was take that leap and uproot my entire life.

The thought wasn't nearly as scary as it had been just a few days ago. As a matter of fact, it wasn't scary at all.