Chapter BOONE
BOONE
I felt lost and restless once I dropped Nova off at Lula’s house. Rather than return to my condo, I chose to hit up the Fire Hooch on a weekday.
Our clubhouse was loud and wild on the weekends. Tonight, I found the mood subdued. None of the foxes were around. Graham played his guitar on the stage. Nine and Ben sat in a booth, slamming down cards and getting in each other’s faces.
Rather than join the brothers, I headed for the bar top where another Rawlins transplant was seated. Farley was a year younger than me. Having never enjoyed roughhousing, he was always tighter with the foxes than the guys.
But Farley was no pushover. His moms, Pepper and Bay, had taught him to fight. He was especially skilled with a rifle.
“Anything going on tonight?” I asked Farley as I ordered a soda rather than booze.
“I thought we might have trouble,” he said and shrugged.
“I was outside, smoking a joint with Ben. We spotted a car circling the block. It slowed down a few times near the clubhouse. Even parked across the street at one point. Seemed sketchy, so we called the po-po to run down the car. Turned out the driver was a lost pregnant lady from out of town. She thought this bar was where she was supposed to meet her friend. Since it didn’t seem right, she kept circling. ”
“Always better to check out a possible threat.”
“Yeah, but I think we scared that pregnant lady,” Farley said and grinned. “Can you imagine a boring chick thinking she’s about to meet her friend at a normal steak house but ends up finding herself at the Fire Hooch instead?”
Sharing his amusement, I chuckled. “You’d think the flashing pinup chick on the roof would have given away how this wasn’t the place.”
Farley nodded and watched me from under his shaggy brown hair. “I heard you made a move on Exile’s sister.”
“We went to my place for dinner and a movie.”
Grinning, Farley turned to face me. “Nova’s really sweet. Hard to believe she’s been in the biker world for so long. She seems almost innocent.”
I thought about how quickly we ended up in my bed tonight. “Innocent isn’t the right word, but Nova is sweet.”
Farley sighed. “I need a sweet girl, but I always end up attracting shitty women.”
“You’ll find a sweet girl one day. I wasn’t looking for a woman when I met Nova. Clint wasn’t looking when he met Ivy. When the right woman shows up, you’ll nail that down.”
Though Farley nodded, he didn’t look particularly convinced. Unlike me, he’d actively tried to find his Miss Right. He dated a few real stinkers—users, cheaters, drama queens.
The last one kept coming back like an active case of herpes. Clint had to ask the foxes to beat up the bitch to ensure she’d stay gone.
Not long after Farley wandered off to join Ben and Nine at their booth, our president surprised me by strolling into the clubhouse. Clint wore the relaxed expression of a man with nothing on his mind. However, I assumed something was up for him to be here on a weeknight.
“Where’s Ivy?” I asked as Clint joined me at the bar top.
“Hanging out with the foxes at the Sorority House.”
“Is she spending the night there?”
“Yeah.”
“Will you struggle to sleep without her in bed tonight?”
Clint smirked. “Probably.”
Nodding, I muttered. “I wish I could move Nova into my place like you did with Ivy.”
“Already?”
Frowning at his shocked tone, I pointed out, “You moved Ivy into your place after a few hours.”
“Yeah, but we weren’t dating yet. I was helping her.”
“You’re so full of crap,” I said and chuckled. “Rowdy was recently saying how you were so over the top in love with Ivy that you’d started a chain reaction within the club.”
Clint rubbed at his trimmed beard. “Makes sense. I’m a leader. Setting trends is what I do.”
“Hilarious,” I said and rolled my eyes. “But in all seriousness, how soon do you think I can ask Nova to move in with me?”
“How many dates have you been on?”
“Two. The first one was at her place with the girls.”
“Based on my experience, you should be able to suggest moving in together next week.”
Even grinning at his bullshit, I sighed. “I don’t think Nova wants to move her girls.”
“So what is her plan?”
“I don’t know. I’m being patient.”
“That’s smart. Skylar and Lyric have been through a lot of changes. I’m not sure Skylar can keep going to her school if she moves into your place.”
“Nova could still use Lula’s address and then drive the girls to school. But the condos are no place for kids.”
“The lofts can be festive around the holidays. Of course, in the summer, the place becomes a frat house.”
Clint fell into silence, and I didn’t force a conversation. Our minds were on the future.
“Ivy and I plan to stay at the condos for a while. Eventually, we’ll want a house in Sleepy Eye. You could build a house there now.”
“But that’s long-term. How am I supposed to live separate from Nova until then?”
Clint grinned at my whiny tone. I shook my head, knowing how I sounded. Though I was laid-back about a lot of shit, Nova would never be one of them.
“She came over to my place tonight,” I explained. “Having her in my space felt right, and I hated dropping her off. If her girls weren’t sleeping in her bed while Exile and Lula are on their mini honeymoon, I would have asked to sleep over.”
“Well, Lula and Exile are back tomorrow. Maybe you can let them settle back in and then start sleeping over. You could also have the girls stay at the condo during the weekends.”
“Nova seemed wary about that.”
“Of course. You two barely know each other, and single moms know to be wary of new men in their lives. But that’s temporary.”
Shaking out my arms, I exhaled roughly. “I should be more patient. I’ve wanted Nova for months. I don’t know why I can’t settle down until I see her tomorrow.”
“I felt the same way once I met Ivy. People encouraged me to have Ivy stay at the Sorority House, but I was attached to her immediately. There was no sense behind it.”
“Well, I’m happy to hear my needy bullshit is normal.”
“It’ll be okay,” Clint said as his blue eyes studied me. “Nova’s wariness will fade until she’ll be ready to blend your families.”
Clint had a gift for saying obvious shit while also making his words feel wise and comforting. When I faced jail, he told me to focus on what I would do once I got out. Simple things like that sounded better from him than when I told them to myself.
Tonight, he worked his magic again. No longer did I want to avoid my condo. Instead, I looked forward to crawling into my bed. Nova had left her mark in every room at the condo.
Eventually, she’d spend the night. The condo building wasn’t trashy. I could make sure it was safe for the girls. I bet they’d like the pool and courtyard. The girls would also go nuts over Beef Jerky.
Clint decided to ride home with me. We considered hanging out, but both of us wanted to call it a night. The sooner we woke up, the sooner we’d see our women again.