Chapter 2
Saint
Why in the hell I was sitting here watching this shit, I couldn’t tell you.
But it was an unusually cold day in Louisiana.
And since I was used to the heat, this cold front that had blown in, my bones were none too happy about it.
Everyone was thinking the same as I was and feeling it, too.
That was why none of us really balked when Agatha grabbed the remote, pulled up the Netflix account we all shared, and went to the Holiday movie selection.
It was halfway through the movie, and Agatha was sitting in her chair, a tissue in her hand, dabbing at the corners of her eyes.
Kettle had seen the title and hightailed it out of there.
Nuke had his feet propped up, snoozing.
Jasper was working with a piece of wood; little chips and shivers littered the floor around his feet.
Xander had his arms crossed, leaning back in his chair while shaking his head at the corniness of this movie.
Merlin had his arm wrapped around his wife, the only one of us that was married.
Jury was leaning back in one of the chairs, watching the movie while smirking at a few of the lines.
After the movie ended, I watched from the corner of my eye as Agatha got a look on her face and bolted to the kitchen.
I shook my head, then looked at Merlin, who was closer to the remote.
“Find Die Hard . Put that on.” I spoke.
And that was what he did.
Nuke had woken up when the title showed on the screen and watched it all the way through.
Kettle had come back in; the top of his nose was red as hell, and if I wanted to get punched in the face, I would have called him Rudolph.
Jury, however, wasn’t so smart.
Because he called out, “Hey Rudolph, going to need your nose later tonight when I go outside to my bike.”
Kettle moved and swung.
Knocking Jury out of his chair.
After we watched Die Hard and a few more movies, I headed up to my room and climbed into bed.
Hoping that I would get the call tomorrow that my house was finished.
See, I bought it about two years ago for a song and a steal.
A small-time home remodel company was at the house at the moment installing the new installation in the ceiling.
Cause two days ago, when the cold front moved through, I had woken myself up with my teeth chattering.
I wasn’t going to be woken up like that again.
Hell, even my balls had crawled inside, it was that cold.
***
I wondered what had Agatha in the mood she was in.
Because it was the next day, and she had woken all of us up by walking up and down the halls beating on a metal pot with metal spoons.
I yawned as I took another swallow of black coffee.
After the party we had last night, I fucking needed this.
Needed this in a way that if I didn’t have it, I was going to be dragging ass.
The moment Jasper came walking down the steps, a giant hickey on the side of his neck, Agatha clucked her tongue and pointed at the only unoccupied chair in the main room.
Then she started, “Now that you are all here, seeing as next week is Thanksgiving, we are going to start celebrating the holidays.”
Every single one of us groaned.
“I’m telling all of you right freaking now. You will all celebrate this year. I won’t hear another word about it.” Agatha said as she pointed at all of us.
Then she walked over to us and handed each of us a piece of paper.
Once she did that, she said, “On those pieces of paper are things we need to make this a somewhat decent holiday. Also, you are going to get the items on the list, and you will help decorate this place for Christmas. I don’t want any of you to come back until you have those items in your possession.”
Nuke scowled, “Excuse me?”
Undeterred, Agatha placed her hands on her hips and scowled right back, “If you want me to keep cleaning up after your nasty behinds and being the one to shoo women out of here the moment y’all are done with them, then none of you will give me any lip.”
Then Nuke tapped the president patch on his leather kutte, “See this? Means I give the orders around here. Not fucking you.”
Agatha nodded, “Yes. When it comes to club business and club matters, I won’t ever say anything against you. However, when you asked me to clean, you again gave me the reins over the place. And when you asked me to cook, you gave me the reins to the kitchen. And seeing as y’all would starve if I didn’t cook, I would think that y’all would want to make me happy so I don’t poison the lot of you.”
Nuke sighed, “Will us getting this shit, shut you the fuck up?”
Agatha smiled, then nodded.
All the while keeping her lips closed.
Then Nuke looked at all of us, “Let’s get the fuck out of here before she gives us more shit to do.”
I sighed, then with my list, I read it and decided that all this shit wasn’t going to fit in the saddlebags on my bike.
Thankfully, we got a deal with a dealership that was going out of business.
We just had to pay the factory price, and we walked away with a vehicle.
My black, jacked-up Chevrolet Silverado gleamed in the sunlight as I headed to it.
I climbed in, started it up, and then snickered when Jasper’s little car’s security alarm started going off.
He flipped me the bird, which caused me to shake my head.
He was the one who wanted that little piece of shit, Mazda. I don’t know what the fuck he was thinking.
I also knew that he was having doubts about it.
However, where he was having doubts about it, I wasn’t having doubts about something I did later in the week.
***
I sighed as I mentally ticked off another thing Agatha had on her list.
Thankful at this point to have a photographic memory.
Therefore, I didn’t have to look like a dumbass pulling the paper out every few seconds.
Once I was sure that I had everything she had asked for, I loaded the rest in the truck and headed to the clubhouse.
Hours later, the clubhouse was decorated.
And all of us were mentally cursing Agatha out in our heads for the instructions she had blasted at us.
Threatening that if we didn’t listen, we wouldn’t be eating that night.
Thankfully, there was always Wilson’s. But he stopped serving at eleven at night.
Three Days Later
I had just turned the corner in Granger’s when I heard it.
The most beautiful voice in the world.
And that was followed by the cutest little thing I had ever seen.
At that moment, I hadn’t realized that my fist had come up to rub at a spot over my chest.