3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
E ven though usually the Santa’s teammates traveled in pairs, the family on their list had seven children. Dex, Beth, Flick, and Della were traveling together to have enough room on the bikes to carry the presents. Dex had thought that Beth would be riding behind him, but she’d ridden her motorcycle so they could have the extra room to strap more bags down.
Della was riding behind Flick. After they delivered to this address, Flick and Della would go their separate ways from Beth and Dex to ensure all the list was taken care of. Flick led the way as they rode through the starry night toward their destination.
Dex had come to Bluff Creek after leaving the Army and traveled around with Booker and Twist, his teammates. A chance encounter at a tattoo convention had Roam, the Treasurer of the MC, offer to have them visit.
Dex had immediately felt at home. When Cannon was laid up after a motorcycle accident and needed help at the gun range, Dex had stepped up to help. He enjoyed firearms and was equally good with his right or left hand when firing, hence his nickname in the Army of Ambidextrous, shortened to Dex.
Dex parked his bike behind Beth’s. Then he unhooked his bag with the presents and followed Flick, Della, and Beth up to the door.
Flick knocked. When the door opened, he greeted the homeowner. “Merry Christmas, we’ve got some special presents to deliver.”
Dex could see the man just stand there, not saying anything.
“Mr. Phipps, I’m Beth Franks. We have some items for your family, if that’s okay.”
At Beth’s words, the man opened the door and allowed them entry. As Dex entered the home, he glanced around the room. There was a small artificial tree decorated beside a fireplace. A woman was sitting in a rocking chair by the fire, bundled up, nursing an infant. A large mattress was laid in front of the fire, and four children were snuggled under a mound of covers.
Dex pulled the door closed because the room was cold. He noticed a candle lit and no lights on in the room. Come to think of it, there hadn’t been any outdoor lights on.
Flick leaned closer to Mr. Phipps, asking him a question, but Dex couldn’t hear what was said. Flick nodded, then turned to them.
“I need to make a phone call, then I’ll be right back.”
Beth laid her sack by the tree but pulled out a container, and Dex followed her lead, though he’d thought they were supposed to take the bags with them.
“I brought chocolate chip cookies, if it’s okay,” Beth asked the mother. She smiled and nodded. The kids who had been lying under the covers sat up to get a cookie but kept the blanket over them.
Flick walked back in. “So, we have a couple of options. I called, and even though the electricity isn’t supposed to be shut off with these temperatures, it was. I checked with everyone, and there isn’t anyone who is available to come turn it back on. It’s possible that if we kept calling, we might get someone, but the earliest would probably be later tomorrow or the next day. I can bring in two of our generators, with one dedicated to run your central heat and appliances. The other can run at least two to three rooms of electricity. You’d be up and running in a couple of hours. Our second option would be one of the houses at our compound, or Locks said he has a couple of suites at the bail bonds house that are available. Do you want to talk about it?” Flick asked.
Dex waited to see what the family would do, but it warmed his heart to be a part of helping this family. He’d never imagined when he, Booker, and Twist visited Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC that it would be something like this.
“Which would be easier for you?” the husband asked.
“Ah, man, it’s not what is easier. It’s how you think your family will be the most comfortable. You want to be at Bluff Creek or the bail bonds, I’ll have a truck here and people ready to help you load up. You want to stay here, then we’ll have the generators here as soon as they can be loaded,” Flick said.
Beth laid her hand on the woman’s arm. “It’s no imposition to move you all, and then you wouldn’t have to worry about filling the generators with gas or propane, but we want to do what makes you comfortable,” she said.
“I don’t want to be a bother,” the woman said softly.
Beth chuckled, shaking her head. “You know Regina and Stella. It won’t be a bother. They’ll jump at the chance to make you feel special. Whatever you want.”
The woman stared at her husband, then nodded. “I think we’d like to be at either Bluff Creek or the bail bonds. We don’t care which.”
Beth stood up. “All right. Why don’t you let Dex hold the baby, and you can direct Della and me on what to pack for the kids,” she said.
Dex waited to see if the woman would hand him the baby. When she stood and put the small bundle in his arms, he smiled. He loved kids. He’d had a lot of practice holding Cannon’s little ones when they came by the range.
He sat down close to the kids and asked if they all wanted another cookie. Bright smiles on such sweet faces had him wishing he was spending Christmas with someone special.
Cruise had gotten his Christmas present early when Willa had come to the MC for help, and it seemed like something was going on with Hennessy and Ellie. He wondered if there was someone out there for him.
Della held onto Flick as they went to pick up their next sack from one of the pick-up points. He pulled in behind a pickup where Speedy was sitting on the lowered truck gate with cards between him and another man.
Della got off the motorcycle and then waited for directions from Flick. He walked toward the guys.
“Who’s winning?” Flick asked.
“Halligan has won just about every hand we’ve played. I’m starting to think he’s cheating,” Speedy said.
“What are you playing?” Della asked.
“Canasta. It’s my dad’s favorite game, and I know he’ll want to play on New Year’s so I need to brush up on it. We rarely play,” Halligan said.
“My grandpa loved playing Canasta. I’m Della,” Della said, holding out her hand to the cute man she assumed was one of the Nelson cousins.
“Nice to meet you, Della. How are you liking Bluff Creek?” Halligan asked.
“Much better than my last place.”
Speedy chuckled. “Yeah, if you hit somebody in the dick here that deserves it, we applaud you, not penalize you.”
Halligan stood up off the tailgate. “Somebody do something inappropriate?”
Della held in a shiver at Halligan’s deep, dark voice promising retribution for someone not behaving. Besides being easy on the eyes, his voice made her think of some of those romance audiobook narrators that had her thinking all sorts of things. She already loved Bluff Creek, but most of the tall drinks of water were married, and Della didn’t poach. She wondered if Halligan had a significant other. There wasn’t a wedding ring on his finger, but that didn’t always signal a man was free.
She didn’t normally go for the country boy, but Halligan’s plaid shirt underneath a sheepskin jacket with tight jeans and cowboy boots had her wondering if he’d be up for giving her a ride. Oh, he’d asked about someone.
“Nothing I couldn’t take care of. Just a handsy person I was arresting.”
“Oh, I think I remember hearing you were working in a police station when Roam got Matthew,” Halligan said.
She so needed to get out of here because, between his deep voice and the heated look in his eyes, she wanted to take Halligan home with her tonight as her Christmas present.
“Where’s our next address? It’s cold and we took a little longer at our first stop,” Flick said.
Halligan reached into the truck bed and pulled out a red sack. “Here you go,” he said.
Della said goodbye to the guys and followed Flick back to the motorcycle and then got on behind him. Maybe she’d see what Halligan was doing for New Year’s. She normally didn’t ask men out, but for him, she’d make an exception.
Flick made sure she was ready and then pulled out onto the road. She was glad she’d accepted Regina’s invitation to Bluff Creek. She’d found some women friends, a job with the bail bonds, and there looked to be maybe some male companionship on the horizon.