36. Blake
36
BLAKE
“Coffee?”
They’re my first words to Korine the moment we’re both awake. I’ve woken up no more than a minute before she has. She rolls over to face me, blinking blearily as if she’s been asleep for twenty years, not six or seven hours.
A smile almost twitches its way onto my mouth watching her. I reach out and run an appreciative hand along the curve of her hip ’til I’m reaching around to palm her backside.
Korine’s eyes light up and she wiggles even closer for our morning cuddle. “Coffee sounds like just what I need after being kept up all night.”
“Not so sure that can be blamed on just one party,” I say, gripping her ass. I kiss her lips and feel my dick throb in my boxers. “You were more than happy to show me just how much you wanted me last night. I don’t think I’ll ever forget you on that bike.”
Her hands come up to cover her face. Her laughter peals out of her anyway, from through her fingers. I grab hold of her wrists and pry her hands away from her face, forcing her to look me in the eye and endure my taunts about how sexy and dirty she got last night.
Knowing it was just for me—she’d never let go in that way for Stricklin or anybody else—made it all the hotter.
“Don’t hide from me now, Kori.” I nip at her jaw, then bury my face in the crook of her neck. I spend a couple seconds inhaling the natural scent perfumed on her skin. That scent that’s Kori’s and Kori’s alone. It’s enough to make me hard on its own.
It does .
My already semi-erect dick becomes harder than steel. Something Korine can more than feel brushed up against her.
Humor flickers onto her face. Her lips quirk as she threads fingers through my hair. “I love waking up to you, Blake Cash.”
“And my morning friend.” I give off a gruff laugh that widens her smile.
“And your morning friend,” she repeats, kissing me on the lips. “I love it all. I love… I love you.”
I lock up, not because the confession’s an unwelcome one; I lock up because it’s an unexpected one in the best way.
We’ve taken things slow these past few months. Korine wanted to wait ’til she was officially divorced before getting any more serious, and we’ve both been sorting through our personal issues. Hearing her say the words—exactly how I’ve felt about her this entire time—is like receiving the most special damn gift imaginable.
Korine’s love. Her trust in me and that she can love me and let me love her after everything she’s been through.
“Kori,” I rasp, squeezing her closer. Dropping kisses all over her face. “You sure you mean it?”
Her brows knit once we’ve pulled apart. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“’Cuz there’s no take backs,” I answer. “’Cuz I’ve been in love with the girl who spotted me in a tree and told me I’d climbed it all wrong. The same girl who used to leave her bedroom window open for me. The same woman who knows how to fix a bike better than any of the guys at the shop. And now that I know she feels the same, I’m never letting her go. Just be prepared.”
“It sounds like we’re on the same page. You’ve been my best friend since before we knew our times tables… and much more.”
We consummate our profession of love in a passionate round of morning sex that gives last night a run for its money. By the time we’re through, we’re both rocked to our cores. We’re slick and breathless and in need of a hot shower. We hop in together, taking our time, unable to keep our hands off each other.
Coffee comes next. Then a small breakfast.
You’d think we have all the time in the world with how lazy and slow we’re being. Eventually, we do have to move on. I drive Korine home in my pickup truck to take over for Yara, Sunny’s home care nurse.
Sunny’s sitting at the kitchen counter when we walk in. She doesn’t miss an opportunity to tease the hell out of us about what we were up to last night. Korine’s mortification shows on her face as she cries out, “Mama, stop!”
I give Sunny a hug, then kiss Korine goodbye.
My next stop is the club. The Steel Saloon’s a ghost town so early in the morning, even if later in the day there’s an event. Mace is throwing a birthday gathering for Sydney. He’s not a celebratory kind of guy, which is what makes the occasion feel even stranger.
I find him in the club office looking uncharacteristically… nervous .
He shoves something into his desk drawer when I walk in. Then shakes his head once he realizes it’s me.
“Thought you were Syd.”
“Why would it matter if I was?” I ask, shutting the door.
“Today’s Syd’s birthday.”
“And?”
His stony expression normally doesn’t give away much. Except for today as he slides a hand over his head and exhales a deep breath. “I’m going to ask her today.”
“To marry you?!”
“Shhh, shut the fuck up!” he hushes, glancing around like he believes Sydney’ll pop up at any moment. When he’s certain she won’t, he nods. “We’ve been together eight months. Eight really good months. Things are… they’re serious. I want this with her.”
I grin and then stride forward to shake his hand. “Congrats, brother. Who would’ve guessed you’d be the first in our group to tie the knot? You think she’s got any idea?”
“I doubt it. She thinks we’re just having a small dinner. I swore everybody to secrecy. ’Cept Ozzie saw the ring. But I told him I’d beat the shit out of him if he said a word.” Mace pulls open the drawer to grab the ring box and tosses it my way.
I catch it, popping it open for a quick appraisal. I whistle. “Nice rock. I can see it shining on Syd’s finger.”
I congratulate Mace again before checking in on the bike shop. Moss is busy working on a custom order we got in last minute. Everybody else is either off today (it’s a Sunday) or not in for the day yet.
Half considering taking the day myself, Moss calls out to me from his garage. I follow the sound of his voice ’til I’m slowing up and my insides are twisting into knots.
“This woman said she’d like to speak to you?” Moss says, a clueless frown on his craggy, bushy-browed face.
Mom’s at his side. Her limp sheets of hair are even oilier and grayer than the last time I’d seen her. If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess she’s earned a few new smoker’s lines around the mouth and eye areas of her face. She flashes me a yellow-toothed smile that’s hesitant but manipulative in nature.
“Hi, Blake,” she says. Her tone’s meek. Nothing like the moments where she cusses me out or calls me her life’s disappointment.
Moss excuses himself on the premise he needs a coke break. Leaving us alone, we stand in tense silence for another few seconds.
“Your father and I have been trying to get a hold of you,” she says. “We heard the charges were dropped. That officer that had arrested you was dirty.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “You mean after you thought the worst of me, you want to pretend you were concerned?”
“We were always concerned?—”
“You said I was the biggest mistake of your life.”
“I was angry when I said that.”
“You’d think that’d be your piece of shit abusive husband who’s spent decades beating you—who spent my childhood beating me.”
“Your father’s always had a temper,” she says, her pitch sharpening. “If you’d just stayed out of his way?—”
“More like Bill’s always been a fuck up and you’ve never been able to accept it. So, like him, you put it all on me. You made it seem like I was the problem. I was the reason why you both were so damn miserable all the time. When, really, it’s got nothing to do with me.” I shake my head at the clarity I’ve reached. It’s like seeing things as they truly are for the first time. “It’s the two of you that are the fucked up ones. You’ve been so pissed Bill wound up in that wheelchair. Bill put himself in that fucking wheelchair. What happened to him isn’t on me and never was.”
Her mouth drops open. Her wrinkled, pallid face freezes. She’s at a loss for words.
“What’s the matter, Mom? Nothing to say?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. “That tends to happen when you’ve finally been called out on your shit. Get the hell out of my face. I’ve got nothing else to say to you. You’re not my family. Neither is Bill. I’ve found my family—and it’s everybody in the MC. It’s Korine and Sunny. The people who really care about me.”
Watching her go is priceless. She slowly turns and shuffles off as if in a daze, getting behind the wheel of her clunker of a station wagon and driving off in a plume of exhaust smoke.
I feel good. Better than I ever have. More optimistic for what’s to come.
Funny what letting go of baggage can do.
Day one hundred and five…
* * *
Mace proposes to Sydney in front of everybody at her birthday dinner. It’s being held on the patio outside the Steel Saloon. Mick, Bush, Big Eddie, and a couple of the other guys barbecued and smoked some meats. Ozzie’s volunteered himself as being in charge of the music again. Johnny Flanagan is a fucking annoying sourpuss like he always is; Silver sends him to the back of the bar to carry in more cases of beer and that shuts his whining ass up.
Sunny fits in like she’s a been Steel King her whole life. Everybody’s entertained by her and the stories she tells anyone who’ll listen.
Sydney beams and shakes her head. “Your mom is hilarious. She’s the cutest thing.”
“She’s a lot to handle,” Korine laughs. “But she makes everything better.”
I nod my agreement, my arm slung over Korine’s shoulders. “That she does.”
“When are you two going to move in together?”
Korine and I exchange a look, then give a shrug. In sync with each other as if planned.
“It’s coming,” Korine answers. “When the time is right.”
“Kori’s in love with me.”
Sydney’s beam grows even wider while Korine gasps and then nudges me in the ribs. I’m unable to keep from grinning as I put on my most innocent, clueless face.
“What? You told me you did! Now I get to tell everybody.”
“Shout it from a mountaintop, why don’t you?”
“I would if one was nearby.”
“You two,” Sydney says, laughing. “Something tells me I’ll be at your wedding soon.”
Korine’s flushing hot to the touch, though she doesn’t object to Sydney’s prediction. I don’t get a chance to give her a hard time about it, because in the next moment, Sydney’s getting a shock of her own—Mace proposes.
He surprises Sydney when she’s seated at her table trying to swallow a bite of her birthday cake. He bends to a knee and takes her hand in his as everybody else on the patio falls into a hushed silence.
“Syd, I think everybody would agree things between us started off rough,” he says. “I couldn’t stand you. You damn sure couldn’t stand me. But there was always a draw between us. I tried like hell to resist you. I think it’s safe to say I’ve failed.”
A small ripple of laughter sounds from everybody watching.
“Probably ’cuz I saw in you something I didn’t want to admit—a woman that could stand on her own. Maybe the only woman I’ve ever met who could truly handle me. These past months together have been some of the best of my life. But it’s not enough. I don’t want you just as my old lady. I want you as my wife .”
Everybody erupts in cheers as Sydney frantically nods and throws her arms around him. He slides the ring onto her finger, and they come together again in another joyous kiss. I can’t help holding Korine just a little bit closer. A little bit tighter, more possessively.
Someday, that’ll be us. Me and my girl. When she’s ready. I’ll wait however long it takes.
“Everyone’s clapping,” Silver says from another seat at our table. He takes a swig of his beer bottle. “Everyone’s happy to celebrate ’til the marriage goes down in flames.”
Ozzie eyes the silver-haired vice prez with almost a look of amusement. “Still hurting over the divorce, eh? I’ve got some Bob Marley on deck. It’ll cheer you up.”
“Oz,” Silver grunts. “Shut the fuck up.”
Once Sydney’s accepted the proposal, the rest of the party festivities truly begin. People get up to socialize and play drinking and card games. The music blasts louder, and soon the occasion feels like it’s more than Sydney’s birthday.
It’s another night the club’s going to make the most of life.
An hour later, Korine and I are the only ones left at our table. I don’t even notice ’til I glance around and realize everybody’s migrated. Mick’s chatting up Sunny while Mace and Sydney are in their own little bubble.
Big Eddie, Bush, Stein, Moses, and a couple more guys are deep in a poker game. Ozzie’s started popping and locking on top of a table again. Silver’s drunk and flirting with an eager Sandy.
Things feel at ease… ’til somebody walks up that earns double and triple takes.
He approaches as everybody’s busy celebrating. He’s cut through the pit of rocks that separates the saloon and the Cutler household behind the bar. How he even got in through the house would be a mystery if I didn’t look up and recognize him.
And then question my sanity.
The same can be said for Mace—he’s mid conversation with Sydney, laughing and hugging up on her, when he glances over and freezes in place. The color drains from him in a way I haven’t seen happen for years.
Since his brother’s funeral.
Fitting, all things considered.
Logan waits a couple seconds for everybody’s shock to set in. For their stares to drag on as they’re speechless about how to respond.
Then he juts his chin right at Mace and says, “Got a sec? It’s time we talk.”