Chapter 38
VANNA
A ce situates himself on the seat of the mini-motorcycle in Dean’s bike shop, completely dwarfed beside Serene, tongue poking out in fierce concentration as his little fingers clutch the handlebars.
In his leather jacket and helmet, he looks just like his father— Gods help me —except for the knee and elbow pads I’ve insisted Ace wears.
And since he is only allowed to ride under the supervision of Dean or Viking, the mini-bike stays at Dean’s shop, at least until Ace really gets the hang of it.
Keeping the bike at Dean’s shop means Ace can’t beg me to let him ride it around the yard at home, and I don’t have to be the bad guy, which levels out my anxiety over the entire ordeal.
Still, my heart beats a little harder as I watch them.
Dean crouches down beside Ace, patient and steady, while Ace, just a little too short to plant both boots firmly on the ground, wobbles to keep his balance, still wide-eyed and too fearless to know any better yet.
Dean’s laugh echoes across the lot as he catches Ace before he topples over.
He catches me clutching the base of my throat, too.
“ Centrifugal force , doll,” Dean calls to me, “As soon as he gets rolling, he’s good. Kid’s a natural.”
With a little boost from his proud father, Ace takes off on the mini-bike, buzzing around the wide-open parking lot at ten or so miles per hour. Dean jogs over to me, though he keeps an eye on our little bumblebee.
“You okay, baby?” he asks, all rough edges and soft eyes. I smile back at him briefly, before my attention drifts to our son, too wrapped up in his own little world to pay us any mind. “I meant to run something by you earlier, but time got away.”
“What’s going on?”
“Viking invited us all to his new place tonight. Kind of a housewarming thing for Beltane.”
I turn to look at him curiously. “Viking bought a house?”
“Yeah, a real nice cabin on the river. Just closed on it a few weeks ago. Cash buy. Happened fast.”
“Oh, wow. How wonderful for him. So, he’s moving out of the clubhouse?”
“Apparently.”
“How do you feel about that? I can’t picture this place without him always around somewhere.”
“I don’t see that changing too much. He’s still my bouncer. Still our Sergeant at Arms. Far as I know, he’s keeping his room here. All his shit is still in there.”
“Axel and Cherry are going to be next,” I sigh. “Everybody is growing up.”
Dean chuckles at my halfhearted joke. “They’ll still be around.
Just the other day, Axel was talking to me about going into business together.
He wants to get into custom paint jobs for bikes and pinstriping and such.
I’m not worried about anyone drifting away.
This MC is family. It’s been years since Viper has stayed at the clubhouse, and we still see him often enough outside of church. Same for the others.”
“The whole club is invited?” I ask, “ Even…”
Dean lets out a gruff sigh as he watches Ace buzz by us again. “Legion is a fully-patched member.”
“Well, I think this is wonderful for everyone. And what a perfect occasion for Beltane. Are we bringing the kids?”
“Rosita sends her love, but…this Devil shit isn’t really her and Viper’s scene,” Dean jokes. “We can drop Ace off on our way over there, and just have our own little celebration with him tomorrow.”
I glance up at him with a sly smirk. “Are we ditching Ace because you have other Devil shit in mind?”
Dean leans into me with a crooked grin. “Well, you did promise Beltane would be my favorite pagan celebration… It being a sure thing and all… May’s Eve is for adults only…”
I giggle when he pulls me against him and ducks his head into the crook of my neck to tickle-kiss me. “Oh, please.” I laugh, squirming within his strong hold at the sensation of his lips and rough stubble brushing against my sensitive skin. “Like you’re at all deprived of carnal affections!”
“I want you to wear this tonight,” he growls, fisting the fabric of my sundress and slowly curling it into his grip, pulling it higher up my leg. I swat at his hand and lean back enough to coax his lips to mine. Kissing him for a moment, I playfully nip his bottom lip and push my dress back down.
“Beltane is about more than sex, you rogue ,” I tease. “It’s a celebration of life, new beginnings, and taking risks.”
“ Like getting caught ?” Dean deviously growls, running the back of his knuckles down my cheek.
“ Aw fuck!” We both hear from our three-and-a-half-year-old before he takes a tumble.
Dean is beside him in a flash, helping Ace up from the ground.
“ I’m okay, I’m okay!” Ace insists, already eager to climb back onto the bike before Dean even has it straightened out for him.
My heart is pounding again, but Dean is wearing the biggest grin as he readjusts Ace’s helmet and pads.
“Good job, buddy,” Dean says encouragingly, but then presses his lips together for a moment before adding, “Maybe a little less potty-mouth, though, for your momma.”
“ I’m sorry, Momma!” Ace calls to me before buzzing away again.
Dean returns to my side wearing another half-guilty grin. “See? He’s fine. I didn’t even have to gaslight him this time. He couldn’t get back on the bike fast enough. Now… Where were we?”
I take a breath and let it out, attempting to settle my nerves as Dean leans into me suggestively again. “Beltane,” I say, “I was about to tell you it’s about surviving the winter…and what you fought like hell to keep burning.”
His lust-drunk expression sobers a bit. “We’ve survived a lot.”
I nod. “And when you survive a war, you don’t just rebuild what you had. You build stronger. You build bigger. You grow . What’s happening with the MC is an example of that. Expansion. Taking a risk on Legion.”
“I wasn’t talking about the MC.”
I place my hand against his heart. “I know… But I agreed to give you time.”
Dean shifts his gaze to Ace, and although he’s checking on our son, I know part of him doing so is avoidance.
“You bikers live life to the fullest. You know life isn’t safe. Love isn’t always safe… I know you’ve been betrayed, but I won’t fail you. Our love is safe , Dean. No matter what. I will always love you.”
“Yeah,” he glances back at me with a rueful smile. “But a little magick doesn’t hurt.”
W e reach the end of the dirt driveway at a clearing where Viking’s cabin sits nestled a few yards from the riverbank, surrounded by woods.
The sun just dipped below the tree line across the river, casting gold and orange light through the dark foliage that matches the glowing bonfire closer to the water.
There are a few posts set up with string lights around the perimeter of the party area, which also leads to the back deck of the cabin.
The tires of Dean’s truck crunch over the gravel as we pull into one of the remaining spots in the wide driveway, which is packed with a few other vehicles and motorcycles belonging to the MC. Dean kills the engine, and for a moment we linger, listening to the engine ticking as it cools.
Viking’s cabin is lovely. Picture perfect, like a Kincaid painting. I turn to look at Dean. “Is this because of a woman?”
Dean chuckles. “Haven’t you figured out that everything the male species does is because of women?”
“He’s really serious about that Steel Vixen, isn’t he?” I sigh, glancing past Dean to look through his window at the party raging on around the fire. “Is she going to be here tonight?”
He quirks a brow at me. “You don’t like her?”
“I haven’t decided,” I say, unbuckling my seatbelt to grab the little good-luck witch jar I made for Viking’s place-holder-house-warming-gift. With such short notice, it was the best I could do in a pinch. I’ll get him something else in the near future.
The earthy smell of thick river mud, pine trees, and fire fills my lungs as we walk down the path along the side of the cabin, toward the gathering around the raging fire.
Just as we reach the part of the path that merges with the one at the cabin’s back deck, Viking steps out of the door carrying a big bag of ice for what I assume is meant for a cooler down near the riverbank.
“Hey! You made it!” he says, as if we would be anywhere else.
“You got room for these down there, or should I leave them here?” Dean asks, twisting to show him the two cases of beer tucked under his arm.
“Bring ‘em,” Viking says, descending the wooden steps.
“Congratulations, Viking,” I smile up at him and hand him the jar. “You bury this outside your front porch for good luck and protection.”
“Cool,” he says, and I have to suppress a laugh as he looks at it and places it on the railing. “I’ll get right on that in the morning.”
“Perfect. This place is absolutely beautiful. I can’t believe you kept this a secret. I hope this doesn’t mean we’re going to be seeing less of you at the clubhouse.”
Viking scoffs, shrugging off my heartfelt words, as to be expected.
“Place still needs work on the inside, but the view is bitchin’,” he says, cocking his bearded chin toward the river.
“And it wasn’t a secret, it just happened fast. No way this place was gonna stay on the market long.
I’m surprised Ace didn’t say anything. He picked it out. ”
“Ace did?” I ask.
“Yeah, I brought him with me about a month ago when I was babysitting him. I asked if he liked it. He said Yeah , it’s a bitchin’ place, bro.”
“ He did not!” I laugh.
Viking grins teasingly. “Anyway, he liked it, so I bought it. There’s a pier to fish from, too, and it came with a boat slip, so that’s next on the agenda.”
“We’re very happy for you. This place is just perfect.”