Chapter 31
Flynn
“That smells amazing.” I leaned in around Bailey, spotting bacon cooling on a paper towel. “Ooh. Breakfast?”
I reached for a salty strip of heaven, and he smacked my hand away.
“Don’t eat that!” He waved to a cutting board covered in jalapenos and two blocks of cream cheese. “This is my Thanksgiving specialty. I make it every year. It’s not Thanksgiving without it. Holden taught me the recipe when I was like ten.”
“Ahhh, my bad.” I watched Bailey’s face while he shifted over to slice open a jalapeno and clean out its seeds. “He really was like a dad to you, huh? You make that joke all the time, and I thought it was because he was bossy.”
“He is bossy as fuck,” Bailey said with a quick smile.
It was fond. He loved the hell out of his big brother.
“But yeah, my foster mom died when I was like seven. Foster dad went deep into the booze. Gray was sort of holding down the fort, but when he left, Holden had to drop out of college to hold the family together.”
“He took off?”
Bailey flicked me a glance. “Was run off for being gay. Our old man was a bigot.”
My heart clenched. “Oh, shit, I didn’t know the full story.”
Bailey nodded. “Shitty times, but we’ve got each other now.”
“And me.” I wrapped my arms around him from behind and kissed his neck.
After a whole day spent with just him—fucking like bunnies, yes, but also talking and cuddling and reveling in our connection—I felt closer to him than ever.
But a man still had needs. “Are you sure I can’t have a piece of that bacon? ”
He laughed, which had been the goal, and shoved me away. “Stop distracting me, or I’ll never get these done.”
Bailey was always tempting, but something about seeing him so comfortable here, using the kitchen while dressed only in underwear and a tank top, was majorly doing it for me.
I took myself out of the kitchen before I sidetracked us both.
While Bailey finished up the appetizer and showered and dressed, I sent a Happy Thanksgiving message to the Redemption Road group chat. Matteo gave us meeting instructions there, reminded us of schedule changes, and other info, but we also just chatted each other up.
Me:
Happy Thanksgiving, guys. Hope you have a good one.
Hollywood:
Do I know you?
Tex:
Dozer? Isn’t he some hotshot mechanic with a new life?
Me:
Thanks, guys. I’ll try to forget you as quickly as you’ve forgotten me.
I knew they were just giving me shit, so I had to give it right back.
Matteo:
Happy T-Day, Flynn. Congrats on graduating the program. I’m proud of you.
Knight:
We’re happy for you, man. Jealous, too.
Me:
You’ve got no reason to be jealous, Knight. You’re next. You’re all next if you work the program.
Hollywood:
You’re starting to sound like a paid sponsor. Get out of here.
I was happy to do that, but I had one more message to send.
Me:
Ghost? You there, man?
Ghost:
Yes. Unfortunately.
I chuckled to myself. Ghost wasn’t social. But I wanted to check in on him.
Me:
I told the guys you might be a good fit for the junkyard out here. It’s pretty quiet. Mostly the dogs for company. Axel is a laid-back boss. He’ll let you do your thing.
Ghost:
You must trust me. Snake was dying for that job, and it was a no go.
Matteo:
Snake is no longer in the program for a reason.
Me:
You’re all good guys. I trust all of you. Except maybe Tex.
Tex:
Hey! I resemble that remark!
Bailey came into the living room, hair still a bit damp and curling around his ears. “Hey, you ready?”
I pocketed my phone. “Yeah, I’ve been ready.”
He went into the kitchen and grabbed his foil-covered casserole dish, and then we went out to his car. He’d insisted on driving me home Tuesday night. Insisted on taking care of me.
It was sweet. I would have been fine, but damn, it had been nice to be washed and kissed and loved so thoroughly. He’d continued the TLC all through the next day.
Just thinking of it made me squirm with a mix of guilt and arousal. Bailey had taken very good care of me in bed too.
It was difficult for me to accept that I deserved that kind of care, but I’d heard Bailey. I was trying to open myself to it. Because he wanted an equal partnership, not another big brother figure, and I could respect that.
Hell, I didn’t want to be his brother either.
When we got to the house, it was chaos. Holden was yelling something about a missing platter. Gray was rolling his eyes so hard it looked as if he might stroke out. The dogs were running around, excited by all the food smells.
Emory nearly tripped over Shiloh, who was bent down, searching a cabinet. A bit of gravy sloshed on the floor, and Taz and Banshee broke out into a growling match over who should lick it up.
“For fuck’s sake,” Holden growled. “I will kick all you dogs out if—”
“Sugar!” Emory cried out.
Axel’s rottweiler, the best-behaved of the bunch, stole a roll off the table and ran into the living room with her bounty.
“Wow. Is it always like this?”
Bailey grinned like the train wreck in the kitchen was the best thing he’d seen in years. “Yeah, man. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving if Holden didn’t blow a gasket or the dogs didn’t steal food.”
I laughed. “Okay, then.”
Holden straightened when he saw us. I tensed a little, still unsure of my reception today. They’d seemed okay when we left the other night, but I’d dropped a hell of a bomb on them.
Now that they’d had more time to process, who knew if they’d feel the same?
“Hey, guys,” Holden said a little stiffly. “Glad you could make it.”
“Glad to be invited,” I said awkwardly.
“Okay, can we be done being weird now?” Bailey asked.
“We’re not being weird,” Holden denied. Then his gaze landed on Bailey’s dish, and he grinned, looking startlingly boyish. “You brought the stuffed jalapenos!”
“Of course I did,” Bailey said. “It’s not Thanksgiving without them.”
“No, it’s not,” Holden said.
He reached out for the casserole in Bailey’s hands, his sweater shirt cuff riding up and showing off the Bro Code tattoo on his inner wrist. Bailey had a matching one. All the brothers did.
It was a symbol of their bond, one I envied.
Holden held the dish close to his chest, almost hugging it, and glanced at me. “Can’t believe you didn’t eat these. They’re addictive.”
“Bailey wouldn’t let me. Slapped my hand and everything.”
Holden laughed, and some of the tension went out of the room. “He’s looking out for his big brother. Good job, Bails.”
Bailey rolled his eyes. “Sure. It was all about you.”
“Well, of course it was,” Holden said smugly. “I taught you how to make these. That means I get first dibs.”
“I don’t think so,” Bailey said. “You can make your own.”
“What?” Holden pretended to stab himself in the chest. “You raise them, and you teach them to make stuffed jalapenos, and this is the thanks you get.”
Gray handed me a beer and slung an arm over my shoulder. “Come on outside. They’ll be at this ridiculousness for a while.”
I glance at Bailey, who was laughing with Holden and saying, “Okay, Dad,” while rolling his eyes.
They needed this bonding after all the tension of the past few weeks, so I nodded and followed Gray onto the back patio.
When we stepped outside, Axel and Dalton were in the middle of pulling a deep-fried turkey out of a big stainless steel pot. They wore gloves and used tongs, and I had to admit, the turkey looked amazing, so maybe they were onto something.
Dalton maneuvered a larger platter under the bird. Was that the platter Holden had been looking for? Well, it was being put to good use, at least.
“Hey, guys, you need any help?” Gray asked.
“Get the door for me?” Dalton suggested.
“Sure.” Gray grabbed the door for him, then helped him carry it inside.
That left me and Axel alone. I wasn’t sure if that was intentional.
“So, um, I just want to tell you how sorry I am again,” I started. “I do trust you, and I hope we can get back to where we were, even if it takes some time.”
Axel pulled me into a big hug and clapped my back hard. “Fuck that noise, bro. We’re good.”
I pulled back, surprised. “You were pretty upset, though.”
He nodded. “That’s mostly about my shit, not yours. I’m working on it. I’ll tell you this, though. Take care of Bailey, and we’re always going to be good. Don’t, and I’ll start looking for a shovel.”
I chuckled. “No worries there. I’d follow that man right into hell, if need be.”
He snorted. “A lifetime of bailing him out of pool-hustling brawls might start to feel like hell.”
“I heard that!” Bailey called through the screen door.
Axel laughed. “Oh shit, I’m in trouble now.”
Bailey pushed open the door to glare at his brother. “I haven’t brawled since Flynn had to rescue my ass, and I’d never do that to him again, so…” He shrugged. “My pool hustling days are over.”
“Oh, baby, don’t say that,” I said. “I’m happy to drag you out of brawls for eternity.”
“Jesus, he is gone for you,” Axel said.
Bailey smiled at me, eyes soft. “Well, maybe once your parole is up. I can’t risk you getting into trouble for me.” Bailey glanced at Axel. “But you’ve got a sheriff for a boyfriend, so if you’re around, I can be as reckless as I want, right?”
I thought Bailey was joking, but it was hard to tell.
Axel looked torn between humor and dismay. He just shook his head and chuckled. “Sure, kid, you know I’ll always pull your ass out of the fire. No promises Dalton will feel the same about bailing you out of jail, though.”
“Yeah, luckily my drag-race mechanic days are over,” Bailey said. “I don’t enjoy getting arrested.”
“No one does,” I said.
“Eh.” Axel smirked. “It has its perks with the right lawman.”