Chapter Fifteen Rev #2
“Yes, Miss Priss, I did. I think I know how to care for Poe.”
“Just checking.”
Annabel grinned. “We were going to get Uncle Rev some chili. Do you want some?”
“Sure.” She slipped her hand into Annabel’s, and they started walking together slightly ahead of me. I figured Annabel was just as safe with Willow as she was with me. After all, the guys knew if one hair was harmed on Willow’s head, Deacon would have their ass.
We got in line behind Archer who was talking up Alexandra. The two shared a bond over joining forces to save Deacon’s life. After he leaned over to give her a hug, he caught my eye. “Prez! Good to see you, man.” He threw out his hand, and I happily shook his.
Turning to Annabel, I said, “You remember Archer? He came by the house a few times.”
She smiled and offered her hand, which surprised me. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“He just got patched a few months ago,” I told her.
Archer chuckled. “Yeah, I was saying to Alexandra it feels like I was just at my patch ceremony.”
“Hard to believe it’s been four months, huh?”
He nodded. Archer had just taken a long pull of beer when Willow said to Annabel, “Archer is my favorite. I’m going to marry him someday.”
Archer’s beer spewed out of his mouth all over the plastic plates and forks. After he wiped his mouth, he shook his head. “Jesus, kid. You want your old man to kill me?”
Willow’s dark brows scrunched together in confusion. “Why would my daddy kill you for marrying me?”
I chuckled. “Because daddies are very particular who their little girls marry.”
Willow waved her hand dismissively. “But Daddy likes Archer. After all, he helped save Mommy’s life.”
Archer sat his beer down on the table. Alexandra was managing to stay out of the conversation by cleaning up Archer’s beer mess. Archer crouched down to where he could be on level with Willow. “I like you a lot, kid. You know that, right?” She nodded. “But I can never be your boyfriend.”
“Why not?”
“For starters, there ain’t no way in hell your daddy is ever going to let you date one of his brothers. But the most important reason is I’m too old for you.”
“Just how old are you?”
“Twenty.”
Willow cocked her head and gazed up at the ceiling like she was concentrating hard. “But one day I’ll be twenty, and you’ll be thirty-four.”
“And I’ll still be too old for you.”
Her lips turned down in a pout. “Don’t you want to be my boyfriend?”
Archer jerked his head up and gave me a pleading look.
“Willow, it’s fine to pretend that Archer is your boyfriend for now. But it’ll just have to be pretend, okay?”
“I guess so,” she replied, glumly.
Both Archer and I froze at her sniffle. Without a word, Annabel put her arm around Willow’s shoulder. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s have a woman to woman talk about boyfriends.” She then took Willow behind the table where the women were gathered, which I knew would feel safe to both her and Willow.
Archer let out a low whistle. “Son of a bitch. She’s gonna be the death of me at six years old.”
I laughed. “Deacon isn’t going to put you to ground just because his daughter has a little crush.”
With a shudder, Archer replied, “I just don’t want anyone thinking anything pervy about me. Like I was encouraging her or something.”
Now it was my turn to do the comforting.
I put my arm around the kid’s shoulder. Even though he was just seven years younger than me, he was new to the club, and it aged you like dog years.
“You just keep acting the same way to Willow as you always have. Next week she’ll have moved on to someone else. ”
“I sure as hell hope so.”
I smacked his back. “Come on. Let’s get some chili.”
***
Whatever Annabel said to Willow worked like a charm, and she was back to her sunny self within minutes. When they rejoined me, I leaned over to whisper into Annabel’s ear. “Thanks for doing that.”
“I was glad to help.” She cocked her head at me. “No matter what the age, it always hurts to be rejected,” she said knowingly.
I dropped my gaze to my bowl of chili since it seemed a hell of a lot safer than looking at Annabel. Her words were as loaded as if I were looking down the barrel of a shotgun. The last thing I wanted to do was press the matter of the underlying tension between us.
Thankfully, I was saved by Deacon coming up to get me for the ceremony. “I have to go to the front now. Why don’t you go back with Alexandra and Kim?”
She smiled. “Okay. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
I watched her make it around the side of the table and go stand between Alexandra and Kim.
I was so thankful they all got along so well.
It was almost a test of how well your girl would fare in the long run if she could get along with the other old ladies.
I shook my head, as I sure as hell shouldn’t have been thinking of Annabel in those terms. Don’t even go there.
She isn’t your girl or your old lady, and she never will be.
After motioning to the band, the music stopped.
All the patch holding guys came forward to form a circle.
“Tonight we bring another brother into our ranks. Over the last year, he’s proven himself to be worthy of wearing a Raiders patch.
” I motioned to Archer, who went out the backdoor to get Crazy Ace.
As per tradition, he had been forced to wait away from the party until he was called for.
Although his usual persona was cocky as hell, he came in with his head down.
His usual pimp walk was gone. I could tell he took this as serious as he was supposed to.
You could have heard a pin drop the room was so quiet.
Even the babies in some of the women’s arms were subdued.
When he approached me, I turned to Deacon who handed me the new patch.
“Crazy Ace, do you wish to patch in as a full member to the Georgia chapter of the Hells Raiders?”
“I do.”
“Do you swear to uphold the principles of the club while always having your brothers’ backs, even if it means sacrificing your own?”
“I do.”
I smiled and slapped him on the back. “Then welcome to the club.” I passed him over the patch and then reached in to hug him.
After the hugging and back slapping had died down, I went over to join Annabel. “So what did you think?” I asked, when she handed me a beer.
“It was interesting.” She jerked her chin to where Crazy Ace now sat at a table alone, sewing on his patch. “Does he need some help with that?” When I chuckled, her brows shot up in surprise. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. It’s just that no one can but Crazy Ace can sew on his patch. It’s too sacred.”
“But what if he doesn’t know how to sew?”
“Then he learns real fast.”
She grinned. “It’s kind of funny seeing a tattooed guy covered in piercings with a needle and thread in his hands.”
“You’re always responsible for your cut. You never let an old lady take care of it. It’s your job to treat the leather and make sure the patches aren’t falling off.”
“Sounds pretty serious.”
I nodded. “During the rest of the night, some of the guys will try to take Crazy Ace’s cut as a way to prove his loyalty. He would be in deep shit if it ever got out of his sight. First night I had my patch, I slept with my cut on so some smartass couldn’t take it.”
Alexandra nudged Annabel with a laugh. “It’s really like a sorority when you think about it. All the rules and procedures.”
“Not quite,” I shot back, with a smile to soften my words.
Just as the band was about to start back up, Deacon jumped up on stage. At the sight of him, whistles and catcalls went up around the room. “I know this is Crazy Ace’s big night, but my old lady and I got some pretty kick ass news today that I have to share.”
“Deacon,” Alexandra said, laughing at his description.
He smiled down at her with love I had never imagined he could possess for a woman. “So raise a glass in honor of my son!”
My gaze went from Deacon to Alexandra who was beaming. A boy. I was going to have a nephew—another male to carry on the Malloy family name. I couldn’t have been happier in that moment if the news had been my own.
The elation I felt was short lived when I turned to smile at Annabel.
Her expression was one of extreme anguish.
I knew in that moment what she had been denied was coming front and center to torment her.
At any second, I expected her to burst into tears.
Instead, she seemed to be getting her game face on right before my eyes.
She straightened her shoulders and walked over to Alexandra.
She gave her a hug. When Alexandra whispered something in Annabel’s ear, her composure momentarily faltered as her entire body shuddered like she was in physical pain.
Once again, I held my breath in concern that she was about to fall apart. But instead, she pulled away from Alexandra with a smile. Without a word to me, she then made her way through the crowd to the bar. I quickly caught up to her. “You okay?”
“Fine. Just wanted a drink.”
After Alexandra had demanded Deacon’s ex, Cheyenne, be banned from the club, we had yet to find a new bartender. Instead, it became the job of the prospects, and it was the reason why you never ordered any mixed drinks.
“What can I get you?” our newest prospect, Jolting Joe, asked.
“A shot of Crown Royal,” Annabel requested.
Jolting Joe’s expression showed his confusion. “Is that some sorta mixed drink?”
I laughed. “Honey, we don’t have anything that expensive here.”
“Then what’s a good whiskey that will get me drunk?” she asked in matter-of-fact voice.
My brows shot up in surprise at both her tone and her plans. “You think that’s a good idea?”
“I need to get drunk. I haven’t been drunk in months. In fact, I haven’t been truly rip-roaring drunk but maybe three times in my life.” Sweeping a hand to her hip, she asked determinedly, “So what’s gonna get me drunk?”
“Tequila’s good,” Jolting Joe suggested.