KAT
Spring arrived with one celebration after another. Nova married Boone. Elle married Zodiac. Ivy and Nova both turned up pregnant. Lula’s healthy pregnancy could no longer remain hidden. Cher and Stevie celebrated the first anniversary since they nearly died.
Despite the many celebrations over the last few months, the foxes still threw a random party at the Sorority House.
We arrived at the lovely white mansion with its double wraparound porches and white columns.
Strings of lights extended from the many tall trees and wrapped around the upper and lower porches. Rock music played over loudspeakers.
By the time we arrived, the front yard and long driveway were filled with cars and motorcycles.
I climbed off Rowdy’s motorcycle and removed my emerald green, personalized helmet reading “Rowdy’s Pussycat.
” Rowdy kissed me as soon as I rested the helmet on his ride.
Nearby, Maria snuggled with Farley next to his motorcycle.
“We’ll only stay for a few hours,” Rowdy promised as if knowing I was already missing our boys.
“How about you?” I asked Maria while hugging Rowdy. “Will you leave in a few hours when we do, or do you plan to stick around until late?”
“I think we’ll go when you do,” Farley said and smiled at Maria. “The Sorority House gets wild after midnight.”
We walked inside the house where sisters Cher and Stevie made colorful mixed drinks for people. The living room was filled with foxes. Though the TV played “Thelma & Louise,” the volume was too low to hear over the music.
Sabrina sat on the back of one of the colorful couches, telling a story about her battle against hairy armpits.
“I wanted to be a free cavewoman with gnarly pits, but I wimped out!”
Moe lifted her girlfriend’s arm and waved at the shaved pit. “Sexy.”
Rowdy smiled at their bullshit before guiding me down the hallway and out the back door to the porch where Vanessa was stuck in a backward U position.
“What’s happening here?” Rowdy asked.
“I was trying to do a back flip but lost my momentum.”
Rowdy took her by the legs and flipped her the rest of the way over. She hugged him and smiled at me.
“My brother is a real catch,” Vanessa said, taking the drink handed to her by Cher. “On a scale of one to ten, how drunk do you want to be by the end of the night?”
“Zero,” Rowdy said and hugged me to him. “We need to be sober to get home to our boys.”
“I want a baby,” Cher told Rowdy. “Because of you. Not because of Elle. You remember that, okay? I know Elle will claim it was her kid that tempted me.”
“I thought you were going to travel the world.”
“Oh, I am,” she said, swaying her hips and bouncing her green ponytail. “But when I get back, I’m going to make a baby and name it something cool like Trevor.”
Rowdy didn’t react to her name choice. Nodding, he instead replied that she’d make a great mother.
Having wandered off inside the house, Maria and Farley caught up with us after Cher returned to her bartending duties.
Farley explained, “I was showing Maria my sister’s room.”
“What did she think of Zadie’s bed?” Rowdy asked.
Farley frowned at a smirking Rowdy, who took my hand and walked into the backyard. The property was massive with decks and pergolas set up almost randomly.
At a large outdoor kitchen, Graham and Ben grilled meat. Helping the men, Zadie and Haley added vegetables to skewers and handed them out to guests. Rowdy and I grabbed one and a bottle of Snapple each.
Farley stayed with his sister for a few minutes while we found a table. Maria stuck close to me and whispered, “We didn’t have sex in his sister’s room.”
Laughing, I hugged her. “I know. You were only gone for a few minutes.”
My grinning sister blushed while Rowdy shook his head like he didn’t believe her. Rock strolled over, wearing a black tank top despite the cool weather.
“When you’re done stuffing your face,” he told Rowdy, “I’ll be waiting for a one-on-one match.”
“Why are you so into me?” Rowdy mocked. “Is it my pretty eyes? Or my slamming hot bod?”
Maria and I laughed, which only made Rock’s expression harden.
“I’ll be waiting.”
After Rock stomped off, I leaned into Rowdy and murmured, “I love your pretty eyes more than your slamming hot bod.”
“That’s such a girl thing to say.”
“Okay, fine, then. When I was masturbating in high school, I definitely wasn’t thinking about your eyes.”
“That’s my horny woman,” Rowdy said and nearly tackled me to the grass.
He kept feeling me up, even when we returned to the bench and ate with Maria and Farley.
Once Rowdy was full, he asked them, “Do you want to watch me seduce Kat by crushing Rock at basketball, or do you two have your own needs?”
“I’m going to hang out with Zadie,” Farley said and looked at Maria.
My sister’s gaze bounced back and forth between Farley and me. I knew she felt torn. That’s why I smiled and suggested she stick close to Farley.
“It’ll help me learn to share you,” I said and hugged her.
“Their twin thing is so fucking adorable,” Rowdy said to Farley, who nodded. “I hope my boys are just as adorable. Well, maybe they could be a bit more butch and probably not hug as much.”
Even though Rowdy was teasing, I was very curious about raising sons when I didn’t know much about men. Everything I experienced with Colson and Cavan would offer a brand-new insight.
I enjoyed a front-row seat for male bonding when Rowdy joined Rock in an epic, shirtless battle at the Sorority House’s basketball court. As the warriors fought over the basketball, Rock seemed annoyed by how everyone cheered for Rowdy rather than him.
“I’ll throw you a pity applause, if that’ll turn your frown upside down,” Sabrina offered, winning snickers from the other foxes.
Pointing at Rowdy, Rock warned, “I’m going to make him pay for your bad attitude.”
Like a geek, I gasped in horror at Rowdy being targeted. The foxes turned to me as one, as if they shared a hive mind. Just as quickly, they focused their gazes on Rock and glared menacingly.
Rock stepped closer to me and said in a pained voice, “I don’t know you well, but you seem like a decent chick. So, please, let this man keep his balls and stop turning him into a wuss.”
My gaze flashed to Rowdy, who shook his head. “Please, take my balls. I’ve discussed their future with them, and my balls are happy to go with you.”
Laughing at Rowdy’s words, I ignored how an annoyed Rock rolled his eyes. I loved how confident my man was. Besides, this battle of wills between the two men was part of their friendship.
A few minutes later, as Rowdy stole the ball from Rock, phones around me began to chime and vibrate. The music suddenly cut off. As soon as Rowdy read the message on his phone, I knew something bad was happening.
Grabbing his shirt, he moved toward me and said, “We need to get you and Maria in the bunker.”
“What’s happening?”
Rowdy heard my fear and stopped moving toward the house. He looked into my eyes, revealing a scary side of him that I’d never seen before.
“Evil fuckers are on their way to the Sorority House to cause trouble. I can’t get you out of here before they arrive. You’ll need to stay in the bunker and wait for me.”
I opened my mouth to beg him to hide with me. Before the words tumbled out, my lips snapped shut.
Instead of freaking out, I asked him where to go. Rowdy smiled at how I didn’t make him feel guilty. He took my hand and began moving toward the house. Around us, people darted in different directions. Some of them already had their weapons out while others were getting armed.
As we reached the back porch, Farley opened the door. I noticed a rifle on his back. Maria stood behind him, wide-eyed and silent. I suspected I wore the same expression on my face.
“I’ll get them in the bunker,” Rowdy told Farley.
Maria grabbed Farley and stopped him from leaving. They shared a quick kiss before he offered her a nod and hurried out the back door.
Rowdy guided us to the kitchen, where the island was shoved aside, revealing an underground bunker.
“I don’t need to be in here,” Cher insisted from downstairs. “I’m a badass, not a babysitter.”
Rowdy headed down the steps and stood in front of the pissed woman. Ivy was already downstairs, frowning at her phone.
Resting his hand on Cher’s shoulder, Rowdy said softly, “I am expecting you to protect the woman I love and her sister. If something happens to either of them, I will never forgive you. Are you up to that challenge, Cher?”
Her blue eyes flashed to Maria and me before she nodded. “I’ll make sure they get back to those cute babies.”
Rowdy nodded and turned to me. “I’m going to kiss you. Then, I’m going to leave. Please don’t cry until I’m gone. I need to think like Rowdy Reed rather than your whipped bitch.”
As my heart pounded wildly in my chest, I forced a smile on my face. Rowdy’s lips covered mine to offer a kiss that was over too quickly yet felt filled with promises.
Turning away, Rowdy reached the top of the steps as Vanessa came hurrying downstairs.
“Protect the pups,” she said, setting down the squirming Chihuahuas. “Porche and Truvy, behave.”
The dogs danced around the bottom of the stairs while Vanessa headed back up. She smiled down at us before pushing the island into place and closing the bunker.
I looked at the carpeted basement with shelves filled with supplies. Cher opened a locker and removed a rifle. She armed it before taking out a few handguns.
When she found us staring at her, Cher gestured at a couch before handing her phone to Ivy. “Sit there and watch the security feed from around the Sorority House. You can keep an eye on things while I guard the entrance.”
“Should we call the police?” Maria asked.
“Not until the shooting is over,” Cher replied quickly. “If the cops show up before things are under control, they’re as likely to shoot us as the assholes.”
Sitting on the couch, I hugged Maria to me and tried to think straight. My mind remained numb. I couldn’t cry or even speak. I felt lost waiting for Rowdy to return from an unknown danger.
Through the paranoid fog, I thought of our boys. Were they safe? I believed with all my heart that Pax and Bebe would fight tooth and nail to protect their grandsons, but that fact did little to lessen my panic.