Q
“Hey, hold up!” I shouted as I started after the pretty blonde. “Where are you running off to?”
“I’m working. I’ve got things to do.”
“Yeah, I do, too. I was asking for your name.”
“I know. I heard you.”
Damn. This chick was cold-hearted.
I should’ve cut my losses and left, but this chick wasn’t just some stunner. I couldn’t leave without at least trying to shoot my shot. “I haven’t seen you here before.”
She didn’t respond.
Instead, she just kept walking, so I asked, “You been working here long?”
She finally stopped and turned to face me, giving me a chance to get another look at her.
Her long, blonde hair was pulled up high on her head in a messy bun, and she was wearing a pair of loose-fit jeans and a dark flannel shirt that was tied at her waist. My eyes trailed down the length of her long, sexy legs, and I instantly imagined them wrapped around me.
Damn.
I didn’t even know her name, and she was already getting under my skin.
When my eyes finally made their way back up to her beautiful face, I was met with a look of annoyance.
Her bright hazel eyes shimmered with ferocity as she stood there glaring at me with a scowl, making it clear she wasn’t pleased that I was checking her out.
“Look, I’m gonna save us both some time here and just let you know... I’m not interested.”
“Interested? Interested in what?”
“This. Whatever this is.” A look of determination marked her face as she motioned her hand in the air and continued, “I don’t know what you’re trying to do here or why, but I’m not the one. I’m just here to work. Nothing else.”
I had no idea what I’d done to get her so riled, but it was clear that my pursuits had rubbed her the wrong way. “I was just trying to find out a pretty girl’s name. Didn’t mean any harm.”
“If you say so.”
I wish I had some grand comeback, but unfortunately, I had nothing. I could only stand there and watch as she disappeared into the back room. It was impossible not to feel slightly wounded by our exchange. I would’ve just bolted, but I wasn’t alone. Wrath had come into the gift shop with me.
He was younger than me but had a good foot on me and about a hundred pounds of muscle. It was still hard to believe that he was the same kid that we used to call Catch—a name his kid sister had given him years before. We used the same name for years, but then, the club had a run-in with a local MC.
Things got pretty ugly, and they got ugly fast.
Lives were on the line, our brothers' lives, and he stepped up. He took out several of their main officers, and in doing so, he saved many of our own, including Cotton. Normally, we don’t go around changing road names, but he’d proved that he deserved something more worthy than Catch.
After everything he’d done, it wasn’t surprising that the brothers decided to start calling him Wrath.
I was hoping that he hadn’t overheard my conversation with Smokey’s newest employee, but when I turned around, I found him staring back at me with a mischievous smirk on his face. I wasn’t in the mood to listen to his bullshit, so I gave him a stern look and ordered, “Don’t say a fucking word.”
“Who? Me?” he asked innocently. “I wasn’t going to say anything. I certainly wasn’t gonna mention anything about that girl who just blew you off.”
“We both know better than that.” Before he could respond, I walked past him and said, “Let’s go. We have work to do.”
“Whoa. Wait, you’re really leaving?” he asked, sounding surprised.
“What did you expect me to do?”
“I don’t know. Something.” He glanced over at the back room, searching for some sign of the chick who’d just blown me off. “Just didn’t figure you’d give up so easily.”
“Well, you figured wrong.”
Without saying anything more, I walked through the front door and over to Maverick and the rest of the brothers.
They were all standing around talking to Smokey and MJ about everything they had going on at the orchard.
It was a lot, and they both seemed relieved that we’d all come to give them a hand.
Smokey looked over at the barn and the orchard behind it and groaned as he said, “We’re close, but we still have a lot that needs to be done. ”
“Just let us know what you need us to do,” Clutch replied. “We’ll make sure it gets done.”
“We need to finish getting the lights up in the barn, and we’ve got baskets to finish sorting. The kid’s train needs a good once over, and the ATVs need gas. And it all needs to be done in the next two hours. That’s when the crowds will start rolling in.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
After Smokey gave us a few more instructions, we each dispersed and got busy helping Smokey and MJ get everything ready for their big day. We’d been at it for just over an hour when I heard one of the brothers say, “I think that’s Dallas.”
“Dallas?” I turned and watched as a red car parked in the drive. I knew they had a lot of folks coming in from out of town, but I had no idea Dallas was coming in. “Is her new guy with her?”
“Don’t think so,” Clutch answered. “I think it’s just Dusty.”
Dallas was Skidrow’s ol’ lady. He was before my time, but I’d heard the stories.
He was murdered well before his time, and his death had just about broken his family, especially Dallas.
They’d been together for years, and from the way the brothers talked, they all knew they had something special.
Skid was crazy about his ol’ lady and spent his life showing her what she meant to him.
They had two kids—one of them being Dusty.
He was born with Down Syndrome, but that never slowed him down.
He was a happy-go-lucky kid who had a big heart and an even bigger smile.
The kid didn’t have a bad thing to say about anything, which made it impossible not to love him.
He’s a great kid, and he held a special place in all our hearts.
None of us had seen him or Dallas since she got remarried and moved to Oregon, and until today, I wasn’t sure when we would see them again. “I didn’t know they were coming.”
“Yeah, well...” Clutch motioned his head over to Maverick as he said, “I think she wanted to keep it a surprise.”
The doors opened, and I almost didn’t recognize Dusty as they each got out of the car. Dallas seemed a little unnerved as they started toward us. I couldn’t really blame her. It had been a while since she’d been around the crew, so it was only natural that she’d be a little hesitant.
Dusty, on the other hand, wasn’t hesitant at all.
He looked like he was about to bust with excitement, especially when he spotted Maverick. He opened his arms wide and started rushing in his direction as he shouted, “Mav-wrick!”
Dusty was in his mid-thirties and was over five-eight and thick around the middle, so Maverick did his best to brace himself when he spotted Dusty racing toward him.
Unfortunately, it did little good. Hell, Maverick almost fell backward when Dusty slammed into his chest and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Hey, Mav-wrick.”
“Hey there, little brother.” Once he’d regained his footing, Maverick gave Dusty a bear hug and said, “Long time no see.”
“We’ve been in Oregon.”
“I know.” Maverick gave him another squeeze, then patted him on the back. “We’ve missed having you around.”
“Missed you, too.” Dusty looked up at him, and his brows furrowed as he studied Maverick’s salt and pepper hair. He seemed both surprised and bothered to find that his old friend had aged. “You’ve gotten so old.”
“Hey, now. I’m not that old.” Maverick looked out at the rest of us as he said, “Besides, we’ve all gotten older. Even you.”
“Um-mh.” Dusty looked us all over, then shook his head and said, “Not Wyatt.”
He released Maverick, then rushed over to Bones and gave him a hug. Bones returned his embrace, then patted him on the back as he said, “Hey, Dusty. It’s good to see ya.”
“You’ve got-ten really tall.”
“Yeah, I have.” Bones smiled as he motioned his hand over to Wrath. “Your buddy Charlie has, too.”
Dusty stepped back and looked over to Wrath as he said, “Hey, Charlie.”
“Hey there, Dusty. Good to see ya, brother.”
We all took a moment to say our hellos to Dusty and Dallas, and we were all pleased to see that he and his mother were doing so well.
Apparently, the new husband had been treating them both very well, and they were both happy.
Dallas also filled us in on Katie, Dusty’s older sister.
She was also doing well and was living close by with her new boyfriend.
They were expecting their first kid and were making plans to get married over the holidays.
Cotton gave Dallas a hug as he told her, “I’m glad to see you all are doing so well.”
“Thanks, Cotton. I really appreciate it.” A bright smile crossed her face as she told him, “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I don’t know. Something tells me you would’ve made it just fine either way.” He motioned his hand over to the barn as he told her, “Cass and the rest of the girls are in the barn getting things ready.”
“Great. I’ll go give them a hand.”
When she started to collect Dusty, Maverick stopped her by saying, “He can hang with me.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I could use a hand with these baskets.”
“Okay. Great.” Dallas turned to Dusty as she ordered, “You be good and listen to Maverick. You got me?”
Dusty nodded with excitement. “I got ya.”
“Good.”
Dallas gave him a warm smile, then turned to join the others in the barn.
Once she was gone, the brothers and I got back to work, and it wasn’t long before we’d completed everything that needed to be done.
The place looked great with all the extra lights and fall decor, but the workers’ costumes took the whole ‘pioneer thing’ to the next level.
They all looked incredible, especially the cute blonde I’d tried talking to a few hours earlier.