14. Jules #2
Before Smokey could counter, Cotton stood and greeted everyone, then bowed his head and blessed our food.
Once he was done, he sat back down, and a soft hush fell across the room as everyone started eating.
I expected there to be a lot of bantering back and forth between the brothers, but everyone was too focused on their plates of food to speak.
But the quiet didn’t last long.
As soon as the food started to disappear, the antics began.
"Hey, Bones!” one of the guys I didn’t know called out. “Where’s your girl?”
“You know something I don’t?” Wyatt looked to his side and then the other. “’Cause, as far as I know, I don’t have a girl.”
Maverick glanced around the room as he said, “Asking about Elsie. You seen her?”
“Not since this morning.” Bones looked behind him, then shrugged like he was trying to convince Maverick he didn’t care. “I’m sure she’s around somewhere.”
“Well, you might wanna check in with her later,” Maverick suggested. “You know days like these are tough on her.”
“Yeah, I know.” Bones’ expression grew solemn as he said, “I’ll hunt her down in a bit.”
“Let us know if you need a hand.”
Bones nodded, then turned his attention back to his plate. I had no idea what was going on with Elsie, but I got the feeling it wasn’t good. Wyatt sat there for a moment, then without saying a word, he quietly stood and started out of the family room.
I assumed he was going to see about Elsie, but before I could ask Quinton about it, Rooster leaned in and said, “You know, your girl should be pissed at you.”
“Oh?” Quinton asked, sounding just as confused as I was. “And why’s that?”
“You’re the reason why she missed her chance.”
“I’m not following.”
“I saw her first.” Rooster’s eyes skirted over me as he smiled and said, “The night of the bonfire. She was looking for the bathroom or something, and I found her. I was just about to lay on the charm when you showed up and ruined the poor girl’s chance to get a taste of the Rooster. No way she can be happy about that.”
“Ah, shit. You gotta be kidding me.”
“What? You fucked us both.” Rooster looked over to me as he asked, “Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, it was a tough pill to swallow.” I couldn’t help but laugh as I told him, “But Quinton has done his best to make it up to me.”
“I certainly hope so.”
Quinton glanced over at me as he muttered, “I’m gonna need a drink.”
“How about some dessert instead?” I suggested.
“They’ve got quite a spread over there.” Maverick motioned his head toward the dessert table. “MJ brought a couple of her pies, and Henley made her famous dump cake.”
“I’m stuffed, but there’s no way I can pass on a piece of MJ’s pie.” Quinton eased his chair back and stood. “You want a piece?”
“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.”
“What about you, babe?” Maverick asked as he stood. “You want some of your cake, or are you going for the pie?”
“Umm, I think I’m gonna have to go with the pie.”
“Yeah, I want some, too,” Liv announced.
“I gotcha.”
Clutch gave her a wink as he stood and followed his brothers to the dessert table. Once they were out of earshot, MJ leaned over to me and asked, “You doing okay?”
“More than okay.” I smiled as I told her, “I’ve really enjoyed today.”
“It’s always entertaining, especially when the whole crew is here.” A smile swept across Henley’s face as she told me, “You never know what they’ll get into.”
“That’s an understatement.” Liv shook her head. “They almost did me in last New Year’s.”
“Why? What happened?”
“A big snow came in, and the guys got in their head that they wanted to build a fort.” Liv looked over to Cass as she asked, “Do you remember how cold it was?”
“Yeah, it was like five degrees outside, but that didn’t slow them down. They had shovels and the backhoe. They were hell-bent on building the biggest, most bad-assed snow fort the kids had ever seen.”
“Only the kids weren’t kids anymore,” MJ added. “And they had absolutely no interest in building a stupid fort.”
“No, but they were all about it when we were done.” Smokey placed MJ’s pie on the table, then sat down as he continued, “We couldn’t get them out of the damn thing.”
“He’s right.” Cass giggled as she said, “The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever.”
“Because it was!” Maverick sounded like a kid when he said, “The thing was massive. We even put rooms in it, and Stitch put in his patio heater. And Big set up a TV.”
“Yeah, the guys took their chairs in there and pulled in one of our kegs, and it was all downhill from there.”
Henley shook her head with a giggle. “We knew it was going to be bad when the girls went out there. They started drinking, and it wasn’t long before they broke out the sled.”
“Yeah, it was definitely a New Year’s to remember.”
“It was the best.” Wrath sounded excited as he said, “We gotta do it again this year.”
“Definitely,” Stitch replied. “But we gotta make it bigger this time.”
“Bigger?” Wren gasped. “How in the world could you make it bigger?”
Torch leaned forward as he said, “Oh, it can be done.”
The guys started discussing their plans for their next big snow fort, while the girls shared stories about their men and the crazy stunts they’d pulled over the years.
It seemed they each had their own crazy tale to tell, and they were intent on telling it.
I didn’t mind. In fact, I loved every minute of it.
I finally understood Quinton’s draw to the club.
It wasn’t just about the brothers, the bikes, or the parties.
It was all of it.
They were his family, and he was theirs. And I felt blessed just to be there watching them together.
Before I knew it, we were finished with dinner and heading home. It was late when we got back to Quinton’s place. I figured we’d both just go straight to bed, but just as I was about to change clothes, Quinton came into the bedroom and announced, “I drew you a bath.”
“You did what?”
“I got the tub ready for you.” He motioned me toward the bathroom door as he said, “Thought you could use a bit of a break after today.”
“Today was wonderful. I couldn’t imagine this day being any better.” I walked over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Until now. You are too much. I don’t deserve you.”
“No, babe. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.
” He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead, then took my hand and led me into the bathroom.
My heart swelled when I saw that the tub was full of bubbly water and there were candles strategically placed along the tub and countertop.
“Wine or one of those spritzer things you like?”
“Wine would be perfect.”
“You got it.” I got undressed, and just as I was getting into the tub, Quinton returned with my wine. He placed it on the edge of the tub, then smiled and said, “Holler if you need me.”
“Um-hmm.”
I closed my eyes and sank into the hot water, and it wasn’t long before my mind started to drift.
I started thinking about my life and the choices I’d made.
I couldn’t deny that there were things that hadn’t played out the way I’d hoped.
I’d accepted that, and I’d also accepted the role I’d played in it.
I was still battling my regrets over getting involved with James, but I was coming to terms with some things.
I’d had a hard time not blaming myself for the abuse, but little by little, day by day, I was learning that I was wrong.
James and my father were the only ones to blame for what they’d done.
I wouldn’t have been able to come to that realization if I hadn’t had the opportunity to be around couples like MJ and Smokey and Cotton and Cass.
But it wasn’t just them.
It was all the Fury couples.
Watching each of them interact with one another had been a real eye-opening experience.
They weren’t all bubbly-sweet. In fact, some of the women had no qualms about pushing whatever button they felt needed to be pushed, but at the same time, I could see that they shared a level of respect.
And I had no doubt it was the same behind closed doors.
I’d always wanted that kind of relationship.
And as I soaked there in the bubble bath Quinton had made for me, I knew I was on my way to finally having it.