Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Lilly
December in Louisiana is hit or miss with the weather. I remember as a kid wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts on Christmas Day, yet the last few years, it’s been so cold outside that it has snowed once or twice. Something we don’t often get around here.
The club house is a good thirty minutes from our house, by car.
Cass usually makes it in twenty on the bike unless I’m following him.
Then he slows down and waits for me when he gets too far ahead of me.
I’ve tried telling him that I’ll be fine if I get there a few minutes behind him, but since I got kidnapped, he’s been a little overprotective of me.
I can’t complain though. I love the attention.
His electric blue Harley shines so beautifully in the sunlight and it makes me smile.
It’s beautiful outside today and I love the view of my fiancé in front of me.
Fiancé. I’m going to marry him. I look down at my left hand on the steering wheel and smile.
My ring shimmers on my finger and I’m still amazed that in less than a year I’ll be marrying the man who makes my heart whole.
Cass pulls down the driveway to the clubhouse and when we clear the trees, there are a few bikes out front already. It’s only four-thirty, and the party doesn’t start until six, so I have plenty of time to finish getting things ready.
Cass pulls up at the end of the bikes lined up out front and backs in.
I pull off to the side where a few trucks are parked.
From the looks of it, Linc and Mindy are here in her car, Snapper’s bike is out front, along with Mario’s bike, Scott is in his truck, and I think that’s Clayton’s bike out front too, but I can’t be sure.
I know Cass said he wouldn’t be in town until tomorrow.
I step out of the car and the wind greets me, making me shiver.
It’s so fucking cold. Cass is standing at the door to the club house waiting for me.
Two of the newer prospects are standing out front, keeping an eye on the driveway and the bikes.
I nod at them and smile as I walk past. They return my gesture and smile.
One of them is older, late forties, long brown and gray beard that hangs to the middle of his chest, metal frame glasses and a beanie on his head.
The lines on his forehead and around the corners of his eyes tell a story of a life with many smiles.
The other one is a young man, who can’t be any older than twenty-three, with light blond hair and a light blond goatee.
He has a cigarette in his hand and his dark blue eyes shine in the sunlight.
I walk through the door that Cass holds open for me, and the warmth of the club house surrounds me.
It feels a million times better in here.
Linc is behind the bar, where he always is.
Snapper and Mario are sitting at the bar, both with a beer in hand and laughing when we approach.
Mario smiles a wide, thousand-watt smile when he sees us.
“Hey, brother!” He stands up to hug Cass.
“What’s going on, man?”
“In town for the holidays, then back on the road again.”
Mario looks behind Cass and grins at me.
“Hey, girl.” He pushes past Cass to give me a big hug.
He’s grown fond of me since I’ve been making it a point to feed him when he’s in town.
Since he doesn’t have an ol’ lady, and he and Cass are close, I figured when he comes in, I can make him a few home cooked meals.
He’s been on the road so long that all he’s been eating is fast food.
“Hey, darlin’. It’s about time you made it in!”
“Well, you know. It’s a hectic life on the road.”
I offer a grim smile, and he turns his attention back to Cass, who’s talking to Snapper.
I peer around the room and see that Mindy has already started decorating the tables with fake candles and red and green tinsel.
I didn’t see her when we came in but I spot her in the corner of the room, arranging some of the gifts on the back table that’s decorated with a miniature Christmas tree that she and I put up a few weeks ago and Christmas lights lining the edges of the table.
That reminds me, I left the cookies, brownies, and gifts in the car. I see that Cass is in conversation, so I walk to the bar, motioning for Linc to walk over here.
“I’ve got to run to the car and grab a few gifts and the desserts. Cass is talking, so I figured I’d let you know.”
“No problem. Try not to get kidnapped, okay?” he says, grinning facetiously at me.
I flip him the bird before I walk back out to my car.
I smile at the two prospects standing out front and just having the two of them makes me feel a thousand times more comfortable with being out here alone.
Not that there’s much else to worry about since the Moccasins are no longer around.
Well, most of them anyway. There’s still one of their members and their president who are missing.
I stack the cookies and brownies on top of the box of gifts and pack it back toward the club house.
“Whoa, let me get those for you,” the older prospect says, taking the box from me without waiting on an answer.
“Thank you,” I say, smiling.
I open the door for him and point toward the table in the back. I thank him and he sets it down for me and disappears back outside. Mindy is sitting at one of the tables, sipping on what I assume is a glass of red wine. I eye her suspiciously and sit down next to her.
“What?” she shrugs.
“Red wine?”
“Maybe,” she giggles. “One glass.”
“Okay, okay. Just one though.”
“I have all of the gifts organized and ready to go. The other ol’ ladies are supposed to bring their dishes any minute now. Food is over there, by the way, if you want to move the desserts. Oh, did you bring Linc’s gift with you?”
“Yes ma’am. It’s in the trunk, safe and sound where you left it!”
“Okay, good. Don’t let me forget to get it from you before you leave.”
“I won’t. How are you and my newest favorite little person doing?”
“We’re great. No sickness, no complaints. Other than I always have to pee.”
Mindy laughs as she takes another sip of wine. “Speaking of, I’ll be right back.”
I shake my head and smile. My best friend is going to be a mom!
It’s bittersweet. I wish I could have that, but I know that it isn’t in the cards for me.
I’ve battled with not being able to have a baby for a long time, but I think I’m okay with it now.
Now I can just spoil everyone else’s little ones and love them then send them home.
“Come here often?” Cass asks from beside me. I didn’t see him walk up.
“Every now and then,” I say, smiling.
He leans in and kisses me softly on my lips, his thumb on my chin. I take a deep breath when he pulls away and I smile up at him.
“I would’ve gone and grabbed the box and dessert for you, baby. You didn’t have to go get it.”
“I know, but you were busy and I wasn’t going to interrupt you. Besides, it wasn’t that serious and one of your prospects packed it in for me. When did they come around?”
“Aaron’s been hanging around for a couple weeks, so last week we went ahead and made him a prospect.
He’s the young guy. So far, he’s doing pretty good.
And Lenny’s been around the club for a few years and just now decided that he’s ready to be a part of it.
That’s the older man with the long beard. ”
“I like him. He’s the one who carried the box for me.”
“They’re both good men. Good people.”
“Well, I’m glad. Are their ol’ ladies coming out?”
“Usually I’d say no, but it’s Christmas. Family time. So, yeah. Aaron’s girlfriend will be here later and Lenny’s wife is sitting a few tables behind us.”
The sound of a child laughing draws both of our attention and I spot a curly red-headed little girl running around.
She’s the spitting image of Digger, freckles and all.
He’s walking behind her, wearing his cut-off and a purple Hounds beanie, with his wife standing a few feet behind him.
She’s always been shy and weary of the club, but she’s been coming around over the last year or so.
Before that, they said she wouldn’t show up to club functions and didn’t want him to have anything to do with the club.
I’m glad she’s seen how things are around here. It isn’t anything like what I’d always heard, that’s for sure. Now, the Highway Sinners’ club house was way more risqué than the Hounds, and I could understand wanting him to keep his distance from a club like that. But this one, this one is family.
“Hi,” I wave at the little girl. She can’t be any older than three.
“Hello,” she smiles at me and then takes off running to her daddy.
“Hey guys. Lilly, this is my wife Lindsay and our daughter, Nova.”
“Hi, nice to meet you,” I say, waving awkwardly.
“You, too,” she smiles. Her long, wavy, strawberry blond hair contrasts perfectly against her light, porcelain skin, making her hazel eyes pop. She’s got a full face of make-up on, but it’s done tastefully. She’s beautiful and I’m honestly a little surprised that Digger’s wife is so pretty.
“Hey, Lindsay. I’m glad you made it,” Cass smiles at her.
“Me too. I brought a green bean casserole. Digger said that no one was bringing one.”
“Nope. No one else brought one. You can put it on the table over there with the rest of the food for tonight.”
She nods and smiles, heading to the table with her casserole dish.
Cass kisses my forehead before walking away.
I know he’s going to mingle with everyone else.
People are beginning to show up every few minutes.
It’s five o’clock, and the party starts in an hour, so all of the Hounds and their families and close friends of the club will all be here to celebrate Christmas together.