Chapter 10 – Gabe
GABE
All the women have gone upstairs, leaving Linzie and Mom to watch the kids. They’re sitting at the table writing letters to Santa and eating cookies.
“I printed off some color pages in the office,” Mom says.
“Oh, I’ll go get them,” Linzie offers, jumping up from her seat. I watch as she moves across the room, ignoring me completely as she does.
“That was a mighty cool breeze that just blew through here,” Eli comments. “I thought you two were finally getting your shit sorted out. Or did you change your mind?” He waves over at the bar, throwing two fingers in the air, gesturing to Austin to bring us two beers.
“Nah, Linzie’s not ready.”
“Ready for what? A relationship? Club life? Or you?” Eli jokes. “No offense, brother, but you are not the easiest man to get along with sometimes. It will take a strong woman not only to be your woman, but to be the president’s ol’ lady.”
“Linzie could handle all of that just fine.”
“Then what’s the problem, Gabe?”
“I think she’s still hung up on her dead husband.” There, I said it out loud.
“I don’t think that’s it at all.” Eli says, taking his beer from Austin and handing me the other. I twist off the top and take a long pull. Eli does the same.
“Tell me, oh wise one. What do you think it is then?”
“Well, let’s look at the facts.” Eli ticks off points one by one on his fingers. “A woman who isn’t over her husband wouldn’t flirt with other men. She’d keep to herself and avoid situations where her politeness could be taken as something else.”
I shrug. “She could flirt and mean nothing by it. Women do it all the time in her line of work. It’s how they make their tips.”
“She wouldn’t dress in flattering clothing, with low cleavage and tight jeans, giving everyone within eyeshot something to fantasize about.”
“From what I’ve seen, Linzie has always dressed the same way, even in photos of her with Trevor as a young boy. She wears what she’s comfortable in, and fuck you, by the way, for fantasizing about her. Asshole.”
Eli laughs, tossing his hands up. “I didn’t say I fantasize about her, but I’m sure there are a lot of men in this town that do.”
“Yeah, well, fuck them too.”
“Listen to you. God, you sound like a whiny little prick,” Eli teases. “If you feel so strongly about other men fantasizing about her and flirting with her, why don’t you claim her already?”
“It’s not that easy. I’m telling you, she’s not feeling it.
I thought she was. I mean, when we fucked this morning, things felt like we were on the same page, but then she took off and, I don’t know.
I talked to Andi. She said Linzie gets weird this time of year because she misses Michael, and I guess … ”
“You believed that shit?” Eli leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “Let me get this straight. You and Linzie fucked this morning, and you suddenly believe she’s changed her mind because she misses her husband?” He shakes his head in disgust. “You’re a fucking idiot, my friend.”
“What do you mean? It’s not off the mark to think she might be missing Michael during the holidays.
I miss Maggie all the fucking time. Especially during the holidays or special occasions like this fucking wedding.
I would love nothing more than to have her here to see our daughter say I do to the man she’s going to spend her life with.
It’s what Maggie always wanted for Avery.
So, it’s not unthinkable that Linzie may be feeling the same thing. ”
“It’s not the same thing at all,” Eli says, sounding pissed.
“You miss Maggie because she would love to be here to share these moments, not because you are still in love with her. Don’t get it twisted.
” He puts a hand up to silence me. “I’m not saying you don’t love her.
I’m saying you’re not in love with her. It’s different.
Maggie’s gone, but you’re still here. You have a lot of life left to live, and you, my brother, are in love with another woman.
It’s not a bad thing. The question is, what are you going to do about it? ”
“We’re not talking about me. I’m not the one struggling to move on. What don’t you understand here, brother?” I know I’m being an asshole, but so is he. So, fuck him.
“All right, let’s look at one more set of facts then, shall we?
” Eli leans back, empties his beer, then waves for the prospect to bring another.
“A woman who is still in love with her deceased husband wouldn’t have been sleeping with or fucking the likes of you for the last few months.
And she sure as shit wouldn’t walk by, smirking at you after leaving your office the way she just did. ”
I look up to find he’s right. Linzie is smirking. No, she’s fighting back laughter. It dawns on me why.
The Christmas tree with the butt plugs is still in my office.
“Shit.”
Eli smiles. “I’m glad to see I’m getting through.”
“That smile has nothing to do with me. She saw something in my office—a gift she had left for me the other day. That’s not flirting. She’s fucking laughing at me.”
“What gift?”
I rub the back of my neck and debate telling him, but I’m sure if I don’t, he’ll find his way back there and see for himself.
“Apparently, the women went to an adult store in the mall. Linzie was still pretty pissed at me when they were shopping and brought me back a special gift.” I’m shaking my head, looking at the floor. “She bought me a tabletop Christmas tree.”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“The tree is fine. I’m sure what she’s laughing about are the butt plug ornaments and anal bead garland decorating the tree. It came with a nice card too.” I laugh, because it was a pretty funny prank.
Eli is belly laughing now. “What did the card say?”
“Something about being the perfect gift for an asshole.”
Eli loses it. He’s cracking up when Austin comes over with his second beer. Cash and a few of the other guys have made their way over to see what all the commotion is about.
“Oh, shit. That’s good. You need to lock her down, Gabe. She’s fucking perfect for you.”
“What’s going on?” Cash asks. Eli fills everyone in, and I groan as everyone takes their shots. It’s all in good fun, and I can take it, but I’ll be keeping a record too. As President I can payback whenever and however the fuck I want. These assholes tend to forget that.
“If I were you, Pres,” Hawk starts, and I just know he’s going to say some crazy-ass shit. “I’d take her back in the office, spank her ass, and put those ornaments to work. She earned that shit.”
I grab another beer from the passing prospect and sit back, contemplating what Hawk’s just said. It’s not as crazy as I thought. It’s actually a great fucking idea. The wheels in my head are spinning with all the wicked things I could do to Linzie’s ass, making her pay for her little joke.
“He has to decide if he’s man enough to claim her before he can go punishing his naughty little Vixen,” Eli ribs.
“You haven’t claimed Linzie yet?” Jake asks. “I thought that was a done deal.”
“Things got a little complicated,” I answer.
“He means he fucked up when Linzie tried to apologize about their little scuffle when the Feds were here,” Hawk explains. “Sadie told me Pres’s response was bullshit, and he’s gonna have to earn her back. Linzie was hurt and humiliated in front of the club. Women don’t take that shit lightly.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” This is all news to me. Sure, Avery said I fucked up, but she was also drunk when she said it, so I thought maybe she misunderstood the situation. But then, I might’ve misunderstood it because I was distracted by my daughter talking to me about sucking ass.
“Well, Linzie said some shit when the Feds were here, and you dismissed her. That was hard enough for her, but she ate her pride and came to apologize to you in front of everyone.” Hawk shrugs.
“And I accepted her apology.”
Hawk’s face twists. Jake turns and looks to the ground. Declan is scrubbing the back of his neck.
“Does everyone think I fucked up?”
Hawk puts his hands up and shrugs, nodding. It’s Ethan who surprises me with a response. He usually stays out of other people’s relationships, unless it’s ribbing Hawk. “She asked if you could go back to the way things were, and you said okay.”
“Yeah, because I was okay to go back to the way things were between us.”
“Ah, shit,” Eli mutters.
“Will someone please explain to me what the hell you all are going on about?” I’m losing my patience with the lot of them.
“Don’t hit the messenger,” Cash says, smirking. “But if I’m hearing this right. Your woman made a mistake, overstepped, and you dismissed her from the clubhouse for it. Right?”
I nod. “Yeah, but then she came back and apologized, and we were good.”
“No,” Cash says, pursing his lips. “You were good. Linzie was looking for some kind of gesture or something other than the typical presidential response.”
I lean back, pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to stave off the headache that’s creeping in.
“Women like reassurance, Pres. A hug. A kiss. Hell, putting your arm around her shoulders and bringing her close might’ve been enough.
You were in Pres mode. But Linzie isn’t one of your men or one of the brothers.
She’s not a prospect. She was supposed to be your woman.
But you treated her like one of the boys. ”
“Fuuuck.”
“And we have a lightbulb, boys!” Eli shouts, and I flip him the finger.
I need to make amends and have a talk with Linzie.
I need to hear from her about why she ran off and where we stand in all of this.
I want to claim her and make her my ol’ lady, but if what my brothers say is true, I have some shit to make up for first.