Chapter Twenty-Five
Before Spider had a chance to say anything more, the door opened and Fletch came in, Dax not far behind him.
“About time. I’ve got a few things I wanted to say but I was waiting for everyone to be here,” Raven said, pushing himself to his feet. “Give me just a moment.” He dropped a hand on Spider’s shoulder as he moved past him.
Spider watched his president move toward Fletch and give him a hug before turning back to Jordon.
“What do you think?” he asked.
She tilted her head until her forehead rested against his shoulder. “I think they’re your family and they love you.”
“We are, and we do,” Taylynn spoke up from where she still sat across from Jordon. “It hasn’t been the same around her without him. We’re glad to have him back, even if it’s just for the weekend. He’ll get to where he can come home for good, I’m sure.” She gave Jordon a friendly smile.
A moment later, Raven let out an ear-splitting whistle. They all turned to where he was making his way back to their table.
“Now that I have your attention, I have a few things to say.” When Raven reached the table, he pulled his chair out and stepped up on it. “First and foremost! In case you haven’t noticed, Spider is here! He’s only in for a couple of days, but we’ll take what we can get.”
Cheers erupted around the room. Spider lifted one arm and waved. Those who wanted a word would find the time to come see him while he was there. It took a moment for them to die down but when they did, Raven continued.
“Second, we’ve been waiting until everyone was here for this one and since Spider, Fletch, and Dax are here, I can’t think of a better time.
” He turned and looked at the table then held out one hand.
Taylynn stood and went to his side, taking his hand and holding it.
“Taylynn is pregnant.” His grin was so big it threatened to split his face in two.
“We’ve known for a while but were waiting until we could share it with everyone.
She’s not due until the end of the summer, but we’re going to have more patchlings around soon!
” When he finished, he stepped down from the chair, wrapped Taylynn in his arms and leaned in for a kiss.
The cheering was even louder this time and even Spider joined in, shouting and clapping. It took a lot longer for it to die down. When it did, Raven turned to him. “You okay to come outside for a couple of minutes? I’ve got something to show you.”
“I am. But what about Jordon?” he didn’t want to leave her on her own in there, especially without a property cut. His brothers were good guys, but they could be stupid sometimes and he didn’t want to leave her unprotected.
“Bring her.”
Spider frowned, wondering what this was about, then looked at Jordon and tilted his head toward the door with one brow lifted, hoping she’d understand what he was trying to ask. When she nodded, he used his crutches to stand and followed Raven and Taylynn outside.
A few feet from the door sat a golf cart with a seat on the back.
“Climb in,” Raven said, sliding in behind the wheel.
“How about you and I sit back here and let Spider have the seat in front?” Taylynn said to Jordon.
“Okay,” Jordon said as she and the president’s woman climbed on to the back of the cart.
“What’s this all about?” Spider asked as he sat, then wrestled with his crutches for a moment, trying to get them under the short roof on the cart.
“Here, let me hold them,” Jordon’s arm reached around from where she sat right behind him.
He handed them off and before he even straightened, they were off.
Spider clenched one hand on the roof, half afraid he’d get thrown out the way Raven was zipping through the compound.
Spider couldn’t help looking around, taking in the changes that had happened in the last few months while he’d been gone.
Homes that hadn’t been there before, new roads that, while they were dirt, were well graded and covered in gravel. The guys had been busy.
“Here we are,” Raven said as the cart jerked to a stop. “Sorry. I’m still getting used to this thing—it doesn’t brake like one of the trucks.” He stepped out of the cart and circled to stand between the cart and the house they’d stopped in front of. “What do you think?”
“What about it?” Spider took in the place, noticing as he did that there were no stairs up to the small porch. Instead, they’d built a ramp.
“This one’s yours. We knew you’d probably have a hard time navigating the stairs to get to your old room, so we made getting your house done a priority. Want to look inside?”
Spider blinked several times, not caring that tears trickled down his face. His family had built him a home. And they’d hurried to get it done before he came home and needed it.
“I’d love to.”
Jordon gave him his crutches and Spider made his way to the front door.
“Go on in, it’s not locked.”
Spider opened the door and pushed it inward as the truck Dax and Fletch had taken to Bozeman pulled up behind them.
“They’re bringing your chair,” Raven said.
“I want you to look around, tell us what we need to fix or change. We rushed around getting furniture in here before you arrived. If you don’t like it, or just want something different, we can find someone here who wants it or we can donate it in town.
We want this place to work for you. We did our best, but there’s a lot we don’t know.
We tried to look at the perspective of someone who’s on their feet most of the time but still needs some accommodations.
All the doors are wider than standard, for when you have to use the chair.
Like the ramp out front, there’s another in the back so you can get out there in the chair if you need to.
The main bathroom has a shower instead of a tub, and both bathrooms have handrails.
Because I assumed you don’t plan to spend a majority of the time in your chair, we didn’t do lower countertops or a roll-under sink but we can do that if you want.
There is something in the kitchen I’d like you to see, though.
” Raven led them through an archway and into the kitchen, where he opened one of the upper cabinets, then pulled on a small handle in the middle of the bottom.
“They all swing down like this so you can get what you need even from the chair. There’s a similar system in the main bedroom closet.
Take your time, make a list and we’ll get started on it as soon as you head back to Bozeman. ” Raven clapped Spider on the shoulder.
“I-I don’t know what to say. I’m blown away. I never expected something like this.” They seem to have thought of everything. Far more than Spider probably would have if the situation had been reversed.
“We all have rough times. We all need help once in a while. This time it just happens to be you. Check out the place. I’ll have Dax unload your things and leave the truck for when you’re ready to come back to the clubhouse. Sound good?”
Spider nodded, emotion clogging his throat so he had a hard time saying anything. He reached out and took Jordon’s hand, holding on as he looked around.
“Here you go, bro,” Dax said, carrying in the wheelchair. “I don’t know how long you’ve been on that leg today, but you don’t want to overdo it, or the doc may put you back in a cast.” He unfolded the chair and set the locks on the wheels.
“Thanks, you’re right.” Spider made his way to the chair and eased his way into it, handing his crutches to the prospect. “Can you put those next to the door so they’re handy when I’m ready to leave?”
“No problem.” Dax took them. “You want your stuff in the bedroom or in the living room?”
“Leave it in the living room for now—if I need it moved, I’ll call someone.”
“You got it,” Dax said as he left.
“I’ll leave the two of you to look around. Let me know if you need anything,” Raven said.
“What about the keys to the truck?” Jordon spoke up.
“In the ignition,” Raven called as he and Taylynn left.
“Where to first? And do you want to do it on your own or do you want me to push you?” Jordon asked once they were gone.
He hadn’t used them that much, at least not yet, but the crutches made his arms hurt. He could move his wheelchair on his own, but he’d also learned over the last couple of months that sometimes it was better to let someone else push him and conserve his energy.
“Push, please, and I don’t know. Let’s go in and see what’s there.” He pointed to a doorway a few feet away.
By the time they finished the tour of the house, Spider was more than grateful to have a family like the Fallen Angels. He was overwhelmed by what they had done for him while he’d been in Bozeman and how well they’d accomplished it.
Not only had they built this place, and added features to make life easier for him, they’d moved all his stuff from his room in the clubhouse and furnished nearly every room, leaving only the two extra bedrooms empty.
He wondered why that was ... he’d have to ask later.
But since they’d moved him out of his room in the clubhouse, that meant they’d likely already given it to someone else.
He’d planned on letting Jordon sleep there, but it looked like he’d have to figure something else out.
Maybe he would sleep on the sofa and let her have his bed.
Spider liked the idea of Jordon in his bed way more than he should. Especially since they’d never done more than kiss. But he’d deal with that later.
“What do you think?” he asked Jordon as she stood behind him in the huge main bathroom.
There was more than enough room to maneuver the wheelchair in there, even with a second person.
In addition to the bench in the shower, there were two showerheads, one up high for standing under and another lower with a hose that could be pulled off the wall and moved wherever it was needed.
“I think they went to a lot of trouble to make the place usable for you.” Her tone said she was impressed.
“You’re more used to a house set up for someone with mobility issues. Can you think of anything missing or anything we could add to make it easier?”
“Not offhand. Like I said, they went to a lot of trouble. We have some different adaptations at home, but that’s because we had to modify the existing home.
This place was built with your mobility in mind.
I’ll think about it, but if you want a better assessment, invite Daddy down. He’ll see things better than I will.”
Spider tilted his head to one side as he thought about it. He had little doubt Clint and Colleen would see the place sometime, but this didn’t feel like the right time. Maybe after they got back from Alaska?
Jordon had a good family—the last thing he wanted was to keep her from them. He hoped they could accept that this was his family, but only time would tell.