20. Family Is Everything #2
Once or twice, I’ve seen Gavin, Ava and Guard’s oldest son, together with Romeo, and it’s as if they speak without using words.
They communicate with the looks they give one another.
Now that I think about it, I’ve seen that more than once at the club between the men.
Wow! They really are the younger version of Satan’s Pride in the making.
“You might want to tell Sam that asking her to play would probably work better than teasing her,” I suggest.
Romeo smiles bigger and nods.
“Honey, if you’re helping out, you need to seat our customers,” Hanna says, looking at the two of us.
Romeo takes me by the hand and leads me over to the table where the ladies are waiting for me.
Izzy is already seated and talking excitedly about the project she wants to undertake to raise money for the school.
It was Izzy’s suggestion to have a carnival day.
During the meeting, I pointed out that we need to have money to rent the rides and games.
Money we don’t have. I wasn’t sure if it was possible, but I can see that Izzy is on a mission.
Hanna comes to take my order. This is the best time to thank her for her generosity, so I do. “I can’t thank you enough for the wonder trays of goodies and coffee. It was unexpected and lovely of you to do that.”
“It was my pleasure.” She beams happily. “I hope everyone enjoyed them.”
“Hanna, they were stuffing themselves full, and I doubt any of us are going to have room for dinner,” I kid, although this is probably true. I lower my voice and continue, “It’s a lot for you to supply trays for all the staff meetings. I’m grateful but—”
“Stop,” Hanna interrupts. “Since you got here, you’ve been paying for all this yourself.
I know because people talk. I was at the town meeting when Mrs. Binkly called you out to ask about the receipts, and you told her that you paid for them yourself and wouldn’t be asking the board for an expense account.
I came home that night and calculated how much you’re paying out of pocket.
There was a time when I could hardly afford to keep the shop open, and now I’m in a position to help out.
My son loves his teachers, and he’s excited about all the new programs you have initiated.
I want to do this.” She clasps her hand over mine. “Let me do this.”
Well, how do I argue with that? “Okay,” I whisper.
I look over and see Izzy staring at me, with an I told you so expression and a sly grin.
I sit next to Quinn and sip my almond milk latte with a single shot of espresso and a dash of cinnamon.
Hanna tries to get me to try one of her cookies, but I’m so full from the pecan square—make that two squares—that I can’t think of taking another bite.
I learn so much more about the Pride and how the women of these fabulous men got together, and their stories are both scary and fabulous.
Willow saved Roscoe’s life, and for her good deed, the men chasing Roscoe decided they were going to make her pay for getting involved.
They ran Roscoe off the road, and he would have been beaten to death if Willow hadn’t helped him into her car and driven like an Indy 500 race car driver to get him to safety.
I didn’t realize that Charlotte’s brother was part of a very bad gang.
The gang used his love for his sister to keep him in line.
That’s how Charlotte came to know the club, but it wasn’t until her delinquent father came back into their lives that Wildcard stepped into the picture.
Of course, the club waded in because Wildcard knew Charlotte belonged with him, and he wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her.
More news to me: Camille and Priest are brother and sister.
Camille is a nurse who works in Saint’s clinic.
Saint is Izzy’s husband and a doctor, but he was once an army medic.
Camille and Priest’s mom is a psycho bitch.
I hate using words like that to describe women, but I can’t think of a kinder word for this woman.
She shot Quinn! A mother is supposed to love and take care of her kids, and she used and abused all of them.
Rose is super sweet, and I think the heavens conspired to have her and Thunder find each other for their happily ever after.
I’d like to say their courtship was less dramatic, but Thunder, her man, dated Rose’s sister years prior, and when it ended badly, Thunder left town.
He ended up in the Pride, and when Rose opened her flower shop, men from her sister’s past came hunting, and Rose became a target.
Abby is shy and quiet, and her story started in another city, where she was kidnapped and was meant to be sold as a sex slave.
Ghost, one of the scariest men I’ve ever seen, rescued her and another woman, then disappeared, leaving Guard and the club to look after her.
I know there’s more to Ghost’s story, but I didn’t want to ask too many questions.
I’m sure Abby will tell me more when she’s ready.
Francesca is from England. Her accent is so cool!
She’s an heiress! Francesca prefers Frankie, and she’s not pretentious in any way.
She’s kind and generous, volunteering at the senior center and jumping in on any committee to help out.
Hence, she and Izzy are deep in planning for the carnival Izzy has set her sights on.
Frankie came to town with the intention of hiding herself away from the world because of some very bad publicity, none of which was her doing.
Having lost the most important people in her life, she came for peace, but found Hammer.
Hammer is a Pride brother, also an ex-army man, and Izzy’s brother.
All I knew about Izzy was that she is an amazing teacher.
The kids love her. She’s vivacious and makes the class want to learn.
I knew she was married to Saint, but I didn’t know how much her love for him helped Saint heal.
Saint saw horrible things as a medic. He saved many lives, but then there were those he couldn’t save.
It haunts him, but Izzy has the magical power to calm the beast.
Time passes so quickly that I don’t notice it getting dark outside. It’s not until a team of Pride men fills the bakery that I notice it’s past six. All the men are toned, muscular, and lethal, but when they go to their women, they’re as sweet as can be, treating them like precious gems.
We all say our goodbyes, and Bullet walks me over to his bike.
“Ready to take your first ride on a motorcycle?” he asks.
“What makes you think I haven’t ridden one before?” I challenge, raising my brow.
“Have you?”
“Nope.”
“Good. I want your first time on a bike to be with me. There’s nothing like it, babe,” he says. He helps me on, adjusts my helmet, and climbs on in front of me. I wrap my arms around his waist, cuddling close.
“I love your friends,” I tell him before he starts the motor.
“They’re family, and they love you too. That makes you part of us.”
The engine purrs to life. Bullet takes me home via the longest route possible, because he is right. I love the feel of the wind and the quiet of the night as we ride home.