47. Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Seven
Carson
Cole, Carver, and I kick our boots up on the deck of the cabin. My brother and I have been working for a construction company since coming back here, but today was Carver’s first day.
“What did you think?” I ask, throwing him a beer out of our cooler.
“What do I think? I think fuck that bullshit. We should be working for ourselves. Did you see the kind of pickup the boss was driving? That fucker is rolling in dough, and on the backs of his underpaid employees. Yeah, I don’t think I want to be one of them.
I’m not opposed to hard work, but it’s got to be worth my time. ”
Cole looks at me. We’ve been thinking the same thing lately.
“That’s not a bad idea, brother,” he agrees, letting Carver think he’s the first one to come up with the idea. “In fact, Kelsie’s looking at building a house over on the south pasture. Maybe she can be our first client.”
“Shit, yeah, now we’re talking.”
“A lot of our guys start their own business with the club’s help. Maybe we should take our idea to the table,” I say, leaning back in my chair.
Carver perks up. “You know, I heard that pretty boy new prospect say he’s been looking for a job. Maybe there are a few others. Better to keep the money in the club with our own brothers, especially if the club is willing to front the cash for the startup.”
Cole rubs his hands together. He’s excited. We’ve been talking about doing this, but it’s never felt like the right time. Now that Carver’s here, it feels right.
“So what are we going to call ourselves?” I ask.
“How about Triple C Construction?” Cole suggests, hesitantly.
Carver laughs, but he likes it. “One and done. That’s perfect.”
I’m glad he’s smiling. He’s been a bit bummed that we haven’t found Nova and Nyx. I am too, but the Rebel Skulls won’t quit until we find them. Even though the trail has gone cold, we know anything can happen.
We finish our beers. “Well, I suppose I better get back to the warehouse,” Carver says.
“Why don’t you stay for supper? Wednesday is pizza night. Dad always makes more than enough.”
Carver lifts his nose in the air, sniffing. “Fuck, is that what I’ve been smelling? Maybe I will head over there with you guys.”
The door behind us opens, and the scent of pizza wafts outside. It confuses me for a second, because shouldn’t the smell be coming from …
I spin around, finding Luna standing in the doorway. “The pizza is done.” She waves big, looking over my shoulder. I turn around to see who she’s waving to. My little sister is running across the lawn, my parents just now coming around the bend. She’s a tiny bit faster than them.
Cole and I exchange another one of our looks. Carver pushes past me, heading into the cabin.
“Damn, honey, that smells divine,” he says, kissing her on the cheek as he passes.
My brother pats me on the chest before heading inside himself.
And then my little sister barrels past my legs. “Pizza time!” she cheers, raising her little arms in the air.
“Are we on time?” Mom asks.
I shake my head, because I have no fucking clue.
She just laughs along with my dad, and then they head in for pizza.
Luna leans against the doorframe. “What are you waiting for?”
“Um.” I scratch my head. “Why are we eating here?”
“Well, your parents and I talked, and we decided that we should take over pizza night. I mean, it only makes sense. I’m “the pizza girl” after all.”
I smile, remembering that day. “Not just the pizza girl. The cutest darn pizza girl I’d ever seen.”
She ignores my compliment, continuing. “Kelsie and Tank are doing Taco Tuesdays. Isn’t that fun!
I love tacos. And your mom and dad are doing …
” She pauses with a dramatic flail of her arms. “Get this … they’re grilling steaks on Friday nights.
” A finger goes up. “And we get to stay over to watch a movie. If we want. It’s not required though.
They don’t want us to plan our entire lives around it. ”
“Steak?”
“Yeah, isn’t that your and Cole’s favorite?”
“Yeah, but, Jesus, Dad is sharing his steaks? Did he win the lottery or something?”
“Maybe he just wants to make you guys happy.” She thumps me on the forehead.
What the fuck is this? It’s a different sort of playfulness I’ve never seen from her before. It’s new, and I kind of like it. She’s bantering with me.
I laugh. “Is that what he told you?”
She puts her hands on her hips. Luna looks sexy as fuck. I swallow hard when she bends forward, getting in my face.
“It is,” she says with a tiny bit of sass.
“No, ma’am. He did this for Mom. He knows Cole and I can’t refuse a good steak.
We also can’t refuse Kelsie and her taco night.
We never refuse her anything. Well, almost anything.
And we’ve always done pizza night. Always.
So, the way I see it, he just gave her two more nights of guaranteed family time. ”
Her eyes widen. “Oh, you’re right. He did do all of this for her.” She shakes her head. “He’s the sweetest.”
I just chuckle, because I like that she loves my parents.
Especially my dad. They went through a stressful event together.
One her mother predicted. I know that’s bonded them.
Plus, she’s never had a chance to experience a good father.
Now she does. And someday she will officially be his daughter-in-law.
It makes me happy that I can give her something to counteract the most traumatic part of her life. I’ll forever be grateful to him for that.
“So, does that mean we’re moving back home?”
“I think so.” She bites the inside of her cheek. “Yes. Yes, we are home,” she says more confidently.
“We can always go back,” I assure her.
I never want Luna to think that taking a step back, or even two, is a bad thing. It’s going to happen.
“I don’t think I’ll need to.”
My hands cup her face. “It’s okay if you do. I’ll go wherever you need to go.”
She visibly relaxes, and then she starts waving again.
Little Ray grabs my leg, giving it a hug before running past me and trying to open the door by himself.
“Let me help,” Tank says, sliding past us and opening the door. Again, the scent of pizza tugs at my senses. Kelsie just gives me one of her sweet smiles as she passes. “Isn’t this so much fun?”
Luna agrees, and they hug.
Another positive. Kelsie now has another friend. A sister. A fellow survivor.
The more I look for good things, the more I see.
Luna looks up at me. “I made a special pizza for you.”
“You did?”
She nods, taking my hand and pulling me inside. Everyone is already making their way out back, their plates already full.
“We’ll be there in a few,” Luna yells to them.
My brother waves back, letting her know he heard her.
She walks over to the oven and pulls out a pan.
“Aw, it’s a heart. And it’s my favorite. Pepperoni. Thank you.”
I rub my hand over her back, noticing how tense she is.
“Tim gave me a heart-shaped pizza.” She stares at it, not really seeing. “He had a flat tire one day, but he couldn’t afford to get it fixed. He’d misplaced his check that week, and he was waiting for the company to reissue it.”
Her eyes meet mine.
“I paid for it and in return, he made me the pizza. I thought it was a sweet gesture, because I had helped him with his camper. He …” Her brows pull together as if she’s just remembering something. “He used to have a limp.”
“Hey.” I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her close. “Don’t do that to yourself.”
She looks up at me. “I had to rewrite the story, Carson, so this is my way of saying thank you. Thank you for doing what you did. I know it couldn’t have been easy for you.”
I place my hand on her chest. “Luna, I would kill a hundred men for you. I rejoice in the fact that he suffered at my hand. No one hurts you without facing me.” I stare down at the pizza she made for me. She’s turned his tool of deceit into something that belongs to us instead.
I release her, grab the kitchen knife, and slice it up for the two of us.
I’m proud of her for telling me about Tim, and I’m proud that she’s rewriting the story about him.
If only we could find a way to rewrite the one involving her father.