Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Star
I woke up slow.
Not the jolt of panic I’d gotten used to in the hospital, or the sharp awareness that something hurt. Just… slow. Like my body had finally decided it didn’t need to be on guard for a minute.
It took me a second to remember where I was.
Mom’s house.
I rolled onto my side, stretching carefully. Everything ached in that dull, post-sleep way that reminded me I’d been through something my body hadn’t forgiven yet. Still, it was better than it had been. Better than yesterday.
Better than the day before that.
I pushed myself upright slowly and let my feet find the floor. No dizziness. No spinning.
Another small victory.
As I stood, a new sound drifted through the house.
Laughter.
Not the quiet, controlled kind. The loud, full-bellied kind that echoed off walls and carried with it the unmistakable promise of chaos.
I froze.
Because unless Mom had invited a small parade of women over before leaving for work, and I was pretty sure she hadn’t, that meant only one thing.
The ol’ ladies had arrived.
Unannounced.
I shuffled toward the doorway and peeked down the hallway.
The living room was full.
And by full, I meant taken over.
Alice stood near the coffee table, waving her arms dramatically as she talked, one hand clutching a coffee mug that looked suspiciously like it had come from the cups that traveled with Mom from job to job.
Karmen sat on the edge of the chair opposite the couch, laughing so hard she had one hand pressed to her chest. Clove was perched on the arm of the couch, grinning like she was enjoying every second of the spectacle, while Carnie paced back and forth with a plate of something balanced precariously in her hands.
And Nikki was there too, laughing her ass off from her spot on the floor.
And in the middle of it all—
Cole.
Asleep.
Flat on his back on the couch, one arm flung over his eyes, completely oblivious to the noise happening all around him.
I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.
“How is he still sleeping?” Clove stage-whispered.
“He’s a biker,” Alice said, like that explained everything. “They can sleep through explosions. Ask me how I know.”
Karmen snorted. “You tried that once.”
“Allegedly,” Alice replied.
Carnie leaned closer to Cole and raised her voice. “So I told him, if you think for one second I’m—”
Cole shifted, groaned, and rolled onto his side.
The room went silent.
I watched, fascinated, as every woman froze in place.
Slowly, Cole lowered his arm and blinked.
He took in Alice standing over him. Carnie mid-rant. Clove trying, and failing, to suppress a laugh. Karmen smiling like she’d just won something. Nikki silently wheezing.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “Did I die?”
“Nope,” Alice said cheerfully. “But you did sleep through the apocalypse.”
He pushed himself upright and scrubbed a hand down his face. “What time is it?”
“Almost eleven,” Karmen said.
He winced. “Star?”
I stepped out into the hallway then, leaning lightly against the wall. “Still alive.”
His head snapped up immediately.
There it was.
That look.
Relief crossed his face before he masked it, standing up like he hadn’t just been unconscious seconds ago. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said. “What did I miss?”
Alice turned slowly, her gaze landing on me like she’d just spotted fresh prey.
“Oh, honey,” she said. “You missed nothing. We just got here.”
Clove laughed. “That’s a lie.”
“A fib,” Nikki giggled.
“We knocked,” Alice added.
“You opened the door,” Carnie chimed in.
Karmen tilted her head. “You don’t remember?”
Cole frowned. “I… don’t.”
Alice clapped her hands. “See? An explosion wouldn’t have woken him.”
I laughed softly, the sound surprising even me. “How long have you all been here?”
“Long enough,” Alice said. “But not long enough to eat yet.”
Cole groaned. “You guys are not going to destroy Mac’s kitchen.”
Carnie smiled innocently. “We brought food.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
“It does,” Karmen said. “It absolutely does.”
Cole turned to me. “You want to go sit?”
“I’m good,” I said. “Just… overwhelmed.”
Alice’s expression softened instantly. She crossed the room in two strides and stopped in front of me, her voice dropping. “We’re not here to overwhelm you.”
“I know,” I said quickly. “It’s not bad. Just a lot.”
She nodded, like she understood exactly what I meant. “You say the word, and we’ll clear out.”
“No,” I said. “Please don’t. I like this.”
Cole watched me closely, reading my face like he was checking for signs I didn’t know I was giving off.
I smiled at him. “Really.”
He nodded, accepting it.
The women took over the kitchen next, talking over each other, laughing, unpacking bags like they owned the place. I sat at the table while Cole hovered nearby, pretending not to.
“I let all of the other girls know about girls’ night,” Alice announced.
“Are they okay with not going to Chicago?” I asked.
Alice put her hands on her hips and frowned. “Well, yes, but I also found out that I was not invited. Can you believe that?”
Nikki laughed. “That’s because we’re the actual old ol’ ladies now, Al. We think we’re fun, but I don’t think our kids feel the same way.”
“Adley likes us,” Alice pointed out.
“Then explain why I still feel like I’m thirty?” Carnie asked as she set out plates. “I mean, I’m a thirty-year-old with twin twenty-one-year-olds.”
“Mom,” Clove groaned.
Carnie pointed at Clove. “I am thirty years old, Clove, and you will not burst my delusional bubble.”
Clove held up her hands. “Sure, whatever you say.”
“Hello!”
Alice clapped her hands together. “Eden is here. Come in, honey!”
“Jesus,” Cole muttered. “Are all of you coming over today?”
Eden walked in and gave a shy wave to everyone. “M-m-mom said Aunt Carnie made hummingbird cake s-s-so I’m here to get my slice since it’s my f-f-favorite.”
“Ah!” Carnie called. “I always knew you were my favorite, Eden!” She sliced into the giant white frosted cake and slapped a huge slice onto a plate. She grabbed a fork and stabbed it into the cake. “This one has your name all over it.”
Eden grabbed the plate and leaned against the counter. “What have I m-m-missed?”
“I’m sure your mom let you know your trip to Chicago is canceled,” Nikki said.
Eden nodded with a frown. “Yup. I never g-g-get to have fun. No grad p-p-party and now no night in the c-c-city.”
Alice propped her hand on her hip. “You’d better wipe that frown off your face, girl, because you are happy as can be that your grad party is on the back burner.”
Eden shrugged. “It would have been n-n-nice to get some c-c-cash at the party.”
Nikki stood beside Eden and put her arm over Eden's shoulder. “Just come talk to Auntie Nikki, honey. We can go on a shopping spree to make up for it.”
Eden looked at Nikki, excited. “Barnes and Noble? T-t-target?”
Nikki nodded. “You betcha. It’s just a good thing that the things you like are in my budget. Books and plants.”
Alice bugged her eyes out. “Something tells me your budget is going to be crying after an hour in Barnes and Noble with Eden.”
“Yeah,” Karmen laughed. “I don’t think you know how much a book costs these days.”
Nikki waved her hand at us. “I got it.”
“Right,” Alice drawled.
Karmen sat across from me once things settled, and we were all eating hummingbird cake. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” I said honestly. “Still tired.”
“That’s normal,” she replied. “Your body’s catching up.”
I hesitated, then said quietly, “Thank you. For… everything.”
Her eyes softened. “You don’t owe us anything.”
“I know,” I said. “But it still means a lot.”
She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “You’re one of us now. Whether you like it or not.”
Across the room, Cole laughed at something Alice said, shaking his head like he’d heard it all before. Seeing him like this made my heart do something strange.
“I was glad to see you were both sleeping when we got here this morning. I know you’re the one who was in the hospital, but I know Cole had been running on empty, keeping an eye on you.”
“That’s… crazy.” The only person I ever had in my life who cared about me was my mom. I was not at all used to someone like Cole and the club.
“That’s just Cole, sweetie. He reminds me so much of his dad when we met.” Karmen shook her head. “He’s going to be a good man.”
I watched him take a bite of cake and felt butterflies in my stomach. “Um, yeah,” I whispered.
Karmen watched me with a small smile on her lips. “Yeah, indeed.”
I leaned back in my chair and felt a type of happiness I didn’t know. I also felt tired. Whoa, boy.
Cole noticed immediately. He always did.
“Time for a break,” he said gently.
Alice pouted. “I didn’t even get to eat half of my cake.”
“You’ll survive,” he replied. “You can eat it on the way home.”
As they gathered their things, Clove leaned in and hugged me tight. “Get better,” she said. “You’re gonna have to build up your stamina if you’re gonna hang with the Girl Gang.”
Alice pumped her fist in the air. “Yeah, Girl Gang!”
“Do I even want to know?” I laughed.
Karmen patted me on the shoulder. “It’s probably just best to go along with it.” She gave me a hug and headed out the door, Nikki by her side. “Be good,” she called to Cole.
Cole tipped his head to her.
“I’m just going to leave the rest of this,” Carnie said as she put the lid on the cake. “Make sure Mac gets a slice.”
“Uh, are you sure?” We all had a slice, but the cake was so huge that there was still half of it left.
“Yup,” Carnie said with a smile. “I have a whole other one for dinner at the clubhouse tonight.”
Carnie, Alice, and Clove made quick work of cleaning up the kitchen, and they were gone before I could finish my slice.
Cole sat at the table across from me and sighed. He cupped his hand to his ear. “You hear that?” he asked.
I listened but didn’t hear anything. “I don’t hear anything.”
Cole smiled. “Exactly. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and the club, but there is just something about silence.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “I can see how they could be a little overwhelming.”
“Understatement of the century there, babe.” Cole looked up at me. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Actually… yeah.” I really was.
He nodded. “Good.”
“You want something more than cake?” he asked. “I can warm up some of the ham for you.”
I shook my head. “Um, I’m good.” I scooped the last bite of cake into my mouth. “Pretty sure Carnie leaving the rest of the cake was not a good idea. That is all I am going to eat for dinner, too.”
Cole took our plates and dropped them into the sink. “So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?” he asked.
I didn’t want to say it, but a nap sounded absolutely heavenly right now. “Um.”
Cole turned to look at me. “Rest your eyes?”
A smile spread across my lips. “I mean, if you insist.”