15.
C OURTNEY
I looked at the women around me and wondered how I’d lived in this town for so long and never met any of them until now.
Rojo wasn’t all that big, but then again, my circle was small and I rarely had time to socialize.
I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to meet any of them anyway, considering they were very much biker women and I was not.
However, if I managed not to run Zane off with my crazy family and other bullshit, I could actually see myself becoming one somehow.
“So, tell me how you met Zane,” Rain said as she leaned closer to me.
“We met as he was about to tow my car away.”
“Oh, no!” Rain gasped. “Did you talk him out of it?”
“It wasn’t because I’d done anything wrong!” I assured her. “There was an accident, and it needed some work.”
“So, you got his number, and that’s history?” Wren asked happily.
“Actually, no. I didn’t talk to him again until I ran into him and Zoey at a restaurant.”
“He convinced her sons that they could have colorful tattoos like he does if they ate their vegetables,” Zoey explained with a grin.
“Do you know how much broccoli I choked down because of that lie?” Wren asked. “I believed that one longer than I believed in Santa Claus!”
“One time, Pop told me that every time I screamed, a poor bird would go deaf and lose its ability to chirp,” Lark tattled.
“I refused to talk in more than a whisper, and Mom was so freaked out that she took me to the doctor. When she found out why I was whispering, she called Gigi and told her but didn’t get the response she wanted.
Gigi laughed so hard that Mom hung up on her. ”
“Grunt always had some good ones,” Dahlia agreed. “But Papa Smokey told me that my ears turned red when I lied. For years, I covered my ears every time I told a lie so he couldn’t see them - which of course gave me away instantly. That really sucked.”
I burst out laughing and said, “Hold on! I need to write this shit down.”
“Oh! I’ve got one for you,” Zoey said cheerfully. “My mom told me that the ice cream truck only played music when they were out of ice cream. How evil is that?”
“That’s genius!” I exclaimed. “I’m going to find a way to use all of these. Alana is probably too old, but the boys will fall for them.”
“How many children do you have?” Rain asked.
“Technically, I have five, but two of them are my brothers. They’re sixteen and thirteen.”
“They’re great kids. I’ve had a lot of fun with them at the shop. They’re both eager to learn and always making me laugh,” Dahlia said.
“I’m glad to hear that. I always wonder how they behave when I’m not around,” I admitted.
“Our parents never had to wonder because our friends' parents were their friends too. We couldn’t get away with shit,” Lark complained.
“I’ve met a few parents at Beau and Leo’s daycare and a few others during parent events with Alana, but I don’t feel like I have much in common with them.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged before I said, “I guess I just feel like we’re living very different lives. When Alana announces to everyone that will listen that she and Leo are really my siblings that I adopted because our mother was in prison, people tend to look at me sideways.”
“Fuck ‘em!” Lark said as she pulled my empty glass across the bar, put another shot of rum in it, and then filled it with Dr. Pepper. “You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.”
“Exactly!” Rain agreed. “They can all kiss our asses!”
“How old is . . . Do you call her your daughter or your sister?”
“Alana is ten, and she’s my daughter. I legally adopted her, and she calls me Mom. So does Leo.”
“My old man is in the same boat, but the kids don’t call him Dad.
We’re raising his half brother and sisters because their mom was killed in a car accident and their dad is in prison because he was the drunk that was driving the car,” Lark explained.
“It’s been quite an adjustment, but we’re settling in. ”
“I think it took longer for Baxter to adjust to our family than it did for the kids,” Wren said with a grin. “The man was not used to having this much family around. He just really couldn’t understand how we all got along so well.”
“I think it was harder for him to understand how we fight like cats and dogs and still manage to like each other when it’s all said and done,” Zoey corrected.
“That too,” Lark agreed with a laugh. “Poor guy still gets taken aback sometimes. It’s hilarious.”
“Honestly, I can relate. Zane keeps talking about all these people, and I can’t keep track of who is related and who isn’t. To hear him tell it, none of that matters, which is good because I just can’t seem to wrap my mind around it.”
“Just consider everyone he runs around with family of some sort. That’s what we all do,” Zoey assured me.
“Are all of you related?”
“We’re sisters,” Wren explained, pointing at Lark. She nodded at Dahlia and Rain before she said, “And they’re our cousins. They have different parents, so they’re cousins too.”
“That’s a lot of family.”
“And we’re not related to them at all, but our fathers grew up together.
They lived next door to each other when they were kids and have been close all their lives.
Our grandfathers were best friends until my grandfather died, and after that, their grandfather kind of took his spot,” Zoey explained.
“All of you really do feel like you’re family,” I said in awe. “That’s so sweet.”
“It’s sweet until you realize that you can’t complain about your relationship because everyone around you is either related to him or has known both of you for your entire lives.”
Lark laughed at Rain and said, “But you knew what you were getting into!”
“It probably doesn’t help that millions of women all over the world would jump at the chance to have a reason to complain about him,” Dahlia added.
“You’re not helping,” Rain said with a frown.
I wondered what Dahlia meant by that comment, but I assured Rain, “I don’t know the guy, so feel free to complain about him to me.”
“I was pissed about something the other day, and he wasn’t listening to me at all,” Rain complained. “And when I called him on it, he told me to calm down. Like telling someone that has ever worked!”
“Sounds like he wants his own Dateline episode,” I commiserated.
The women laughed, and Rain grinned as she said, “See! She gets me!”
“They felt a disturbance in the force,” Lark warned as she looked out over the bar. “Here they come.”
Before I had a chance to turn around and look, I felt hands on my hips and then Zane propped his chin on my shoulder.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
“What’cha doin’?”
“Gossiping with the women and learning all of your secrets.”
“I don’t have any secrets. They’re impossible to keep in this family.”
“He’s got a point,” the gorgeous man who had his arm around Rain agreed.
“You must be Dateline ,” I joked as I stuck my hand out to shake his.
“Huh?” he asked in confusion as the women chuckled. “I’m Lucky.”
“I hope that holds out, but if I were you, I’d mind my p’s and q’s.”
“What did I do?” Lucky asked Rain.
“All the things, honey,” Rain answered with a slow shake of her head. “So many things.”
“That doesn’t sound good at all,” Garvey told him. “Better get to work fixing that, buddy!”
“As if you have any room to talk,” Zoey warned.
“That’s it!” Zane said as he spun my bar stool around, pulled me into his arms, and started walking with me toward the door. “I’m taking her away because y’all are a bad influence!”
“She’s gonna need this,” Garvey said as he grabbed my purse from where it sat on the bar. It nearly dropped to the floor before he asked, “What the hell are you carrying in this thing?”
“Life,” I said as I took my purse from him to put over my shoulder.
“That’s a mom purse,” Wren explained. “If we’re ever stranded on a deserted island, that is what will keep us alive.”
“Preach!” I yelled over my shoulder as Zane dragged me toward the door. “It was nice to meet all of you.”
Through all the laughter, I heard them saying their goodbyes. I had to laugh when Zane flipped them off before he pushed the door open and nudged me through it ahead of him.
The silence outside was deafening after the loud music and the constant din of the crowd inside the bar. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I took it in.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s quiet.”
“If you weren’t comfortable in there, you should have said something,” Zane said with a look of concern.
“No! It’s not that at all. I’ve just learned to appreciate peace and quiet when it’s around.”
“My mom must have felt that way. She told us that if we said anything before she finished her second cup of coffee in the morning, all of our teeth would fall out and we’d only be able to eat pudding and bananas for the rest of our lives.
” Zane shuddered before he said, “I know it was bullshit, but I’m still careful around her in the mornings because that prospect scares the shit out of me. ”
“Will you take me for a ride before you take me home?”
“I don’t want to take you home at all. I want to take you to my place.”
“I don’t know if . . .”
“No pressure, babe, but I said I’d give you a night out, and since you don’t have to be home at a specific time, I thought you might like to sleep in tomorrow.”
“And to sleep in a real bed,” I whispered to myself, ignoring my libido, which was screaming at me that what I really wanted was Zane Duke to be naked beside me in that bed.
“If it helps to put your mind at ease, call and check in with Dawson, and then we’ll take a ride.”
“And go to your house.”
“Would that be okay?”
I gave him a quick kiss, but then I put my arms around his neck and pulled him down to deepen it, not caring that we were in the middle of a parking lot where anyone could see us.
When I finally pulled away, Zane said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”