Chapter Thirteen #2
“This isn’t funny. The bitch broke my nose,” the girl whines, her voice grating on my nerves worse than anything else ever has.
“It is funny. Wren doesn’t just randomly go around punchin’ people in the face.
She doesn’t hit anyone if they don’t push her,” Zach states as he stops laughing and turns a glare in the girl’s direction.
“We’ve known her since she was eighteen years old and she’s the least violent person I’ve ever met.
So, what I think happened is you pushed her buttons, got in her face, and tried to attack her without provocation.
Maybe she called your ass out then about not pullin’ your weight in the clubhouse and doin’ what you were all told to do before we left.
Today is not about your selfish asses. It’s about tellin’ Razer goodbye and supportin’ those who love him. ”
“Judge will take care of all of you when he gets back,” the girl says as she tosses her hair over her shoulder and turns to walk away from us.
“What needs to be done, Wren?” Tristan asks me as I turn to head back in the kitchen.
“How long before everyone gets here?” I return so I can figure out what needs to happen now.
“About twenty minutes at most,” he answers as the rest of the Rebels scatter and disappear from the common room.
“If you could check the grills, that would be amazing. I moved them closer to the back kitchen door and turned them on already. I’ve got the steaks in the marinade, chicken is in another container, and the ribs have been cooking since I started,” I tell him as we make our way to the kitchen and I open the lids on the crockpots to check the ribs.
“They smell so damn good, Wren,” Zach says as he moves closer and looks over my shoulder.
“When you mention the marinade, are you talkin’ about the one Mrs. Smythe told us about?” Tristan asks me as I look over my shoulder at him.
“The one and only. I used her exact recipe and they’ve been soaking all morning long.
I can’t wait to taste it so I can see if it’s as good as I remember.
There’s also burgers and hot dogs for anyone who doesn’t want the rest of the meat.
I made stuffed shells as well. I was going to make garlic bread, but I didn’t see anything to use,” I tell my foster brothers as they stare at me in shock.
“Did you do all that on your own?” Zach questions me as he turns me to face him.
“I did. I’ve cleaned the kitchen, the common room, and I was going to restock the bar but I didn’t get that far.
I made cookies, brownies, and fudge also.
The brownies and fudge have to be baked still, but I was waiting until I got the cleaning done so I could pay attention to them.
Oh, and I made salads too. I plan on preparing baked potatoes with the huge bag I found in the pantry.
I don’t want them to go bad. I’ll split it in half so there’s baked and roasted potatoes.
Will that be enough food for everyone?” I ask them as I look between Tristan and Zach.
“That’s more than enough food, Shortcake,” Tristan says, slipping and calling me an old nickname. “I can’t believe none of the girls fuckin’ helped you. Diamond must have said somethin’ to them. What I want to know is what was said to you by her and why you broke her nose.”
“She said it was about time I learn my place and started doing my job. I called her out on being lazy and not doing her job. That’s when she questioned who I was to talk to her like that.
I said I was above her since I was a guest here.
I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I went with it.
I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds while you were all gone,” I tell them as they start laughing.
“She made the first move?” Zach questions me as I look at him and nod in response. “You’ll be good. We’ll explain what happened when the guys get back and they won’t be pissed at you. I have a feelin’ the girls are gonna be in trouble though. All of them.”
“Let’s get to work. Wren, you can rest. You’ve done more than enough while we were gone,” Tristan says and I shake my head because I’m not done yet.
“I’ve still got stuff to do. I have to bake all the desserts and reheat the shells so I can add the cheese.
I want to check on the meat and salads as well.
Hopefully everything can be done by the time everyone gets back so I can disappear.
I mean I know the desserts won’t be ready, but I can hide in here while you put the food wherever it goes durin’ a wake,” I tell them as I head for the refrigerator to pull out the batter.
“Wren, you’ve got to be in pain. I can see it in the way you walk.
You’re wincin’ and tryin’ not to. Rest,” Zach orders me as I look at him and shake my head.
“Yeah, I know you’re stubborn as fuck and won’t rest until you’re done with everythin’.
You’re pushin’ yourself too damn much and it’s only gonna set you back. ”
“I’ll be careful. I just want to get this done. Then I’ll lay down. Maybe one of you can put the cream on my back after I take a shower,” I tell them as I turn on the oven and grab the cookie sheets and cake pans for the brownies.
“You know we’ll always do what we can to help you. If that means rubbin’ the cream on your back, we’ll get it taken care of,” Tristan says as he goes out to check on the grills while Zach heads out to the bar.
I start to load everything into the ovens to bake.
When the first batch is in, I pull the ribs from the crockpots and prepare them for the grill.
Tristan makes his way back inside and together we carry everything out so he can get everything cooking.
I help Zach bring the clean glasses to the bar from the kitchen.
With every move I make, the muscle spasms get worse, but I ignore them the best I can.
I’m not used to dealing with this amount of pain for hours on end, but I’m not about to take anything that could hurt the baby.
I’ll take it easy once everything is done here.
Fury and the rest of the guys won’t allow me to do anything else for the rest of the night if they have their way.
Hopefully they don’t find out what’s going on because I’m not sure if I can handle their anger on a day like today. Hopefully we won’t have to find out.