Chapter Twelve Samantha #2
“After we caught Annabel and Rev screwing in the pantry, you had to tell them all about seeing Deacon’s ass when he and I had done the same,” Alexandra said, her eyes twinkling.
Annabel groaned. “Thank you for that commentary, Alex. Now anyone who didn’t know about Rev and me does.”
“That must be one hell of a pantry,” I mused.
Kim winked. “Maybe you and Bishop can take a turn in there.”
“Once again, we’re just friends.” I knew regardless of how many times I said that, the women were not going to believe me.
I tried ignoring the voice inside me that couldn’t help wondering what it would be like if Bishop and I were more than friends.
At the same time, my libido, which was limping along after an extreme dry spell, couldn’t help getting hot and bothered about the thought of having sex with Bishop in the infamous pantry.
“And there’s nothing wrong with them being just friends. Right, ladies?” Annabel said.
“Of course,” Alexandra replied.
When I looked at Kim, she wore a surprisingly somber expression. “I know it’s probably hard for you to think of more with Bishop after what happened with Marley.”
I sucked in a harsh breath as her words took me off guard.
“Yes. It is.”
She cupped my cheek tenderly. “Your Marley was a good man, and I know you miss him bad. But just don’t forget that life is for the living.
I lost a lot of time I could have had with my Breakneck by hiding in my grief for my Case.
I finally had to realize that my Case wouldn’t want me to be unhappy the rest of my life.
He would want me to have a good life, and to make his brother, who had been through a rough patch, happy. ”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
Kim smiled. “Just know that we’re all here for you and want you to be happy . . . especially if it’s with Bishop.”
I laughed along with the others. “Okay.” Realizing I was still holding the present, I handed it to Annabel. “I hope you know I didn’t mean anything by getting Rev something. Bishop said he loved nonfiction books on history.”
She smiled. “It’s fine. In fact, it would be pretty rude to show up at someone’s party without a gift.”
Kim snickered. “Of course you would say that, Miss Manners.”
Waving her hand dismissively, Annabel replied, “Whatever.
Besides, Rev loves gifts. I swear he acts just like a little boy again on his birthdays.”
“So, what did you get him?” I asked.
“Eggs,” Annabel replied, with a dreamy smile.
I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Does he like to eat them or something?”
Alexandra and Kim busted out laughing at my remark, which earned them a disapproving look from Annabel. “They’re not chicken eggs to eat. They’re my eggs,” Annabel replied.
With a shake of my head, I said, “You guys like to give some strange gifts around here. I’m not sure he’s going to enjoy the book I got him.”
“Trust me, Rev’s a major history nerd.”
“That makes me feel a little better.”
Annabel smiled. “You want to hear why I’m giving my husband eggs for his birthday?”
Although I knew a lot about Annabel, this was certainly something that hadn’t been recorded. Teasingly, I said, “I’m not sure I want to, but I really need to get the whole story.”
After drawing in a deep breath, Annabel proceeded to tell me things that brought tears to my eyes.
While I had known from the file that she had been kidnapped and sold into human trafficking, I had no idea the full extent of what had happened to her.
The miscarriage that led to an emergency hysterectomy had been left out of thefile, as well as the emotional toll it had taken on her.
When she finally finished, all I could say was “Wow.” Although I wasn’t a crier, especially when I was around others, I found moisture blurring my vision.
“Annabel is the strongest woman I know,” Alex said as tears sparkled in her eyes.
“All my strength goes to Rev. If it wasn’t for him . . .” She forced a tight smile to her face. “Well, if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here in more ways than one.”
“That’s really sweet,” I murmured. It was hard imagining how the version of Rev that Annabel painted could also serve as the president of an MC. He seemed more like a college professor than a gun- toting vigilante. Once again, I realized that my preconceived notions were far from the mark.
“He’s the most amazing man I’ve ever known.
That’s why I didn’t want to wait anymore.
Rev thinks we’re waiting two more years for me to finish vet school and start a practice before I have my eggs harvested.
But since I’m not carrying the baby and we have tons of helpers around, I see no reason to keep him waiting any longer. ”
“Well, I have to say that my gift certainly pales in comparison to that,” I teased.
Annabel laughed. “Don’t worry. He doesn’t get to know about the eggs until later tonight when we’re alone. He has a simple gift from me in the pile.”
“That’s good to know.”
Willow returned with her arms laden down with ketchup bottles. “Is this enough?” she asked as she started setting them down on the table.
“Yep. I think we’re good,” Annie said.
Once she was free of the ketchup, Willow turned her attention to Annabel. “Has Poe come by today?”
Annabel grimaced. “Shoot. I totally forgot to feed him today.” Willow’s face lit up. “I’ll go feed him.”
“Thanks, sweetie.”
The next thing I knew, Willow had grabbed my hand. “Come on, Sam. I want you to meet Poe.”
“Okay,” I replied. Considering all the stories that Bishop had told me about Poe, I was pretty anxious to meet him. “See you guys later,” I called over my shoulder.
“We’ll let Bishop know where you are,” Alex said.
“Thanks.”
Willow dragged me down the hill at almost warp speed. I barely got a chance to take in the compound that I had read so much about.
Of course, I had seen pictures in the files, but it wasn’t the same as seeing it for myself. It made everything so much more real to see it in person. It once again reiterated the fact that the Raiders were people.
When we reached the cul-de-sac, we veered off to a house on the left. Instead of going up the stairs to the front porch, Willow took me around the side of the house. The backyard ended where the woods began.
In a singsong voice, Willow called, “Poe! Come out, come out, wherever you are, Poe!”
I watched in amazement as some of the bushes at the edge of the woods began to rustle. Within a few seconds, the large rack of a deer became visible through the foliage. Willow clapped her hands. “Come on, Poe. Come and get your corn.”
She then abandoned my side to go up on the back porch. When she reappeared, she had a cupful of dried corn in her hand. “He loves this stuff.”
“He does?”
Willow nodded. “It’s funny to listen to him eat it, too. He chomps
it so loud,” she said, with a giggle.
I couldn’t help laughing at both her enthusiasm and the fact that I was about to meet the pet deer of hardened bikers. It was all just too bizarre. It was sure as hell not something I would’ve found in any of the files on the Raiders, nor would anyone at the bureau have believed me if I told them.
Poe started slowly out of the woods, putting one long leg in front of the other. But then as if he sensed a stranger, he momentarily faltered. Willow shook the cup at him. “Come on, Poe. Samantha won’t hurt you.”
His love of corn overrode any remaining fear.
He quickly made his way across the backyard.
When he was in front of us, Willow reached over and scratched along the ridge of his nose, which he appeared to enjoy.
Then she poured out the cup’s contents onto the grass in front of her.
Poe immediately dipped his head and began to eat.
At the loud crunching, Willow laughed. “See?”
I smiled. “Pretty funny.”
As Poe continued to chomp on the corn, Willow asked, “Wanna pet him?”
“You think he’ll let me?” I questioned.
“You won’t know unless you try.”
“True.” I reached out my hand and brushed it down Poe’s flank.
“Interesting.”
“What is it?”
“He feels different than I thought he would. He’s soft but not as furry.”
“His coat is pretty thin now that it’s summertime. It’ll thicken up again in the fall,” Willow said, matter-of-fact.
I grinned down at her. “My, my, aren’t you the deer expert?”
“After Aunt Annabel rescued Poe, she and Uncle Rev bought me lots of books on deer.”
“I hear Uncle Rev loves to read.”
Willow nodded. “Yeah, he loves books almost as much as my mommy and I do.” She ran her hand down Poe’s spine. “Aunt Annabel knows the most about animals because she’s in vet school, but she likes all kinds of books, too.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I got Uncle Rev a book for his birthday.”
“He’ll love it.”
“But I didn’t tell you what it was about.”
Willow gave me a little huff. “You don’t have to. He loves all books.”
“Yeah, well, what if it’s a book about doll collecting?” I countered with a smile.
Wrinkling her nose, Willow said, “No. He wouldn’t like that one very much. He would probably end up giving it to me.”
I laughed. “You don’t have to worry. I skipped the one about doll collecting and got him one about military strategies in the Revolutionary War.”
“It sounds boring, but I know Uncle Rev will love it.”
“Thank you. While I would like to take all the credit for picking it out, your uncle Bishop gave me some suggestions.”
“Hello there,” a voice called behind us.
I whirled around to come face-to-face with Bishop’s mother, Elizabeth Malloy. After reading about her in the bureau’s files, I couldn’t help being intrigued by her. As a child and teenager, she had been the epitome of a Goody Two- shoes. Just as she graduated with honors from