Chapter 9
A Wedding Picnic
Thunder
I was grateful Flo had offered to throw a wedding picnic for the club, and everyone else had stepped up to make sure it was a success.
White tablecloths decorated the tables, and flower arrangements sat in the center.
I didn’t have to pretend I was at a real wedding reception, and I stopped playing host. I wanted to stand in the corner and watch my wife, and I didn’t think that was too much to ask for.
“What do you think they’re talking about?” Grizz questioned, coming up on my right side.
We were too far to hear, but Bear had them captivated.
She was gesturing wildly, and whatever it was couldn’t have been good.
Liz’s face was a little pale, but she maintained a small smile.
Dee pointed at Bear as she said something, and then the entire table cracked up laughing—everyone but my wife.
“Do you think Bear is telling stories about the past?” Sabre appeared on my left.
I raised my eyebrows, instantly on alert. “What’s this?”
“Sabre insisted we needed to have a weird sex talk with you, since we’re related.
” My head snapped in Grizz’s direction. “Hey, don’t look at me like that.
” He held his hands up, taking a step back.
“If my wife catches wind of this conversation, and I don’t have the right answers, she’s sending my ass to the couch. ”
I didn’t believe him for a second. “Do the two of you even argue, or just play with each other?”
“I don’t play enough.” He winked at me before throwing his head back and laughing.
I searched the yard for Buster, landing on her as she sat at one of the picnic tables with her friends.
Grizz must have felt her gaze. Their faces went soft for a beat as they watched each other.
“Nah, we’re good. She’s got other problems right now.
Stella stole Pumpkin, and Dead is hovering over the two of them. I’m in the clear.”
“He needs to admit defeat and claim her already.” Sabre shifted his stance, his shiny dress shoes noticeable in the sun.
I had my suspicions who had conned the brothers into wearing suits for the ceremony.
As soon as it was over, they had removed the jackets, throwing them into a pile, and putting their club cuts back on.
I focused back on Liz, but she hadn’t regained her color. Taking a step in her direction, I planned on rescuing her before Sabre stopped me.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Saving my wife.”
“She told me this morning you weren’t saving her.”
“If you were going to grill me, you should’ve done it sooner.
” If it had been anyone else, I would have kept walking across the yard.
I was one of the oldest members still alive, but Sabre was president, and I wouldn’t disrespect him like that.
I was going to have to stay where I was until these two got their point across.
He shrugged. “Maybe, but I’m doing it now. She thinks you’re being a good ‘friend’, and she’s not well enough to understand you’ve claimed her.”
I said nothing, letting his words simmer.
“I don’t want Aunt E hurt.”
“I don’t either.” It was the truth.
Sabre shifted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see the opportunity and take it. Your betrayal is going to be bigger than Gerry’s fucking cartel deals.”
Did I manipulate the situation? This wasn’t the first time I’d asked myself that question. I’d eventually come to terms, promising I’d never push her. If I stayed in the “friend zone” our entire marriage, so be it, as long as I got to be with her.
“He’s got a point,” Grizz said, matching Sabre’s stance. He leaned around me to look at his best friend. “You could have said that nicer, though.”
We were consenting adults, so what gives them the fucking right to question me?
“No, because if this crashes and burns, you and I are going to pick up the pieces. Do you really want that responsibility?” Sabre shot a look at Grizz. They were good at communicating without words, which made them the perfect pair to run the club, but I was livid.
“Both of you need to get the fuck out of here with this bullshit.” I wasn’t a vindictive man, but I wanted to remind them I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t played fair to win their Old Lady.
“You should have introduced Flo to the club sooner. You got lucky.” I snorted, turning towards Grizz.
“You got lucky Buster never tried to leave.”
Sabre’s face shifted. His brow furrowed, and he stared at me down the bridge of his nose.
I was sure I was about to get some stupid punishment for my outburst, but his phone rang.
Pulling it out of his pocket, he looked at the screen before answering.
“This better be fucking good.” We couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, but when Sabre said he was on his way, Grizz and I instantly followed.
We hurried to the front gate, and when B saw us, he opened the door to the shack.
“I left it out there, Prez.”
Sitting on the opposite side of the gate was a bouquet of blood-red roses, tied with a black ribbon. It looked harmless, but as we stood there staring at it, the ribbon caught fire, and the whole thing went up in flames.
***
Elizabeth
The men had tried to hide the burning flowers from the rest of us in the backyard, but when a prospect went running with a fire extinguisher, the jig was up.
I was one of the last to see the mess outside the gate.
It had clearly been a message for me, but I wasn’t sure anyone else had put two-and-two together.
The fire had cracked the glass vase, causing it to burst into a million pieces. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but a blood-red rose petal floated through the air, landing in front of my shoe.
Roses were my favorite.
Only one man had ever sent me blood-red ones.
However, when I brought it up to Thunder, he didn’t seem to think it was anything more than a neat trick.
“If I thought you were in danger, I’d call this trip off, and we’d have to make do in the clubhouse.
I just can’t see him sending flowers as some sort of warning besides the obvious. He’s here.”
I wasn’t sure I completely agreed, but I didn’t say a word. Changing, we’d let the club get their last-minute catcalls in before we hit the road. I was watching the mountains pass out the window when Thunder started up a conversation.
“Where did you get the dress?” he asked.
“Emily.” I shifted in my seat, and that was when I realized he was watching me out of the corner of his eye.
“I…told her…to pick.” My nieces had been too busy running around, and I hadn’t reminded them about the dress situation.
Instead, I’d pulled Emily aside, handed her some money, and told her to choose whatever she thought would work.
She’d taken How with her, not telling him until they walked into the boutique that it wasn’t for her.
“Well, she did a good job. You looked beautiful.”
I blushed at the compliment. “Handsome.”
“No, you just make me look good.”
We were about halfway there when I started counting down with the mile markers. This was a vacation, nothing more, but as each mile ticked by , it was hard to ignore past conversations. I’d been sitting at one of the picnic tables when the Old Ladies had surrounded me.
“That man hasn’t been with anyone since you came to the clubhouse, so if you do exercises or something for your hip, you should,” Dee whispered in my ear at mile marker 250. I turned my back to Thunder, pretending the trees sticking out of the mountains were interesting.
Raven’s eyes rolled back into her head at mile marker 260. “How was it with El Sombra Roja? I bet he was rough.”
Thunder sneezed, drawing my attention. I wondered if he expected us to share the same bed. You’re overthinking this. It’s not as if you haven’t shared a bed before.
“She was the only woman who pleased my man better than I did, so I wanted to know what she was doing. Bookie never went back.” Bear had drained the rest of her beer.
As Thunder drove past mile marker 275, he flexed his fingers against the steering wheel.
I imagined what they would feel like touching me.
I must have made a sound because Thunder laughed, tilting his head in my direction. “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.” It came out too quickly, and when he laughed harder, I knew he hadn’t bought my excuse.
“Tell me. We’ve got about twenty-minutes until we’re there.” He said it so casually that I didn’t process I was walking into a trap. Maybe at one time I would have been good at keeping secrets. I had sufficient experience. Unfortunately, the minute he scrambled my brain, I was putty.
“Bed?” I asked, hoping he would understand.
“What about it?” He smirked. “Are you tired?”
“Yes,” I answered hesitantly. It was true. We’d had a long day, starting with an early morning, and now the sun was setting over the water. I tried to fake a yawn, but it wasn’t convincing.
“There’s only one bed, if that’s what you’re asking me.”
“You…enjoy...this.” While I relished watching his face light up, I didn’t like it when I was the source of his entertainment.
“If you had just asked me, I would have told you, but I have a feeling Bear and the other Old Ladies said something that’s got you reeling. When I watched you from across the yard, they were yucking it up, but you didn’t look like you were having a good time.”
“Help…me.” I waved my hands around. They thought they’d been helpful, but in reality, they’d only brought up questions I didn’t have answers to. We were friends. Was I supposed to be attracted to him? Was I? There had been no reason to think about any of this until the other women hadn’t let it go.
“Do you need help, or were they trying to…be supportive?” He chuckled. “I’ve known them a long time, and they’re not shy.”
I clasped my hands in my lap, staring down at where my fingers interlocked. “Club…girls.” It was the closest I could come to actually answering him.
“We’re friends, Liz. There’s one bed in the room because I told them we were celebrating our honeymoon.
That’s it.” He held his hand out for mine, and I didn’t hesitate.
“You stay on your side, and I’ll stay on mine, and if we touch, it’ll be innocent.
” He smirked, and I braced for some innuendo.
“Now, if you want to use me in the middle of the night, I’m okay with that. ”