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“There you go, Buttercup, all good as new. And for being such a good patient, you get a sucker,” I told Knight and Natalya’s oldest, Cara, as I finished placing the bandage on her leg.

“Thank you, Uncle Bones. It feels better already,” she said with a sweet smile, showing she’d begun to lose her teeth.

God, it seemed like yesterday she’d been a baby.

Cara was the happiest and sweetest little girl.

She showed no lasting trauma from her first two years with her bitch of a mother. Thank God for that, too.

“You’re welcome. Next time, when Mommy tells you to stay out of the tree, or you’ll get hurt, do it,” I advised her, though I knew it would do no good.

“Uncle Bones, you know I’ll go do something else that’ll make me get scraped up,” she warned me, the little minx.

“I know, but I’m not worried about scrapes. Bad cuts and broken bones worry me and your parents. You’re a daredevil, but try to be more careful or ask for help,” I tried to prod her.

Cara tried to appease me and her mom by saying, “I’ll try. Thank you,” she said as she took the sucker I held out. She went running out of my treatment room. Natalya shook her head.

“I swear, Bones, she’s gonna give me heart failure.

To make things worse, Iain watches everything she does, and since he adores his big sister, he tries to do it, too.

He’s only one and a half! God, Knight wants another baby.

I love the kids, but if I get a third like those two, I’ll be in the loony bin,” she predicted.

I chuckled, which earned me the evil eye from her. “Natalya, I know it’s scary, and she could get hurt badly, but most kids do this, and they survive it. I was a lot like her as a child and got into plenty of mishaps, but I’m still here. At least when she gets hurt, she tells you right away.”

“Yeah, so she can see Uncle Bones and get him to doctor her up. She doesn’t want Knight or me to hardly touch her bandages at all after you apply one.

She asked if we had gotten permission from the real doctor to do it.

We tell her every time that you taught us how to do it, and you do it to all the parents, so that we can be your physician assistants.

She says she wants to be a doctor like you or a fighter pilot when she grows up,” Natalya said, grinning.

I laughed. Cara’s comments and exploits never failed to make me feel good. She was definitely a buttercup, or maybe Sunshine should be her nickname.

“I’m flattered. Although if I had to choose between those two, hmm, I don’t know. Fighter pilot sounds way cooler.”

“Come on, you can’t deprive us of your skills.

Taking care of children’s scrapes and bruises isn’t challenging, but you do get to do other things sometimes.

Bones, I want to ask you something, and I don’t mean to overstep, so please tell me if I’m out of line.

You seem sadder or more withdrawn lately.

Is there anything bothering you? Can I help? ”

As she stood there watching and waiting for my answer, I thought how lucky my club brother Knight was to have her.

And so were all my other brothers who had old ladies.

Their fortune in spouses and children contributed to the sadness she remarked on.

I thought I had hidden it. I guess not. Now, how did I answer without mentioning things I didn’t want to discuss?

The past needed to stay in the past, but it had been rearing its head hard for me lately.

“Natalya, thank you for the offer. I’ve been having a bunch on my mind. It’s not anything anyone can help with.”

“If you want, I can put you back on the dating site.” She winked.

“Hell no. If you do that shit again, Knight will have to hide you, and so will the rest of us. The first time you threw us single guys to the wolves was more than enough. Those women were freaking crazy. I didn’t think I’d get out of it alive,” I warned her.

She sighed. “I thought it was a good idea, and so did the other ladies. I had no clue that the women you’d choose or were matched with would all be batshit crazy.

I tease you about it, but I won’t do it again.

We just got the last ones to stop hounding you guys.

I’ve got to think of a better way to find you men a forever partner.

One that doesn’t have a bunch of sex-crazed weirdos.

Maybe you guys should start attending an actual church,” she mused.

“And that’s my cue to say get out and stop thinking. If we’re meant to find someone special, it’ll happen. No one had to manufacture a reason or way to hook you up with Knight, Jocelyn with Bull, etc. It just happened.”

“I know, but there hasn’t been anyone in this club who’s done it since Mace and Jessamy, and they’re coming up on two years next month since they met.

We’re overdue. The other clubs have been having people join them left and right.

There have been five in total since Mace.

I mean, Wrath over in Lake Oconee has found someone.

I thought that would never happen. He’s opened the door for that chapter to start settling down. We can’t fall behind.”

Gently pushing on her back, I nudged her toward the door. She ambled there with a faraway look on her face. It didn’t bode well for us. She was plotting. “I love you, Nat, but don’t do it,” I warned right before she disappeared.

I sat down to ponder what she said. She was right.

There hadn’t been any claims in Cherokee for two long years.

Would we single guys like to meet someone and settle down?

I thought many would. On a purely intellectual level, I knew I was one of them.

However, on the emotional side, I didn’t know if I could do it.

It wasn’t due to a lack of desire. It was all about trust. I wasn’t sure I could trust someone that much. And without that, it wasn’t worth it.

Natalya was right about another thing. I have been more withdrawn and sadder lately.

A part of it went back to her, the other old ladies, and the kids.

I loved them, don’t get me wrong, but when I saw them in the common room or having fun around the compound, they reminded me forcibly of what I didn’t have and probably wouldn’t.

I’d love an old lady and kids, and I wasn’t getting any younger.

I just turned thirty-nine less than a week ago.

Forty was looming ahead of me. Way back when, I thought I’d be married for several years and have a few kids by my age. Instead, I was alone.

I knew it could be far worse. In reality, I wasn’t alone.

I had a fantastic club family filled with brothers, their old ladies, and kids.

Our circle of friends extended to several other clubs and groups.

It was richer than it ever had been if you ignored that one hole.

My sadness had been made worse by the birth of two more babies within the last seven months.

Twisted and Zahirah’s son, Ransom, was born less than two weeks before Christmas.

Jessamy and Mace had their first baby, a cute little girl named Avenly, two and a half months ago.

But obsessing over it or allowing that one lack to ruin the rest of my life was ridiculous.

I needed to go back to having fun. This weekend was the one to do it.

It was Saturday, the start of the Fourth of July weekend.

The Fourth was on Tuesday this year, which meant a four-day weekend.

With Cara patched up, I could get back to the festivities.

None of the other clubs could join us this year, but that was alright.

We would have more than enough fun with just our club.

Today, we were having a cookout for ourselves and local friends.

This evening, we’d be out having bonfires, setting off fireworks, and more adult fun for those who wanted to play.

That part would happen after the kids were home in bed.

Closing up my treatment room and locking the door to prevent curious people from entering, I headed back out.

If someone wanted to see it, then I’d gladly show them.

I didn’t like having anyone rifle through my things.

I was particular about my medical supplies and equipment.

Some were pricey, and I didn’t want them broken.

As soon as I left the clubhouse and entered our backyard, for lack of a better word, I was handed a beer by an attentive prospect.

I wasn’t sure if it was Soren or Thoryn without seeing the cut he wore.

They were identical twins who joined as prospects at the end of last September.

In addition to those two, we had another, Dimitri, who joined us six months before the twins.

They were the replacements for our previous three prospects.

A year ago, Atticus was patched in as a member.

He was now called Spartan, a play on his Greek name.

Dimitri came early enough to be trained to replace him.

Six months later, in January, Rune and Bodie earned their patches.

The twins were their replacements. Rune was now called Lethal, and Bodie was Hazard.

“Thanks,” I said.

Whichever one it was gave me a chin lift and moved on.

I looked around. We’d done a great job on having this whole area behind the clubhouse done.

Not only did we have plenty of room for grills, but we also had an outdoor kitchen with seating galore and more than one firepit.

In addition, a large area was attached to it for the kids to play.

It had every jungle gym item you could think of and was a place where adults could sit and relax, yet still keep an eye on their kiddos.