Page 33 of Carver (Satan’s Angels MC #8)

“He hasn’t decided if he’s going to do that or not. We’re just trying to get the shop finished so he can sculpt again, that and his doctor appointments come before anything else.”

“Pfff, when did he ever let temporarily not being able to do something stop him? The club restored that old Triumph for him and it’s freaking incredible!

You sent me all those photos, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

Even if he can’t ride it and it’s more of a decorative antique, you could get one of those tricycle motorcycle things so you and Ellie could ride with him. ”

“Ellie? She’s a baby!”

“She won’t be forever,” Ginny reasons. She’s looking around the hall now and decidedly not focusing on the women again.

I don’t want to be hypocritical, but at the same time, how can I not be a protective big sister?

I can’t say that the people here are wonderful and then tell her not to show interest. I guess it’s just that no matter who the guy is she eventually falls for, no matter what he does or where he comes from, I’d want him to treat her right.

“Or trick out a minivan for all the other babies you’ll be having. I know you want a hundred.”

“Four isn’t a hundred.”

“It’s pretty much a hundred,” she snarks me back.

“But seriously. You can’t tell me that Dom’s not going to eventually just fall into this if he’s friends with everyone.

And if you’re friends with all the women and you know all their kids.

” She holds up a hand at the look on my face.

“Don’t get panicked. I’m not saying that it’s for sure and I’m not going to spread rumors or make things up.

Mom and dad are fine with that. Even Gabriel had to admit that everyone was ‘pretty much okay’, when I talked to him ten minutes ago, and we both know that nothing and no one is ever good enough for you and his niece. ”

“That’s not true. He loves Dom.” I find my dad and brother in the back of the crowd.

They’re talking to Wizard—the guy who does security for the club along with Dravin, and to Odin—a one-eyed older man who has a rough look about him and the stance of someone that screams ex solider or fighter, but when I did the rounds earlier with Ellie in my arms, he was very sweet and made a big deal about the hairbows I had to fight to get her wispy hair into.

“He loved him after a few years because you loved him, and you worked on him. Gabe. Not Dom. I mean, both, but I was talking about Gabe. He wouldn’t have come around if you weren’t so adamant.

He finally had to admit that he didn’t want to get bloodied by his own sister and you would have popped him right in the nose if he’d kept on refusing to see the good in man you were going to make a life with. ”

We both share a private laugh. That’s the truth.

“It’s so wild, in a good way, how you decided that when you were so young, and ten years later, lifetimes later, here you are.” Ginny sweeps her hands to encompass the whole room.

Here we are.

She makes it sound like we’re set, or that we’ve arrived, but I know that we still have so much work ahead of us. So much growth, so many challenges, a whole future. All of our lives.

“You have to fall in love over and over again. Some people live a few lifetimes, others thousands, but no one stays the same,” I say softly under my breath.

“I hope you keep growing together.” Ginny grasps my hand and squeezes tight. “I love seeing you so happy. Ellie too.”

“She adores being the center of attention.”

Even in my mom’s arms, Ellie keeps motioning wildly, wanting to see and do everything and meet everyone. My poor mom is acting more like a taxi service while a demanding one-year-old steers her.

“Okay, well, what if I started doing the rounds as well? I know you already thanked everyone for coming, but as family, I feel obligated to offer double thanks.” She winks at me, so I know trouble’s coming. “I might just ask the single looking ones if they indeed are single.”

“Ginny, please don’t.” I’m not sure why I bother begging. It’s not going to get me anywhere.

“I might be your little sister and the baby of the family, but I’m an adult now. There are so many hot baddies here.” She sends me a sly smirk after doing another slow sweep of the hall. “And a few daddies.”

“All the daddies are firmly taken. Irrevocably and absolutely taken .” I have no idea if that’s true or not, but I want it to be.

“What about them?” Ginny’s staring directly at the twins.

They’re Canadians who broke down here on a road trip and just stayed.

Or was that someone else? I had Lynette, Willa, Ella, Lark, Haley, Tarynn, and Kael give me a rundown on the men in the club, at least those who were there the day we did the impromptu cookout in our backyard after setting up the house, but I’d just met them and had trouble following everything.

“Twins are double the fun,” Ginny sighs.

“Not them. Anyone but them,” I insist. “One of them is married to his truck for starters.” Though don’t ask me which one it is. Grave, I think. “They’re names are Grave and Decay for another. With names like that, it’s pretty much just a parade of bad news.”

“But you just said the daddies—”

“Anyone but them and the daddies,” I correct.

I’m so happy that the twins give each other a coded look and move off towards the kitchen. It’s just about that time where the food is going to be set out on the folding tables at the front. Maybe they’re going in to help.

“What about him?” Ginny does a head nod thing at the man who just exited the kitchen. Tall, but muscular, with glasses, Wizard looks the part of the techy guy, but I have this feeling that he plays it up. Deceptively nerdy and all that.

“Wizard? He does security for the club. He almost never comes out to any events, so it’s an honor that he’s here for this.

” He’s only here for a little bit because Dravin also helps with that now and he convinced Wizard to leave the prospects at the club for an hour while they both monitor everything remotely.

“Is he one of those slightly nerdy, techy guys who is secretly super hot?”

“Does he look like he needs to be secretly hot?” I shouldn’t be asking Ginny that.

“Not at all. But if he is, then I’d like to know.”

“He’s busy,” I stress. “All the time. He takes his job seriously. Everyone here is pretty busy all the time.”

“Is that right?”

“Club stuff. Bike stuff. Miscellaneous stuff.”

“Miscellaneous?” She throws back her head and laughs. Her long, curly hair bounces down her back and flows over her shoulders. Her long lashes sweep up and down, her eyes coming alive, a huge smile transforming her from pretty to something extraordinary.

Is it wrong that I want to shove her into the nearest closet when her laughter draws more than a few stares, and more than a few of those are male and linger?

“You know how we used to say farm stuff to the kids that lived in town when they asked us what we were doing after school because we didn’t have an hour to stand there and explain all of it?”

“It would have been like mansplaining but for kids.”

“That’s what miscellaneous is.”

“Oh my gosh, look!” Ginny points through the big open kitchen windows.

It’s done up like a canteen, with the sliding wooden doors pulled back, revealing everything that’s going on.

The backdoor is shut now, which probably means that all the trays of burgers and hotdogs are ready.

The old ladies will be rushing in there at any second to lay out all the salads, deserts, side dishes, buns, and condiments.

They’ve kept it all safely in the kitchen so there was no incident with kids plowing into it.

Ginny’s not pointing at buns or burgers, though. I lean over to where she’s standing and from here, I can see Grave and Decay sticking candles in the three-tier cake.

Kael got it for us, and I insisted on something small and inexpensive, but she wasn’t going to let that stand. It looks like something you’d see at a freaking wedding.

Dravin turns around with a lighter in his hand, Dom right beside him.

“Wait!” Dom’s shout echoes through the hall, but it’s the loud bang that silences everyone.

A few of the women scream, kids hit the floor, men duck. Wizard races into the kitchen, pulling three phones out of his pocket like this is a security breach that he failed to see coming.

I basically grew up on a farm and I know what that sound was.

Firecrackers.

“You- you asshole!” Dravin roars. “Why the hell would you stick a firecracker in a birthday cake?”

I guess the terror twins earned their name. One shuffles off out of the kitchen and the other stays behind to get the tongue lashing that’s going to be coming his way.

Tyrant and Raiden were both in the kitchen already, but as Prez and VP, they step up. Tyrant quickly blocks the view of the cake while Raiden hurries out of the kitchen. His wife, Ella, rushes up to him.

“Sorry. It’s okay.” Raiden spreads his hands out in that don’t panic, we have it under control gesture.

“Grave thought it would be hilarious to put a firecracker on the cake and Dravin wasn’t paying attention and he lit it with the other candles.

He’s going to be coming out here immediately to apologize for scaring everyone.

” His gaze flickers to me and he shifts uncomfortably.

He’s a big man and doesn’t look like much of anything could cause him to be discomfited, so that’s rather alarming.

He takes his wife’s hand, and they make their way across the hall. I stand stock still. It’s quiet in here. So quiet that Ella’s heels of her knee-high boots click loudly and Raiden’s shit kickers squeak against the hardwood.

Ella is a blonde bombshell, curvy and insanely gorgeous. In her tight leather dress and those boots, she’s a total knockout. She hugs me without hesitation.

“I’m so sorry this happened, honey. The cake is- uh- it’s a little worse for wear.”