Page 20

Callie

I was as nervous as hell as I waited for Sunny to pick me up. Sunny had mentioned a restaurant, but that was off the menu after taking one look at his face today. I smoothed the dress I was wearing down my thighs nervously. Then I jumped as there was a knock.

I opened the door, ignoring Freddie and Jack peering around the corner of the living room at me.

Sunny stood there holding a wrapped gift box.

My mouth dried as I took him in. He wore black jeans that clung to him lovingly.

A navy-blue button-down was under his cut, which surprised me, and his hair and beard had been trimmed.

The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, giving me a peek of sparse chest hair.

“Hey,” he rumbled, and I smiled shyly.

“Hi,” I replied.

“This is for you,” he said and handed me the box.

I frowned, unwrapped it, and broke into a huge grin. “Who told you?” I asked as I pulled out a Blackhawk’s hockey top.

“Turn it around,” Sunny ordered, and I did and gasped.

“Tye Michaelson signed it!” I squealed.

Sunny laughed at my joy as I hugged it to me. “Tye is Phoe’s son, I’m sure you realised.”

“I do, but I’d never ask her for a jersey,” I cried.

“Come on, kitten, let’s go eat,” Sunny suggested as I stroked the jersey.

“Here, I’ll take that,” Freddie interrupted and took it from me. For a moment, I wanted to snatch my treasure back, but Sunny grabbed my hand, and my attention focused on him.

Sunny led me down the path to a black Ford Ranger. He helped me up into it and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“You’re beautiful, Callie,” he said, facing me. His hand cupped my face. “Breathtaking, actually.”

“Thank you. You’re handsome yourself,” I replied, not mentioning the bruises and cuts.

“Apart from my war wounds from Chance. I’m happy to say he looks worse than me.” Sunny chuckled as he pulled away from the house.

“Should I say good?” I asked.

“Yeah, asshole can hit, that’s for sure. Old age ain’t slowed him down,” Sunny said with a chuckle.

“I can’t believe you two got into a fight,” I replied.

“Oh, Callie, it was a total knock-down and drag-out. But we finally cleared the bad air between us. That is something positive. Shit’s been building up ever since I returned from the dead.”

“I’ve got bits and pieces of that.”

Sunny glanced at me. “Would you like to hear the full story?”

“Yes, please.” I honestly did because it would help me understand him and Hellfire.

I listened for twenty minutes as Sunny drove, and he explained how the club had gone bad and the people who’d died.

Sunny didn’t hold any of the ugliness back, and the story was horrific.

Innocent people and children had been killed, and the whole thing was nasty.

I was saddened at those children’s needless deaths and horrified such evil existed.

I had my own nightmares to deal with, but I’ve never felt death close to me. Even when beaten with a chain. When Sunny finished, he fell quiet and allowed me to assimilate everything. I was startled when I saw Sunny parked up.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Spearfish Falls. Stay there, Callie,” Sunny said, getting out. He walked around to my door and opened it. Sunny held his arms out, and I slipped into them, sliding down his body as he helped me out. A blush started at my cheeks as I felt every inch of his muscled body.

“Wait a sec, kitten.” Sunny headed for the back of his truck. He pulled out a picnic basket, and I smiled.

“This isn’t what I had in mind, but it’s perfect,” I murmured as he took my hand.

Sunny winked at me and led me into Spearfish Canyon Nature Area.

As we approached the Falls, I could hear the roar of water, and then suddenly, I saw twinkling lights.

Beside the falls was a table and two chairs, and fairy lights had been threaded through the trees.

I gaped in total surprise as Sailor turned towards me and smiled.

“Everything’s ready,” he said to Sunny. “I’ll be back at my truck.”

“What’s this? Are we allowed to do this?” I gasped, struck by the beautiful scene in front of me. The setting sun glistened off the water, and reds, yellows, and oranges gleamed on the trees and surroundings.

“I know it’s not dark yet, but it’ll soon be, and the fairy lights will light up the water,” Sunny said.

“And I got permission, don’t worry, Callie.

We’re not breaking any laws and won’t get kicked out.

” Sunny walked over to a chair and held it out for me.

I smiled as I sat down, and Sunny sat opposite me.

He opened a cooler near the table and pulled out a bottle of white wine and a beer.

“Freddie told me your favourite wine, and as I’m driving, this is non-alcoholic.” Sunny indicated his beer.

“That is thoughtful of you.”

“I don’t drink and drive, Callie. That’s something I heavily frown upon.”

Sunny opened the wine and poured me a glass as he pulled two bowls from the cooler.

“I asked your team for your favourite foods. So, if this is wrong, I’m kicking their asses,” Sunny declared.

I laughed as he unwrapped them, and I found a crayfish and prawn cocktail with rose marie dressing.

“Oh, I do love this!” I exclaimed.

Sunny grinned as he placed a bowl in front of me. “Freddie said you can make a huge bowl of this and just sit there eating it with some bread and butter.”

“This is perfect, you’ve even got the chopped-up cucumber and spring onions in it, too!”

“Anything to make you happy,” Sunny said, and I smiled at him.

“This does,” I replied.

Sunny produced some rustic bread and chilled butter, and we talked as we ate. Sunny wanted to know more about what we found at Ravenberry Manor, and I was excited to tell him some of our discoveries.

“How does Aunt Aggie, Lavender, Ronnie, and Chatter feel?” he asked.

“They’re bemused, but Aunt Aggie says she knew the Manor was haunted. She says that she used to see the ghosts a lot as a child.” “You got any on camera yet?”

“We’ve caught a few things,” I answered cautiously.

“Like?”

“Are you really interested?” I wondered if Sunny was humouring me.

“I believe in spirits, Callie. Several times, I have sensed Bullet watching over me. Stupid as it sounds, that has offered me comfort. And I’ve smelt whiskey, cigars, and his aftershave all together a few times. I’m sure that’s why Mom never moved on. She senses Bullet, too,” Sunny said solemnly.

“Bullet was your step-dad, right?”

“Lawfully, yeah. But emotionally, that guy was my dad. Blood didn’t mean anything to him. Bullet claimed me as his son, and that was all he cared about.”

“Tell me about him.”

“He was bigger than life,” Sunny began, and I listened as he described with love the man he’d lost when he was fourteen. “Bullet was someone I strive to be every damn day.”

“He would be proud of you,” I offered.

“I’ve tried to be the father to Liv that Bullet was to me. He was taken far too soon, but his lessons stuck with me,” Sunny stated. He collected our bowls and placed them back in the cooler, and then he pulled two empty plates out.

I watched as he opened the picnic basket and started laying finger foods on them. I began giggling as Sunny piled them high.

“Did you bring enough?” I teased as he fished out hummus and pita breads.

“Hope so, I eat a lot. This ain’t quite a steak, but it’s good fun.” Sunny grinned.

As we ate, we watched the sun set and the moon rise. The lights twinkled and helped the moonlight create a different scene of stunning beauty.

“This is far better than a restaurant,” I murmured, and Sunny beamed at me.

“Good.” “Nobody has ever done anything like this for me. Hell, I didn’t even get to go to prom,” I muttered.

“That’s sad. My senior prom was a disaster.”

“Tell me,” I begged.

Sunny looked embarrassed but proceeded to make me laugh as he described the nightmare his prom had been.

Chance and Bear had crashed it alongside Drake Michaelson, and his girl had ended up kissing Drake, and they’d got into a fight.

Big Al had collected all five of them from the police station, where the girl’s father had banned her from ever having contact with Sunny again.

“And have you?” I asked, giggling.

He made a face. “I saw her when I moved back. At first, she didn’t recognise me. Boy, did I have a lucky escape.”

“Tell me!”

“You know those women who wear grubby nineteen-eighty shellsuits?”

“You mean those brightly coloured nylon tracksuits from the eighties?”

“Yeah.”

“No!” I squealed.

“Oh, yes! She wore one of those in faded purple and yellow. Her hair was unwashed and yanked messily back in a ponytail, and she’d piled on weight. I’ve got nothing against women with curves, in fact, I love curves, but this was unhealthy. Well, she caught sight of me and… yuck.”

“You can’t stop there!” I exclaimed, giggling.

“She hit on me. In that outdated shellsuit, she squealed and babbled like a breathless teenager again. It was nasty,” Sunny shuddered as I cried with laughter.

“Stop laughing, woman, it was a nightmare. I couldn’t escape her either, she grabbed hold of me, and she’d a grip Hulk Hogan would appreciate. Seriously, I nearly called the club for an extraction.”

I howled even harder at the anguished look on Sunny’s face, and he began laughing with me.

“Do you have any dating disasters?” he asked.

“No. Not really. I got screwed over by my first boyfriend and rarely dated after him. Adam did enough damage to my ego,” I replied and wished I kept my mouth shut as Sunny scowled.

“Tell me what happened, please, Callie,” he said softly.

I explained about Adam and how I had been taken in, and while Sunny kept it from his face, I felt his anger.

“Good for you taking that company to court.” Surprisingly, Sunny seemed proud I’d done so.

“Yeah, it would have been nicer to get a bigger payout, but I survived.”

“Shouldn’t have been forced into the position to survive, and those fuckers blacklisted you.”