Page 21 of Live Love Steal (Destroyers MC: Skilletsville PA #2)

The one - Isobel

T wo months later…

The clock was moving too slowly. I’d only checked it for the twentieth time. It was only five minutes since I’d called, but this was…unorthodox, and important.

I’d asked Sketch and Noah to join me for Saturday dinner at my parents’ home. It hadn’t been my idea at all. But one too many missed oil changes, and Dad got suspicious.

At first, he thought I had been abusing my new-ish SUV that I’d bought as soon as I found a buyer for my Kia . But when he found out that someone else was working on his daughter’s car… you’d think I’d been caught cheating on him.

Mom set him straight and invited, no… demanded that I bring the new mechanic here for dinner. But there was no mechanic without his shadow. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. And they weren’t late, yet…

“ Did I tell you Audrey’s dating an accountant now?”

I paused in my last-minute fussing over a fruit board tray. “ An accountant? Wow .”

My mom heard the notes of disbelief in my voice. “ I know. Finally . No more drug dealers.”

I concentrated on stabbing the grapes, then the strawberries, on the little toothpick kabobs for Noah . Victor’s death made the news. A drug-related shooting, they called it. Suspects still at large, with no viable leads.

Audrey’s name got dragged into the press because her name was on Victor’s lease. That did not go over well with Dad , either. More than one family dinner was punctuated with, “ I’m glad that no-account-criminal is dead.” But those words never passed my lips.

“ She’s not bringing him, is she?” That would be fun… not. Me bringing the tattooed biker home, and Drey bringing a suited golden boy with a 401k, no doubt.

“ I don’t think they’re there yet.” Mom’s stare made my neck itch.

“ What ?”

She dipped her head and sent me that look. The same one she used to use when I didn’t do my homework. “ I know you sleep over there. I stopped by your apartment last week. There is a for lease sign in the window.”

Oh no. Busted .

“ I’m an adult.” I stabbed another strawberry.

“ Oh , I know that. But I wish you had said something.”

The guilt trip. “ I’ve been busy.”

“ Your promotion was two months ago.”

I smiled. The day after Jamie’s major botching of the pitch, and the big boss stepping in to replace me on the account, I was offered my former boss’s job.

That late-night email from the hospital paid off.

I now ran the division. And truly liked my job for a change.

With the major shift, and getting Noah acclimated at Sketch’s , and the addition on the roof, no longer just a hole in the ceiling, life was looking up.

Mom took out some cheese and started to unwrap it.

I fought the urge to vomit. “ Noah can’t have cheese.

They think his stomach issues might be lactose-related.

” Which was kind of hard for him at first, because he loved pizza.

Me ? If I never saw another Italian dish with noodles or cheese, I’d be just fine.

She sent me a look I couldn’t figure out.

“ What ?”

Her eyes got a little misty. “ Noah is your boyfriend’s son’s name?”

“ Yes . He’s seven. He’s so sweet and so talented. You’re going to love him.” I did.

Her smile wavered. “ I think I already do, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, your father may put the kibosh on all of this.” She wrapped up the cheese and helped me rinse off some veggies.

The doorbell rang, and I practically ran to the door from the kitchen.

But Dad beat me to it.

Noah and Sketch stood on my parents’ front porch. My dad was in-between us, so I couldn’t exactly run interference like I planned. Noah saw me and peeled off from his dad to run around my dad and give me a hug. “ Izzy !”

We’d seen each other this morning. I hugged him anyway.

The addition on the roof had two bedrooms, and Noah had claimed his room almost as soon as the paint dried, leaving us with the other one.

But every morning, he crawled into bed with me and Sketch because…

well, it was a thing. He’d grow out of it soon enough.

And I’d learned that first day to not be naked for too long in that building, not with Sketch’s friends and Noah around.

Bear still gave me shit over that.

I introduced Dad to Noah and then Sketch .

As they shook hands, there was some sort of manly pissing contest going on. “ You’re the man fixing my daughter’s car?” He twisted Sketch’s hand to look at the tattoos on the back.

“ I am. You run that shop down off ’81. I delivered parts to you last August . The Studebaker you couldn’t find a head gasket for?”

Dad cussed. “ Ain’t no one got that part. Thanks for finding a fabricator for me.”

Sketch grinned. “ That fabricator? You’re looking at him.”

Dad didn’t let go of his hand as he looked over his shoulder at me.

I smiled. Filling the moment was quite a conversation between us.

But seeing as it was my dad, and I was his oldest girl, no one else got to hear what we said to each other in that silence.

He turned back and clasped Sketch’s hand with a double grip. “ Nice to meet you… son.”

Well , shit . I shot a look at my mom. She scrunched up her nose and lured Noah into the kitchen for some fruit. Before dinner was ready, Dad and Sketch disappeared into the garage to ogle a ’67 Mustang in sore need of a funeral or about eight grand in parts.

Noah joined them.

Mom and I watched the driveway because Dad swore up and down he couldn’t get it started.

“ Are you sure I can’t give you some cookies to take home?”

“ Noah can’t have sugar yet either.” The list of foods we were slowly reintroducing was growing, but so were the other issues with stress.

He was trying to hide it from Sketch and I , but he missed his mom.

We were going to take a week off and go to Delaware so he could visit her. Maybe then things would get better.

“ Are you sure you’re ready for a family?”

I was. Sketch was. But we were taking things one day at a time for Noah . No major changes other than consolidating living spaces as soon as my lease situation freed up. “ We’re putting in a rooftop deck and potted garden.”

She stared at me with a strange expression plastered on her face.

“ What ?”

“ I met your father right after a horrible breakup.”

I’d never heard of this before. “ And ?” I prompted.

“ He was the one. Two weeks later, I knew, I just knew . Sometimes it’s fast, I guess.”

Audrey breezed in the door. At least I had the courtesy to knock before entering.

“ Hey , sis,” I said in greeting.

“ Who is that with Dad ?” She stared out the window.

“ That’s Izzy’s new boyfriend.” Mom’s tone was a little too bright.

“ He’s got tattoos everywhere .” She walked over and felt my forehead. “ Who are you? And what did you do with my sister?”

I grinned. She was just giving me shit. “ Did you see Noah out there?”

“ The munchkin? Yeah , I suppose you’re going to go all mother hen on him, aren’t you?”

“ She already has.” Mom leaned closer to Audrey , “ He can’t have cookies. Something about too much sugar.”

“ Sacrilege !” She faked a gasp and swoon, then added, “ Thank God you’re off my back for a change.

I thought for sure you’d be all up my ass about Smicktor Bling .

” She affected a falsetto after mangling her ex’s name, “ I told you he was a thug. He was bound to get shot one of these days or another, but at least he didn’t drag you down with him. ”

I froze, then laughed nervously. “ Did I really sound like that?” I know I’d been a bit… hesitant, but the way Audrey made me sound was… well, uptight.

My sister didn’t answer, except to lean a bit to stare out the window. “ You found the hood rat version of Dad .”

I had.

“ Complete with a little Mini - Me . Cool . What’s for dinner? Please say spaghetti.”

I choked a little.

“ We’re having roast. Noah can’t have cheese.”

Audrey looked at me with horror. “ You’re going to kill that kid with your evil ways.”

God , I hoped not.

She laughed at my face. I realized she was teasing me again. She directed her next comment to our mother, but it was angled at me. “ Mom , I think you’re going to need to do an intervention here.”

“ Me ? I think she’s doing a great job. She’s going to be a good step-mom.”

“ Step -mother… Damn , Iz . Better you than me.”

“ What about that accountant Mom says you’re dating?”

Audrey froze. Her smile faltered slightly. “ He’s …”

In the things left unsaid, Mom and I both winced. “ He didn’t make the cut, did he?” I stated, more than asked.

My sister sighed. “ Nope . Does your hood rat have a brother? Maybe some single friends?”

“ Dear Lord , protect this house and the people under its roof,” Mom crossed herself and muttered under her breath.

I could picture Audrey at the Destroyers ’ clubhouse drinking whiskey with Bear .

It was not a pretty image. Someone had to steer her clear of that mess.

Because I’d be damned if one of Sketch’s friends got tangled with Audrey .

They’d never survive her. And Sketch loved each and every one of them. “ He’s an only child.”

“ Too bad. I want one of those bad boys, just without all the ‘bad’ if you know what I mean? Did you know Victor stole my credit card?”

“ Good thing he’s dead,” I muttered. A little giggle threatened to take over. I counted under my breath to keep from losing it. Some nights, I still woke up in a cold sweat, remembering what his brains looked like scattered across the asphalt.

That didn’t stop my sister and mom from agreeing with the sentiment. Audrey even went as far as plotting increasingly inventive ways for his untimely post-mortem re-demise. I slipped my hands under the table and rubbed my tattoo. I was iron. Maybe a bit rusted, but unbreakable.

Sketch came in first, Noah following with my dad. All three of them had grease somewhere. Audrey showed Noah where the Dawn was so he would be spared the skin loss from the abrasive soap both Dad and Sketch used to scrub their hands clean.

Somewhere around the fruit cobbler Mom made for dessert, Audrey told Dad about the credit card issue.

Sketch and I shared a moment of silent commiseration as the inevitable, “ I’m glad he’s dead,” chorus bounced around the table. Sketch broke first, a grin taking over his face, his shoulders shaking. “ He sounded like a real piece of work. Do you mind if I have seconds on that cobbler?”

I pulled Noah’s plate closer. He’d eaten the fruit and declared the crumble “icky.” I pointed out the oatmeal in it. That was on his list of approved foods.

“ But it’s too sweet and not gooey,” he commented.

“ That’s because Mom doesn’t know how to make it any other way. Sorry .”

He picked up his fork and tried a bite. He chewed and pushed the pieces around until he found a small piece of peach stuck to the crust. It was gooey enough there, he declared.

I pulled apart mine and slipped a few more slices of fruit onto his plate.

Sketch leaned over to see what I was doing and kissed me on the hair.

In front of my family. I blushed. It turned redder as he didn’t stop staring at me.

Once he had my complete attention, he said, “ You’re beautiful, you know that?”

I couldn’t let that slide without comment. “ I love you.”

The collective silence around the table meant they’d all heard that. I picked at my dessert. Sketch put his arm over the back of my chair. He leaned in so he was close to my ear. Quietly , he said, “ I love you, too.”

They shouldn’t have been able to hear that. But the glances being shot around were embarrassing. They didn’t know that this was our first time saying it out loud. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I tried like hell to blink them into submission.

Sketch moved back from the table and slipped down to his knee.

“ Oh no, no-no-no… no pressure, please?” It poured out in a panicky pile of gibberish. He grinned and took my hand. His thumb rubbed across my tattoo.

“ Breathe .”

I did.

“ I love you.”

He said it loud enough that everyone heard.

“ That’s it?” Audrey asked? “ He’s not proposing?”

“ You heard her, no pressure. He’ll get around to it one of these days.

Probably when there isn’t an audience giving armchair commentary.

Pass the whipped cream.” Dad’s calm acceptance was just what I needed.

I leaned on Sketch and let myself relax against his shoulder.

It was nice to lean on someone for a change. And be leaned on.

It was the adult thing to do. And it didn’t suck.