Page 5

Dice

“You ever think things are gonna go back to the way they were before this whole Boone and Gibbs shit?” Aero dropped onto the barstool next to me with a tired groan.

Pirate was behind the bar, drying a glass with a rag that had seen better days. He didn’t say anything—just grabbed two beers from the fridge and popped the tops before sliding them across the bar to us.

“Dinner in ten minutes!” Adalee called from the kitchen. I could already smell the tacos. My stomach answered before I did.

I grabbed my beer and took a long pull before answering Aero. “You mean normal when we ate frozen pizza every night?”

He chuckled and rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Yeah, I don’t want to go that far back. I just mean back to where we could leave the clubhouse without making sure we’re packing and lookin’ over our shoulders every step.”

I glanced around the clubhouse. The walls were the same, the bar was the same, hell, even Yarder’s “No puking in the sink” sign was the same—but we weren’t. Not after everything with Boone and Gibbs. “Yeah,” I said with a nod. “That would be nice to get away from. But I’d still like to keep the three meals a day cooked by Adalee.”

“Facts,” Aero muttered with a grin. “I’m also pretty fond of Sloane keeping my bed warm.”

Pirate, ever the wiseass, leaned on the bar. “Seeing as she is your wife, you might want to move that above having home-cooked meals.”

I shrugged and smiled into my beer. “Food is at the top of my list.”

“That’s because you’re the only one here who doesn’t have an ol’ lady,” Pirate said pointedly.

And I was more than okay with that.

Right now, all I could think about was Stretch and whatever hell he’d crawled into to try and save the club. I didn’t know what kind of deal he’d made or what line he’d crossed, but I couldn’t get it out of my head that he was doing it to protect us. Protect the club.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t tearing me apart.

I hadn’t called him again. Couldn’t. Wouldn’t. I had no idea if that last call had gotten him in deeper or maybe painted a target on his back.

“Dice!”

Yarder’s voice thundered across the common room. I turned on the stool and dreaded whatever fresh hell was coming my way.

“Oh hell,” I muttered and took a long sip before I turned fully to face him. “Yeah?” I called.

“You’re off the hook with Leo and Brynn,” he said and crossed his arms as he stood in the doorway to the hallway. “Leo was only available to text, so I let him know what you did.”

He said I was off the hook, but the vein in his temple told me I was anything but. “Okay,” I replied cautiously.

“Stretch just got three weeks to figure out whatever the fuck he’s trying to do before they move on Boone and Gibbs.” Yarder’s jaw clenched. “And Stretch, too.”

My stomach tightened.

“And what happens if Boone and Gibbs move before then?” Aero asked.

“Then Leo and Brynn will move faster,” Yarder growled, eyes locking onto mine like twin lasers. “You better be right about Stretch.”

And then he turned on his heel and disappeared down the hallway.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and turned back to Aero. “You know one more thing I wouldn’t mind going back to the way it was before Boone and Gibbs?”

“What’s that?”

“Yarder.”

Aero laughed under his breath. “Yeah?”

“I don’t remember him being such a…”

“Asshole?” Pirate offered.

“Dick?” Aero chimed in.

I pointed between them. “Yeah. Both of those. You’d think having Poppy around would’ve mellowed him out.”

Aero shook his head. “Nah. With each ol’ lady, Yarder has one more person to keep safe. Pretty sure he’s at his wits’ end. You getting an ol’ lady would likely send him over the edge.”

I scoffed. “No plans on that, brother.” There hadn’t been a woman in years who had even turned my head to want to keep them around for longer than a night.

Well, that had been true a week ago. Before Lainey popped back into my life.

Lainey hadn’t texted.

Hadn’t called.

Not that I expected her to. But a part of me had hoped she would. That maybe something I said would’ve stuck. That maybe I’d mattered just a little in the mess she’d come out of. But I wasn’t gonna push her.

If she ever wanted to see me again… I’d be here. She just had to call me.

Until then, I had shit to handle. Like keeping Stretch alive.

Sloane appeared behind Aero and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hello, handsome,” she sang, swaying slightly on her feet.

Aero didn’t even flinch. “Where do you want to go now?”

“The farmers market,” she said, completely unsurprised by his tone. “No point in denying it.”

“Just you?” Aero asked, already knowing the answer.

“Well,” Sloane sighed dramatically, “I’m pretty sure Adalee, Fallon, and Poppy want to go too.”

I grinned and leaned back on the stool. “Once the rest of the girls find out y’all are leaving the clubhouse, you know they’re all gonna want to tag along.”

This right here—this was why I didn’t have an ol’ lady. Sure, I helped where I could, ran backup for the girls when they needed it, but at the end of the day, I didn’t have to wrangle anyone full-time.

Aero narrowed his eyes at me. “Yeah, and then you can come along to help.”

I shook my head fast. “Nah, I think it should be a one-to-one ratio. If your ol’ lady goes, you go.”

“Which means…?” Pirate asked.

I smirked. “My ass is staying right here.”

“Dinner!” Adalee’s voice floated from the kitchen again.

Aero looked at Sloane. “I’ll run it by Yarder.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Poppy’s already talking to him. Just a formality.” She winked. “It opens at seven, but if we get there by eight, we’ll still get the good stuff.” And with that, she floated off again like a fairy in ripped jeans.

“There’s good stuff at a farmers market?” I asked, raising a brow.

Aero just shrugged. “God fucking knows, brother.”

I stood up and stretched, cracking my shoulders. “Yeah, well, I guess you’re gonna find out tomorrow.”

Aero flipped me off.

I made my way toward the kitchen with the smell of seasoned beef and tortillas making my stomach growl.

Adalee stood at the island and dished out tacos faster than a machine. I grabbed a plate and loaded up five of them—ground beef, cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, onions, salsa, sour cream. I was one scoop of guac away from structural failure.

“I don’t think you can fit one more thing on your plate, Dice,” Adalee teased, grinning at the sight of me trying not to drop anything.

“That’s because your food is too damn good,” I said, carefully turning away from the counter like I was balancing a bomb. “I gotta get as much as I can.”

She laughed and waved me off.

I walked out into the common room, where guys were already finding seats—on the couches, the recliners, the bar stools, wherever there was space.

I sat down at the long table with Aero, Pirate, and Cue Ball, who was busy shoving half a taco in his mouth.

Across the room, Poppy was dragging Yarder into the common room, Fallon was sitting on the floor with Harley and Davidson begging for a scrap of, well, anything, and Dove was balancing her plate in her lap while she flipped through TV channels looking for something to watch.

I looked around, chewing slowly, and let it hit me all at once.

I wanted shit to go back to normal too. But not all the way back.

This?

This I didn’t want to change.

Sure, I didn’t have an ol’ lady. But having all the girls around brought a vibe to the clubhouse that was different. Lighter. Warmer. It always felt like family here—but now it felt like home.

And that wasn’t something I was willing to give up. Not even for normalcy.

I didn’t know what was going to happen with Stretch.

Didn’t know what the hell Lainey was thinking.

But I knew this—right here, tacos in hand, surrounded by brothers and women who gave a damn—this was worth fighting to keep.

And that was enough for me.