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Page 9 of Panther’s Magpie (Mountain River MC #1)

CHAPTER

EIGHT

MAGGIE

W ith a blanket wrapped around me and a cup of coffee in my hand, I stare out at the driveway. I have a book in my lap that one of the guys was nice enough to bring me that they got from their sister or wife, I’m not quite sure, but I haven’t mustered up the energy to open it yet.

Last night I slept like shit. For once it had nothing to do with Aspen and everything to do with the fact I couldn’t get comfortable. Then when I finally got some sleep, it was filled with weird dreams that I don’t remember.

I bring the cup up to my lips and take a sip.

I sigh as the taste hits my tongue and warmth fills me.

I’ll give the guys credit for one thing: they know their coffee.

I don’t know why, but I fully expected it to taste like the shit you get at a gas station that tastes like sludge, but I was wrong.

They take their coffee game seriously, and I appreciate it.

I’m grateful Panther lifted his outside ban on me. Ever since we took that ride together, he has been letting me roam more and more. Now I’m allowed outside by myself, but I can’t go into the woods where they wouldn’t be able to see me. I find it endearing the way he tries to protect me.

“Hey Maggie, Panther wants to see you in his office,” Hawk says as he walks out of the clubhouse.

“Did he say if everything was fine?” I ask as I stand.

Hawk shrugs as he gets onto his bike. “Didn’t ask, he just asked me to send you in.”

“Okay, thanks. Have a good day at work.”

He dips his chin and turns on his bike. Shaking my head, I head inside. Some guys are hanging out and talking. A couple of them say good morning as I pass by. When I reach Panther’s office, I raise my hand to knock but pause.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath to compose myself.

I don’t know what he has planned, but if he’s calling me into his office instead of seeking me out, it has to be important, right?

Licking my lips, I knock.

“Come in,” he says from the other side.

I open the door and pause when I see the woman sitting across from him.

“I can come back if you’re busy,” I tell him softly.

He shakes his head. “Actually, this is someone I want you to meet.”

I step inside and shut the door behind me, then move to sit.

“Hi, I’m Kaia.”

“Hi, I’m Maggie,” I say as I shake her hand.

“Kaia is a local artist who specializes in portraits. I asked her to come by to do a sketch of Asher,” Panther says.

“Oh.”

“Only if you’re up for it,” Kaia quickly adds.

“No, of course I’ll do it. I just don’t know how much help I’ll be,” I tell her as I run my palms over my thighs.

“Okay, cool.” Kaia reaches down and grabs a pencil and a sketchpad from her bag.

Nerves roll through me as I wait for her to tell me she’s ready.

“Maggie, look at me,” Panther says.

I look up and see that he’s staring at my hand that’s hovering right in front of my mouth.

Shit, I was about to start biting my thumb again, just when it’s starting to heal over.

“Thank you,” I mouth to him.

He dips his chin in acknowledgment.

“Okay, so was he skinny, thick, average? What face shape did he have?” Kaia asks, breaking the moment between Panther and me.

I close my eyes and think about Asher. I tell her how he has a heart-shaped face with dimples. How his hair is dark, almost black, and that he has a little more than scruff for facial hair but not a beard. Kaia quietly asks me questions, and I respond without hesitation.

She even hands me a little flip book to go through and pick out his features. It showed different shapes of faces, noses, eyes, even eyebrows. It takes over an hour to go through it all, then another as she finishes up her sketch.

“Okay, that’s it. Does this look like your guy?” she asks.

I open my eyes and gasp at the picture.

“That’s him. You got all of that from me?” I ask, touching my chest.

“Of course. The mind latches onto more than what people think. Especially in stressful situations,” she tells me before turning to Panther. “I’ll give this to Meek to do his thing with.”

“Thanks, Kaia,” he tells her.

“Of course. It was nice to meet you, Maggie,” she says as she leaves the room.

When the door shuts behind her, I sink further into my chair.

“You good?” Panther asks.

“Yeah, that was just more intense than I thought it would be.”

“You did good.”

His praise makes my skin heat, and I can’t help but shift in my chair, rubbing my thighs together.

God, I’m pathetic.

“What made you think of doing that?” I ask.

Panther smirks like he knows what those three little words did to me, but he doesn’t comment on it.

“Asher is the only person we haven’t placed yet. We’ve tried to get photos of him, but the guy is good. Keeps his head down. We need to know who he is.”

“To find out if he’s friend or foe.”

Panther nods. “Exactly, although I think the answer is obvious at this point.”

“That’s smart.”

“I have my moments,” he teases, making me roll my eyes.

“Well, what now?”

“Now we wait.”

Groaning, I tilt my head back. “I hate waiting. I feel like that’s all we’ve been doing, and to think I used to think I had patience.”

Panther chuckles. “I feel you. Usually I like playing the long game, but this has been testing my patience.”

“At least we have each other,” I say quietly.

“That we do,” he murmurs.

He tilts his head and studies me. I fight the urge to shift under his gaze. Not because it makes me uncomfortable, but because I like it. Even though I know I shouldn’t.

“What?” I ask after a few seconds.

“Do you want to get out of here for a bit? Go somewhere with me.”

“Yes,” I say with no hesitation.

Should I? Probably not, but I like spending time with him, even though I know I shouldn’t.

Panther smiles, and I swear it transforms his entire face, making my breath catch. I swear the guy couldn’t be any more my type if he tried, and he’s off-limits. Completely off-limits.

“Do you need to grab anything before we leave?”

“No, I’m ready.”

Panther stands, and I watch as he rounds his desk, coming toward me. He holds his hand out to me, and I place mine in his. His hand squeezes mine, making my heart race, and I realize that I’m in over my head when it comes to the man in front of me.

And right now, I really don’t care.

PANTHER

“Thank you,” Maggie tells the waitress when she sets down our food.

“You’re welcome, sugar. You two let me know if you need anything else,” she says before walking away.

Maggie pushes her salad to the side and places her fries in front of her. She grabs one and pops it into her mouth.

“I love fries.” She sighs as she grabs another one.

“If you wanted them, then why order the salad?” I ask as I pick up my burger.

“Oddly enough, I enjoy a good salad, and it’s been way too long since I’ve had something healthy.”

“Have we not been taking care of you?” I tease.

She rolls her eyes and smiles. “You have, and you know it. Besides, this is my go-to when I eat out.”

“What do you mean?” I ask as I take a bite.

“Life is all about balance, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, this is my balance. I love fries, but they aren’t exactly good for you. I like salad, and it’s good for me. If I pair the two together, it’s a well-balanced meal. Especially since I have chicken on the salad.”

“Fried chicken, not grilled.”

She crinkles her nose, looking absolutely adorable. “No one likes grilled chicken breast, and you’ll never convince me otherwise. The only thing I like grill marks on is a steak.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “It’s definitely not my favorite, I’ll give you that.”

Once she finishes her fries, she moves onto her salad, making me smile.

I don’t know if a woman’s food choices have ever made me smile, but I’m starting to realize everything Maggie does pleases me.

There’s so much more to her than I ever thought.

A slap rings out through the diner, and we both turn and look.

“How dare you!” a woman screeches.

“Joann, it’s not what you think!” a man tells her as he holds up his hands.

“You know this woman?” the woman he was dining with asks.

“Not now, Macy,” he hisses.

“Macy, that’s your whore’s name?” Joann asks before rounding on the woman. “Seriously, Macy, did you just willfully ignore the wedding ring on his hand or are you just blind?”

The woman gasps. “I’m not a whore! He told me you two were getting a divorce.”

“Oh, trust me, we will be,” Joann mutters.

Movement out of the corner of my eye makes me turn my head. I raise a brow when I watch Maggie steal another fry from my plate.

“What? Drama like this requires fries or popcorn, and I’m out of both.” She shrugs, making me chuckle.

The manager quickly escorts the cheating husband and his women out of the diner, and everything goes back to normal.

“That was unexpected.”

“Right? Like, damn, man, how stupid are you? Also, fuck that bitch. There was no way she missed his wedding band.”

“Don’t like cheaters?” I ask.

“Does anybody?”

“True.”

“Anyway…” she drawls out as she sets down her fork after finishing her salad. “How’s the dessert here? I could go for something sweet.”

“For that balanced meal, right?” I tease, making her smile.

“Now you’re getting it. It’s almost as if you know me,” she quips, making me chuckle.

I’m starting to. Slowly but surely, and the more I learn about her, the more intrigued I am.

Ever since she walked into my clubhouse and I let my anger and hate go, she’s consumed me.

She’s the only woman I have my eyes on, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold out before I make a move.

It’s wrong. Especially with Aspen missing and her being Aspen’s friend, but fuck if I’m finding it in me to care.

Right now, she is the only bright light in my life.

I clear my throat. “How about after we finish here, we take a walk? I know there’s a bakery not too far from here.”

“I’d like that,” she says softly.

After I finish and pay the bill, we head out. As we start to walk down the street, she reaches out and holds onto my upper arm.

“Sorry.” She starts to remove her hand, but I stop her.

“You’re good.”

She ducks her head, her hair falling in front of her face, but I don’t miss her smile.

A revving motorcycle makes us look up. Valley, one of my brothers, waves as he drives by.

“There’s a lot of people out and about on a random weekday,” she says after a moment.

“That’s the curse of living in a mountain town. Everyone wants to come here on their days off before the weather gets too bad.”

“Makes sense. Better than hanging out in the city.”

“This is it,” I say, pointing to the bakery.

I open the door.

“Thank you,” she says as her body presses against me as she passes by.

“You’re welcome.”

“Oh, these are gorgeous,” she says as she starts studying everything in the glass case.

I have to stop myself from laughing. Yeah, they look good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s food.

“Anything look good to you?”

“I mean, duh.” She looks over at me, a carefree smile on her face.

“Let me rephrase, do you see any that you want to get?” I ask, not bothering to hide my amusement.

“That one, with the gold foil on top.”

“You know that’s not real gold, right?”

She rolls her eyes. “Obviously, but it’s just so pretty. I want it.”

“You’re like a magpie.”

She gasps, placing her hand over her chest. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me. Especially when they find out I like shiny things.”

Chuckling, I shake my head. “All right, Magpie, let’s get you your shiny little treat.”

“Can I have more than one?” she teases.

“You can have whatever you like,” I tell her as the worker approaches.

“If you don’t watch it, Calloway, you’ll never get rid of me.”

The way she says my name has my heart kicking up a notch in my chest. I don’t think I ever really thought about my real name before. It didn’t seem special.

Yet when it rolls off her tongue, I feel like a fucking king.

I bite my tongue to stop myself from telling her that doesn’t sound as bad as it would have a month ago. In fact, I kind of like the idea of her sticking around.

“Thank you for waiting. What can I get you two?” the teenager behind the counter asks.

It doesn’t hit me until much later that I didn’t just give her a nickname, but I assigned her future road name to her right there in a bakery off Main Street. I don’t regret it, not one bit.

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