Page 40 of Sackett (Demented Souls #17)

Demon glanced that way, then shook his head. “I don’t think so. None of the officers are here yet.” He pushed through the swinging door to the kitchen. He returned a moment later with a plate in one hand, flatware in the other.

“Want anything else?” Demon asked as he set the plate in front of Sackett.

“Do you remember who made these?” Sackett asked. Not that it mattered. He would be eating them no matter who made them, but knowing would give him a clue how hot the chili he could smell in them would be.

“Sorry.” Demon shrugged. “All I know is that Krissi, Beth, and Dana were in the kitchen. I’m not sure who was cooking and who was talking.”

“No worries.” That didn’t tell him much but from the scent he was willing to bet it was pretty hot. He was good with it, he just preferred to know what he was getting into.

Sackett had just put the last bite into his mouth and was busy scraping the last of the sauce on his plate together for one last taste before Demon came and got the plate when the door opened, and several people came in.

He couldn’t tell who at first as all he could see were silhouettes as they were backlit in the doorway.

As they stepped into the room, he was able to see it was Dana, Krissi, Beth, London, and Elyse.

If they were all here and all together, it likely meant their men weren’t far behind.

He watched them for a moment as they gathered near the door, talking, then moved farther into the room.

It hadn’t escaped him how the women who had been here all along, or at least since he joined, had accepted each newcomer, they took her into their group as if she’d been there all along.

That had only been more obvious with London.

She’d had a place in Gillette, but had left it to come down here with Tuck when his year at the ranch was over.

When she’d gotten here the girls accepted her and taught her the ropes about how things were done here.

Even Sackett could see that this chapter was run a lot differently than how their northern brotherhood operated.

As they moved closer, Sackett noticed that Krissi was carrying baby Amber.

“Hey, glad to see you’re back,” Krissi said when she noticed him.

“Yep, got back to town a couple hours ago.” He held out his hands and wiggled his fingers in a ‘give me’ motion.

Krissi shook her head but handed over the baby. Sackett pulled her down onto his lap.

“Hey, sweetheart, it was a long week while I was gone, how were you?” he said to Amber.

“I’m not sure who made the enchiladas,” he looked back up at his treasurer’s old lady, “but they were great. Thanks for leaving enough that we’re not stuck with his cooking.

” He tilted his head toward the bar where Demon was talking to a couple of the other women and moving around fetching whatever they were ordering.

“Dana made them, but I’ll let her know you liked them. We’re working on always keeping something in the kitchen because we’ve all had a taste of his cooking. It’s not an experience any of us are eager to repeat.”

“Have you thought about making him go help you when you make anything? I’m going to work with him and give him some lessons, but more experience can’t hurt.”

“I’ve thought about it, but I’m just an old lady. I can’t just order him to do anything.”

Sackett wasn’t so sure about that, but he wasn’t going to argue with her about it, instead he would talk to the brothers about it.

“So make it an invitation instead of an order. Something like ‘hey, I’m going to go make whatever, want to come help?’ he seems interested, just lacking skill.”

The baby gurgled where she sat in his lap, drawing his attention back to her.

“Is that right?” he asked her. “Tell me about it.” He loved babies at this age.

Yeah, he knew it wasn’t common for single men to love babies this much, but he had spent a lot of time with a couple of friends, including at their houses when he was in high school, one had several younger siblings that they ended up having to take care of occasionally.

That was where Sackett had first been around the little ones.

He’d found he liked the innocence, the joy they saw in everything, that he could be someone they could count on, not someone who would let them down over and over like his father had done to him.

He loved that babies and little kids didn’t judge like adults did; it was part of what drew him.

Sackett glanced up to find Krissi watching him, a smile curving her lips.

“I’m good with her if you trust me with her. You can go spend time with the girls, go do some shopping or go take a nap. We’ll be good.” He looked down at the grinning girl waving her arms. “Won’t we, sweetheart? We’ll be just fine without Mommy.” He glanced up to find her watching him.

“I didn’t come in looking for a sitter.”

“I know, but I want some time with her, and you can take a break. If you’d rather I’ll play with her right here while you stay and keep an eye on me.

” He would hesitate to leave his own kids, if he had any, with a man he didn’t know well.

And while he trusted his brothers with his life and knew they trusted him, often it took more to reassure a mama bear.

Sackett knew enough about Krissi to know she was a hundred percent the kind that would go full on mama bear on anyone who even threatened her kids.

“Soon you won’t be the only one, sweetheart,” he said to Amber, deciding to ignore Krissi, at least until she decided he’d had enough of her daughter and took her back.

Sackett continued to talk to the little girl, tickling her and getting her to giggle.

After a while she got sleepy, he pulled a bottle from the diaper bag he’d motioned for Krissi to hand over, mixed her formula and fed her.

With her tummy full, it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.

And just like that, the nerves that had been bothering him at home, were gone, as if they had never been.

Sackett was still sitting at the table, a large glass of soda on the table in front of him and the sleeping baby draped over his shoulder when several of the men came in. A glance at the clock told him it had been more than an hour since the women had come in.

“What’s this?” Ruger stopped beside where Sackett sat watching them.

Sackett looked back up at him, brows raised as he wondered what he could say that wasn’t apparent. He didn’t need to be smart mouthed and piss off the club leadership.

“Why do you have my daughter?” Ruger tried a different tactic.

“We were playing when she got tired. I fed her and she fell asleep.”

“And now you’re just letting her sleep on you?” Sadist asked, having heard the exchange.

“Why not?” Sackett asked, lifting the shoulder Amber wasn’t sleeping on. He didn’t want to jostle her too much and wake her.

“Here. Give her to me. I’ll take her up and lay her down, I’ll meet you in the other room.” Ruger glanced toward the back room where several of the men who had trickled in over the last hour were starting to drift.

“I’ll let Krissi know where she is. I’ll see you then.”

Sackett transferred the sleeping baby to her father’s arms then handed him the diaper bag when he motioned for it. He watched as the club treasurer headed up the stairs to the second floor, then he found Krissi and let her know. With that done, retrieved his drink and headed for the back room.