Page 24 of Sinful Skulls (Rebel Skull MC #9)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Daisy

E veryone is excited to see Brody, and I can literally feel how much they love him. It warms my heart. It only confirms what I already knew. He is a good man.

Jackson, the club president, sits beside me as Brody goes up for seconds. His gaze roams over my face. His wife reaches over and pats his hand. “Stop. You’re going to make her self-conscious.”

“I’m still trying to figure out how a pretty girl like you ended up with Brody.”

“Well, he broke someone’s nose for touching me within the first fifteen minutes of meeting him, so …” I shrug. “I knew he was unique.”

Willow giggles. “Unique to the rest of the world, but you’ll find the Skull men are all like that and some of the women too.”

Brody swings his leg over the bench, sitting back down beside me. “Yeah, those two right over there.” He points to a woman with long silver-black hair and a younger woman who is with the scariest looking man I’ve ever seen.

“They’re not as intimidating as they look,” Willow tells me.

“Don’t listen to her. All four of those people are terrifying.”

“And you’re not?”

Willow laughs again.

“Tell her, Willow. Tell her I’m just a big teddy bear.”

I raise an eyebrow because I know better.

“He is, but I have no doubt he’d rip the head off of anyone who did any of the ladies around here wrong.”

Jackson starts eating olives off of Brody’s plate. “Good way to get stabbed, my man,” Brody says, chasing his hand around with his fork.

The camaraderie here is wonderful. I see why Brody was anxious to return.

Another couple approaches our table, and Brody instantly hops up. He wraps his arms around the woman, picking her up off the ground. I recognize them from the pictures in their home. Her husband shakes his head and sits down across from me.

“I’m Raffe, and the woman in air jail is my wife, Rachel.” He reaches across the table and takes my hand in his.

Jackson laughs lightly.

“You can put me down now, you big brute,” Rachel says, patting his face lovingly.

Raffe looks at his daughter-in-law. “Did you get everything you needed for the baby?”

“That and more,” she gushes. “I’m glad we got her room done so we have a place to put it all.”

Brody finally sets Rachel on her feet. She stands on her toes and ruffles Brody’s hair before sitting down beside her husband.

“It’s nice to meet the girl who finally caught this guy.” She nods at him.

He kisses my temple. “She didn’t catch me. I caught her.”

I smile at him. “When he waved to me at the beach, I thought he was waving at someone else.”

“There were other people on the beach?” he asks, going back to his food. “All I saw was you.”

Rachel’s gaze bounces between the two of us. “You met on the beach?”

“Yeah, back when JD was chasing Elizabeth around the country,” he answers with a mouth full of food.

She tips her head thoughtfully. “You’re the one who brought our dragonfly home.”

I shake my head confused.

“The necklace you gave Lexie.”

“Oh, yeah. That was me. She and I exchanged gifts when we met. She gave me the cutest stuffed little dog.”

Brody leans back, stretching. “The creepy thing is on our bed right now.”

“It’s not creepy. It’s Totto from the Wizard of Oz .”

Rachel glances around the gathering, her gaze resting on Elizabeth. When she returns her attention back to us, her brows furrow.

“You okay, hun? We can go home if you’re not feeling well,” Raffe asks her.

“I’m good,” she assures him. “So, Daisy, how long are you here for?”

“Forever,” Brody answers on my behalf, not giving me time to respond.

Rachel laughs. “You sure you can put up with him that long? Because I’ve got stories.”

“She knows I’m a handful.” He winks at me with an ornery smirk on his face.

I kick him under the table at his naughty inuendo.

Jackson throws his head back and barks out a laugh. “Oh god, I’m so fucking glad you’re back, brother. I’ve missed you.”

Rachel stands up. “We’re having supper at the warehouse tomorrow with my brother and his family before the usual Saturday night party. I expect you to be there.” She points at Brody.

He salutes her.

After they get out of earshot, Brody tells his friends how he and I broke into their house and frogged it.

Both of them laugh, and then Jackson’s humor turns serious. “Fuck, she’s going to blame me for this.”

“That’s the plan,” Brody tells him. “But honestly, I want her to have some fun, you know?”

Jackson nods. “She loved our shenanigans, even if she’ll never admit it.

” He stares at his mom as she talks with Elizabeth.

They both glance back at us as if they know we’re talking about her.

“I’m thinking about putting together a little run with the old ladies in a week or two.

I want to give mom one last ride. She’s getting weaker by the day. ”

“Fuck yeah, let’s do it.”

Willow visibly pulls away from the conversation, so I try to distract her. “I’d love to see your nursery. I overheard someone say there’s a mural painted on the wall.”

Brody squeezes my hand, thanking me for noticing her distress.

Her face lights up. “Oh my gosh. You’ve got to see it!” She hops from the table and grabs my hand, dragging me inside with her.

When we step into the nursery, I smile. It’s amazing. I walk over to the mural. “Incredible,” I say, taking in all the details. It’s like being inside the canopy of a tree. There are birds, squirrels, and bugs scattered amongst the branches.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

I glance at her over my shoulder. “I just put you and your brother’s names together. They’re both trees.”

“Our dad loved nature, and he had a sense of humor.”

“My parents named me after a flower, so I get it.” I walk around the room, stopping to look out the window. “What a wonderful place to grow up.”

She nods, joining me. “I know, right? When I first found this place, I thought I’d discovered a scene right out of a storybook.”

We sit down across from each other in the window seat. The breeze blows in from the windows, carrying conversation and laughter from below.

“Brody’s told me so much about everyone. I feel like I already know you. You have an incredible story,” I tell her.

She laughs sadly. “Don’t we all?”

I remain quiet as she assesses me. “Brody told Jackson about the condition he found you in.”

“Yeah, I hadn’t had much sleep. I lost my mind for a bit.”

Her hand rubs over her stomach. “If you’re running from something, I can vouch that this is the best place to find yourself.”

I turn away from her.

“Lexie talks fondly of you. She showed me the painting you did of her and Ash. It’s amazing.”

“Yeah, that’s not my usual style.” I scratch my head, thinking to myself that it is quickly becoming my usual . Everything I’ve created as of late has been on the darker side.

“Really? It was a very moving piece.”

I glance out the window. “I usually stick to nature. It’s a bit more acceptable to society.”

She releases a little pfftt . “Don’t let society dictate what you create. Listen to your soul and your soul alone.”

“I’m trying.”

The guys join us a few minutes later, their arms filled with baby gifts. Brody gives me a kiss on the cheek.

“As soon as I’m done helping Jackson carry all this up, do you want to go for a ride before it gets dark?”

“Absolutely.”

Willow smiles at the two of us.

He gives her a peck on the cheek too before following Jackson out the door.

“You two are so cute together. You’re going to catch a lot of jealousy from some of the women who hang around. Don’t let them get to you. I’ve never seen Brody so obsessed with someone.”

“This isn’t everyone?” I ask.

She laughs. “Not even close. Brody is quite popular with the ladies, but he doesn’t seem to notice. Just stand your ground. They’ll back down, and remember the other old ladies will have your back.”

“So, I’m an old lady now?”

“Sure looks that way to me.”