Page 15

CHAPTER 15

Billie

I scowled at Toxic when he winked at me in the rear view. We were almost to his clubhouse, according to him. Gramps thought this was great fun.

“Never been to a biker clubhouse before,” he said with a cackle. “Probably going to be full of pretty women.”

“It is, but most of those pretty women belong to my brothers,” Toxic warned. “They won’t care that you’re an old man if you don’t mind your manners.”

Gramps snorted. “Like I’d do anything inappropriate. That’s only for if they ask.”

I stared at him, horrified, while he and Toxic shared a knowing look. Gross. I did not want to think about my grandfather that way. I shuddered at the mere thought.

“Here we are,” Toxic said as we pulled into a gravel parking area. There were motorcycles parked everywhere. He’d explained what church was. And that this SUV, and the truck he’d been using actually belonged to the club to use whenever someone needed more than a bike. He’d gone over some of the rules of the club and what some of the basic terms meant, but I still felt woefully unprepared.

It didn’t matter that I’d met a good number of his brothers already. This was their territory. He’d also mentioned that, because it was summertime, most of the old ladies and the kids would be here and that they were excited to meet me.

When I asked why, he’d just said it was because I was friends with Dani and Keely and so were they. I got the feeling he wasn’t being completely honest. It was the sort of dread that built up knowing you were about to meet his parents, but somehow this was worse.

He walked us over to the clubhouse and as soon as he opened the door, he gave me a nudge to walk through first. My eyes widened because the place was packed full of people. And they were all staring at me. I backed up a step and bumped into Toxic’s body.

“Don’t worry, Sweet Girl,” he all but purred in my ear. “They don’t bite.” There was a brief pause. “I do though.”

I moved away from the heat of his body and shot him an unamused look before standing next to Gramps. It was like he knew the sorts of emotions he stirred up inside me and took every opportunity to do so.

If I was being honest, having him around all day, and now sleeping in my home was creating this vulnerable raw spot inside of me. Like he was wearing me down. But I remembered what happened the last time I trusted a ladies’ man. My dad hadn’t raised a fool and I wasn’t falling for that again. Even if the man kissed like sin.

The vibe in the air was like the calm before the storm. Everyone seemed to be…waiting. Especially the women.

“Everyone,” Toxic said, with a shake of his head. “This is Billie and her grandfather, Robert.”

Now they were all teeth as everyone smiled. I could sense the women were holding themselves back from an estrogen fueled need to swarm me. There was a hushed undertone of whispers and laughter. I had no idea what was going on. Looking over at Toxic, I gave him a desperate look. One that said, please don’t leave me alone with these people.

The crowd parted and Danica rushed forward, pulling me into a hug. “Oh my God,” she said. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, B.”

I squeezed her tight, thanking every God I could think of that at least I knew someone here other than Toxic and Gramps. Because Gramps was already heading toward the bar and I knew Toxic had to go to his meeting, church, and was planning to leave me.

“Too long,” I replied to Dani, smiling at her. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to help you while you were getting divorced from that dickhead.”

“Don’t be,” Dani said with a laugh. “Smokehouse had it under control. Besides, it sounds like you’re having trouble of your own.” She wrapped her arm around my waist and started leading me toward the waiting group of women.

I tossed a frantic look at Toxic. He might piss me off sometimes, but at least he was familiar. The jerk just arched a brow and grinned at me.

One of the women followed my stare, then told Toxic, “You can go with them.” The other men were starting to shuffle into a back hallway. Those who weren’t headed that way, went out the front door, leaving just the women and kids inside. “We’ll take care of her. Looks like Scarlett’s got Robert covered.”

I followed her gaze and snapped, “No alcohol, Gramps!”

He rolled his eyes and pushed the shot glass back to the young woman standing behind the bar. “See what I mean,” he said, loudly enough for me to hear, but didn’t elaborate. He gave me a baleful look and Scarlett covered a laugh.

“Not with your pain meds,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, then proceeded to flirt with Scarlett. She looked like she was younger than me, but that didn’t stop Gramps. He was just having fun. He’d never even dated after he lost Grandma.

Dani laughed. “Same old Gramps.”

“Right?” I asked. “You’d think he’d have grown up in the years since you’ve seen him, but no…”

“I heard that,” Gramps called out, not bothering to look my way.

“The girls are so excited to meet you,” Dani told me in a low voice.

“Okay,” I whispered back with a grimace.

She laughed and squeezed me close to her side. “Don’t worry, they’re going to love you.”

“I’m just used to it being me and the animals,” I admitted. “And when we had them, the crew.” I eyed the smiling women with trepidation. “You know I’ve never had a lot of friends.” A bunch of rough and tumble cowboys and animals did not prepare one to socialize with women. They were going to think I was a hick.

“Not sure why, everyone loves you when they meet you,” Dani declared. “Okay,” she said as we approached the group. “Billie, this is Seek, Kit, Sloane, Eva, Jenny, Jordan, Gwen, and Isla. The saint over there chasing all the kids around is Sylvia.”

Sylvia straightened up, waving with one hand while she tried to yank something out of the hand of a girl who looked to be about six or seven.

“I won’t give you all the kid names because there are so many,” Dani said. “But this,” she said, taking a baby from Gwen, “is my daughter Hannah.” Some of the other women were holding babies and toddlers too while the older kids ran around the clubhouse, but I was focused on Dani’s little girl.

“She’s so beautiful, Dani,” I breathed, taking the baby from her with a grateful smile. I tickled her chubby cheek and melted when Hannah laughed. Looking up, I smiled at the women. “It’s so nice to meet you all.”

I meant it. My trepidation at meeting them had nothing to do with them and everything to do with me and not enjoying meeting big groups of people. On my ranch? I was confident and in charge. Put me anywhere else and make me the center of attention? I wilted fast. It was why I always fought Dad about entering competitions as a kid and young adult. Barrel racing ended up being the only thing I could stand, because I was out there for such a short amount of time and had to focus while I was.

My heart was trying to pound its way out of my chest, but I would never want to hurt these women’s feelings. I just wasn’t used to meeting a crowd of new people. Like I’d told Dani, it was usually me and the animals most days. I’d sort of lost my ability to behave like a human being over the years. As it was, I was suppressing the urge to offer the carrots in my pocket as a treat to anyone.

“You’re a natural with her,” Seek said, motioning to the baby.

“Oh,” I said with a chuckle. “Yeah, I’ve held so many babies I’m kind of used to it.”

“You have children then?” Sloane asked. She was a soft spoken woman, but had this Mother Earth kind of vibe. I liked her immediately. She seemed like the type who could calm anyone down and heal an anxious soul. Not that the others didn’t seem just as amazing.

“Oh no,” I shook my head and laughed. “No kids, though I want like…fifteen of them.”

There was startled laughter from the group. “You know Toxic is forty-two right?” Jordan asked with an amused look.

I frowned. “No, I thought he was in his thirties.”

“Welcome to the club,” Gwen said with a soft laugh.

“Ummm… But what does Toxic have to do with anything?” I asked, giving Dani a confused look.

“Oh,” she patted my shoulder but gave the other women a conspiring look, “nothing. Nothing at all.” She was evading.

I knew her well enough to know when she was avoiding answering a question. “Danica-”

“So whose babies are you used to holding then?” Eva said, a little too quickly.

I blinked at her. “Oh…” I gave them all a weak grin. “Sheep, goats, cows, horses, llamas…” They were all staring at me in shock. “Puppies and kittens,” I added, feeling lame.

“And more, I’m sure,” Dani tacked on. “You guys know Billie owns a cattle ranch. That’s where Toxic and Butcher have been each day helping.”

“Thanks for keeping Butcher out of my hair,” Isla said with a grin. She was cleaning her fingernails with a knife.

“Thanks for…letting me borrow him,” I said, rocking the baby and staring at her blade. I had one in my pocket, too. It was stupid to go anywhere on a farm or ranch without a knife. But she was handling hers so…casually. Not to mention she had that same dangerous vibe around her that the guys did.

Something tugged on my t-shirt and I looked down into four hopeful faces. “Did you say horses?” One of the girls asked, a glint in her eyes.

A crunching sound interrupted my answer and I stared in horror as one of the younger girls finished one of the carrots she’d pilfered from my pocket. They were baby carrots, and clean, mostly. There’d probably only been a few specks of dirt on it from whatever was inside my pocket at the time. How had I not felt her take that carrot?

Jenny groaned. “Priest is going to kill me. He’s been waiting until you or Toxic give an official invite to bring the girls out. They love animals,” she said. “These are my four little hellions,” she said, affection coloring every word.

“Hell-” I broke off when one of the girls tugged on my shirt again.

“Can I ride your horses?”

“Sure,” I replied, eyeing Jenny. It was hard to want to agree that a child could do something without knowing if the parent would agree or not. “As long as it’s okay with your mom,” I tacked on.

A chorus of ‘please’ filled the room and I laughed along with the others at the girls’ antics. That was when I relaxed. It was impossible not to around these women. They were so open and welcoming.

“Come sit down,” Kit said and everyone moved over to the table and chair area. “We have a few more old ladies who live here too, they’re going to be bummed they missed meeting you.”

“Next time, though,” Seek said, “you’ll get to meet them.”

I wasn’t sure there was going to be a next time, but their excitement was infectious so I agreed. When the baby in my arms started fussing, I handed her back to Dani, though I would have happily held onto her forever. There was just something about rocking a baby that warmed you.

We sat there, chatting, with me checking in on Gramps occasionally. He was happy sitting at the bar talking with Scarlett and Sylvia and the kids, though. They asked me a million questions about my ranch.

“You’re welcome to come out anytime,” I told them enthusiastically. “There’s so many animals for the kids to play with and pet. They’ll love it.”

Seek snorted out a laugh. “Are you kidding? We’ll love it!”

I looked around and gave a hesitant smile. “Toxic mentioned someone here has a pet bobcat…”

“Oh, that’s me!” Isla said, raising her hand. “Do you want to meet her?”

I gave her the same look the barn cats gave me when I fed them treats. That big eyed, yes please, I’ll do anything for you, kind of look. “So badly!”

She laughed. “I’ll go get her. Seek, are the boys put away?”

“Yeah, they’re up in my apartment pouting,” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t want to make anyone nervous by having them down here with new people. Not everyone is a dog person…apparently.” She said the last word like it was an inconceivable—and unacceptable—thought.

“I love all animals,” I told her with a laugh as Isla got up from the table. “I have a cattle dog. She’s a blast.”

“Oh I can’t wait to meet her,” Seek said. “Mine are Belgian Malinois.”

“Maligators!” I replied happily. “Such awesome dogs.”

“Malinois and cattle dogs are very similar,” Seek told the others with a laugh.

“How?” Kit asked. “They’re like, totally opposite. One’s big, one’s like…medium sized. One is tall and sleek, the other short and squat.” She held up both her hands as she listed things off.

“They both have the crazy gene,” I told her.

Seek pointed at me. “Exactly. They’re both a little nuts. And high energy working dogs.”

Everyone laughed at that.

“I’d love to meet your boys sometime, too,” I told Seek.

Isla came downstairs holding her pet in her arms and I gasped when I saw her. “She’s so beautiful.” I stood and went over. Giving her space, I just admired the feline.

“This is Miss Murder Mittens,” Isla said, obviously very proud of her cat.

“I love her.” Very slowly, I reached out and rubbed the spot between her ears when she didn’t show any sign of objecting to me touching her.

“We mostly just call her Murder,” Jordan said with a laugh.

Isla let Murder down to roam around while we sat back down. Before long the bobcat jumped into my lap, eyed me up and down, then settled down to take a nap. I looked over at Isla with elation even as my mouth dropped open.

“Huh. She likes you,” Isla said, studying me.

“That’s not fair,” Eva said with a laugh. “She barely even lets me pet her.” She held her hands out and flexed her fingers as though she wanted to maul the animal with love.

“And that’s why,” Gwen replied with a laugh.

Everyone laughed again.

“Okay,” Jenny said, looking around. “It’s taken weeks to even get this many of us together.”

“Not acceptable, by the way,” Kit added, giving them all pointed looks.

“Agreed,” Dani said. “We all live here, we need to be getting together more often.”

“Since I have you,” Jenny said after everyone agreed with Kit and Dani, “I have some news.”

Silence dropped over the group so fast I wondered if something was wrong. I pet Murder’s fluffy back and waited, breath held as Jenny paused for dramatic effect.

“We already told the girls last night. Honestly I’m shocked they didn’t blurt it out immediately.”

“Girl,” Seek said in warning, “if you don’t tell us your news, I’m going to lose my mind.”

Grinning, Jenny looked around at all of us. “Besides the girls, I wanted to tell all of you first.” She took a deep breath and gave news that had all the women squealing, laughing, crying, and all around losing it.