“He’s a... friend from the club,” I replied, deciding a slight lie was better than saying I barely knew him, and he’d strong armed his way into letting him do that. “I wasn’t having the best luck with the lawn mower cooperating, and he was driving by and offered to help.”
“I could’ve mowed the lawns, Mom,” Jack said, a frown curling his lips.
I sighed, smiling although my heart cracked at Jack’s words, his tone. “I’m well aware you could have, my boy,” I smiled, moving forward to ruffle his hair. “And once you turn thirteen, I’ll definitely be roping you in to doing all sorts of household chores. For now, you can enjoy not having to do them. Trust me, you’ll thank me for this moment when you’re older.” I winked.
He did not wink back, just kept a suspicious eye on Kace. “This guy is new. I don’t know him.”
Oh, my little boy was being protective.
“He has nice hair,” Lily chimed in.
I bit my lip, ignoring her comment. “Yes, he’s new. He moved from a chapter in Washington. But he’s been in the club for years. Cade wouldn’t have let him come in here if he didn’t think he was a good guy.” I met my son’s eyes. “You like all the guys at the club, right?”
He nodded slowly.
“Well, that’s because you’ve had a lot of time to get used to them. To get to know them. I bet once you get used to Kace, you’ll like him too.”
“Kace is a cool name,” Lily offered.
“It’s a weird name,” Jack corrected.
“Really?” I asked, hands on my hips. “You have uncles named Bull, Cade, Brock, Gage, Lucky, Asher and Wire, but you think that Kace is a weird name?”
Jack stared at me, maintaining a serious, straight face for a moment, then the corner of his lips twitched .
“Oh, I think I see a smile,” I sang, bending down to take a closer look. “Lily, help me pull it out, get on the other side.”
My dutiful daughter jumped from her spot at the window and got on her brother’s other side. We both began ‘pulling’ at the air beside Jack’s face.
He folded his arms. “I’m not a baby. You can’t get me with that,” he proclaimed, his tone serious but his mouth twitched again.
“I see it, Lily!” I yelled. “It’s in there. We’ve just got to put in some elbow grease.”
My daughter played her part well, screwing up her face with effort, pulling her little arms.
Jack kept up his ‘I’m too old for this’ routine for about another five seconds before he flat out grinned, staring at us both. “You two are goofs.”
I smiled at my son. “Ah, but you’re related to us by blood. You can’t escape us. In fact you have to love us.” I glanced to Lily, giving her a wink. “And kiss us!”
“No!” he protested, but Lily and I were already laying smooches on either one of his cheeks.
He made a big show of wiping his cheeks when we were done, rolling his eyes and everything.
My heart healed up just a little in that moment. The stitches were crooked, ragged, and they’d left a mark when they came out, but it didn’t matter. My kids still laughed. They still loved. They had a future. I had to hold on to that.Kace knocked on the door not long after that. I didn’t want to answer. Wanted to pretend we had all disappeared. Too bad my car was in the driveway, which he would’ve noticed.
So I opened the door.
Kace was covered in sweat. He’d kept his cut on, which would’ve only made it hotter, but apparently, he was old school and wasn’t about to put the leather down just anywhere. Ranger was like that too.
His shirt was clinging to his abs, his body, hair slicked back with sweat.
I cursed myself for not offering him water or lemonade. That was the polite thing to do.
“All done,” Kace grinned. His eyes flickered to my dress and legs, but returned to my eyes quickly.
“Thank you,” I grated out, the words coming out like sandpaper. “For interrupting your day to do something I could’ve done myself,” I added, because for some reason, I couldn’t control my bitch around him. I’d always been soft, kind. Sure, I threw attitude when needed, but I hadn’t found the need very often. Flies with honey and all that.
But something about this guy... pushed my buttons.
He smirked, still not bothered by my bitchiness. “Not a problem. Glad to do it.”
I stared at him then peered around him to my lawn, noticing the blaring sun that had been bearing down on him all afternoon. “Can I offer you a beer?”
He tilted his head slightly, regarding me. “You really don’t want to offer me a beer, do you?”
I swore a muscle in my brow twitched with the effort to keep a borderline pleasant expression in place. “I just did,” I gritted out.