“It’s the same here now as it is in Dublin Falls. You bastards get the hottest, sexiest women and then the trouble starts. Who is after this one? Do we need to help? I assume she’s your woman Rebel, since you’re holding her and look like you’re ready to kill. Sorry, man. Hello, darlin’, I’m Reaper, the president of the Iron Punishers. This asshole bleeding all over the place is Crusher. He’s my sergeant at arms.” He held out his hand. I shook it, then I turned to Crusher. I stepped toward him, but Rebel wouldn’t let me go. I tugged until he did.
“Let me look at your nose. Is your throat alright? How about your wrist?”
“What the hell happened to his wrist and throat?” Reaper asked. I heard a couple of the guys chuckle. However, it was Crusher who answered him.
“She damn near broke it breaking the hold I had on her arm, then she punched me in the throat. Shit, sweetheart, you made me see stars. You’re fucking lethal. I’m sorry for scaring you and for not listening when you told me you were an old lady. Rebel, man, I’m fucking sorry. I understand if you need to beat my ass some more.”
Rebel growled and moved toward him. I put my hand on his chest to stop him.
“No, honey. He apologized. It was a big misunderstanding. Now, Crusher, let me see your nose.” He lowered his hand. I winced. Rebel sure had broken it. It was crooked as hell. Before he knew what I was going to do, I reached up and snapped it back into place. He yelled as I did it. I’d taken judo as a kid at the YMCA. I knew what a broken nose looked and sounded like.
“Sorry, big man. It’s better if you do it quickly. Let’s go get you some ice. Come on.” I took his arm and headed toward the kitchen. I had a parade of people following me. Rebel was the closest. In the kitchen, I made up an ice pack and handed it to Crusher. He put it on his nose, flinching.
“Why don’t we go sit and get better acquainted? That way we get to know each other,” I asked Crusher. He looked stunned. Rebel growled. I looked at him and stood on my tiptoes so I could reach his ear. “Baby, I don’t want to leave a bad impression with any of your friends. He made a mistake. Please let me smooth this over. You can come with us,” I whispered. He didn’t look happy but he finally nodded. I gave him a kiss then turned back to Crusher.
“Let’s go, big man. I’m Madisen. I’m the old lady to this crazy man. At least that’s what he tells me. I don’t know if you knew the Warriors opened a bakery in town? I’m a partial owner with them.” We made our way to a set of chairs outside. I sat down on Rebel’s lap. Crusher, Reaper and several others joined us. “It’s not open right now since it caught fire two weeks ago, but it should be back in business soon.”
Reaper interrupted me. “What happened? Why did it burn?” I glanced at Rebel. I hoped I hadn’t said anything wrong. They were the club’s friends. Surely, it was okay to tell them? Rebel gently squeezed my arm and kissed my cheek.
“Someone set it on fire,” Rebel said.
“What the fuck? Who did it? Why? That’s bullshit,” Crusher growled.
“Someone doesn’t seem to like me.”
Reaper jumped to his feet. “What the fuck? You were there when they did it? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No, I wish she was. She was there alone, baking for the day. It was early morning. They started a fire and wanted to be sure she didn’t get out, so they blocked the back door with the dumpster and chained the front door closed. She almost fucking died. Thank God, the fire department got there in time and was able to break in and get her. She spent a day in the hospital. That’s when she moved here to the compound,” Rebel told him.
I could see the guys standing around us were as pissed as Reaper and the Warriors. I knew it was killing Rebel that we hadn’t found out who had done it. I gave him a soft kiss.
“Tell me you caught them and punished the hell out of them. That’s insane! Are you alright now, darlin’? Why didn’t Bull call me? I’d send over some guys if you need it.” His offer made me feel warm and secure. They were a bunch of caring men like Bull and his guys. Over the last two weeks, I've been welcomed by all the guys. The only ones who didn’t like me were the bunnies and to me they didn’t count.
“I didn’t call because we don’t have anything solid to move on. We have two suspects, but no way to prove if it was one of them. If we find anything out, I’ll let you know,” Bull said gruffly. I hadn’t seen him join the crowd.
Crusher leaned over to me. “Sweetheart, you need anything, you have your old man let me know. I’ll come protect you in a heartbeat.” I smiled. I was touched by his offer.
“Okay. Enough of the serious shit. We’re here to have fun. Now, who here wants to play a game of pool later. I want to practice!” Reaper yelled. Several of them shouted out they’d play me. Good, I needed to get my game back to where it used to be. I hadn’t played in a long time. We continued to talk to them for a long while. After a half hour, Rebel excused us, saying we needed to mingle. I followed him. The afternoon passed in a blur. I met so many people my head was a whirl.
It was great to meet all the ladies from Dublin Falls and their kids. Shit, they had a bunch of them over there. It was hard to believe until five years ago, they didn’t have any kids at that chapter. Now they had well over a dozen. I guess Jocelyn and Devyn were leading that charge for Hunters Creek. Thinking of it made me think of me and Rebel. Did he want kids? I knew I did. I wanted to have them and raise them with the love and attention I never got. If we were going to make this permanent, we would need to have this talk at some point. I wasn’t willing to forego kids, even if we adopted them. If he didn’t want any, then it was a deal breaker for me.
Bull’s daughter, Harlow, was wonderful. She was beautiful like all the women and a hard ass. Rebel had told me she had been a Marine sniper. Her two kids were beautiful too. Her husband, Terror, lived up to his name. He was intimidating as hell, but when he looked at his wife or kids, you saw his eyes fill with love. And I could admit it, he was hot as hell!
Bull was having fun with Hunter and Emmie. You could tell they loved their grandpa. Jocelyn was holding Emmie and Bull had Hunter. It looked like Harlow accepted Jocelyn being with her dad. They were chatting and laughing. Some people might think it was terrible that Jocelyn wasn’t much older than Harlow, but age was just a number. Love was love. Grab it wherever you find it.
The kids were having fun. In preparation for the little ones soon to join the Hunters Creek compound, Bull had a playground built. It was awesome. Jocelyn said it was like what they had in Dublin Falls. The kids went wild playing. I went over to watch. Blaze and Teagan’s little angel, Taya, was in the baby swings. I asked if they minded if I swung her. They smiled and said no. She loved it so much her laughing had me laughing. When she got tired of it, I took her out and we went to sit in the sandbox to play. I told Blaze and Teagan they could go relax. I’d watch her. I enjoyed meeting and talking to all the different people, but it was tiring. I need a little bit of peace. She was giving it to me. We were playing when a shadow fell over me. I looked up to see Rebel watching us.
“So, this is where you ran off to. I’ve been looking for you. I thought you were still with Jocelyn and Devyn, babe.”
“Sorry, I needed a break and Taya here was too fun to pass up. We played on the swings and now we’re building the next wonder of the world,” I teased him. He crouched down beside me.
“Do you know what seeing you with her does to me?” he growled out. I looked at him. His eyes were heated like he was aroused. “Watching you two, I realized I want this.”
“What, a sandbox?”
“No, Ms. Sassy pants, a family. Kids. Do you want kids, babe?”
I nodded. “Yes, I do. I’ve always wanted them. I plan to raise them so they know they’re loved and wanted. Unlike the way I was raised.”