He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I might need a do over. Otherwise, the Old Ladies will never let me live it down.”
“My boy’s all grown up,” Colt teased, slapping Boxer on the back.
“We have a lot to celebrate,” Zip said. “This is good. All good.”
“Should we wait to celebrate until you guys get back?” I asked softly.
An ominous hush fell over the room; no one quite knew what to say.
“Never know when shit’s gonna go south,” Darcy said. “Let’s celebrate now, but then have a huge party when the guys get back.”
Mia went to the kitchen counter and grabbed a red Solo Cup, added some ice, and a hefty splash of coconut rum.
“Oh, I don’t like coconut rum,” I protested.
“Trust me,” she said with a wink.
“Mia has yet to make me a cocktail I’ve hated,” Darcy assured me.
Mia added orange soda to the cup, took another one, and poured it into it to mix the drink. She handed it to me. “Go ahead. I’ll wait.”
I took a sip, my eyes bugging out. “Holy cow, that tastes like an orange creamsicle.”
“You’re welcome,” she said with a laugh. “Now, can we steal you away for a bit?”
“Sounds good,” I said with a look in Boxer’s direction. He was already drinking a beer and talking to Bishop, the vice president from the Coeur d’Alene chapter.
“It’s going to be a full house tonight,” I noted.
“But not one of our usual parties,” Mia said. “Come on, let’s head outside.”
“Where are the kids?” I asked. “Usually there are a few of them running around.”
“They’re in the basement watching movies and playing video games,” Darcy said, as we made our way to the backyard. They took the camp chairs and dragged them into a circle. I wanted to help, but they waved me away.
I did not like the idea of the next many days being reliant on them.
“Okay,” Mia said, easing her bulk into one of the chairs. “Now that we’re out of ear shot of the men, we need the full scoop on this proposal situation. Because while you do look radiant, you seem far too calm.”
“I’m not allowed to be calm?” I asked.
“You just agreed to marry Boxer,” Joni said with a teasing grin. “I expected more of a freak out.”
“Oh, there was a freak out, trust me.” I took a sip of my drink. “He brought me to his house. I saw the carnage.”
“Ah,” Rachel said with a nod.
“He told me why he went nuts.” I looked each and every one of them in the eye, one by one. “Do you guys know why?”
“Because you were kidnapped,” Darcy admitted baldly.
“Do you guys knowwhyI was kidnapped? Did they level with you?”
“A bit,” Mia said. “Colt and the boys sat us down and told us that we had to head to the cabins with the kids. He didn’t give us details, but he said it’s bad.”
“And you got caught up in it,” Rachel added. “We don’t know particulars. We don’t need to know particulars, only that things are about to go down and we need to be out of the city to ensure our safety.”
I blew out a puff of air and nodded.