“Eh, those bushes were looking a little thin. You just fertilized them. Thanks,” Boxer teased.
While I’d been trying to fix the cake that Lily had taken a fork to, Linden and Boxer had walked in, thus ruining the chance at a surprise.
The guys had thrown burgers, hot dogs, and chicken sausages onto the grill. The kids had been fed and were now inside watching a movie with Monk.
It was a mellow party, and I was grateful for it.
The young Blue Angels and prospects had departed not that long ago, no doubt wanting to look for something livelier than a barbecue full of paired-off people, most of whom were parents.
“It’s good to see Crow and South Paw getting along again,” Linden noted.
“They were at each other’s throats for a while,” Mia added.
“What were they fighting about?” I asked. “The night of the party?”
The group suddenly fell silent, and I realized I’d stumbled across a land mine. A land mine they all knew about, but I didn’t because I was an outsider.
Boxer reached over and took Linden’s free hand and began to massage it. She bowed her head and kept her eyes on her plate of cake.
It was Mia who finally spoke up. “Some bad shit went down with the club awhile back. It was hard on all of us. They were still processing it.”
“Oh,” I said with a nod. I quickly finished off my glass of juice. “Where’s the restroom?”
“There’s a guest bathroom just off the living room,” Boxer said.
“Thanks.” I stood quickly and rushed inside. I set my empty glass on the counter and then traveled along the hallway to the bathroom. It had been as good an excuse as any, and it hadn’t been a lie.
When I finished my business, I opened the door and was greeted by Monk, who’d clearly come to investigate.
“Hey, boy,” I said, giving him a nice long ear rub as he sniffed around me.
“He likes you.”
I jumped, not having heard Slash approach.
“Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine.” I sighed. “I didn’t mean to cause…whatever I caused out there.”
“Not your fault. You didn’t know.” He took my hand and gave it a squeeze.
The little blonde girl ran down the hallway from the living room, stopping when she saw Slash and me. Her mouth was smeared with chocolate, and she was holding an empty glass.
“Lily, right?” I asked.
She nodded slowly. “I’m sorry I ruined the cake you made for Aunt Linden.”
“You didn’t ruin it,” I said with a smile. “Everyone still ate it.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
She sighed. “Good. Mama was really mad. But it just looked so good.”
God, she’s adorable.
“How old are you, Lily?” I asked.