“I can’t tell you what to do,” I confided as I lowered my voice and Ghost and GQ approached, “but you need to figure shit out and fast. Devlin will make his move soon. We both know it.”
“I know, R.J.”
“Good.”
Ghost and GQ joined us in a game of horseshoes, followed by Mack and Valan. Edge was helping Rae most of the time and I joined him at the grill as he flipped brats, hotdogs, and burgers. Rae and Hayley were filling up a long table with bowls of chips, potato salad, macaroni salad, pretzels, and something she called fluff. All I saw was pale green pudding and pieces of fruit mixed with colored marshmallows and whipped topping. The kids loved it.
Through my sunglasses, I watched little Leah interact with her friends. She seemed happy and excited, as it should be on her eighth birthday. “Leah is adjusting well.”
“Yeah, Rae was pretty worried after Cara’s visit but there haven’t been any more issues. My girls are close.” He shrugged. “Never thought I’d feel so content, R.J. I’ve got my Rae and Leah and a baby on the way. Who would have thought?”
I chuckled lightly, slapping him on the back. “I did. It’s meant to be, Pete.” Sometimes I used his real name when it was just the two of us. Old habits died hard. His road name was something new in the last five years only. “You and Rae are perfect.”
He ticked his chin in my direction. “You’re gonna find your happiness too, R.J.”
Yeah, I wasn’t placing any bets on that statement. “Maybe.” I shrugged, changing the subject. “Did you –”
I was cut off when Leah screamed a familiar name that immediately caught my attention.
“Cara!”
The second I heard Cara’s sweet voice respond, my body reacted, and I spun, suddenly ravenous for just a glimpse of the sexy brunette. She was smiling as she walked into the backyard with a friend and a little girl who looked about Leah’s age.
“You’re not late!” Leah exclaimed, immediately hugging Cara around the waist.
“Nope. Here at two just like I promised, and I brought my sister Charlotte and her daughter Sophie.”
“Is she the one that’s eight like me?”
“Yep.?
? She turned to the little girl. “Sophie this is Leah. Leah, this is Sophie. You both love Anna and Elsa so I think you’re going to have a lot of fun together.”
Leah looked over Sophie’s dark braid that resembled the character Anna, dangling over one shoulder. She had on a t-shirt and shorts that were Frozen themed. “I have the same outfit. Who’s your favorite?”
“I can’t pick just one,” Sophie announced. “They’re sisters.”
Leah beamed a huge smile, grabbing Sophie’s hand. “That’s what I keep telling Angelique. She doesn’t understand like we do.”
Rae approached as Cara and her sister laughed at the girl’s comments and they ran away to join the others. “I’m so glad you came.”
“Thanks for having us. We brought more drinks. I’ll just grab them from the car.”
“No. I’ll go,” Charlotte offered. “Nice to meet you, Rae. Cara has mentioned you and Leah often. I feel like I know you already.”
Cara blushed. “Thanks for ratting me out, sis.”
Charlotte laughed, leaving through the back gate to return for the soda and Ghost followed her. I noticed his wide grin as he checked out her ass. Shaking my head, I turned to Edge and caught his smirk.
“Those sisters look a lot alike.”
They did? I barely noticed Charlotte. My gaze was locked on Cara. She hadn’t noticed me yet, too busy chatting with Rae and Hayley. Hayley could literally talk until the end of time and not run out of things to say. She was a sweet girl, but I wouldn’t be able to handle it as well as Jake. He came up behind Hayley and slid his arm around her shoulders, ticking his head in our direction in greeting. Mack had him out on a run with Tank, our new Enforcer. Must have run late. He was due here an hour ago.
Hope there wasn’t an issue. Mack was frowning from the horseshoe pit and I was sure he thought the same.
“Hi, R.J.”
Looking down, I was caught off guard by Cara and her seductively sweet smile. She was sneaky. Never saw her come this way. “Hey.” I stood for a moment, entranced by her beauty and that long, jet black hair pulled back in the heat of the day. A few of the strands were loose and lightly teasing the delicate skin of her throat. The same way my fingers suddenly itched to do.