Spark of Time: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 5: an MC/Band of Brothers Romance

by Kathleen Kelly

  Turning, I notice Jamie is also watching Cutter. His mouth is set in a hard line, and the smile which has been on his face all morning has disappeared. Another customer moves into his line of vision, and he smiles at them, but it’s a little forced. He must sense me watching him as he looks at me and winks. I smile at him and go about tidying my goods. Not that they need it.

  When we first moved here, I had nightmares about Chase almost every night. I was terrified to let Charlotte out of my sight for fear he’d find her and hurt her like he always promised to do. But as the days turned into weeks and now months, he feels like a distant memory. Charlotte has blossomed. She loves working in the bakery. The Loyal Rebels under Cutter’s guidance look out for her. I’m the only one who hasn’t made friends.

  “Hey, Isabelle,” Lola, with her red hair pulled back into a ponytail, stands in front of me. “Have you got any of that rye bread?”

  “Yes, I do. And I understand congratulations are in order?”

  Lola nods, barely containing her excitement. “Yeah, he finally asked.”

  “You look happy. So when is the big day?”

  “Kyle wants it to be in the middle of summer. We have a place out of town big enough for the entire MC. Hey, do you think you could help with the wedding cake?”

  “Sure.”

  Lola smiles. “Cool. Can I have three loaves of the rye bread?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I put each of them into paper bags and then put them into a plastic carry bag and hand them over. Lola’s eyes are glued to Jamie, who’s deep in conversation with a customer.

  “He’s probably talking about organic farming,” I tease.

  Lola looks back at me and hands over some money. “We haven’t seen him since the big night.”

  “He had crops to harvest and bees to…” I frown. “I was going to say collect their honey, but it’s probably more like stealing, right?”

  “No, collect is right,” injects Jamie. He walks out and engulfs Lola in a hug. “Congrats, Lola. Welcome to the family.” He holds her at arm’s length. “Not that you weren’t already part of it. How does Logan feel about it?”

  “He’s happy. Told Kyle he took too long.”

  Jamie laughs. “He’s smart, that one.”

  Lola nods. “You’ll come to the wedding, won’t you?”

  Jamie points at a patch on her vest. “Do you need a wedding?”

  The patch says, property of the Loyal Rebels and Kyle MacKenny.

  Lola grins and nods. “Kyle gave it to me the other night. But I want to officially be a part of your family, so he’s agreed to a wedding, of sorts.”

  Staring at the patch, I freeze. ‘Property of,’ maybe I had these bikers all wrong.

  They own their women?

  No one should own anyone.

  Chase thought he owned me. He told me what to wear, how to do my hair, what friends I should have. And here is Lola with a patch on her vest that proclaims it to the world. How barbaric.

  “Isabelle, we’re having a party. Do you and Charlotte want to come?”

  “No, we’re busy.”

  Lola frowns. “But I didn’t tell you when it was.”

  Shaking my head, I reply, “Sorry, I thought you said for tonight. When is it?”

  “This Saturday night.”

  I pretend to think about it for a moment, then slowly shake my head. “No, sorry. We have something on. Next time?”

  Lola nods and glances from me to Jamie. “You’ll come, though, won’t you?”

  “How can I say no?”

  Kyle walks up and puts his arm around Lola’s waist. “You ready to go, babe?”

  “Yeah. I got that bread you like.”

  Kyle kisses her. “Did you get something for yourself? A cupcake?”

  “My ass doesn’t need to get any bigger.”

  Kyle pulls her in closer. “Oh, I don’t know, you’d still look good.”

  “Get a room,” jokes Jamie.

  Kyle raises an eyebrow at his brother. “You coming on Saturday?”

  “Yeah.”

  He looks at me. “How about you, Isabelle? Can you and Charlotte make it? We’ll order some bread rolls from you, and you can come party and deliver them at the same time?”

  “She can’t, she’s busy,” says Lola quickly.

  Kyle looks down at his woman, eyebrows raised. “Right.”

  Something passes between them. He takes the plastic carry bag from her and looks back at me. “You have a good day.”

  They walk away, locked together, seemingly happy.

  “So, you were busy before Lola even asked you to the party?”

  I look up at him. “I misheard her.”

  “Right.” He shakes his head, turns his back on me, and goes back to his customers.

  Jamie seems nothing like his brother, but he’s obviously accepted that his brother owns a person. The rest of the day goes quickly, and before I know it, it’s one o’clock. I’ve sold out of all of my bread and only have a few cupcakes left. It’s been a good day. I’ve made a lot of money, and if it weren’t for Jamie, I wouldn’t even be here.

  Opening the van, I load my tables into it. Jamie is talking to some of the other stallholders. He glances at me, shakes the hand of the man he’s talking to, and comes over.

  “Do you need help?” he asks gruffly.

  “N-No. I’m all packed up.” He nods and begins packing up his stall. “Did you want to get dinner?”

  Jamie stops working and looks at me. “Were you really busy?”

  “What?”

  “For the party. Do you actually have something going on, or were you judging Lola?”

  “I-I—”

  “Lola is a good person. She’s had a hard life. Kyle is the first bit of good she’s ever experienced. I can’t imagine how hard it was for her to have a child so young and then to walk away from him to protect him from her own mother. Now, that woman was a piece of work. Lola and her son, Logan, are family. The way you just treated her, it’s not right.”

  “The way I treated her?” Anger boils within me. “He put a patch on her, declaring she was his property! No one owns anyone. It’s barbaric. Has anyone asked Lola if she wants to be his?”

  Jamie looks shocked. He closes the gap between us and lowers his voice. “The patch is for the other members of the club. It’s a way for them to know that Lola is his ol’ lady and that she’s not a pass-around.” He barks out a mirthless laugh. “Not that Lola would let herself get passed around, nor would Kyle allow it. They love each other. If you can’t see that, that’s on you.”

  Jamie gives me his back and loads up his truck. I’m standing there dumbfounded at his outburst. But can you call it an outburst when someone quietly but forcefully explains a situation? I feel like I’ve let him down. That somehow, I’ve disappointed him. I wait until he’s ready to leave and place a hand on his arm. He freezes in place and only moves his head to look at me.

  “I’m sorry. I misread the situation. You can see, though, how I did, yeah? She only bought his favorite bread and the patch, it said ‘property of.’”

  Jamie shakes his head. “Lola bought the bread to make Kyle happy cause that’s what people do when they’re in love, they do it for each other. And the patch, well, I explained it. Do I like it?” He shakes his head. “But that’s their world. It’s how people in their world do things.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  He glances down at my arm and nods. “Good.”

  With reluctance, I let go of his arm. Jamie’s eyes bore into mine, he smiles, then dips his head close to mine. So close I think he’s going to kiss me. “Did you say dinner?”

  Stumbling, I step back. “What?”

  “I’d love to do dinner. Did you want to come back to my place or we could meet at the steakhouse later or…”

  “Umm…” I shake my head to clear it. “How about an early dinner at your place? I don’t want to leave Charlotte alone all day.”

  “What if I
follow you home and bring you both out for dinner? I make a mean steak, and my potatoes are an old family recipe.”

  “You want Charlotte there?”

  Jamie frowns. “Yes, why wouldn’t I?”

  “It’s just that most men find her a little…” I struggle to find the right words.

  “I’m not most men.”

  With my hands in my pockets, I nod. “It seems like most of the men in this town aren’t like the men I used to know.”

  Jamie laughs. The disappointment I was feeling before sweeps away with the sound of it. “You’ve been hanging out with the wrong type of men.”

  “You have no idea.”

  Charlotte walks around Jamie’s home, picking up various items and inspecting them. He’s grinning at her and answering all of her questions.

  “You cook?” she asks him.

  “Yep, but only the basics. My Da told me that if I didn’t learn how, I might starve.”

  “Your Da?”

  He smiles and holds out his arm. There’s a tattoo of a cross on the inside of his arm. “This is for my grandfather, Da.”

  We both move closer to it, and I notice it has the words, In Memory of KM with two intertwined hearts in the center.

  “KM?”

  “Kyle MacKenny, my grandfather’s name and who Kyle is named after. It’s the only tattoo I have, and we joke that it’s not only blood that binds us but ink.” He smiles and lowers his arm. “Charlotte, could you set the table?”

  She nods happily, goes into his kitchen, and opens the cutlery drawer as if she’s done it a hundred times.

  “What can I do?”

  “Sit. You’ve been on your feet all day.”

  Charlotte smiles. “Yeah, we’ve got this, sis.”

  “Sis?”

  Charlotte giggles. “Cutter calls you that. He’s always asking where my sis is.”

  Sitting at the dining table, I watch as Jamie helps Charlotte find everything while he monitors the steaks and potatoes. For dessert, I brought out today’s leftover cupcakes. Jamie is so good with her. He never raises his voice, and he explains everything, so she understands. Not only is he the polar opposite of Chase in personality, but he is also in looks too. Where Chase spent most of his time in the gym to become sculpted, Jamie’s physique is from hard labor. The man doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him. Self-consciously, I rub my arms. It’s been months since I’ve hit a gym.

  “Are you cold? I could get you a jacket?”

  “No, I’m fine. Feeling guilty about not hitting the gym.”

  Jamie looks surprised. “You don’t need to hit the gym. You’re perfect the way you are. A man likes curves, not a stick figure.”

  Charlotte straightens her shoulders and smiles up at him adoringly. “I like him. He’s honest.”

  My cheeks flush red, and I look around his small home.

  “Do you want the grand tour?” Jamie asks.

  “Sure.”

  He holds out his hand to me. “This is the kitchen.” He points to where Charlotte is standing and points at her, twirling his hand. She complies by doing a twirl. Next, he points at the dining table. “The dining area.” With my hand firmly in his, Jamie takes two steps forward. “The living room.” Then, with a grin, he pulls me down the hall and opens a door. The room is small and only has a desk in it and a filing cabinet. “The office.”

  “It could use some sprucing up.”

  “I’m going for minimalism.”

  “Oh, you’ve captured it perfectly, then.”

  Jamie chuckles and opens another door. “The guest bedroom.”

  I poke my head in. It has a double bed, dresser, and a godawful print on the wall. “What do you call that?” I ask, pointing at it.

  “Thrift store chic,” he replies with a straight face. Jamie turns and opens another door. “This is my room.”

  Letting go of his hand, I wander in. This is the largest of the bedrooms. The walls are painted white, and wooden French doors lead out to the back of the property. His bed is king-size, with large wooden pillars in each corner. One wall has many framed photos of his brothers, and I’m guessing other family members.

  Jamie reaches for my hand. “The tour isn’t over.” He waggles his eyebrows up and down, causing me to giggle.

  Jamie pulls me from the room and opens another door next to his room. “The master bathroom. Actually, it’s the only bathroom in the house. I was thinking of adding an ensuite, but as I’m the only one here, there didn’t seem to be much point.”

  Charlotte barges past both of us. “I need to go.” She shuts the door on us, and I burst out laughing.

  “She’s so subtle,” I joke.

  “Hey, when you’ve gotta go.” Jamie gestures with his head for me to follow him, not that I have much choice as he pulls me back down the hallway, through the living room, and out the front door onto the porch. “This is the best room in the house.”

  Looking out, the sun is setting with oranges and pinks streaking across the sky.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  Jamie is staring at me. “Yes, it is.” When I look up at him, he grins. “I’ve been meaning to get a swing so I can sit out here, but until now, I haven’t had a good enough reason to do it.”

  “I smell something burning,” says Charlotte as she joins us on the porch.

  Jamie pushes past us and runs into the kitchen. I burst out laughing, and Charlotte smiles at me.

  “Maybe we should go help him?” I suggest.

  Charlotte giggles, and we both head inside.

  Jamie is in the kitchen, pulling his potatoes out of the oven.

  “Not burned. Just a little crispy.”

  Charlotte looks at me with wide eyes and covers her smile with her hands.

  Jamie looks at her. “Okay, maybe a little burned.”

  Charlotte leans over his dish and looks up at him. “Only a little.”

  A smile passes between them, and then they both laugh.

  “Steaks are done… potatoes are overdone. All we need are drinks, and we’re set.”

  “I’ll get them,” offers Charlotte as she opens his refrigerator. “Beer for you?”

  “Yes, please, Charlotte.”

  “You can call me Lottie if you want. Isabelle, do you want a Coke?”

  I’m surprised at how comfortable Charlotte is in Jamie’s home. She was never this way with Chase.

  “A Coke would be good.”

  She pulls two Cokes and one beer out of the refrigerator and places them on Jamie’s dining table.

  “Do we need glasses?”

  I shake my head, and Jamie twists the top off his beer and takes a sip.

  “Nope, I’m good, Lottie.”

  Charlotte smiles at him, sits down and, then she pats the seat next to her for me.

  “Maybe Jamie needs help?”

  She shakes her head. “Nope, he’s got it.”

  “Lottie is right, I’ve got this.”

  It’s odd to be sitting in Jamie’s home and have him wait on us. It only serves to remind me he’s nothing like Chase.

  Even though the potatoes were a little on the burned side, they tasted great, and the steaks were cooked to perfection. We capped the meal off with a cupcake each. It’s only eight o’clock, but it’s been a long day, so once we finish dessert, Jamie drives us home.

  As soon as we pull up, Charlotte opens her door. “Night!” And she bounds inside, leaving me alone with Jamie.

  Awkwardly, I look over at him. “Ahh, thank you for today. It’s been a good day.”

  Jamie reaches across the seat and touches my arm. “Thanks for coming out for dinner. It’s been a long time since I’ve had company.”

  Suddenly, feeling a little overwhelmed, I skirt across the seat and slide out of his truck.

  “Thanks, Jamie. I guess I’ll see you next month or sooner if you come into the bakery.”

  He frowns and nods. “Yeah. I’ll be seeing you.”

  “Okay. Night!”

 
I slam the door shut and hurry into the back of the bakery. When I turn around, Jamie is already driving away.

  Jamie

  The friendship zone. I’ve firmly been put into that category with Isabelle. The way she jumped out of my truck and ran inside made it incredibly clear that she’s not interested in me in any kind of romantic sense. I haven’t felt like this since I was a pimply-faced teenager.

  Without too much thought, I drive to Maddock’s home. I climb out of the truck and knock on his door.

  Cherie opens it. “Hey, you, come on in.”

  “Did you even check the peephole?”

  Cherie frowns. “No.” She looks past me out onto the street. “Is someone hanging about that shouldn’t be?”

  “I could be a predator. You should always check.”

  Cherie waves a hand in my face. “Pfft! Everyone knows we’re affiliated with the MC. They’d have to be stupid to try anything.”

  “What if I was a rapist or a robber?”

  “Well, brother, that’s what I’m for,” replies Maddock. “Shut the door and come in.”

  With a sigh, I do as I’m told and follow him further into the house. He takes me into the kitchen, where Cherie already has a beer out for me and is opening a bag of chips.

  “I’ve eaten.”

  Cherie shrugs and up-ends the bag into a bowl. “You look like you need comfort food.”

  Their kitchen has a long island with stools around it. I pull one out, sit down, and open my beer.

  “Are you okay?” asks Maddock.

  “Have you met Isabelle?”

  “Oh! Girl problems. Tell me everything,” says Cherie eagerly as she sits beside me.

  I frown and look at her.

  “Bakery chick, right?” asks Maddock.

  “Yes, she’s the bakery chick, and she’s super cute,” chimes in Cherie.

  “She came over for dinner tonight.”

  “Was it just dinner, or is that boy code for…”

  “Babe, let the man speak.” Maddock moves a stool and sits opposite us.

  “I think I’ve been put firmly in the friendship zone.”

  Maddock grits his teeth. “Damn, and I’m guessing you like her?”

  I nod. “She’s different. Knew it from the moment I laid eyes on her at your engagement party.”