by Jamie Begley
They climbed the steps, and when they reached the front door, Knox opened it, letting her go first into the huge room. Diamond came to a stop, seeing the inside had been redecorated. The furniture had been changed since she had been to see Winter. The mismatched furniture had been replaced with expensive leather couches and recliners in several groupings. Two long sectionals were also along opposite sides of the walls. The bar where she had seen Knox with the two women stood empty with the overhead lights off; the liquor bottles and glasses gone. It looked like the bed and breakfast it was intended to be, not the motorcycle club that had been evident a few months before.
“What happened?” Diamond asked, amazed at the transformation it had gone from a haphazard assortment of furniture into a casually elegant welcoming environment.
“We redecorated,” Rider said in amusement.
“It looks wonderful,” Diamond said, looking at the shiny wooden floors and plants scattered throughout the room.
“Winter and Beth spent the week getting it ready,” Rider said, taking off his jacket and placing it in the closet. The door opened behind them and Beth, Lily and Razer came in behind them.
“Hi,” Beth and Lily spoke in unison.
“Hello,” Diamond returned their greeting. Beth looked gorgeous in a pretty blue dress and Lily was wearing a pink dress that highlighted the darkness of her long black hair, making her look feminine and graceful. Beth hung up their coats as Lily looked around.
“It’s very nice in here, Beth,” Lily told her sister. The look of relief on Beth’s face brought understanding to Diamond. The redecorating had been for Lily’s benefit.
“You haven’t been in here before?” Diamond asked Lily. Everyone surrounding her tensed. Even Knox stiffened, his hand grasped her upper arm, giving a squeeze. Diamond didn’t understand the secrecy about the change, but decided to ask Knox about it later, instead of making an issue of it.
“No. The clubhouse is off limits to me.” Lily lowered her eyes. Sensing her hurt, Diamond took a step toward her. Knox’s hand dropped away from her as she wound her arm through Lily’s.
“I’d make it off limits to you, too, if you were my sister. Too much testosterone.” Diamond gave a mock shudder, making Lily laugh. Turning back to the men, she asked, “So where’s the wedding?” Diamond twined her arm through Lily’s, and Beth gave her a grateful smile.
Diamond and Lily only managed a brief glimpse of the house as they went through into the backyard. The day was sunny with above-average temperatures for the late fall. The backyard was huge with two picnic tables set up with white tablecloths and flowers. A gazebo had flowers decorating it, which a minister was standing in front of, talking to Viper. Diamond had never met the Pastor who was extremely handsome with a sex appeal that made the ministers from her youth seem old-fashioned.
“Grab a seat; it’s about to start.” Knox ushered the women to a grouping of empty chairs toward the front. Beth had already gone to join Winter as her matron of honor.
“Winter didn’t want bridesmaids. She picked Beth to be her matron of honor and Viper picked Cash as his best man,” Lily whispered at her side.
Knox and Rider sat down next on the opposite side of Diamond. Diamond gazed at the guests already seated. All of them, The Last Riders and the female members, were waiting expectantly. Diamond felt terrible she had initially refused Winter’s invitation now that she saw that she had invited no outsiders other than Lily and her. Diamond didn’t understand why she had invited her, though. She hadn’t been friendly to the woman when she had represented her and had made no effort to get to know her since her case had been resolved.
They weren’t waiting long when someone started some light music and the door opened as Winter and an older man walked out. Winter was wearing a white dress that had long sleeves made of lace which wasn’t long, stopping at her calves, fitting her slight body to perfection. She looked beautiful with the smile and love on her face when she caught sight of Viper waiting with the Pastor.
“She looks beautiful,” Lily said beside her, speaking her own thoughts.
“Yes, she does.”
The man handed Winter over to Viper and took a seat in the row in front of Diamond. The ceremony was brief and eloquent with both Winter and Viper speaking their own vows. When the minister pronounced them man and wife, Viper scooped Winter up into his arms, twirling her around. The loud cheer from the crowd had Diamond and Lily smiling at each other.
“Thank God, that’s over,” Knox said, rising to his feet.
Diamond sent him a reproving glance as they went to Winter and Viper to congratulate them. The happy couple greeted her with warmth, making Diamond feel welcome among so many strangers. Viper introduced Diamond to his father, Ton; the older man who had walked Winter down the aisle and now stood grimily at the couple’s side.
“You look beautiful,” Diamond complimented her.
“Thanks.” Winter smiled.
“I was afraid for a few minutes that Ton was going to run off with her,” Viper joked.
“Let’s get the pictures over with, so I can get some food. You already took all the fun out of it by hiding the booze.” Everyone sent the man a quelling look while Lily looked stricken with a faint blush rising to her cheeks.
“Diamond let’s get some food. You can come with us, Lily. Beth will be a few minutes taking pictures.” Knox took both women by the arms, leading them into a huge kitchen where a large amount of food was sitting in warming trays. Evie and Bliss were ahead of them in line, filling their plate. Diamond avoided their eyes after the women greeted her with smiles.
Lily and Diamond filled their plates, watching as Knox and Rider overloaded their own. They took a seat at the large table in the dining room where Lily sat across from her while Knox and Rider sat down next to her, one on each side. When Evie and Bliss joined them at the same table, their friendly demeanor put Diamond at ease despite their history with Knox.
Lily kept her entertained by asking questions about her job and where she had gone to college. She was familiar with Lexington and the University of Kentucky, and they talked for several minutes before a breathless Beth took the seat next to Lily.
“Razer is getting my plate. I didn’t want to fight the line.” As Knox and Rider had gone back for seconds, Diamond could understand. When they returned and they resumed their seats, Beth stared at them for several seconds before giving Razer a concerned look as he handed her a plate of food.
His carefully bland face gave Diamond no clue as to what was upsetting Beth. Knox drew her attention with a hard look at Beth as he asked Diamond if she had heard anything else about his case.
“No, it goes to trial in January, giving me a couple of months to prepare, but I’m basically at a standstill until we get the final results from Frankfort.”
“I’ll be glad when this bullshit is over,” Knox said, picking up his glass of Champaign punch.
“I need all the time I can get. If something new doesn’t turn up, it’s not going to go well for you,” Diamond warned.
“I made the biggest mistake of my life that day,” Knox said, the anger evident on his face.
Diamond squeezed his hand in sympathy as Evie and Bliss got up from the table, excusing themselves to wash dishes. Diamond and Lily started to rise to go help.
“Let them take care of it; it’s their punishment.” Knox stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“Punishment?” Diamond questioned, seeing Lily’s eyes widen.
“They screwed up an order that went out last week. The kitchen is the punishment they drew.”
“You punish them when they make a simple mistake?” Lily questioned.
“It wasn’t a simple mistake; a customer was kept waiting for the supplies they needed. They gave us a bad review and took their order somewhere else,” Shade said, pausing by their table.
“Then write them up,” Lily snapped back. “But punishing them like children is ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Shad
e said. “Do you think a written paper telling them they made a mistake is as effective as making them wash all the dishes and clean the kitchen for a week?”
“For a week?” Lily asked. “They should report you to OSHA.”
Shades lips twisted into what Diamond thought was his version of a smile. “It was handled as a club punishment, which is different than what we would have done if they had been one of the hired employees.”
“What would you have done to a hired employee? Make them mop the floors for a month?” Lily asked with fight in her eyes.
“No, we would have fired their asses,” Shade answered.
A thought occurred to Lily, who turned to Beth. Diamond would have bet her law degree on the question that was coming next. “Do you have to take punishments like that?”
When Beth didn’t answer immediately, Lily drew taut beside her sister. Diamond almost found herself smiling at the young woman who was like a spitting kitten trying to protect her sister.
“Then you don’t need to belong to the club anymore,” Lily declared.
“She’s Razer’s; she belongs to him and the club,” Shade said bluntly. Lily stared at her sister, wanting her to deny their ownership.
“We’ll talk about this later, Lily,” Beth said, taking Lily’s hand. “But I love Razer and you do, too, and you know it. The Last Riders are a big part of his life; he considers them family. I did know that he was in a motorcycle club when I fell in love with him, and it’s not like it’s an overly harsh punishment. The worst thing that could happen is dish pan hands.”
Lily gave her sister a rueful smile. “I’m sorry I overreacted, I just couldn’t stand the thought of you taking any punishment for any reason.” The women shared a private moment. “Besides, it’s your life and I know for a fact you’re very happy.”
“Yes, I am.” Beth smiled.
Shade once again started to walk on until Lily’s next words stopped him dead in his tracks. “We need to go to Arizona; they have cowboys, Diamond,” Lily said to her mischievously.
“Cowboys?” Diamond asked, not understanding the abrupt subject change.
“I’m going to marry a cowboy. Their gentlemen, kind and protect their women,” Lily said with authority.
“They do?”
Lily nodded her head. From the look on Shades face, the only cowboy in Lily’s future would be wearing leather instead of chaps and a motorcycle instead of a horse.
Beth laughed at her sister’s idea of a perfect husband. “Our father wouldn’t let us watch television. The only shows he would take us to every now and then were cowboy movies. Lily has been infatuated with them ever since,” Beth explained.
A chill ran down Diamond’s back at the expression on Shades face. His hands clenched and unclenched as he stood still.
“Shade, Razer is waiting on you.” Winter’s voice broke the tension-filled moment as she came up behind him, her eyes flashing a warning. Shade leaned over Lily, reaching for Diamond’s empty plate.
“You think cowboys don’t know how to punish their women, Lily? They have whips and spurs they use on their horses.” A terrified look came over Lily’s face and her hand went to the wrist with a rubber band. Shade’s hand covered the wrist before Lily could touch it. “I’ll take that to the kitchen for you, Diamond. At least when I punish someone, I don’t leave a mark,” he said suggestively, rising with Diamond’s plate in his hand, leaving the quiet group behind.
Rider started laughing, breaking the tension. “I think I’ll get another plate.”
Diamond stared at him in surprise. “Rider, you’ve been back twice.”
“I have to have plenty of energy for the dancing,” he said with a meaningful look at Beth, laughing at her red face while she gave her husband a threatening glare.
Rising to her feet, Beth took Lily’s hand and went upstairs to help Winter get out of her wedding dress.
Diamond looked at Knox. “I don’t want to know what that was all about, do I?”
“Nope, just do what I do.”
“What’s that?”
“Stay out of it,” Knox said.
“That’s good advice.” Diamond didn’t want to invade Lily’s privacy and she wasn’t about to piss off Shade. That man took the term intimidating to a whole new level.
“Let’s go outside and sit.” They went outside, finding a couple of chairs.
“I didn’t realize this backyard was so big.”
“The property extends for several miles. Razer and Beth are building a home over there.” Knox pointed to a clearing that had several piles of lumber stacked and a frame already well under way. It was close to the house, but not too close; giving the impression of privacy while still having the feeling of being close to the main house.
“They wanted to have it finished by next year when Lily graduates. There was another clearing farther away with its back to the mountain. That’s where Shade plans to build his house when Razer’s is finished.”
“It’s a beautiful spot.”
Music began playing. “Dance with me.”
“I shouldn’t, Knox. I shouldn’t be doing any of this. I could get censured.” Diamond attempted to half-heartedly resist.
“No one is going to open their mouth about you even being here today.” The thought suddenly occurred to her that he had driven her, not letting her take her own car, ensuring that no one would see her car parked outside for any length of time.
They went to where several of The Last Riders were dancing in a spot that obviously had been used to dance several times. Diamond was amazed at how tame everyone was; no liquor, the women were all dressed modestly and on very circumspect behavior. Her dad’s former club would have torn the place apart by now, celebrating an occasion of their president getting married. Diamond knew of two instances where fires had been inadvertently set.
Everyone in the club was dancing, so Diamond and Knox danced several times before Lily, Beth and Winter came outside; Winter having changed into a cream dress that suited her and wasn’t as formal. While Viper and Razer grabbed their women for a dance, Lily saw Diamond and came over to them to sit down by her and Knox.
They sat, talking until Diamond began to feel uncomfortable. It was obvious Lily wanted to dance, yet no one had asked her. Diamond tried to give the hint to Knox with a shake of her head when Lily wasn’t looking, however she received a firm “No” in response that made Lily jump and Diamond want to kick him. She thought Razer would ask, yet when he approached with Beth, they only joined them to sit and relax. Beth also tried to unobtrusively get Razer to dance with Lily, which was ignored.
Diamond noticed that all the men in the group gave Lily a wide berth, which led Diamond to draw two conclusions; one was that because of Razer they were showing respect by leaving his sister-in-law alone, the second that they were afraid of someone. Diamond had grown up with bikers; when they wanted a woman, no harm no foul, anything was game on.
So that left the only conclusion; they were afraid, and she had a feeling she knew who they were afraid of. The man in question was dancing with Bliss who had been in Knox’s bedroom the day they had served the warrant. She was also the woman her sister and crew wanted to beat the shit out of because she had been the woman Razer had two-timed Beth with.
As Lily sat talking with Beth and Razer, she never once looked at Shade and Bliss. The oblivious woman had no clue of the wolf stalking her.
Knox caught her staring with a raised brow. Diamond said nothing at first then became slightly mischievous and decided to dance again.
“Let’s dance.” Agreeing easily, Knox stood up, going ahead to where the group was dancing while Diamond turned back to Lily. “Want to dance with us?” The enthusiasm on her face made Diamond’s breath catch. “Lord have mercy,” she mumbled under her breath, taking Lily’s hand. Knox threw her a look when she approached with Lily. She thought he would walk off the dance floor, but Lily’s joyful face stopped him as did the threatening glare from Diamond.
; Resigned, he danced with the two women, although he did dance close to Diamond’s side, staying as far away from Lily as the crowded floor would allow. Lily stayed on Diamond’s other side, dancing with youthful enthusiasm. She was good. Her lithe body moving to the music had her smiling at the two people she danced with as a rosy glow crept onto her cheeks. She twirled when the music ended, laughing at Diamond’s astonishment at her skill.
“You’re very good,” Diamond complimented her.
“Beth and I used to dance in our bedrooms when we were little. We were terrible, but it was just us, so we didn’t care,” Lily confessed.
“You’re not terrible now, you’re really good.”
“My roommate has been teaching me. She likes to go to some of the college parties and she makes me go with her.” Her voice was a little loud so she could be heard over the music. She twirled again, and this time when she twirled, a hard body was waiting. Lily immediately shied away from Shade.
Diamond was about to take a step forward to intervene when Knox put his hand around her waist, holding her back, although he did stay close enough to keep a watchful eye on the situation. “You started this, now leave it alone.”
“You dance with guys at these parties?” Diamond heard Shade ask Lily.
“No,” Lily said, trying to break away. Shade loosened his grip, letting Lily put some space between them.
“Dance with me,” he said persuasively, loosening his hold.
Razer and Beth came to dance next to them with Beth sending her an encouraging smile. Lily slowly began to dance to the music, yet she didn’t regain the fluidity of before. Her hand went to her wrist, but Shade sent her a warning glance and she removed it. Diamond was as relieved when the music ended as Lily was, leaving the dance floor with a sense of reprieve.