Running down the front porch, she made her way over to the car, smiling when he reached over the bench seat and pushed the passenger side door open for her. She got in, closing the door and tossing her bag into the bag.
“You ready?” he asked, a nervous smile on his face.
Mandy thought about his question. Was she really? It took only a few moments to decide that she was. “I am.” She nodded, reaching over to grab his hand. “Let’s go, in case Drew or my parents come back.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“If people could see us now,” Rooster mumbled as he, Tyler, and Liam got all the kids situated before they went inside the church.
“They can.” Liam smacked him on the shoulder. “It’s not like we have the cloak of invisibility around us.”
“Look at that Harry Potter reference.” Tyler whistled between his teeth. “Doin’ a little reading, huh?”
“Cut the shit. You’ll be doing a lot of reading yourself. More than likely princess books. At least my daughter is tomboy through and through.” Liam laughed.
The ladies had been tapped to work the concession stand the church was operating for the night, so that left the men to take the kids around and get as much candy as they could. “If anybody hands out those piece of shit, black and orange wrapped taffy ones, we avoid them at all costs,” Rooster instructed, grabbing Carter’s candy bucket.
“A-fuckin’-men,” Liam agreed. “I cracked a tooth on that shit last year and had to get a crown. What we want are candy bars and sweet tarts. Love the sweet tarts. Drew and I eat those things until we get sores in our mouths.”
“Are the teenagers coming to the club party tonight?” Tyler asked as he got Addie situated.
“Hell no, that’s adults only.” Liam shook his head. “But we have babysitters for the kids. A couple of Mandy’s friends needed some extra cash. They’re gonna watch them all night up at the house.”
“We trust ’em?” Tyler questioned.
“Yeah, they’re good kids. Most of them have moms that work at Wet Wanda’s, so there is an affiliation there.”
“Alright, let’s get this over with,” Rooster told them as he picked up Carter. “You hold this bud.” He shoved the candy bucket in Carter’s hand. “Smile big and charm the candy out of these ladies. Daddy wants a Snickers.”
“Shit.” Tyler chuckled, shaking his head. “Just go to the store and buy one.”
“Not when I can get it for free. I guarantee you he has more candy than the two chicks by the end of the night.”
“Ohhhh, you’re on,” Tyler told him, scooping up Addie and taking her inside.
Tatum stood back with Liam, her gaze on her dad. “We’re old pros at this, ain’t we, baby girl?” She nodded. “What do we do?” he asked her.
“Smile big at Ms. Jan.”
Ms. Jan was what some people called a crazy old coot, but all she wanted was to be treated like everyone else. If you smiled at her, she would dump her whole bag of candy in your bucket, just because she appreciated it.
“That’s right.” He grabbed her hand and led her into the church. “Let’s win this shi…stuff. Let’s win this stuff.”
Mandy was quiet as Dalton drove along the back roads that took them from Warren County through Barren County, before stopping at a plot of land that Dalton’s family had owned for many years, just off the state park at Barren River. She knew he and his brother, Deacon, had lived here with their uncle for a time, until they had been able to get back on their feet. She didn’t know much about Dalton’s parents, but one thing she did know was that he never wanted to talk about them, so she never brought it up.
“It should be warm. I came out here early this morning and made sure it was clean and that I’d turned the heat on,” he told her quietly as they pulled up to a trailer.
She knew by looking at it that it wasn’t much, but it wasn’t anything different than half a million other trailers that littered the countryside here. They were used as weekend getaway homes so that people could fish and camp out in the country. They weren’t meant to be a five-star hotel. It would, however, serve for what they needed for this night. They both wanted a place where they could be alone and no one would bother them. “Thanks.” Her hand shook as she popped open the car door.
They ran towards the front porch that had been built onto the trailer, and Dalton stopped her, reaching out for her hand. “Be careful, it might be slick. We’re a little more north here than in Bowling Green. I noticed the roads were more covered the closer we got.”
She gripped his hand tightly as she carefully made her way up the front steps. Her eyes didn’t leave his hands as he took out a key and opened the door, allowing her to go inside. Looking around, she realized that while it was small, it was very clean. He’d done a good job. And it was warm; there was a lot to be said for that.
“It’s not much,” he spoke to cover the silence. “It was home for a while though.” He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and rocked back on his heels.
Mandy noticed that as a tell. That meant he was nervous and wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Knowing he was as nervous as her made this easier. “You should see some of the places we lived when we were little—ya know, when Mom was trying to get on her own two feet. Hell, you should have seen some of the meals we had in our house right before Mom met Dad. It was grim for a while.”
“Don’t.” He shook his head. “Don’t try and make me feel better about where I come from. I come from an entirely different place than you, and I’ve always known that I’m a lucky son of a bitch to even be the Princess’s friend.”
That took her by surprise. “Princess?”
“Yeah, that’s what most of us who are friends with Drew call you.”
“Why?” She shook her head.
“Because that’s what you are, and that’s how he talks about you. We all know that we don’t mess with you.” His mouth kicked up in a grin. “Except me. I apparently want to get my ass kicked and my balls thrown in a vice. I can’t seem to stay away from you.”
They’d never been alone before, at least not like this. Any other stolen moments they’d ever had, Deacon or his uncle had been in a bedroom not too far away. Dalton had never wanted to disrespect Drew or her dad by doing anything at her house, and she thought maybe that was why her nerves were so on edge. “I can’t seem to stay away from you either.”
Both of them were shy in front of other people; neither of them liked to flaunt their relationship because it always seemed counterintuitive. Neither one of them wanted to piss anyone off. But someone was going to have to make the first move, or they might stand gazing at one another all night. With guts she didn’t know she had, she shrugged her jacket off, toed off her shoes, undid the scarf around her neck, and reached down to the hem of her thermal shirt. Before she lost those guts, she pulled it over her head, standing in front of him in her bra. Normally they had the lights off and it was very hard to make out anything, but she could make out everything looking at him now. His brown eyes turned to the color of whiskey, and she heard his sharp intake of breath. It gave her bravery more fuel, so she unbuttoned her jeans and peeled them off her legs.
Never in her life had Mandy stood in front of someone this exposed. It felt odd, but she trusted Dalton with everything in her life. They’d been friends for as long as she could remember being with the Heaven Hill MC. He was part of her family in a weird way, and there was no one she trusted more than him.
“I’m trying to be the good guy here,” he told her, swallowing so hard she saw his Adam’s apple move with the force of it.
“I’m trying to show you that I don’t want you to be,” she whispered.
He fisted his hands at his sides. There were so many things he wanted to do, so many feelings he wanted to act on, but he had to know that this was her decision. He had to know that she wasn’t doing this because she felt like she had to. He bit his bottom lip and put his hands on top of his head. “I’m not good enough for you,”
he bit out against the lump in his throat.
Her heart broke when she heard those words. “You are, you’re perfect for me.”
Not overthinking it, she walked over to him, put her arms around his neck, and pulled his mouth down to hers. If there was one thing they were good at, it was kissing. They’d stolen tons of them over the past year. Still, he kept his hands to his sides where he had dropped them. Pulling back, she reached down to the hem of the Black Friday T-shirt he wore and pulled it over his head. It was obvious he worked out as much as her brother did, because he also had a set of six-pack abs.
“Fuck me,” he breathed out. It was over.
Grasping her around her ass, he boosted her up so that she put her arms back around his neck and had to wrap her legs around his waist. Stumbling over to where a warm bed awaited them, he did his best not to think about all the reasons this was a bad idea. Instead, he did his best to focus on how she felt in his arms and how trusting she was as she stretched against him. Never in his life had anyone ever trusted him that much, and he vowed he wouldn’t fuck it up.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home?” Dalton asked Mandy as they lay in bed together the next morning. “It’s not that big of a deal, and I would man up for you to do it.”
She smiled at him, biting her lower lip. “As much as I would love for you to, I don’t want to get into it with anyone, and I don’t want any questions about where I was last night. Layla’s been out here with Deacon before, so she knows where we are and to keep her mouth shut. I trust her.”
“I do too.” Dalton leaned over, kissing her softly. He ran his fingers through her hair, still not able to believe he was here with her, like this.
He had morning stubble, something she’d never seen on him before. Normally he was always clean-shaven and it made her feel special that she’d been able to see this side of him. It made her excited about graduating high school and moving on with their lives.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked her, quietly.
“I’m fine.” She nodded, feeling her face heat up with a blush.
“I can’t believe you’re blushing after everything we did last night,” he laughed. “Wonders never cease.”
“I can’t help it.” She punched him in the arm. “It feels weirder this morning.” She buried her head in his shoulder.
He understood what she was saying, but he didn’t want to voice that. He didn’t want her to know just how profoundly she’d changed his life with one act, one night together. He now knew that he would do anything in his power to protect her and to make sure she never left him. The feelings he had were strong, and he wouldn’t be able to ever deny them.
Meredith groaned. She had to pee in the worst way, but she knew it was early, she could tell by the way the sun wasn’t fully lighting up the room. And it was warm, so warm with her own personal heater lying next to her.
“Ugh.” She threw the covers back and ran to the bathroom. This was one side effect of pregnancy she did not like. Her bladder woke her up more often than not, and it was beginning to mess with her sleeping pattern.
“You okay?” Tyler asked a few minutes later as she came back to bed and snuggled next to him, putting her feet on his leg. “Damn, woman, your feet are cold,” he hissed as she ran them up and down his calf.
She giggled when he grabbed hold of her foot and flipped her so that she was flat against the mattress. “I’m not scared of you,” she told him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“You should be.” He moved his hand up her leg until he encountered the cloth of her underclothes then wrapped the leg around his body. One thing the two of them were enjoying, now that Meredith wasn’t so tired anymore, was a pickup in the action in the bedroom. It didn’t matter when or where he tried, she was always ready for him.
She pulled him down so that their lips could touch. “We don’t have a lot of time before we have to go get Addie,” she mumbled before he could devour her.
“Then we should definitely hurry,” he told her. And then he did devour her.
Tyler Blackfoot could sometimes take her breath away with the simplest of kisses, but when he put his mind to it, he could destroy her. He made love to her mouth; there was no other way to put it. By the time she felt his fingers at the waistband of her underwear, she was a quivering mess.
The sound of the cotton ripping was loud in the quietness of the room. “Way to be patient,” she laughed against his lips.
“Never have been when it comes to you.” He took a moment to pull back and admire her. They’d had a good time the night before. It had been a long while since they’d had a night without Addie. He’d had a few shots of bourbon, and she’d stayed up later than she had in a long time. Without the routine of getting a toddler ready for bed, her makeup was smudged beneath her eyes. She’d never looked more beautiful to him.
The way he entered her body hadn’t changed, but the feelings he evoked when he did had. From the first time they’d done this since she found out they were expecting, things had been different. It wasn’t a conscious decision on either of their parts, but he treated her gentler than he ever had, and she was more apt not to fight her body for what she wanted, she let it come naturally.
They clicked now on a level they never had before, and it made everything that much more amazing. As he thrust into her body, she wished they had infinite time together, but she knew they fought a clock—one that was small and demanded attention when she was around.
She dug her hands into his hair, pulling his mouth from hers. “Already close, Tyler.” She threw her head back against the pillow.
He had absolutely no problem when it came to getting her there, and he was more than happy to oblige.
Mandy thanked Layla for driving her home, promising to call her later on in the day. As she made her way up the front porch, Drew and Charity came out of the house, Drew carrying Addie.
“Hey, where were you last night?” he asked, looking closely at her. “I watched for you and Dalton, but I never saw you. I was getting worried, but then someone said you stayed with Layla?”
“Yeah.” Mandy nodded her head. “What are you doin’ with Addie?” she asked, taking Drew’s gaze from her.
“We’re taking her down to Tyler and Meredith. Tyler and I are going hiking today—something different from the normal workout.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“And I’m heading home, unless you want to hang out,” Charity told her. There was hope in her eyes, but Mandy wasn’t sure that she wanted to be confronted by all the questions so soon.
“I’m really tired.” She yawned. “I think I’m gonna go take a shower and then hit the bed for a nap. I’ll text you later,” she promised.
As she walked into the house, Drew turned to Charity. “Why did that feel like a brush off?”
“Last night was a long night for everybody, and its cold today; it probably wasn’t what you think it is.”
Charity only hoped that everything was, indeed, okay.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Fuck, its cold.” Tyler breathed heavily into his hands as he and Drew stood outside one morning in November. He stomped his feet against the hard ground, trying to warm them up. They were about to start their warm up run, before they would move it inside to where the old boxing ring was still erected. “C’mon, me and Mer have an important appointment this morning and I can’t be late,” he told the teenager as he started them off on a jog.
“Oh yeah?”
His smile was huge. “We get to find out what the baby is today.”
“That’s exciting.” Drew grinned back. “I remember when mom found out about Tatum. We were all pretty pumped, although I can admit to you that at the time, I had wished it was a boy.”
“Understandable,” Tyler told him as they ran along the property of the compound. “Is something weighing on you? You haven’t been as talkative the last few days.”
It had been on T
yler’s mind to wonder if he should ask Drew if something was wrong, but he hadn’t wanted to pry.
“It’s stupid, but I think Mandy and Dalton are sleepin’ together.”
Tyler blinked. “As in sex?”
“Yeah,” he answered tightly.
“And that’s bothering you?”
Drew tried to put it into words, but it was hard. He knew that it really wasn’t any of his business, but he couldn’t help it. “In a big way. Dalton is one of my best friends—has been since I came to the clubhouse with mom.”
“Then I would think you’d trust him with your sister. I think he’d be one of the only people you’d trust with your sister.” Tyler was failing to see the point of this.
Drew stopped and put his hands on his head, inhaling large gulps of cold air. “Even though Mandy and I are twins, I’ve always been her protector; I’ve always seen myself as the older one.”
Tyler laughed. “That’s funny, because she’ll tell you the same thing about her.”
He smirked. “I guess that’s because we do share such a close bond. Either way, I’ve always seen myself as her protector, and I know how guys my age are. I’m not sure whether she’s ready for that or not.”
“Shit.” Tyler knew he walked a fine line here. He didn’t want to piss off his friend, but he needed to let the kid know that his sister had a right to her own life too. “It’s not your place to say whether she’s ready for that or not. It’s not even Liam’s place. She’s in charge of her own body, Drew. I mean do you even realize what a fucking double standard you have going on here? You and Charity have been active a while. Charity is no different than your sister.”
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