“Okay, let’s go find the really tough judges of character,” Knuckles declared, taking her hand again. “Time to meet the old ladies.”
She wasn’t sure why she expected the “Old Ladies” to be scary. Maybe it was just because they were called that, or just that she knew how women could be; either catty, divisive, and cruel or loyal, fierce, and wonderful.
When Knuckles led her to the cluster of women sitting on the two sofas facing each other in a dim corner of the room, she had no idea what team she was in for. At first, Knuckles cleared his throat to catch their attention, then just said, “Hey. This is Danielle, her daughters are here too, Grace, and Annie. This is the everyone.”
And he walked away.
She was totally stunned, felt her mouth drop open, but the women all laughed, and one—a stunning, tiny blonde—got to her feet, hand out. “We’re used to that. I’m Trinny. It’s nice to meet you, Danielle.”
They all shook hands, and then Trinny motioned her into their island of calm in this loud, imposing crush of people. “Come on in and grab a seat. We’re informal.”
Danielle took a seat next to a long and lithe black woman, holding a fairly new baby on her lap. She couldn’t help it, she grinned at that round little face with its big, dark eyes. “Oh my. Who’s this?”
“This is Aurora June Williams,” the woman said, so lovingly Danielle felt the baby twinge, which she had never in her life felt before. Must be the grandma gene kicking in. She’d have to nip that in the bud.
“She’s gorgeous,” Danielle said, grinning at the new mom.
“I’m Rose,” the woman said, nodding with a smile. “And that big Yeti over there is my old man, Tank.”
“I just met him.”
“I’m Gertie,” a redhead across from her spoke up. She had a pudgy, happy, sticky-looking baby on her knee. Danielle assumed the little one was a boy based on his jeans and baseball jersey outfit. “And this is Davie Junior. Buck’s my old man.” She sat up straight, surveying the room. “That’s him, over by the bar.”
Danielle looked where the woman pointed, then felt herself flush. It was the man she saw outside the Salvation Army all those weeks ago. Which means Gertie was the woman he was making out with on the street. And they had a kid? And they made out in public like that?
“He’s a handsome kid,” Danielle said, grinning at the little boy then laughing as he started chuckling, a deep belly laugh that sounded like it should some from someone much bigger.
“My gosh. He’s so happy!”
“He’s had his nap today so he’s chipper,” Gertie admitted, bouncing her knee, and sending him off on another set of giggles. He liked how that sounded when he bounced, it was obvious.
“How old are your girls?” Rose asked pleasantly.
“Umm, Annie’s ten and Grace is sixteen.”
“You must have been young when you had your oldest,” Gertie said, eyes wide.
“Got knocked up at eighteen, yeah. Figured out where babies come from after that, got smarter.”
The group chuckled.
Sheriff Downey—Sharon Downey, she corrected herself—joined them right then, sinking into the sofa beside Gertie with a sigh. “I may hate sweetbutts, but at least they follow instructions.”
“That’s their main function,” Trinny said wryly, taking a sip of beer.
“You did a great job putting all this together,” Gertie said, still bouncing Davie who was still having the time of his life.
“Yeah, and I just found out after the meal Fritter and Mad Dog are getting in the ring together.” Sharon pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ll never understand men.”
“He’s got to be seventy years old!” Rose exclaimed.
Trinny shook her head. “He’s fresh out of prison, actually. Lean and mean.”
“Where does all this come from?” Gertie asked.
Sharon dropped her hands to her lap, leaning forward. “Apparently Mad Dog said something off color about me. So, he’s letting Fritter take a few shots.”
“Jesus Christ,” Rose muttered, shifting the baby in her arms.
Danielle had to know. “Do they do that kind of thing a lot?”
“Yes,” they all answered in unison, then started to laugh.
Another woman, this one with raven-black hair and perfectly milky skin made her way out of the crowd with a beer in hand, perching on the sofa arm next to Sharon. “What’s so funny?”
“Men,” was Rose’s simple answer.
“No argument here,” the newcomer muttered, tipping her beer back. As she did her eyes settled on Danielle, then she frowned and brought the bottle down. “Who’s this?”
It wasn’t said rudely, so Danielle didn’t get offended. “I’m Danielle Prince.”
“She’s here with Knuckles.” Trinny said it like she was opening the floor to discussion, and Gertie smiled broadly at her.
“And I think Knuckles really, really likes her.”
She just grinned like a twit, looking down at her hands.
“You have got to be kidding. Knuckles?”
Danielle’s smile faltered a bit, just from something in this woman’s tone. Something that said it was her that made this so unbelievable.
“This is Jolene,” Trinny said, for Danielle’s benefit, but her cool gaze was on the new woman.
“Hi,” she greeted Jolene, trying for a smile with an attempt to brush off the weird vibe she was getting from her.
Jolene didn’t answer, just looked away and drank more beer.
“Okay then,” Sharon spoke up, getting to her feet again. “I’m going to dispatch Tank to grill duty so we can get the kids fed.”
“Is Adeel here?” Rose asked.
“Yep. There’s another girl here from his class at school and they’re getting along like a house on fire.”
“That’s my daughter, Annie,” Danielle offered. “She was quite excited when Adeel started at school.”
“Oh, that’s perfect,” Sharon said, somewhat distractedly. “It’s good to have kids his age around. Give me a minute to get dinner for the little people set up.”
“I’ll come help,” Jolene offered, putting her empty beer bottle down and stepping over Danielle’s legs not so politely as she followed Sharon.
“Don’t mind her,” Trinny said, in hushed tones. “Her husband passed away recently. She’s taken the opportunity to be an asshole to everyone.”
“That’s not nice,” Gertie said quietly. “She’s hurting.”
“And making it hard for me to keep giving a damn. It’ll be up to her to get her shit back together. You know that.”
Gertie nodded reluctantly. “I know. But I can’t imagine it.”
Neither could Danielle. In the beginning of their relationship, if anything had happened to her ex she had no idea what she would have done. And now if Knuckles was gone—
Hold up. That was a surprising thought. She already had Knuckles installed in her heart and life, apparently. More than she thought.
“I’m going to go give Sharon a hand,” Trinny said, getting to her feet, and readjusting the waistband of her jeans.
“I’ll come too,” Danielle offered, also standing. Jolene’s behavior had her uncomfortable, and doing something sounded like a good distraction.
“Ooh,” Trinny cooed with a wide, beautiful smile. “I like you a lot already.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“The coroner is getting on with the women,” Mad Dog informed him, siding up to him outside by the grills. Knuckles was on Give Tank Shit About His Grilling Skills duty, bottle of root beer in hand, cigarette in the other.
“That’s good,” he replied, nodding his appreciation. “I was pretty sure they’d like her.”
“Everyone’s a bit surprised by her.”
Knuckles squinted at the Rebels’ founder. “Surprised how?”
Mad Dog shrugged, chewing on his cigar. “She’s a bit...understated.”
Now he faced the man, irritation setting i
n. “What’s that mean?”
“She’s normal.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Is she just after a walk on the wild side? That’s what it seems like to me.”
“No, she’s not,” he snapped, hand clenching on his root beer. “I like to think it’s actually me she’s after.”
“Settle down, kid. I’m not trying to ruin your love affair. But she does stand out around here. Kind of classes the place up, really.”
He had to admit he liked that thought. “Why is everyone so ready to tear this up on me?”
Mad Dog shrugged his shoulder. “They don’t think you’re the kind to stick to anything substantial. Only I know that you’re actually the kind that sticks better than most.”
“I am?”
“Yep. Because you need someone that wants you. You don’t want to be alone. Do you?”
Shit, was all this showing? If Mad Dog McClune could see how, at times, being alone set him into such a panic the back of his head crawled and hummed like it was full of bugs, how long before everyone knew how close he was to cracking up?
“I just like being with her,” he answered after a beat.
“I know. She makes you feel twenty feet tall and capable of anything. And you make her feel safe. It’s a good balance.”
“So why you getting in my grill about this?”
“Just checking in. Seeing how serious you are.” Mad Dog’s eyes twinkled. “You’re in deep. Poor bastard.”
“Fuck off,” he muttered, without a lot of juice.
Mad Dog just laughed.
“You’re an asshole. I’ve half a mind to take a round or two out of you after Fritter knocks you on your ass.”
“Wouldn’t count on that. If the kid knocks me down, you get the next turn. Promise.”
Knuckles shook his head as the old fart moved on, turning back to the grill as Sharon brought a plate out for the hot dogs he’d turned into crispy turd-looking creations. Sharon didn’t seem to care, just took them over to the few picnic tables arranged outside with a few condiments and a bag of buns.
Jolene followed her with a handful of juice boxes, and she was pointedly avoiding even looking at him. She hadn’t said a word to him since that night at the motel. That’s what you get for helping a friend, apparently.
Not that he could blame her. He could only hope that whole episode was enough to scare her even a little bit straight.
“Hi Knuckles!”
He grinned at the voice, turning to the clubhouse door as Annie came running to him, hair bouncing and flying out behind her. “Hey, Curly. Ready to eat?”
“Yes! I’m hungry. And this is Adeel, he’s in my class at school.”
“That’s right, I’d heard that.” He nodded to the shy, dark-haired, awkward boy trailing in Annie’s exuberant wake. “How’s it going, Adeel?”
The kid just gave a half-wave, which was a lot more sociable than he’d seen Adeel before. Maybe Annie would pull him out of his shell.
“You liking going to school with Annie?”
Adeel nodded.
“Good talk. Go strap on the feedbag. Tank burned you all some supper.”
“Bite me,” the big guy shouted.
Knuckles grinned and tugged on one of Annie’s curls. “Let’s go eat, Curly.”
She led him and Adeel to the picnic tables, helping the women get the kids of the hang arounds settled. Libby and Jayce Junior came out with Trinny, too. Soon the lot was loud with laughing kids, and he took a deep breath, enjoying the moment of incredibly noisy peace. Sure, the kids were fucking insane, but the buzzing wasn’t on him.
He felt as free as he’d ever been.
Using some odd sense, he felt rather than saw Danielle enter the lot. She was carrying a tray of veggies and dip, smiling, looking radiant. Mad Dog and the guys were fucking nuts. She was as gorgeous as anyone else’s old lady. She just didn’t need six pounds of make-up and a half pound of clothing. Just her on her own was enough for him.
“Hey Momma. You need help with that?”
“No, I think I can handle it.”
She set the arrangement down on the middle table. “Okay everyone. Hot dogs are good. But let’s not forget our vegetables!”
To Knuckles’ surprise, Adeel went right for the veggies, grabbing a handful of celery, and eating it plain, loudly crunching it. Danielle looked surprised, too. “You want some dip for that celery?”
He shook his head, then, almost like he was remembering his manners, added “No, thank you.”
Danielle smiled at him warmly, and as he watched, Adeel actually smiled back, wonky teeth and all. It made Knuckles’ chest fill, and Danielle was obviously charmed by the kid, too.
When the kids were fed, the grill started putting out steaks and baked potatoes. Everyone over twelve-years-old got their plates done up and parked their asses on any available chairs. There were a few table and chair combos, and Knuckles managed to snag one for himself and Danielle. Trinny and Jayce ended up with them, too, and he watched Jayce’s old lady chat and include Danielle just as easily as she had the other old ladies that had come along since she’d landed the Prez.
There was a slight measure of relief. Mad Dog’s comments had him annoyed and a bit anxious. He wanted his family to like her. It was important if she was going to be part of his life, and he wanted her to be. He really needed her to be.
Soon enough the women were on about the recent change in personnel at the Sheriff’s department. Not giving anything away, on either side, just prevaricating on whether or not the change would have happened if Sharon was still Sheriff.
It was the general consensus that it wouldn’t have. Not so soon after an election, anyway. Everyone seemed to agree that Turnbull’s shifty hiring of Unger in the first place put the department on national radar. That prick had no place in law enforcement, and Jayce and Knuckles shared a look. The club already had plans for Unger. They just had to take care of Guidinger first.
The set up was going to take place in two days. They’d requested a meeting, and it had been granted with all the magnanimous attitude one expected from the prick, but they swallowed that pill.
Spaz had been ordering equipment and setting up their stall with hidden cameras and microphones. And no wireless, it was easy to detect that stuff. But if it was wired and hidden the electricity generated could be passed off as your standard wires. So, they built the shit right into the wall, running the cables into Spaz’s little office and a hidden laptop in a closed cupboard. All that laptop had to do was record video and sound, and the day before they’d done a test run after the walls were closed back up. They were in business.
To cover up the smell of new paint Mad Dog had smoked two cigars in the room while they set down the plan for how to get Guidinger to take the bait. Knuckles liked the plan; it felt solid. If anything, he was anxious to get to it already. This shit had already gone on too long with Guidinger.
Tomorrow they had another run from the private airstrip outside Hazeldale, delivering a medium-sized shipment to a strip club in San Francisco. It was a run they’d done a few times, and the strip club was known to be owned by Russian gangsters. So, they were pretty damn sure the cargo would be weapons.
At least that was something to do while they waited to spring the trap on Guidinger. It would be his fourth run since getting hurt, and every ride made him feel more like himself.
His hand was on Danielle’s knee under the table as she finished eating, and he had to grin to himself. If riding made him feel more like himself, Danielle made him feel like a better version of himself.
“Should I be worried about that?” Danielle asked the table, nodding to the corner.
Knuckles looked over his shoulder to where the sofa arrangement was, noting Brayden and Grace were cozy on one end of a sofa, talking and laughing and sitting very close.
“Grace smiles?” he joked, dead-pan, and she elbowed him hard.
“You should be worried,” Jayce admitted, balling up his
napkin and dropping it on his empty paper plate. “That kid gets more play than Knuckles does.”
Danielle raised an eyebrow and Knuckles shot him a glare. “More play than I did,” he corrected, noting that Danielle still didn’t look impressed. He turned to her, taking her hand. “I don’t get play anymore. I get deep, meaningful, sexy time with you.”
She shook her head. “Shut up.”
He stole a quick kiss, then grabbed up the plates and disposable cutlery. “I’ll toss this. You want a beer?”
Danielle shook her head, then her eyes trailed back to her oldest.
“Hey, she’s fine. Brayden is a decent kid. And your daughter is getting smarter.”
She nodded, then gave an embarrassed smile to Trinny and Jayce. “Sorry. She’s made some stupid decisions lately.”
Trinny shook her head. “No need to apologize to us. Moms worry. It’s kind of our thing.”
“And Dani’s a championship worrier,” Knuckles informed them. “She’s made it an art form. It’s impressive.”
That got her laughing, which was what he wanted in the first place. As he left to toss their garbage she and Trinny were talking about Easter and how they usually spent the holidays.
-oOo-
“I still can’t quite believe this is how you guys spend your time,” Danielle muttered, huddled close under his arm.
Knuckles laughed, giving her a squeeze as Fritter and Mad Dog touched fists in the middle of the lot, the ring made up of a crowd of people standing around to watch. “Fritter deserves this. Mad Dog said something rude about his old lady.”
“About Sharon?” she sounded incredulous. “What could anyone possibly say about Sharon?”
“Disparaging things about what was under her uniform.”
Danielle made a noise of shock and he laughed again, kissing her head over her hair.
“That’s why Fritter gets to take a few hits.”
“They should let Sharon get a few hits in,” she mumbled, letting him wrap her up in his arms with her back to his front.
“She’d definitely have a better chance,” Knuckles admitted, just as Mad Dog connected the first punch with Fritter’s right jawbone.
Shelter (Red Rebels MC Book 5) Page 30