Page 24 of Rider

I felt his low chuckle vibrate in his chest. “Baby, I think it’s time you finally realize that I do in fact take care of what’s mine and if I want to lavish you with gifts, I will.”

I leaned up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Then let out a deeply content sigh. This was the happiest I think I had ever been other than the day Colton was born. With that thought, I hauled myself up off the couch. Rider reached up and grabbed my hand, halting me before I could take a step away.

“Where you going, babe?”

“I’ve got to get ready. If we’re going to have everything ready for Christmas brunch, I need to get going and Mrs. Lopez will be over here soon.”

He nodded his head. “Ok, but I’ll help you as soon as you get out. I can’t believe you invited a bunch of the guys over here for a Christmas breakfast. I swear you’ve got everyone wrapped around your finger.”

I tilted my head and gave him a look; we had been over this several times. On a whim, I had decided to invite all the guys from work including Hammer. From all their check-ins in the office, stopping by to see how I was, watching out for me, and grabbing a baked good, I had gotten to know all of them fairly well and they had several things in common. Most were single, lived at the clubhouse, and had no family in the surrounding area. I hated the idea that these guys wouldn’t have anyone to share the holiday with, so I took it upon myself to spread the Christmas cheer. “You know why, baby. I hate the thought of all those guys from work who have been nothing but nice to me sitting in that big clubhouse on Christmas with no family around.”

“You are too sweet for your own good, baby. Those guys are going to eat us out of house and home when they get here.”

I laughed. It was probably true. So true that I had bought quadruple the amount of food that we normally had in our fridge. I had also enlisted Mrs. Lopez to help me cook and use half of her pots and pans. “I don’t mind if you don’t.”

He snagged his arm around my waist and pulled me back down to the couch. “I just better not catch any of them staring at your ass and what’s mine.”

I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck, nestling my face against his cheek. “They can look all they want but I’ll only ever be yours.” With that, I got up off the couch and headed to the bedroom to get ready. I heard a knock at the door as I walked away and yelled over my shoulder. “That’ll probably be Carmen and her little girl!”

By the time I was showered, dressed, and had just enough makeup on to look presentable, Mrs. Lopez was already standing in the kitchen peeling potatoes and thawing out breakfast meats. She was a godsend and I loved her like she was my family. She and Rider had gotten closer over the last few weeks, and I felt like he really appreciated her and counted her as family, too. She had shown him loyalty and that went a long way with him. Carmen, on the other hand, was sitting on the living room floor playing with the kids, trying to keep them occupied.

I dug right in helping prepare all the food, Rider and Colton had been playing outside in the snow. By the time they were dressed and ready for our group brunch, I had just taken the last thing out of the oven as people began to arrive. Since my house wasn’t the biggest and I didn’t have all that much furniture, Rider had insisted on bringing in some extra folding tables and chairs for the guys to be able to sit on and eat.

He was right too because by the time everything was on the main table for people to serve themselves, we had a full house.

Hammer had been the last to arrive and much to my and Rider’s surprise he had brought a young woman with him. Someone who looked my age if not younger. She also didn’t look like one of the club hunnies that was always hanging around. She looked like a respectable young woman who was enjoying the company of a man she felt comfortable with. Hammer hadn’t mentioned seeing anyone in our chats at work and we hadn’t seen her around the club. Rider and I welcomed her into the fold and I made a mental note of trying to seek her out later to get to know her. I knew better than anyone what it took to be a young woman around so many older men and be around the MC.

Colton was being shy, and if he wasn’t clinging to either my leg or Rider’s, he was hiding behind Mrs. Lopez’s skirt. After breakfast, several of the guys brought in presents for Colton, which warmed my heart. These big, strong, alpha men who walked around in their leather vests and rode Harleys had taken the time out of their day to buy my son a present. If I didn’t already know it, this would have reinforced my decision in coming to work for Hammer’s construction company and be associated with the club and Rider. I felt so blessed, and when Rider found me with tears in my eyes later in the day he was concerned.

“What’s the matter, baby? Why are you crying?”

I smiled at him and wiped the few tears that had escaped and ran down my cheeks. “I’m just really happy that you came into my life and brought all of these great people with you.”

He pulled me in for a hug and held me close. “I love that you are happy, but I don’t want to see you cry, babe. These guys are my family, and you are too.”

I smiled into his neck as he hugged me. I could feel his chest move at his low laughter. “Now if we could only get these guys to leave. It’s already dinnertime and they’re still here.”

I laughed because it was true. The guys had lingered around clearly not wanting to go home. They had spread out in the living room and kitchen, with some even sitting on the floor talking and relaxing. I didn’t mind though and Rider really didn’t either. I teasingly asked him, “Then I guess offering some more food for dinner is out of the question?”

He groaned. “If we must. It is Christmas after all.”

I looked around the room for Carmen and her daughter. Carmen had expertly weaved in and out of the crowd all day. I noticed how she avoided Ink and went out of her way to talk to everyone else but him. I knew something was going on between them, but with everything going on over the last few weeks, I hadn’t had much time to talk to her. Today wasn’t that different and I wanted to catch her before she left for the evening. As I walked to the kitchen, I found her getting some ice out of the freezer.

“There you are. I’ve been trying to talk to you today. I’m sorry I’ve been so busy.”

“Girl don’t even sweat it, you’ve been busting your butt with brunch and then snacks and now basically dinner for all us stragglers.” She reached out and put her hand on my forearm. “Thanks for doing this. It was really nice.”

“Aw, you’re welcome. I didn’t mind one bit.” I started pulling out items from the fridge to make a cheese plate. I took a look around the room and saw Ink failing miserably at not looking in our direction. “So what’s going on with you and Ink?”

She paused mid-sip. She eyed me over the rim and slowly finished her drink. She shrugged her shoulders. “You know he took me home that one night and then helped me with my car a few weeks ago. We haven’t had much contact since then. We’ve texted, but we haven’t hung out. When he saw me walk in with Lucia, I’m sure that killed any chance of anything in the future.”

I was surprised and caught off guard. “Why would you having a daughter and him seeing her with you make him not want to get to know you or have anything together?”

Carmen looked down at her hands and seemed almost embarrassed, an emotion that I had never seen her exhibit. “I may have not told him I had a kid.”

I stopped cutting blocks of cheese and set the knife down. “Oh Carmen, honey, unless you explicitly omitted her then I think he’s going to understand.”

Carmen shook her head and sighed. “I hope so, but I don’t know. I guess time will tell if anything happens between us.”

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