Page 60 of Welker

Foremost, and much to his good fortune, they’d repeated the act multiple times; in his bed, in the kitchen, and in the shower. Moira, it turned out, was an enthusiastic and skilled lover, no matter how much she repudiated it. Welker couldn’t have asked for a person who matched his passions better than this woman who he wanted permanently in his life.

Another bit of exceptional luck—because Moira had time off and Welker didn’t—was that she took advantage of her freedom by cooking every day. After Welk’s BPD shifts, he’d come home to pastries, cookies, pies, and always a scrumptious, gourmet dinner before he’d head back into town for his four-nights a week forensics course. Welk knew the food-train couldn’t possibly continue once Moira was back full-time at her job on the sheriff’s department, but in the meanwhile, they were both enjoying it.

Not only did Moira cook, she also outdid herself in his car-barn. She’d asked one day if she could see what was hidden under the tarps, and Welker had given her carte blanche. Next thing he knew, she’d had the wonky carburetor off his ’69 Dodge Charger, replacing it with the 580 cfm 4-barrel aftermarket that he’d been meaning to install for the past six months. The car now purred, and Moira was a certified miracle worker.

On a sour note, the sheriff’s department and Moira’s boss, Abe Gladstone, were keeping pretty mum on what was going on with the MC. But Hayden Yates had been hired, and according to Gladstone’s schedule, Moira’s temporary replacement was due to report to her new job later this afternoon. Little did the sheriff know that Hayden and her husband Boone had actually flown in two days earlier, and were staying with Mason and Everlee, holding several, informative and clandestine meetings with the SWAT squad leaders and Moira. They made sure to bring the Texans up to speed on things Hayden should be looking for as she began her undercover investigation.

Moira and Hayden had gotten along famously, and seemed to be cut from the same cloth. Neither woman played up their beauty. They both dressed down to deemphasize their obvious femininity, and each spoke plainly and strongly of their convictions. Welker could tell that after only a couple get-togethers, the women were going to be good friends.

Moira seemed willing to wait things out at Welker’s, and other than those sanctioned meetings, had been pretty much laying low. On occasion, however, she borrowed Welk’s Subaru while he was working, to visit Margaret. The team had decided, since the woman lived off the beaten path, there’d be no danger to either of them that she’d be seen. And considering Moira was extremely careful in making sure she wasn’t followed, the trips hadn’t become a blip on any bad-guys’ radar.

And Margaret? She was ecstatic. Besides Moira’s visits, several of their teammates had also taken to stopping by to check up on the elderly woman. True to form, Margaret enjoyed the hell out of all the new attention.

Lastly, on the insurance front, Moira’s company was making headway with her house claim, but the timing no longer seemed important. Moira had actually confessed how comfortable she was staying with him, and didn’t mind if it took a while. Welker had taken that as a reason for quiet celebration. If he had his way, Moira would never move out.

It had been a long, uneventful week. Hayden had been on the job for Sheriff Gladstone for seven days, and was uncovering lots of small things that seemed out of whack with the department, but nothing big yet that would lead to an MC connection. Welker, for one, was glad it was Friday. He was finally headed home in his truck. Not only did he not have classes tonight, but he looked forward to being alone with Moira for an entire weekend. He’d promised her they’d spend the whole two days laying around, making love, eating, and inundating themselves with sports, as both football and baseball were in season.

Driving up to his place, however, Welker scowled. There was an Uber just leaving his driveway, with…Margaret in the back seat? She smiled happily at him as they drove by.

That was strange. He hadn’t known she was coming for a visit.

Welker shrugged. Margaret certainly had looked cheerful enough as she’d passed, so her presence couldn’t mean anything dire. Right?

But… Wait. Was that…?

Welker rolled down his window, slowed his truck and listened. He could hear the sound of motorcycle pipes in the distance. It could mean trouble, but…probably not. Noise often traveled long distances in the valley where his compound was situated, and the bike could be miles away. Nothing said it had to be a suspicious ride. He really shouldn’t worry even if it was the notorious 227 MC. There was no way, even if they’d somehow found out Moira was hunkering down here, that they’d get past his security system.

When Welker approached his house, he saw Moira sitting on the front doorstep, a large, open box at her feet. His girl was beaming widely as she looked up from shuffling through its contents.

He waved, pulled around back, then quickly jogged back to the front to find out what had Moira so giddy.

He dropped his ass onto the step next to her, nuzzling and kissing her neck where it met her ear. “What have you got?” he asked, once he’d gotten his fill of the scent and feel of her soft skin.

“Bird feeders,” Moira chortled merrily, licking her lips. “Can you believe it? Margaret bought them for me.”

Welker kicked himself. He’d been meaning to make a trip to the one and only “Everything-birds” store in town to get Moira some replacements, and considering the huge number of broken ones he’d picked up and discarded at Moira’s house, he should have remembered. Not.

He peeked into the box. “That’s a lot of feeders,” he coughed, trying to keep his disappointment to himself over his lapse. “She must have bought the store out.”

Moira laughed. “I said the same thing, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer when I said she should return half. She told me it was the least she could do, now that she was feeling seen again. With us visiting, and a bunch of our teammates stepping up, she says she’s discovered a whole new lease on life. She’s using her kitchen to cook again, so she’ll have ‘goodies’ for all her new friends. And guess what else?” she grinned.

“I can’t imagine,” Welk responded, returning her smile.

“After one week, Sabira has already sold nearly two dozen of Margaret’s art pieces on line. Isn’t that awesome? And Margaret, being Margaret of course, couldn’t wait to spend some of that money on me.”

Welker kissed Moira again. This time on the lips, because she kept staring unconsciously at his. “You’ve made a huge difference in her life, Moira.” He took a deep breath. “And in mine, too.”

He was ready to confess to a lot more, but Moira’s kisses were a little distracted as she drew back and continued with more news. “I heard from the insurance company today, along with the private adjustor I hired. They’re ready to settle my claim.” She mentioned a figure that was far higher than Welker expected, but having the adjustor on their side had clearly skewed the numbers in Moira’s favor. No wonder she was looking so pumped. “Which means I can start thinking about getting the place put back together, and dive into what I want to buy for furniture.”

“Uh, slow down, Moira. That can’t happen until all the MC business is settled,” Welker reminded her a little sourly. He tried to sound upbeat, but he didn’t like that the clock was ticking down the hours until Moira could leave.

She turned to him and raised a brow. “What’s the attitude for?” she asked archly.

“Okay. Fine. I’m having a moment, okay?”

She waited him out.

“I like having you here,” he huffed. “And I don’t want you to leave,” he continued honestly. “Moira…” He could do this. “I’ve never wanted to share my space with anyone before. Not even Callie and Sabira. As much as I love them, I can’t wait until their own house is finished so they don’t have to stay with me anymore. You, however…” He choked, and couldn’t quite get the next words out.

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