Page 54 of Brage & Dinah

Chapter 21

The Slag gate opened. Dinah flipped the blinker on and slowly pulled the Jeep into the alley.

"Damnit," exclaimed Monica from the backseat.

Heather turned in the front seat. "What's wrong?"

"Joel's outside."

Dinah peered in the rearview mirror, trying to see what was wrong. Monica undid her messy bun and fluffed her hair around her shoulders.

"I wanted to surprise him, but he's going to notice right away." Monica sagged against the seat.

Along with buying a gazillion baby clothes and a portable crib that could be kept downstairs at the clubhouse for Peer's baby, the three of them had stopped at a tattoo parlor before coming back.

Dinah looked ahead, trying to find Brage in the group of men but couldn't see him in the crowd. In some ways, she'd wanted him to forbid her from running errands with the ladies. Not because she wanted to be kept under lock and key again, but she hadn't been ready to face the world.

Slag, despite the confusion and caution, provided her with a safe haven. One she needed at the moment.

She parked away from the line of motorcycles and got out of the vehicle. Stopping at the back of the Jeep, she helped Monica situate her hair in front of her shoulder to hide the new tattoo.

"Don't move your head and you'll be fine." She reached in and grabbed a few bags. "You're gorgeous. Joel won't even notice."

"He'll notice," argued Heather. "That man can't keep his eyes off her."

"Oh, stop." Monica laughed. "He's been distracted by club business lately. Some things do come first."

Heather hummed as if she disagreed. Dinah held out her arms, clasping the bags in her hand. "Someone hand me the box."

"Are you on a personal mission to carry everything?" Monica reorganized the back of the Jeep and brought out another sack. "You didn't even buy anything for yourself or get a tattoo on your virgin skin."

"I don't need anything. I'm a simple girl. Besides, with everything we bought for the baby, my Jeep is packed to the limit." She smiled to soften her words.

Her heart wasn't into shopping. A private person, she hadn't shared what was going on in her personal life with any of the women. She hadn't wanted them to judge her, or worse, pity her.

Carrying her load toward the clubhouse, she spotted Joel walking toward Monica with a few men to help them bring in their purchases. The hours spent away from Brage had been hard. She found herself wanting to go back to the clubhouse to be with him. She hadn't expected to have anxiety while being separated from him for a few hours.

It was as if he was responsible for her happiness and that wasn't like her at all. At least not like the old her. The new her was still a stranger.

She had no idea what was going to happen in the next minute, and her past was a series of lies. Brage was her foundation through all the changes.

Viktor held the door open for her.

"Thank you." She slipped inside and spotted Peer and the baby right away.

Without disturbing them, she set the packages down at the table. The others came in and piled the items on the floor. Slipping away, she looked for Brage.

Unable to find him, she approached Roar and Lizzy. "Have you seen Brage?"

"I think he's in the kitchen." Lizzy gazed around the room. "Look for Coco, and you'll probably find him. She was talking to him earlier."

"Okay. Thanks." She headed to the kitchen.

Brage sat at the table near the unused woodstove. Almost to him, she heard the Mhm comments coming from him as Coco and Elling talked. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, she circled the group and approached him from behind.

Her arrival hadn't gone unnoticed by Coco. "You guys are back already?"

"We bought out the baby section at Target." She looked up at Brage when he kissed the side of her head. "Keep talking. I just wanted to let you know I'm back. I'm going to go upstairs."

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