Page 27 of The Biker Needs A Nanny

“Yes, but this one won’t be at school, and we can usually check out more books.”

“Can I get my very own library card?” Ella asks.

“Absolutely.”

Walking out of the shop, a dark green truck gives me pause. I do a double take, but there’s no one inside. A chill runs down my spine, but I try to shake it off. He doesn’t know where I am. Lots of people drive trucks; a green one can’t be that uncommon. But still, I pick up the pace until we are inside Lucky’s truck with the doors locked.

An hour later, Ella and Poppy gaze with big smiles at their library cards hanging from lanyards around their necks. Thankfully, my phone bill has Lucky’s address on it, so proof of address wasn’t too hard to pull up on my phone.

“Ready to look?” I ask their excited faces.

“Yes!” they chime together.

We find an entire display of holiday books, along with many standing on top of the shelves in the children’s section for easy locating. The girls each fill their arms with books.

“They said there is a limit of ten each,” I remind them.

“Ooh, then I can get two more.” Ella turns and hurries back down the aisles.

Poppy plops on the floor and starts counting her books. “I have eleven.”

“All right, you’ll have to put one back. You can get it next time, and I think we may need to bring a bag, too.”

After we check out, we head to the door but a wooden box full of lost and found items catches my eye. We’ve had some pretty chilly nights the last couple of days, and my few pieces of clothing don’t really have me prepared for winter.

The girls seem distracted, talking about their books, and I quickly grab a pale blue hat and scarf, shoving them into my cross-body purse. I can’t imagine anyone ever claiming it, but guilt fills me anyway.

“Where are we going now?” Poppy asks.

“We’ve had a busy day. Let’s go home, and I can start some lasagna.” It’s not a lie; it’s been a picture-perfect day.

CHAPTER TEN

Lucky—

Brick and I ride east on Hwy 182 along the beach. It’s an hour’s ride from Stillwater to the Liquor & Lotto just across the state line into Florida. This time of year, it’s nowhere near as crowded as the rest of the year. Most of the snowbirds don’t come until after the holidays.

We pull into the parking lot and park our bikes. Technically, the minute we crossed into Florida we entered Death Heads MC territory. Prez sent us on a mission to get a bunch of scratch-off tickets. He plans to hand them out at the Christmas party, so here we are, following orders.

Still, I can’t help scanning the road when I pull my shades off.

Brick follows me through the door, a bell ringing as we enter.

“You need any booze?” he asks, immediately side-tracked by a display of Captain Morgan. Brick is easily distracted.

“No. I just want to get what we came for and get back. Come on.”

“But the booze is so much cheaper across the state line. Look at these prices.” He grabs several bottles and goes up and down the aisles, adding to his growing pile.

I abandon him to his shopping spree and get the tickets. There’s a display, and an older sales woman steps over, eyeing my cut. “What can I get you, honey?”

“Just need a bunch of scratch-offs. Boss wants to hand them out for Christmas.”

“Okay. How much does he want to spend per scratch-off? We’ve got five-dollar cards, ten, twenty.”

I survey the selection and see four different games that are five bucks. “Give me forty of the five-dollar ones.”

“Which one?”

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