Page 14 of Eagle

Daisy came strolling out and held her hands up. “I’m not trying to help, promise. Just bored sitting around. They said I wasn’t needed at the shop and I don’t know what else to do other than wander around here.”

She came over so I grabbed a beer from the cooler. “Beverage for the bride?”

Daisy flung her arm over my shoulder and took the cold drink. “So, you tell her what’s up?”

Nodding, I smiled. “Yeah, and she’s gonna let me crash with her for a while.” Daisy’s smile faded so I quickly added, “I’ll still come see you sometimes. I’m not out for good. But getting a little distance should help me get over him faster, ya know?”

“I thought getting under another man helped with that?” Jeannie said with a smirk.

“Well, I don’t think getting under one of the guys here would be very helpful. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“I guess. He’s a nice guy. Just not boyfriend material for sure,” Jeannie said.

Biting my lip, I let out another heavy sigh. “Exactly. Fooling around with someone here would just make things worse. Plus, I’m not really interested in anyone else for now.” Honestly, the thought of anyone besides him touching me made me sick to my stomach.

Daisy’s hand squeezed my shoulder. “You need some me-time. And when the time is right, you’ll meet someone who will treat you like you deserve.”

“Do me a favor, though.” I looked at them both. “Don’t tell him where I am if it comes up.”

“Girl, I love Falcon but I don’t fraternize with the boys here.Have you seen how he looks at them if they get too close? It’s more for their own safety than my comfort.” We all chuckled, but she wasn’t kidding. The officers all seemed to keep their distance while being respectful to her, but occasionally at parties a newer guy or someone from another club wandered too close and Falcon corrected them very quickly.

“Secret’s safe with me, too,” Jeannie chimed in, “but we’ll have to be sure he doesn’t see you sneaking off with me later. Why don’t you go ahead and put your stuff in the car for a clean getaway?”

Daisy let me go and her eyes got wide. “I love this. We’re like our own little secret club. I’ll help you with your stuff. Jeannie, keep a lookout.”

I rolled my eyes. “They won’t be back for at least an hour.”

Daisy raised a finger to her lips. “Shh, don’t ruin the game.”

After very easily getting the small amount of belongings outside, I took the fresh laundry back to his room and smuggled the rest of my things out as well. I had hung up Penny’s dress to dry after I washed it, and it was still a little damp. I didn’t want to leave it in the laundry room, so I walked it over to Mama Hen’s and left it dangling from a hook on the porch that didn’t have a plant hanging on it. Penny’s car wasn’t outside, and she didn’t usually come around for the parties, but I still wanted to return the dress to her. I left the shoes in a rocking chair, then headed back.

Slowly, Harleys started filing in and some cars with women as well. Folks were leaving their day jobs and heading back to the club for the party. We had a lot of folks around every night, but with all the special little trips the guys have been making in the evenings, not a lot of partying had been going on.

Things were still up in the air about Raven. I don’t thinkI was supposed to know much about that, but if you stood around and were invisible, you heard enough to put things together. Just like I wasn’t supposed to know that Falcon killed Tony, but Daisy told me. Well, she told me he wasn’t a threat ever again. Falcon was shot, we ended up in some mob bosses’ restaurant, and that was after Eagle practically carried me out of the clubhouse in the middle of the night and said Daisy needed me while he helped Falcon with an errand. They thought they were slick, or that we were complete dingbats. We knew they had shady dealings, and after seeing him return with busted knuckles and blood on his clothes time and again, you put things together.

But tonight seemed like a happy one; for everyone else, anyway. Daisy knew what was up with me and I did my best to keep a happy face on through the evening. Eagle got cornered by his brothers once they got back from the shop, and it was pretty full so it was easy to dodge him. A few times I caught him looking over at me but I’d look away quickly. He said earlier he wanted to talk more, but I didn’t think I could handle any conversation with him right now.

Once bunnies started pairing off with bikers for the evening, Jeannie came and found me. “Hey, girl. Crowd is gonna thin out soon and I’ve had about all the fun I can. I gotta work tomorrow and I could use some carbs for all this booze. You wanna sneak off?”

“Yeah. Let me see if I can tell Daisy so she doesn’t worry.” She was the reason I was there to begin with. We ended up in that hell with Tony together and she made sure we both got away. She knew where I was going but I still wanted to hug her since I wasn’t sure how soon I’d be back to the clubhouse. She worked with Eagle since he and Falcon ran the tattoo shop together, so I didn’t think I’d be making a trip there soon, either.

They hadn’t really done any ceremonial things but they did manage to cut the cake earlier. I wasn’t sure if she threatened him, but Daisy and Falcon didn’t smash cake onto each other. They both carefully fed each other a small piece and we all did a quick toast to the happy couple. The rest of the night was a typical biker party. I had kept an eye on Eagle and he was on the opposite corner of the room shooting darts with some guys. I caught Daisy’s attention and she slinked away from the chat she was having with Mama Hen.

We casually walked together, heading to the door. “I’m about to take off. You got Jeannie’s number, right?”

“Yep. We should have gotten you a phone. But she has my number, too. If you need me, or just want to chat, call me. Don’t text. I need to hear your voice. I’m gonna miss you.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I made sure Eagle was still preoccupied then grabbed her hand and drew her outside. Once the door closed behind us, I pulled her to me and we held each other tight. I swallowed hard, but that didn’t stop the rush of tears from surfacing again. My body trembled gently as I fought the hard sobs from coming, and she squeezed me tighter.

“I’m sorry. This is so embarrassing. We weren’t even a couple.” I tried to calm myself and wipe my face as we hugged each other.

“Don’t be embarrassed. But you better get going before someone sees us. These dudes are worse than old ladies at the hair salon.”

That forced a laugh from me. She wasn’t wrong. “I love you, girl. Let me get settled; I’ll touch base in a couple of days. And remember, don’t tell him where to find me. I just need a little distance and maybe I can come back around sometimes once he’s out of my system.”

She squeezed my shoulders then pecked my cheek. “Love you, girl. Your secret is safe with me.”

Looking around once more, I let another wave of tears surface. I was going to miss her…this place…and most of all him.

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