Page 43 of Your Soul to Keep

Itwasaslownight at Ayana’s, typical for a Tuesday. I couldn’t decide whether it was a gift or a curse. Either way, it wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my 40thbirthday.

If I’d told the girls, they would have celebrated with me. Especially Harley. That girl loved a good party.

I wandered into the kitchen. “Hey, Rudy. We’re all finished out front. I’m going to head home.”

“Shae!” he exclaimed, his eyes widening as he started waving at me to move back. “Out! Out of my kitchen!”

“What?” I laughed in disbelief then tilted my head to the side and smiled. “Aw, Rudy, did you bake me a cake?”

His eyes skittered to the side before returning to mine. “Yes. Yes, I did. Now go away so you don’t ruin the surprise.”

I took a teasing step forward, rising to my toes in an attempt to peer over his shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want help?”

“Shae,” he warned, his eyebrows meeting in the middle.

Spinning on my heel, I headed for the door singing, “I hope it’s chocolate!”

“Never mind! Come back!” he yelled.

I spun around slowly to face him, accusing, “You’re being weirder than usual.”

“Weird?” he grumped. “You people are making me crazy.”

Marlena burst through the kitchen door, her eyes dancing.

My eyebrows flew up in surprise.

She gave Rudy a nod and he appeared to breathe a sigh of relief. Quieter now, he smiled at me and ordered, “Out. Out of my kitchen, birthday girl.”

Smiling widely, Marlena opened the door and waved me through.

I entered the dining room with a broad smile on my face, fully expecting to find a cake with enough candles burning to set off the fire alarm.

“Happy Birthday!”

I stopped in my tracks and my hands flew to my face.

Harley, Wren, Bridge, and Noelle fairly vibrated behind a table holding a cake that appeared to be on fire. Behind them stood Daire, Max, and Hawkley. Daire and Max smiled widely. Hawkley did his level best.

I covered my face with my hands and promptly burst into tears.

A low, familiar chuckle snagged my attention just as my girls rushed forward to surround me with hugs. Gabe stood just off to the side, hands shoved into his pockets, a smirk on his wickedly handsome face.

Bridge slung her arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick squeeze. “Why do we always have to do so much emotion?” she teased.

“So long as I’m not the one crying,” Harley griped, swiping under her eyes. “These pregnancy hormones are wreaking havoc on my badass reputation.”

Noelle threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. “Happy birthday, Shae!”

Wren stood quietly, a smile in her pretty eyes, as she gently pulled me toward the cake. “You better blow out the candles before they set off the sprinkler system.”

Catching Gabe’s eye, he answered the question in mine with a slight incline of his head.

“Thank you,” I mouthed.

Holding my gaze, he loped over.

I held my breath.

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