Page 35 of Vex

She hesitates for a moment then stares hard into my eyes. I brace.

“You like Vex. And you should like him. He’s…” she holds up a hand when I start to interrupt her. “Great. He’s a biker but he’s nothing like Rooster. I don’t think anyone in his club’s like Rooster. You’ve spent your whole teenage years and up until now taking care of Mom and me. You should be dating, having fun and enjoying life, Taj. I guess what I’m trying to say is I think you should go for it with Vex. If it works out, great. If not, his loss. But I’m old enough to take care of myself, and you don’t need to be here every minute when you’re not working. I’m not going to freak out or think you’re a bad sister if a guy spends the night here. I know who you are and how Mom raised us to be, but I don’t think she ever wanted you to set a perfect example for me. Just a real one.”

I take a seat across the table from Tessie and look at her. Really look at her. She’s beautiful and close to being an adult. Legally I mean, because she’s mature for her age already. We’ve always been close, and we’ve never kept secrets from one another. Guilt hits me because I’m possibly keeping a huge one from her right now.

“I know you’re mature enough to handle it if a guy spent the night here. You’re all I have left in this world, so I never wanted to expose you to just anyone. I’m not the type to be bringing home random guys anyway. Yeah, I do like Vex. But Vex isn’t looking for a long-term relationship, and I respect that. I don’t want a guy around just to have one in my life. I’m okay with running solo until I find the right guy.”

“What if you already have and neither of you realize it yet?” Tessie questions.

“I don’t think Vex is that guy, Tessie,” I tell her gently because I now know she likes him for me.

“Time will tell. Just don’t push him away because you think you should in some misguided attempt to set a good example for me,” she replies with an impish smile.

“Okay, brat, I won’t. We’ll see where things go,” I respond.

I know now’s a good time to tell her about Vex and our possible predicament, but no sense in that until we know for sure ourselves. The guilt’s still there but it’s manageable.

Dawn brings a beautiful Colorado morning with it. It’s going to be a warm day and perfect for a cookout. I take a quiet moment to enjoy a cup of coffee before the day brings on chaos. It’ll be a loud and boisterous day with Tessie and her girl posse. I’m looking forward to it.

I hit the shower early, so I can get started prepping the food and drinks. It’s not long and Tessie’s up and helping me in the kitchen. We work side by side for about an hour when I hear a vehicle pull into the drive. Looking out the kitchen window, I see an unfamiliar truck. My first thought’s that Rooster sent someone to force us to his party but that goes out the window when I see Toes and Horse Nuts step out.

“Who’s here?” Tessie asks.

“A couple of the club members,” I answer as I open the door for them.

Both guys come in carrying several bags of ice and set them on the counters and table. Toes immediately walks back outside without so much as a glance in our direction.

“Vex said to drop some things off for the party,” Horse Nuts informs us in his deep, raspy tone.

I watch his eyes bounce from mine and land on Tessie for a few seconds longer than I like. After a long hesitation, he walks back out the door.

“Who the frig was that?” Tessie whisper shouts.

“Toes and Horse Nuts,” I tell her with a frown hitting my face.

“Is the hot one Horse Nuts?” she again whisper shouts at me.

“I guess. Why?” I clip.

Before she can answer the two guys re-enter with full arms. This time it’s with beer and soft drinks. Another look at Tessie and Horse follows Toes back out the door.

“You’re so blinded by Vex’s off-the-charts hotness factor that you haven’t even noticed this guy? Seriously?” Tessie questions while shooting me big eyes.

Another trip in and both guys set down a few large coolers for the items they brought. Horse’s eyes immediately find my sister. My sixteen-year-old sister! I shoot death rays with my eyes at him, but he doesn’t notice. Toes does though and with a grin exits the house.

“Thank you for dropping this stuff off,” I say while opening the door hoping he’ll catch the huge ass hint I’m giving him.

“Yes, thank you. I’m Tessie, Taja’s sister,” Tessie says while walking forward with her hand out.

“Nice to meet you, Tessie. I’m Horse. What’s the party for?” he asks while gently shaking her hand.

“My birthday’s today.”

“And I didn’t get an invite?” he responds with a charming smile. Fuck, now that I’m looking closely at him, he is hot. Damn!

“Nope, sorry. Close friends and family only. Thanks for coming, Horse,” I interject quickly. And not so politely.

Horse’s head snaps my direction as he finally releases Tessie’s hand. His smile broadens as he walks to the door. Turning in it, he says, “Hope you have a great birthday, Tessie. Every beautiful woman deserves that.”

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