Page 37 of Pigeon

“We have no idea. It’s unexplainable. He says it’s a gift, but I call bullshit. It’s a fucking nightmare for anyone wanting a late-night snack at the clubhouse. That fucker can hear a potato chip bag opening from a mile away. I mean that in the literal sense. I was once lying in my bed in the clubhouse, door shut, watching a movie, and made the mistake of opening a bag of chips. My door busts open, and Chubs bounces himself across my bed, leans on his elbows, and asks, “What’cha got there?” I explain while shooting her a grin.

“Harsh, but true,” Chubs agrees amicably.

Ivy starts laughing again before giving a snort then laughing even harder. I watch in amusement before taking the fork and knife from her hands and ordering her to take a seat. Chubs jumps up and pulls a chair out for her, then slides it back to the table. Horse rolls his eyes and flips Chubs off. Normal dinner time with The Devil’s Angels.

“I think I should hang around here to help keep an eye on Ivy,” Chubs says while lounging in a recliner.

“You’re only saying that because you heard her say she’s making fried chicken tomorrow, you lying bastard,” Horse counters from his chair.

“That confirmed my thoughts, yes, but I also like to be helpful,” Chubs insists.

“Ava not feeding you?” Horse asks suspiciously.

“Ava’s busy bonding with Moose and Matilda. Kind of Ivy’s fault, really,” Chubs complains.

“I work tomorrow evening, but I’ll leave dinner in the fridge. Dessert too if I have time after I get back from the ranch,” Ivy says.

“You’ll have time because you’ll have a few ranch hands to help get the work done,” Chubs replies. “Pigeon’s going to be busy with club stuff, so I’ve wrangled James into coming with us. He’s a prospect, so it’ll be fun to torture him with all the dirtiest chores.”

“If I knew Ted wouldn’t be there, I’d ask Craig if he’d like to come too. I don’t want Craig around Ted at all, though. I promised Craig that I’d teach him to ride if his parents agree, but that should wait for now,” Ivy quietly says.

“On your next day off, we’ll take Craig to the ranch with us. Pippa and Pooh will want to go too, so there will be enough of us I’m guessing Ted will make himself scarce,” Pigeon states.

“Craig said Trigger likes to fish with the kids. Papa stocked a pond with trout and other fish years back. I take fish pellets to it a few times a week. The creeks have walleye, bass, salmon, perch, and trout too. If Trigger would—” Ivy informs us before getting cut off by Chubs.

“Trigger’s going to hound you daily if he finds that out. If we tell him, though, we can have a fish fry of epic proportions,” Chubs says excitedly while pulling his phone out.

While Chubs makes the call, Ivy turns to me.

“I needed help with dealing with Ted. I know that, and I appreciate all you guys have done, but I can’t stay here for much longer. There’s just too much to do at the ranch to be making the extra trips back and forth. The guys didn’t pull their weight, but I managed to get by with what they did do. I’m going to have to hire some help once I talk with the attorney tomorrow.”

“Let’s find out what the attorney says, and then we’ll go from there. Unless Ted leaves the ranch for good, you won’t be staying there alone with him anymore. We’ll find a way for you to be safe and still keep the ranch running, Ivy.”

“Trigger squealed like a little girl seeing her first pony. Wish I’d have recorded that sound for future leverage,” Chubs moans while putting his phone down in disgust. He perks up quickly, though, and then announces, “But he’s all for a fish fry!”

I pull my sore ass off the couch at 4am and start a pot of coffee. Taking a quick shower, I knock on the bedroom doors on my way past, waking the occupants. I walk to the back door and open it to greet a blurry-eyed James as he stumbles past me, making a beeline for the coffee cups. Once seated, both of us drinking our coffee, we wait. It’s not long, and Chubs comes bounding through the door with boxes in his hands. Ava’s bakery logo is printed on them, so that explains why he wasn’t in the recliner when I woke up. Horse punches me in the shoulder on his way to the coffee, and I return the favor when he takes a seat next to me.

Ivy walks into the room and does the same as James did. She’s dressed in worn, comfortable-looking jeans, work boots, t-shirt, and hoodie. Hair pulled up in a knot with a makeup-free face, she looks younger than usual and ready for a day of labor. A warm feeling settles in my stomach when I notice that her black eye is fading. On impulse, I stand and walk to her. Using my finger, I tilt her face up to mine and drop a light kiss on her perfect lips. Pulling back, I watch her eyes go wide, and I grin before asking, “That okay?”

Nodding slightly, she keeps her eyes on mine. Without words, it seems like we have a whole conversation. I run the back of my finger across her cheek before speaking.

“Chubs brought donuts. Better get what you want before they’re gone.”

“Okay,” Ivy answers before making her way to the table and picking up a donut.

“Horse and I are heading to the clubhouse now. The attorney will be here around 2pm to meet with Ivy, so have her back in time for that. I’ll be here if I can, but if not, one of you need to follow her to the rescue for her shift. I’ll come there as soon as I can. Margie’s aware that Ivy will have a volunteer with her today, so she’s expecting one of us,” I say as I stand and drop my truck keys on the table in front of Chubs. “Take my truck. It’s filled and has more room.”

“Will do, brother,” Chubs responds.

As Horse walks outside, I stop in front of Ivy.

“Work their asses off and keep one of them in sight at all times. If Ted decides to hang around, stay even closer to Chubs or James, yeah?”

Ivy nods in agreement before saying a quiet thank you. I turn and walk away, and it’s way harder to do than I ever thought it could be.

Arriving at the clubhouse, Horse and I head straight to the room we use for Church. Taking our seats, I wait for Gunner to start talking.

“Chubs and James got Ivy today?” he asks while looking at me.

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