Page 32 of Patching Over

“Yep, sassy,” I tease as she quickly transfers both cats to the carrier, then puts the throw over it.

“Whatever. Do I need to carry anything else?” she asks, looking at the small pile that’s now amassed by the door.

“No, I want to get y’all down into the truck and if I need to make another trip, I’ll do so,” I reply, grabbing the full trash can. “You’ve got your purse and the kittens.” When I notice the jacket she slips on over her many layers is nothing more than a light windbreaker, I start cursing under my breath before mentally starting a list of all the things I’m going to order for her.

Within minutes, she’s safely ensconced in my nicely warmed truck while I quickly gather the rest of her things, toss the trash, then lock up her apartment and the bar once again. Once I’m back inside, I look at her and say, “Buckle up, Sprite. It’s a bit of a challenging ride.”

Despite the fact I’m more than aware she’s sitting next to me, I focus on the ride back to the clubhouse. “Can I ask you something?” she inquires, her voice soft and somewhat hesitant.

“You can always ask me anything, Sprite. Depending on what it’s about, I may not always be able to give you an answerespecially if it pertains to club business, but other than that, the sky’s the limit.”

“How did you know I needed help?”

I briefly glance at her before refocusing my attention on the road. There’ve been no plows through yet, making the drive treacherous as hell. “Phantom finally saw the text you must’ve sent him earlier today and came to let me know. Just letting you know now, Brew was aware, but completely forgot the bar doesn’t have a generator. I’m pretty sure he’s feeling like a piece of shit at this point considering how we initially found you.”

“I had a few bad moments today,” she whispers. “But the boys needed me to be strong, so those times didn’t last too long. When I realized I was going to need help, I tried to send both Brew and Phantom another text a little while ago, but my phone died just as I hit send.”

“Didn’t your phone charge last night?” I ask, worried the phone I got her is a piece of shit. If it’s because the battery is no good, I’m going to rip the head off the fucker who sold it to me when I went in and got her one and added it to my plan. He said it had the best battery available, but obviously, he lied.

“It would’ve, I guess, but my friend downloaded a game that I started to play before going to bed. The battery was pretty low when I put it on the charger and the power went out while I was asleep.”

I chuckle at her words. “I have a few of those I play as well when I’m trying to unwind.” I also jack off to thoughts of you, but those words don’t leave my mouth. Instead, I mentally add a battery pack so she can still charge her phone if the power goes out to my list.

“I know better now, though. Can I ask something else?” Instead of answering, I glance at her, my brow raised, which has her giggling. “Okay, okay. What exactly is an old lady?”

“It’s ol’ lady, not old lady, and it means according to our world, we’d be as good as married. A couple in all ways.” In my peripheral, I see her face redden at my words and smirk. “An ol’ lady gets a property cut, as well as a tattoo marking her for everyone else to see she’s taken.”

“I have a tattoo now,” she says, interrupting my current train of thought which has her splayed out on my bed, her blonde ringlets spread across my pillows, her sweet body on display. “Wait, what’s a property cut?”

“I can’t wait for you to show it to me.” Phantom told me she got one, but said it was up to her to tell me what it was. “A property cut is like what I wear when I’m on my bike or around the clubhouse, only it says Property of Brick on the back. Why did you ask what an ol’ lady is, Rayleigh?”

I know I’m pressing the issue, but with the threats against her now gone, I’m anxious to know whether or not she’s come to a decision. “Would you cheat?” she responds, instead of answering my question. “I mean, I’ve been reading a lot and it seems to be something a lot of men want to do.”

“Rayleigh, look at me,” I command, briefly taking my eyes off the road. When her eyes meet mine, I continue. “Since I found you, there’s been no one else. There’s no fucking way I’d disrespect my ol’ lady like that, sweetheart. If I’m yours and you’re mine, that’s it for me.”

“Remember how you told me the way it would be but ultimately it was my choice?” she inquires.

“I do.”

“I choose you, Brick. I still feel like you might be getting the raw end of the deal when it’s all said and done, but no one in my life has ever made me feel the way you have. As long as you’re okay getting a slightly neurotic hot mess who’s still trying to figure out how life works, then I’m willing to be your ol’ lady.”

Clearing my throat from the emotion her words are evoking, I ask, “And how’s that, sweetheart?”

“Cherished, protected, and safe,” she admits.

“You’re all of those, Sprite, and so much more. I won’t lie to you and say I love you because it’s much too soon for that, but there’s not been a day since you came into my life where I didn’t think about you.”

“But you never came around.” I see her slight pout and smirk, knowing she missed me as much as I missed her.

“Because I was giving you the time you needed to see what you wanted, Rayleigh. Nothing more and nothing less. Trust me, I was well-aware of how you were doing this whole time.”

“Because of Brew and Phantom?”

“And the other brothers who just happened to stop by the bar or the tattoo shop while you were working,” I admit.

She starts giggling at my words. “I kind of wondered because it seemed like someone from your club was always around whenever I was working, even if the places weren’t open for business yet.”

We pull into the parking lot of the clubhouse where I see the majority of the snow has been cleared away. “C’mon, let me get you inside so you can start thawing out.”

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