Page 35 of Patching Over

SEVENTEEN

Brick

Once the storm finally clears, I get the rest of Rayleigh’s things and move them to the clubhouse. Seeing her putting her things away, makes my chest tight. I like the fact her clothes now line one side of my closet, and that she’s organized the bathroom, so all of our things are neatly stored. Of course, it could have to do with the fact I opened up my phone and told her to shop, but I would’ve never thought of hanging up shelves to free up some space. I chuckle when I spy the placemat she bought to set the cats’ food and water fountain on as it has skeletal fishes on it, along with ‘Yum Yum’.

“You guys sure are spoiled,” I state, looking at the two kittens passed out on the top of the cat tree I wrangled from her apartment into my suite. It’s rather massive, so it actually took me, Brew, and Phantom to get it. At first, I was alarmed when I saw the small kittens racing up and down without a care in the world, but she assured me they would be okay.

We’ve settled into a routine; one I’m growing to love. Mornings have us showering together after a very enjoyablewake up. Sometimes, she initiates it, other times, I do. After we get cleaned up and ready for the day, we eat breakfast then she rides into town with Brew. Once the weather is nicer, I’ll be taking her on the back of my bike because there’s no way she’s riding on his. She cleans both places, then one of the brothers who’s in town brings her back to the clubhouse. Right now, she’s in the kitchen trying out a new recipe. From the smell permeating the clubhouse, I think it’s going to be a hit. Too bad everyone’s going to have to wait until tomorrow, which is Thanksgiving.

When I brought it up at Church that she’d never really celebrated any of the holidays and what I wanted to do moving forward, all of the brothers were in favor. Hell, I even texted Banshee to get his thoughts since one of the reasons we stopped doing anything big for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, letting the brothers do their own thing, was because of his sister’s and parents’ deaths.

His use of multiple thumbs-up emojis let me know he was ready to embrace whatever the future held for our club. While he and Rooster won’t be here, at least until mid-December, I did bring my dad, RiffRaff, and his day nurse to the clubhouse. He’s typically not all that lucid, but when I realized he seems to do much better around all of us, I took it to a vote and we decided as a club that as long as he’s still around, he’s going to be here. Right now, while I get one of the guest cabins closest to the clubhouse reconfigured to handle his wheelchair, he’s ensconced in one of the rooms with the day nurse the club hired in the room next to his. We’ve had a few hiccups since getting him here, especially when he saw Rayleigh for the first time, but other than that, he’s in his element.

Jameson even called and gave me permission to have a new cut made for him signifying him as a Royal Bastard, although trying to get him to switch was an exercise in fruition. He likesthe new cut but said as the President of the Roanoke Raiders, he couldn’t turn his back on his brothers. Like I told Jameson, he’s living in the past, but despite only being here a week, I can already see so much improvement. Jameson had no issues with him wearing the old cut, which is a good thing because I don’t want to disrespect my National President or the club, we’re now a part of, but when it comes to my pops, I’ll go toe to toe with anyone I have to, even Grim’s Reapers.

“You two realize when she starts decorating for Christmas, it’s going to look like the place has been attacked by elves, right?” I ask the two kittens. She’s already started another list of things she wants to buy them for gifts, which has me snorting in disbelief. Gifts for animals. Snapping my fingers, I realize I need to get busy so she has one of the best days of her life.

Aggravatingly, Hawg still has no more information than we previously had where it pertains to Rayleigh’s past, which is a sore spot for not only her, but me as well. He’s even got some of his IT brethren from some of the other chapters working their magic but so far, nothing.

Sighing, I glance around the room to make sure I’ve got everything I need, then head to the common room to see what I need to take care of in preparation for the next day. I’m sure Rayleigh has a list of some sort which I can look at, so she won’t work herself to the fucking bone. She’s so fucking excited, I want her to enjoy herself as well.

“Pres!” Arrow exclaims, holding up some kind of gooey pastry. “Your ol’ lady sure knows how to bake! Between her and the club whores, I think we may need to invest in a gym because we’re all gonna get fat as fuck otherwise.”

I snort out a laugh when I hear other brothers agreeing with him. “If you’d get off your lazy asses once in a while, it wouldn’t be an issue. Just because the weather’s been shitty doesn’t mean you can’t do stuff, fuckers.”

“Hard to do anything when there’s five feet of snow on the ground, Pres,” Phantom chimes in. “Your ol’ lady has this place spic and span, the club whores seem to have stepped up their game since Leathyr was put in charge, and we still have no Prospects to help with the other shit. Nothing’s open in town, either, so there’s that to consider.”

“In my day, it didn’t matter if there was twenty feet of snow on the ground, we took care of business,” my dad rasps out, eating his own pastry, which looks like a giant cinnamon roll. “As President, I’m ordering y’all to get your lazy asses up and get the grounds cleared.”

Instead of pushing back seeing as he hasn’t been their President in nearly a decade, I watch my brothers stand, grab their empty plates, mugs, or bottles, then after tossing them in the trash can that mysteriously showed up one afternoon, shrug on warmer coats then head out the front door. “Pops,” I say, “it’s fucking colder than a witch’s tit in Antarctica.”

I’m actually taken aback by how they behaved if I’m being honest because he just told a group of hardened killers to get off their asses and do something. It’s a testament to how they are with my pops, I guess, which has me smiling.

“Builds character, Brick,” he replies. “You gotta stay tough if you ever want to take over the club.”

His nurse giggles when I look to the ceiling. Giving her a glare that immediately softens as I realize she’s just an innocent, I head into the kitchen to find my ol’ lady. What I see next has me laughing long and loud.

She, Leathyr, Layce, Sunshine, and Stormy are at various spots around the kitchen, which because it’s one built for commercial use has plenty of workstations, and every one of them has flour covering their faces and hands. “Ladies, care to tell me what’s going on?” I ask, stalking over to Rayleigh, whose eyes are bright with laughter.

“Well, you see, what had happened was,” she starts, before dissolving into giggles that soon have the other four women joining in. Several times, she tries to start telling me what happened but so far, she’s been unsuccessful. Finally, she clears her throat multiple times then says, “Leathyr said she needed some flour, so Layce tossed a handful in her direction. Then she threw some back at her, which missed and hit Sunshine, so she joined in on the fun. I didn’t want to be left out, of course, so I also threw some, but it hit Stormy instead.”

“I guess this is what happens when we get cabin fever,” Leathyr admits, grinning. She looks so much more relaxed since taking on her new role, I wish I had done something sooner. What I like far more, even though it’s relatively unheard of, is all four of the club whores have apparently taken Rayleigh under their wing, teaching her more things she never knew. Between them and her friend, Cassie, who is planning to come eat with us tomorrow, I honestly don’t know what she’s going to say at this point. Every day, she grows a little more confident, which brings out her sassy side, something I’ve grown to love.

“Maybe y’all need to take a break,” I suggest, grabbing a cup of coffee.

“No time, Brick,” Rayleigh says, finishing up her task and sliding the tray of pies into one of the ovens. “We’ve got all this stuff to get ready for tomorrow so all we have to do is put the turkey and stuffing in. I want your brothers to enjoy Thanksgiving, honey, because I know it’s been a long time since y’all have done a meal like this here.”

Kissing the side of her head which is the only place where she’s not adorned with flour, I nod. “Y’all could’ve made instant macaroni and cheese, instant potatoes, a frozen pie or two, and cooked a turkey and those fuckers would’ve been satisfied.”

Five horror-stricken faces glare at me, causing me to toss my free hand up in the air. “I’m just saying, we’re rather simple when it comes to food.”

“Brick, with all due respect, I think you might wanna leave before she beans you with that pot she’s got in her hand,” Layce advises. I glance over to see Rayleigh smacking a large pot against her hand while glaring at me.

“Good plan. Great talk, ladies, keep up the awesome work.” With that, I leave the room, but hear their laughter start up the minute I cross the threshold into the common room. “They’re all a bit crazy,” I mutter, stalking to where Phantom is now sitting next to my pops.

“Your pops is a fucking genius,” Phantom whispers to me so he’s not overheard. “I merely asked him why we had the wine cellar.”

“What was his response?” I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.

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