Page 72 of Riding the Edge

“Here,” I say, wiping my hands on the back of my pants. “Let me take the baby.”

“I’ve got him, Lady,” he rasps, tipping his chin towards the table. “Go eat.”

Feeling the heavy weight of everyone’s stare, I decide not to make a scene. I force a smile and turn around, finding my seat. Nervously, I scoop the pasta into my dish as Eric leads Al to the table. Eric slides into the seat next to me and Al, pulls out the chair at the head of the table, opposite Anthony.

“How’s Nico?” Riggs asks, breaking the silence.

“He’s good. They moved him out of intensive care,” Al reveals, smiling down at the baby. “You’re a handsome fella’ aren’t you? Must get your looks from your mother.”

“Very funny,” Riggs retorts with his mouthful.

“Uncle Wolf do you have your motorcycle with you?” Eric asks.

Lifting his eyes, he smiles at my grandson.

“I do,”

“What’s so great about his motorcycle?” Anthony asks.

“It’s a chopper,” Eric boasts.

Shoving a forkful of pasta into my mouth, I reach for the empty dish in front of Al. I add a healthy heaping of pasta and two meatballs before placing it back in front of him.

“I told you, I’m good, Lady.” His voice is barely a whisper causing goosebumps to spread across my skin.

“C’mon, Wolf, it’s in her nature. You can’t expect to sit at her table and her not feed you,” Lauren says.

“Uncle Anthony doesn’t know what that is,” Riggs says, answering Eric’s question. “If it’s not a Cadillac or a Lincoln, Uncle Anthony isn’t a fan.”

“Of course, I know what a chopper is,” Anthony argues.

Ignoring him, Riggs turns to Al.

“Speaking of cars, did you ever get in touch with the guy from the dealership?”

“Yeah, I’ve decided to keep the car,” he reveals. Balancing the baby with one arm, he reaches for his fork and cuts a piece of the meatball off. Bringing it to his lips, his eyes meet mine as he takes a bite.

“Here, let me take him,” Lauren says, holding out her hands. This time he doesn’t argue with her and she takes the baby out of his arms with ease.

“You bought a car?” Anthony asks, sounding surprised. “Isn’t that sacrilegious for you people?”

“Not just any car,” Riggs starts. “The guy went and bought himself a—”

“The meatballs are great,” Al interrupts.

“Oh my God,” I shriek. Remembering the morning Anthony showed up, and the car parked in front of the house, I push my chair back. “Do you smell something burning?”

“I thought we took everything out of the oven,” Adrianna says.

“I smell it,” Al says.

“I don’t smell anything,” Lauren says.

“Me either,” Anthony agrees. “You’ve been acting weird ever since the other morning.”

“What happened the other morning?” Lauren asks.

“I stopped by early on Friday and there was a brand new Charger blocking the driveway. It took mom twenty minutes to answer the door.”

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