Page 50 of Skid
Chapter 17
Skid
Eddie warned me aboutGrace’s temper, so when she claimed me in front of the entire club, I couldn’t help but smile. She worried she wouldn’t fit it, but she proved to the whole club she was old lady material. We rejoined the cookout to cheers, and I smirked as I tugged Grace tighter to my chest. She blushed and cast her eyes down briefly before looking up at me with a sly smile.
“Don’t be embarrassed, darlin’. You showed her who was boss, and I showed my gratitude.” I leaned over and whispered as we approached the pavilion. “They aren’t choir boys. We at least had the decency to do it in private.”
Her eyes grew wide, and I chuckled as she leaned up and asked, “You mean . . . out in the open?”
“And then some.” I laughed as we joined the line of people waiting to get food.
Sadie was saving us a place to sit with her and Gunner, and we squeezed in across from them. The music wasn’t too loud yet, allowing for some conversation to take place.
“I told you so,” Sadie joked, and Grace smiled at her.
“Sorry I caused a scene,” Grace acknowledged to Gunner, and he leaned over with a smile.
“Grace, honey. I promise it was a pleasure to see you throw a punch. Where’d you learn to hit like that cause you may need to teach a few of the prospects the right way to knock someone on their ass,” Gunner joked, and I shook my head with a smile, watching Grace fit into my family and my club seamlessly.
She scratched her neck and shrugged before replying. “I had a few months of self-defense training years ago and I guess some of it stuck.”
“Whoever you worked with taught you well. Anytime you want to spar, we have a gym in town, and I know Sadie would like the company.” He was watching her as he spoke, and to anyone else, you wouldn’t know he was analyzing everything about her.
Gunner taking over was the right move a few years ago, and his leadership has been good for the club. He has the ability to somehow sense when someone wasn’t giving all the information they could. Not lying but omitting parts of the truth, and he could ask the most benign questions to get the answers.
I didn’t like he was doing it to Grace, but he was getting her to give information I hadn’t been able to garner from her during countless hours of conversations of the last week. Giving him a subtle cue that not even Sadie knew, I let him know to push without being pushy.
“That sounds like fun. It’s been years since I’ve been to a gym,” Grace responded.
“What I want is to try this best pie in the world pie that Dalton raved about,” Sadie interjected, and Grace covered her smile with her hand.
I leaned over and whispered against the shell of her ear, “Can I have some of your pie, Grace? I promise to lick the plate clean.”
Grace cleared her throat and turned to Sadie. “I don’t know about being the best pie in the world, but I’d love to make you one. Dalton said you own a bakery?”
“I do and for him to say it’s the best in the world means I have to try it, then I’ll be forced to hire you, so you don’t become my competition,” Sadie joked, and Gunner kissed her on the temple before draping his arm over her shoulder.
“I’ve always wanted to work in a bakery, creating new desserts and perfecting old classics,” Grace reasoned, and Gunner subtly nodded to me.
“I’m going to get us another drink. Do you need anything?” I asked Grace, and she turned to me with a smile.
“I just need you,” she replied, and I kissed her before standing up and joining Gunner.
We walked into the clubhouse, away from the music, and sat down at our usual table in the back of the room. I could see Grace sitting with Sadie, her head thrown back in carefree laughter through the rolled-up doors used to fortify the clubhouse. I was glad to see them getting along like old friends and to see Grace so relaxed was a relief.
A prospect quickly delivered two beers and scurried away before Gunner spoke. “I don’t want to ask what you found out, but I kind of do. I can see it in her eyes, and Sadie does too. Is it as bad as you expected?”
