Page 52 of When It Reins
“Quit fretting.” Rosemary taps the girl’s hand, her gaze softening. “They’ll just be there for security.”
“Well, I can’t exactly bring my baby to a bar, so I’m not worried about that.”
“Oh.” I get her attention again, getting back to my normal, nice self.Claws in, Juniper.“It’s actually a restaurant with a bar. We have families all the time. Obviously, the later it gets, the rowdier it becomes, but my sister—she co-owns the bar with me—she brings her son in frequently.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.” She looks around the table at the never-touched drink and sighs. “I’d better go. I need to get her to daycare and then get to work.”
Rosemary frowns. “Why don’t I take her? You don’t want her in a place full of germs.”
“She goes often, Rose. She’s okay. I can’t ask you to do that anyway. Ben would be furious.”
Again, I feel like an intruder considering I have no idea what kind of situation she is in, but Rosemary obviously knows this woman and cares deeply.
Rosemary glares. “Now you let me handle that son of mine with a whooping. He doesn’t get to dictate how I help my friends and family.”
Sienna’s eyes soften, and she looks back at the baby. Something in her posture shifts, and she lets her shoulders loose with a big breath. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. Gimme that.” Rosemary stands and turns the stroller until it’s right by her chair. “Let me have your keys. We’ll swap until you’re off work.”
Sienna pauses again. “Are you really okay with this, Rose? I hate dumping on you.”
Rosemary stands and gets close enough to Sienna that when they speak, it’s in a tone low enough that I can’t hear. Probably a good thing, as Sienna’s eyes tear up, and she pulls Rosemary into a hug so tight that I feel myself getting emotional.
After Sienna leaves, Rosemary sits back down, arranging the baby stroller the way she wants it. She opens the top and the most beautiful little baby is sleeping peacefully inside. She looks tiny, so I’m guessing she’s not that old at all.
“Now.” Rosemary turns and gives me her fiercely blue eyes. “Tell me what this is about you dating a brother in the MC.”
24
mitch
Stakeouts were the worst.
They were even more horrible when you were forced to go with the VP of your club and the prez, meaning I was crammed into the back seat of Loki’s Honda.
Yeah, he drives a piece of shit car from the ’90s that squeals when it turns on and can barely make it up and down the hills of this mountain. I’m not even sure how we got here without it dying in the middle of the highway.
“Why couldn’t we have taken your cage?” I ask Mick, who chuckles from the front seat. He drove a 2023 Escalade.
“We’re trying to be discreet.” He waves his hand around the car. “How much more discreet can we get than in this hunk of junk?”
“Hey,” Loki snaps, relaxing into the front seat driver’s chair. “This car has gotten me through everything.”
“With the money we make, you could get a new car that could actually get you down the mountain.”
“I don’t want a new car,” Loki argues back. “I like this car. Too many memories to throw away.”
“Make a fucking scrapbook next time, will you? There’s no fucking room back here,” I say, trying to adjust my knees.
Loki looks at me through the rearview mirror. “I’ve managed to fit back there just fine, several times.”
The wiggle of his eyebrows tells me everything I don’t want to know. “Are you serious right now? Did you clean it?”
Loki just laughs loudly, and even Mick joins in on the laughter at the discomfort on my face. Excuse me if I don’t want to be sitting where my VP’s balls have been.
“What are we looking for, anyway?” I ask, trying to ignore the facts I just learned.
I’d gotten to the club earlier on the demands of an emergency meeting. When I entered the room, it was all the officers of the club and me.
