Page 80 of Brand
“Brand,” I said getting to my feet and holding out my hand.
“He used to be here, but he left us to go hang out at the beach all day. I guess I can see the appeal, all those hotties in barely-there bikinis and all. This is Rosemarie. She does my STD tests for me here, so I don’t have to drive all the way to the city.”
And there was the Ethel I knew and loved.
“Nice to meet you,” I said with a smile because Ethel was just Ethel and you couldn’t be embarrassed about anything around her.
“You, too,” she said as she shook my hand. After giving me a sweet smile, she turned her attention back to Ethel. “I’ll leave these here for you. Every thing’s good. I’ll see you later.”
“Wait,” Ethel called coming out of the kitchen carrying a Tupperware container full of cookies. “Take these to Bocca. Tell him I said to share this time.”
“I will,” Rosemarie said with a laugh. “Thanks. I’ll see you later. Later Reagan and Loch. And bye little cutie.” She bent down and kissed Maddy’s head, tossed me a wave, then was off and out the front door before my ass hit the seat again.
“We have to get going too. This one is going to get fussy if she doesn’t go to bed soon,” Reagan said as she stood and it seemed like Maddy was permanently attached to her hip.
Just one look and I knew Reagan was a good mom.
And when Loch looked at the two of them, I could tell he’d finally found his happiness. His home. That hole that was in his heart from losing his parents was now filled with the love he had for Reagan and his daughter. He deserved this. He deservedher. And I knew he’d spend the rest of his days doing any and everything for them.
“Ethel, get all the details on this girl for me,” Regan said and shot me a wink.
“Girl?”
“Thanks for that,” I mumbled as I gave her and Maddy a hug at the same time. Then I kissed Maddy’s chubby cheek.
Loch chuckled and slapped me on the shoulder.
“See you before you head off,” he said as he shook his head and gave me a look that said ‘good fucking luck with that.’
The door hadn’t even shut behind Loch before Ethel was on me with the questions. All of them. From wanting to know every little detail about what Cami looked like, down to how we met, and of course, she asked about the sex. The last subject, I skipped the details and simply told her that I’d never want for another ever.
I made it back to the clubhouse just in time for the long day to catch up to me. I didn’t hang out long, but I wanted to at least seem a little social. Then, I called my beauty before I went to sleep. By the sound of her slurred speech and the over giddiness in her voice, I knew she was having a good time. The only reason I didn’t worry about her was that I heard Chris and Laurel’s voice in the background. I would have bet they were hanging out at Chris’ house.
We spent half of the next day in church. We went over everything our chapter had been up to, all the things that had happened, and what we were currently dealing with. Axe filled us in on his upcoming plans and the new MCs he was bringing into the fold. We were expanding the pipeline and I was going to be a huge part of getting that up and running.
Axe was a strong leader. I had no doubt that he would take care of the club. He knew what he was doing but then again Cal had been grooming him for this for a long time.
And Cal, well I’d never seen that man more relaxed as I did right then. Not a care in the world, and a girl on each knee. It was hard not to laugh at the guy. I was happy for him. That man deserved some fun after all years he’d put in. I had no doubt that his pops would be proud with all that he’d done. Axe may not have been his blood, but it was clear Cal saw him as his son.
There was a huge gathering that night. Burgers, hot dogs, and even Dane made some of his amazing barbecue ribs. Fucking mind-blowing, and that was putting it mildly. All the old ladies were there. I got to see Ellie and the ever-growing Fate. I couldn’t believe how big she’d gotten in just the last few months it had been since I’d seen her.
Grass was running around chasing after Fate and it was the cutest thing. I may not have been there the moment everyone found out that Grass was still alive—mostly because Axe left my semi-conscious and messed up body tucked away in a room while I prayed no one would find me—but I do remember the feeling of the club once the boy came back home. And to this day, Nadya still scared the ever-loving piss out of me. I would not want to be on her bad side. Ever.
I couldn’t wait to bring Cami here, and I’d already started planning the trip in my mind. This would just be the first stop. I didn’t care that I’d be away from the shop for a while and I had no doubt that Iron would let me go for just a little bit. Part one of our road tripping days would start soon. All I needed was my girl on the back of my bike, driving to wherever the hell we decided on.
Looking around, I could tell that life was different from when I’d first found this place. It wasn’t a bad thing. It just was. And it felt good to still be able to be a part of it all.
“Hey, you,” Reagan said walking up to me. I was sitting on the outskirts of the picnic benches, taking it all in as the sun was fading out of the sky. She was baby free, Loch having gone in to put the little one down in their room there at the compound a bit ago. And I guessed that was why I hadn’t seen him since he’d taken her away.
“Hey.”
“Things are sure different,” she said.
“Yeah. But it’s good.”
“Yeah.”
The comfortable silence hung around us for a long moment, both of us staring out at the people that made our wild, crazy, and wonderful adopted family.
