Page 15 of Bear

“Hot and dusty but worth it. I’m really glad you could make it.”

Shelby gave Maisie a little bounce.

“Oh, yeah, no problem. Pedro stopped by this morning to lend a hand with Maisie. He’s so respectful and such a dream with kids. Did you send him?”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “I didn’t but I’m happy to hear he helped out.”

Although I had a feeling I could guess the reason why. I never thought of Pedro as a romantic at heart, but clearly, he was exercising some fledgling matchmaking skills. Making sure he did whatever he could to see that his big brother got together with the woman he’d been flirting with for the past week or so.

“Well, Maisie has been bright and bubbly all morning. No fussiness at all. I’m convinced she knew we were planning to meet you today.”

Maisie burbled. I brushed my knuckles against her cheek and tapped her on the nose, making her giggle.

A sharp whistle drew my attention. I glanced over my shoulder to see the rest of my club gathered around a picnic table, clad in their leather vests with a large howling wolf on the back. Crow had his wife, Dani, and the new baby, Paloma with him. Brewer had his girlfriend, Alexandra, tucked under his arm. And Tank had his wife, Jules, bent over a stroller with twins tucked inside. Mack had a girl I didn’t recognize seated on his lap - he always had a herd of girls hanging around him and I could never tell which ones were serious and which ones were the flavor-of-the-month.

Rooster was the one who had whistled. He gestured for me to join them and mouthed,bring your lady friend.

“Do you know them?” Shelby asked.

This was the moment of truth. She’d already met my family by blood. But why was the idea so daunting for Shelby to meet my MC family? Maybe because they were home to me. These men had been by my side through the lowest, ugliest points of my life. They knew me better than my own little brothers did.

Introducing Shelby to this part of my life would fully expose myself. Then the memory of Crow’s words came back to me.

I’m taking it one day at a time and I’m trying to be a better man for my girls. That’s all I can do.

Maybe it would all blow up in my face. Maybe Shelby didn’t feel the same way about me. But I knew how I felt about her. And I wanted her here with me.

“That’s my club,” I heard myself saying. “They’ve been with me through hell and high water. Would you like to meet them?”

Shelby gazed up at me with a smile.

“I’d love to.”

I held my hand out to her, palm up. She placed her hand in mine and we crossed the lawn together.

Chapter Six

Shelby

At first, it was overwhelming and intimidating to meet the members of Bear’s motorcycle club - Brewer, Tank, Crow, Rooster, Mack, Red, Axel, and Diablo. They were all so loud and boisterous, many of them tattooed, all of them wearing the same leather vest with big, bold letters that read Alpha Riders MC.

I expected Maisie to start wailing at the noise, but she simply yawned and blinked sleepily. I don’t know what happened to my baby who used to cry endlessly through the night but I suspected it had something to do with Bear’s presence which seemed to have a calming effect on her.

“What’s a cute little thing like you doing with our Bear?” Rooster declared, his Southern accent thick and smooth as honey. I could tell he was the charmer of the group. “You’re too pretty for his ugly mug.”

“We’re not…together,” I quickly amended carefully. I was aware we were on a date but I’d been clear to express that this was nothing serious. “Bear has been so gracious ever since I moved into our apartment building over a week ago. He’s been a godsend.”

“Well, then, in that case, I’d be happy to treat you to a Southern gentleman’s charm for the afternoon,” he added with a wink.

“Ignore him,” Bear said to me, piling barbecue ribs onto his plate. “He’s full of hot air and fancy words. Trust me, there’s nothing much between his ears except the sound of the wind as it passes through.”

“I can see that,” I replied.

A snicker went around the table. Rooster clucked his tongue in mock dismay.

“She has the face of an angel and the wit of a demon.”

Mack flicked a chicken bone at him, grazing his shoulder.

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