Page 125 of Pieces We Keep

Nomad snorts at my answer while he rests the kids’ asses on the kitchen island. They tug gently at his long dark hair and fix his thick beard.

“Beautiful,” Brooklyn says when he’s sufficiently fixed.

“Are you planning on having a bunch of these boogers?” Nomad asks me while I take Brigitte into my arms.

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t have too many. They’re awful,” he says, winning headshakes from his kids. “They watch terrible shows and steal your candy.”

“I have candy?” Brooklyn asks immediately.

“Here,” Landry says and hands over baby carrots. “They look healthy, but they’re made out of sugar.”

The kids aren’t buying her lies. They exchange carrots assuming the other one has the better one.

In my arms, Brigitte yawns and wipes her eyes.

“She looks like her mom when she gets sleepy,” Nomad says, sounding all soft and silly.

Landry returns from offering a carrot to five-year-old Beau. Hearing Nomad’s comment, she cuddles with him. I start worrying I might get stuck babysitting all these kids while these two get cozy in the bedroom. Then, I remember how Woodrow and Rosemary are here, allowing me to flee if necessary.

The next hour is a blur. The kids get loud and then go down for their naps. Nomad and Woodrow talk to me about building a house.

Rosemary shows up to offer me design sites to research with Irina. I like the idea of cuddling up with my woman tonight and designing our dream house.

Eventually, I stand out front of Nomad’s place, taking in the size of his home. I always figured he’d end up somewhere good. Even though he was a weird kid, I still sensed he was better than other people. I figured it took balls to be so unflinchingly odd. Guys like Ruin and Tomcat were always on top. Guys like Nomad and Hobo lived on a different wavelength that made more sense to me.

I’m thanking Nomad for his help when we’re interrupted by our phones chiming with a message from Hobo.

“Yagger got jumped by Halvorson fucks. Berserkers, get to Willie’s Burger Bash in Canary Basin.”

Nomad calls into the house to say he’s got to work and warns Woodrow to lock down the place until he’s back.

I’m already on my hog when Nomad’s garage opens and he comes peeling out after me.

Canary Basin is a town over, off the highway. Nomad and I use the rural roads, making our ride quicker. Anyone else might get lost, but we know every road, dead end, and shortcut.

Yagger loves Willie’s Burger Bash when he’s stoned. The youngest club member eats there often, people know him, and he never runs into any issues. However, he’s also been spying on the Halvorson family for the club.

Urick Halvorson made his name by breeding horses. However, his family’s fortune comes from less savory avenues. I remember when Asshole Lloyd got invited to a dinner party at the Halvorson ranch. My mom dressed up in her finest dress.

From a window, I watched them return hours later. Asshole Lloyd muttered something to my mom under his breath as she wiped tears from her face and tugged at her skirt.

The next day, I saw her once I got home from school. She’d been wearing the same sad expression as when she returned from that fucking party.

“They’re not nice people,” Jillian said when I asked what was bothering her. “There was nothing wrong with my dress.”

That was the gist of my knowledge of the Halvorson family. From the club’s standpoint, the rich ranchers are a whiny annoyance. Urick’s sons—Peter and Erik—liked to throw their weight around occasionally, but they’re harmless against our power.

Except today they drew blood, and Ruin hasn’t been in the mood to play nice.

Chaos awaits Nomad and me at the burger joint. Two Harleys are parked haphazardly. I spot Walla Walla, Hobo, and Smokey throwing punches against the dozen men surrounding them.

I never stop when I reach the parking lot. Riding right up into the pile of people, I use my hog to knock over a few Halvorson workmen. I’m quickly off my bike, leaving it idling on top of an unlucky fucker’s body.

I don’t know who I’m punching. The Halvorson family hires convicts and ex-military for their ranch. The rumor is they’ve upped their payroll since Todd Rogers did the same on his property. Everyone thinks war is coming, but I can’t imagine today’s bullshit is the first salvo.

As a kid, I hid in the shadows. As a grown man, I can never find the right words.

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