Page 115 of Pieces of Heaven

Walla Walla clears his throat. “We ought to cancel the Friday parties until this is over.”

Everyone waits for Tomcat to complain, but he only shrugs. “Pussy can wait. We need to get this thing taken care of.”

With everyone on the same page—though Armor will likely try to bully Tomcat in to taking Goose’s place on the Banta City trip—we go our separate ways. Eagle sticks around long enough to check on me.

“You seem tired,” he says.

Nodding, I run my fingers along my throbbing calf. “For a long time, when we’d get in these skirmishes, I never had any reason to care about the end coming for me. Fear hasn’t been on my radar since Kourtney got her footing in the world. I didn’t feel invincible, just accepting of whatever happened.”

“But now you have something to lose.”

Nodding, I appreciate how Eagle understands. I glance back toward the door standing between my woman and me.

“I want more time with Xenia. I’m real curious about her and what we might do together. Having shit end right now would suck. I guess that’s got me worried, and fear tires me out.”

“Why not stick close to the Pigsty for a while?” Eagle asks as Rose the Cat goes bolting out of the woods and back toward the storage room. “Stay locked down here for a week or two. Plenty to do with the woods and nearby lake. Having you here keeps the Pigsty safe, especially since Smokey is wobbling around and Dice won’t be able to do shit if someone attacks.”

“No matter what happens, I refuse to get stuck on an errand for the Halvorson family.”

“I’m with you there. I get the logic of killing the assholes in this other territory rather than making a mess in the Valley, but I won’t leave Irina and Clementine. Fiona’s safe on her property, but I worry about her, too. These fuckers aren’t looking to take over the Valley. They want to burn down everything we have,” Eagle says and exhales deeply. “So, yeah, I’m staying home with my family. If I’m needed, I can lock Irina and the baby in the panic room. But I’m no longer riding around, looking for trouble.”

Chuckling, I admit, “We’re getting soft.”

“Fucking yeah, we are,” he says, giving me a weird look. “We’ve got to protect our own. Walla Walla gets it. That’s why he’s doing this thing, so we soft family men don’t need to.”

“I refuse to feel guilty for that.”

“Me, either. If he was the one with a family, we’d do the job for him. Fair play and all that. Walla Walla gets it. So does Goose. I think Tomcat does, too, but he’s gotten jumpy since getting shot. I think he’ll be better off in the Valley. But I’m not calling the shots.”

Nodding, I’m not particularly surprised Eagle and I are on the same page. We’ve always been on the outside of the club, mostly because our personalities don’t easily gel with everyone else.

I’m changing, though. I can see past tomorrow. I’m getting big ideas in my head about Xenia and me. I’ve started picturing our dream house. When Halvorson and Ruin were talking about their kids running shit one day, I got to wondering what might await any kids Xenia and I make together.

Long after Ruin, Nomad, Armor, and Eagle ride out, I sit outside. Xenia joins me for a while. Kourtney shows up, claiming she wants my cupcake lady to feed her. They head inside to start dinner.

Smiling at the thought of my sister already getting tight with Xenia, I linger outside where the Valley breathes easier. I catch sight of Rose the Cat creeping closer to me. She’s curious about this new life she’s stumbled upon at the Pigsty. The cat is considering the benefits of being domesticated.

Xenia wrapped us both up in her life. I recall the first time I saw her. A part of me knew something had changed. That’s why I got skittish and kept my distance, but she pulled me closer even before we met. I felt like she was looking for something that only I could provide.

I’ve never been great at seeing the big picture. Tending to dream small, I hadn’t wanted to take on the Jordan family. Over the years, I’ve fought depending too much on my club. After seeing Xenia, I wasn’t sure about having a girlfriend, let alone giving my heart to a stranger.

Yet, as I shuffle my ass inside the house to be closer to Xenia, I appreciate how I’ve stumbled upon a good life just like the damn cat. Even when I feel trapped or uneasy, I know nothing in this world could tempt me away from Xenia and back to my wild ways.

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