Page 7 of Shadow

“Faith is out back in the greenhouse filling orders, and Charity is on a date.”

I smirked. “Oh really? And who is this paragon of virtue that weaseled his way into my sister’s life?”

Hope laughed. “Calm down there, bro. Nevil is a good guy.”

“Nevil?” I tried unsuccessfully hiding my grin.

What kind of fucking name was that? An image of a skinny, geeky waif with thick glasses and a pocket protector popped into my head.

Hope slapped my chest, laughing. “Stop it. Nevil is a sweet boy. You’ll like him. He’s a recent graduate of the University of Texas and is a big help around here.”

“He works here?”

“Yeah, amongst other things. He’s also handy with a wrench. And let’s face it, none of us knows how to use tools. It’s not like we have you or Balthazar close by to help when shit breaks down. Now, quit making fun of Nevil and come inside. I just made some peach and rosemary sweet tea. You’re going to love it.”

I grimaced. Yeah, I wasn’t so sure about that.

Out of all my sisters, Hope was the one who was always trying and creating new recipes. Hope was a damn superb cook if she followed the recipe. But God help us all when she started creating. Well, that was another story.

“Plus, you’ve got to try my new cookies.”

Cautiously, I stepped back. “Are they chocolate chip?”

Hope narrowed her eyes. “No. They are lemon and seaweed. Nevil loves them.”

“He’s lying. No one loves lemon and seaweed cookies. I didn’t even know you could put those two things together. In fact, those two words should never be in the same damn sentence. Ever.”

Grabbing my hand, Hope yanked me towards the front door. “Oh, shut up, Zeke. While you are here, I’ve got several new recipes I need you to test. I’m expanding the business to include baked goods.”

I looked to the heavens and whispered, “Kill me now.”

Later that evening, I found myself sitting at the table, as I happily ate the crap Hope served me, trying not to wince from the gawd awful taste, as I eyed the big motherfucker sitting across from me.

Skinny nerd, my ass.

The Nevil fucker was bigger than a freaking barn and considering the multitude of tattoos running up and down his arms, Nevil was no fucking geek. The fucker flat out ignored me as Charity cozied up to him, giggling like some damn schoolgirl, hanging on every word this moron spewed.

“Your teeth are showing,” Faith whispered, leaning over to me.

“I hate him.”

Shaking her head, she added, “He’s nice. Give him a chance.”

Sighing, I pushed my semi-eaten plate away from me. Leaning back in my chair, I rested my arm on the back of Faith’s chair as I looked at the enormous baboon and asked, “So, Nevil. How’d you meet my sister?”

Charity’s head popped up, eyes wide as Nevil answered, “We met at a club function.”

Excuse me. I couldn’t have heard him correctly. There was no fucking way Charity would ever attend a club function, or date a club brother, for that matter. Not with what her two older sisters survived. Not that she knew because everyone kept it from her, but Dad, Balthazar and I were clear.

No bikers. Ever.

There was no fucking way.

Taking a deep breath, I tried unsuccessfully to curb the rising fury in the pit of my stomach. If this walking freak of nature was a club brother, I was going to lose my shit. “Club function?”

“Yeah. My brother is a member of the Diamondback M.C. in Lawton, Oklahoma, about forty-five minutes north of here. The club was having a family day. Judd invited me and that’s where I met Charity.”

Yeah. I knew the damn club.

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