Page 51 of Reaper Released

“Beauty, I can’t. I have to work. Can you meet me later?”

Dozer lets out the biggest laugh. “Ray, this is the wedding of the century. Work can wait, and you’re marrying Steel, which means you're here to stay, so it’s a win-win for me. Go, take the morning off, and come back when you know what you’re doing. Trust me, my old lady will sort you the best of everything!”

I grab him and give him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, old timer!”

“No worries, kid. Just remember my favourite cake is red velvet, no, lemon, wait… no, death by chocolate.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Beauty jibes. “We get it. You love cake.” She grabs him for a filthy snog, making me blush and slightly damp as it makes me think of Steel.

“Not as much as I love you!” He smacks her arse as she walks away from him.

Sitting at the bar, Beauty grabs a binder from her bag to give me a tonne of options. “Shouldn’t Steel be here for all this too?”

“Nah, he said to give you whatever you want.” She digs in her pocket, shaking a credit card at me, then slipping it back inside for safekeeping.

“Seriously? …I don’t know, I never envisioned myself with a boyfriend, let alone a fiancé. I mean, what the fuck happened, Beauty? I’ve been here all of two minutes, and now I’m moving to a totally different country, packing up my whole life for a guy I haven’t even fucked yet.”

“What?”

“Yep, he wants to wait till the wedding. I mean, is it the 1900s?” I bury my head in my hands and scrub the palms of my hands into my eyes. I mutter, “What the actual fuck am I doing?”

“Hey, are you having second thoughts?”

“Honestly? No, I’m not, which is what I think is scaring me the fucking most. Beauty, have I lost my goddamn mind? I mean, it’s like I’ve had a personality transplant since being here. The trouble is, I can’t say I don’t know who I am anymore, as I don’t think I’ve ever been any more me than I am right now. What if I have a brain tumour? That could be a possibility, right?”

Beauty barks a laugh, making my head fly up to see if she’s still in her chair. With the energy behind that laugh, she should possibly have ended up thrown on the floor.

“Oh, Ray! You are so perfect for each other! Right, let's pick some shit and spend some money!”

Sticking my hand in my pocket, I grab my card out, too, throwing it on the table in front of her. “Here, put it all on there, but I need mine back later to sort something to wear.”

“I’ve already booked you an appointment to look at bridesmaids' dresses next week and wedding dresses a couple of days later.”

“Wedding dresses? Shit, seriously? A dress? Like an actual fucking dress? Scar put you up to this, didn't she?”

“Speak of the devil.” Beauty laughs, nodding behind me. I’d messaged Scar and told her to come help as I’m hopeless and not interested in all this shit. Fuck’s sake. I don’t care about some fancy arse wedding. I just want to marry Steel, and that’s enough for me.

“Fuck, I need a drink!”

Four hours later, I’m starving, so Barbie makes us some food, and Dozer joins us. I ban any talk of the wedding before I end up with a headache. Beauty’s amazing, I give her a few ideas, and she’s running with it. I mean, fuck, she’s a demon at planning shit. I ask if we need a priest or whatever. She says that’s already sorted, so that’s the main thing. Dice has said that as soon as we get a marriage certificate, he can get me a green card. It will cost but can be rushed through, so I give him the details off my card and tell him to use whatever he needs. There’s more than enough in there with everything my dad left me and the monthly income from the Adventure Centre as well as our “other businesses.” I’m not worried. How do I explain to Steel my income, though?

After eating, I need to get to work. I have had a girly enough morning. I need to get some grease under my fingernails and on my face to feel like me again. Bernie and Marie have invited us all over for dinner, so I know it’s gonna be more wedding talk, so I head back to the garage, leaving them all talking amongst themselves.

“Hey, kid, you good?”

“Yeah, old timer, I’m good! It’s just a lot, ya know!”

“Just let Beauty do her thing honestly, she’s the best there is, and there will be minimal shit for you to sort out if you want it that way. If you need any time off, let me know. I can work around stuff! Word has gotten round that you’re staying, and we’ve got work coming out of our asses, but they’re also willing to wait as they only want us to do it, so we have time, okay? But also, I’m sorry for all that shit that went down before you… ya know, went away. The fucking lodge looks amazing. I don’t know how to thank you!”

“Thanks, Dozer. I appreciate it, I really do, and how about we call it even? Just get the fucking bathroom finished so you can move in soon, okay? You’re coming tonight, aren’t you?”

“Deal. Yeah, we’ll be there, kid!”

And then I throw myself back into my work, get filthy, and have the best afternoon. I have grease in my hair, under my fingernails and in places it shouldn’t be as I’m not careful, but hey, that’s what showers are for, right?

Heading over to Bernie’s, we’re in a convoy. Ares and Scar in front, me and Steel behind but next to Viking, Beauty and Dozer, then the rest of the Psycho Six behind them. Bran’s going to fetch Demi and meet us there.

When we get there, Marie has laid the table full of salad, coleslaw, cheese, and everything else you can think of, and Pa Bernie is at the grill with steaks, chicken, and all sorts of crap. I mean, I don’t know how many they’re feeding, but fuck me, we could eat for days and still be shit left over. The guys all grab beers and group around the grill. So cute, really.

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