I jump off the bed and grab my phone and wallet from the side table. I shove my wallet in my back pocket and swiftly head down the stairs to the kitchen. I inhale deeply, which makes my stomach growl.
I walk past the living room to see Elena, Axle, Viper, Candy, and Twitch watching TV. The echo of loud cracks gives me the impression the other men are outside practicing their shooting.
As I step into the kitchen, I lightly knock on the cupboard, aware of how jumpy Ava can get. But over time, she seems to have gotten more comfortable here. But I still don’t want to trigger her.
She looks up at me and smiles.
“Do you know when dinner will be ready?”
“At least an hour. There’s a big turkey in the oven.”
I give her a chin lift, proceed through the house, and grab the keys to the van. I hope Zara likes the present I’m going to buy for her.
After dinner,there are conversations around the table. I lean in closer to Reaper. “I need to speak to you at some point.”
He slowly nods. “I’ve been meaning to try these new cigars I got. How about we go out the back and talk?”
I rarely have a serious one-on-one conversation with Reaper because my life is the club, so I gather he knows what I’ve got to say is important to me.
“I’ll meet you out there.”
My chair squeaks against the wooden floor when I stand. I pick up my plate and go to the kitchen. Elena and the sweet butts are in there cleaning. I use my fork to scrape off a large portion of my food into the container for the dog.
Elena’s eyes drop to my plate. “You didn’t eat much.”
I pause. Despite the awkward silence, I don’t tell her why. She plasters on a smile, reaches for my plate, and takes it from me.
I move to the back door and open it, but I’m met with resistance. I shove it harder. The door opens wide. Conan, Ava’s dog, stands there. Judging by the drool hanging from his mouth, he must be able to smell the food. The door shuts behind me, and as I’m walking to the table outside, I look over my shoulder. Conan is sitting outside the door, patiently waiting for Ava to feed him.
Shortly after, the back door opens and Reaper walks through, stops at Conan, and shakes his head. “Rottweilers shouldn’t be that fat. Is he getting bigger or what?” Reaper asks as he strolls toward me with a box in his hand.
My eyes skim over Conan’s gut. “He has put on more weight.”
“I keep telling Ava to stop feeding him so much.”
I wait until he sits beside me. “I don’t think it’s just Ava.”
His brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“Everyone feeds the dog, and most people also give him snacks throughout the day. I know because I’ve sat here and watched.”
I like this spot outside. Trees surround us, the air is fresh, and it’s quiet. It’s relaxing. I hate being confined indoors.
“Are Viper and Rage still taking the dog for runs?”
“Yes, but the dog gets fed all day and at night.”
The back door opens again. Ava comes out with a massive container of scraps and places them in Conan’s bowl.
“Sit,” she says in what is supposed to be a commanding voice, but she’s too softly spoken for it to sound like that. “Eat.”
“Beautiful, your dog’s getting too fat. I think you need to stop feeding him so much.”
Ava lifts her gaze to us. She smiles. “No, I think we need to get another dog.”
“Another one?” Reaper pipes up. “One is more than enough.”
She quirks a brow, then walks back inside.
