“No,” she assured him, wiping away a tear. “It’s perfect. The lights haven’t been up in a long time, is all. It took me by surprise.”
He enveloped her in his arms, and she buried her face in his chest, thanking him.
Guilt flickered in eyes that caught mine for a split second before he looked away. Patting her back, he said, “Of course, Mom.”
I was… uncomfortable.
This didn’t seem like the sort of family moment an outsider should be in on, so I inched backward, trying not to draw attention to myself. I was several steps into making a clean getaway when my phone chimed loudly with a text notification.
It broke the moment, and both Landon and Beth turned to face me.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
I usually kept my phone on vibrate, but my brother had been missing for an entire week now. If Luke didn’t connect me to my brother tonight, I planned to march into the nearest police station tomorrow and file a missing person report.
I fished my phone out of my purse to find a text from the board president telling me to check my email. I bit my lip, anxiety racing through my veins as I clicked on the icon.
“Is everything okay?” Beth asked.
“The board has come to a decision about the party.”
I’d filled her in on the Wilsons’ proposal, and she’d told me everything she knew about the Dead Presidents. Turned out Beth had been a fan ever since the bikers had taken down Mayor Kinlan’s rapist son, with the help of the lawyer friend Julia had mentioned. Beth watched me, seeming as eager as I was for the board’s decision.
“It’s been approved,” I said, scanning the email.
“Those kids will be so happy,” she said, gripping my hand. “And just imagine the bikers.”
I nodded, feeding off her excitement. “The board has a few requests for Julia and Havoc, but nothing that should prove too problematic.”
“Bikers?” Landon stared at his mom. “Like the one you sicced on me?”
Beth’s expression lit up. “Sage came to see you? How did it go?”
Landon stiffened, his expression decidedly unhappy. I backed a step away, recognizing yet another family moment I shouldn’t be in on. “Have a good weekend, Beth. Landon.”
“Wait.”
The command sent a shiver up my spine, paired with a shot of indignation, that made me want to turn tail and sprint home, just to see what he’d do. Seriously, what was up with this guy? Having decided I couldn’t walk the three blocks to Beth’s house alone, he’d shown up in front of my building Tuesday morning and had been my self-appointed escort all week. He was proving himself to be dependable, and I didn’t know how to feel about that.
“We’ll talk about it when I get home,” Landon said to his mom.
Beth ignored him and his tone and faced me. “We’re going to put up the tree tomorrow. You’re welcome to join us.”
“We’ll see,” I said. With any luck, tomorrow I’d be busy reading my brother the riot act for worrying me.
Beth wished me a good night and headed into her house. We waited until she was inside, and then I took off.
Landon easily caught up.
“What’s wrong with the Dead Presidents?” I asked.
“I’m not sticking around.”
His strange answer required a follow-up question. “Did they ask you to?”
He cut a sideways glance at me. “They want to recruit me.”
Keeping my gaze straight ahead, I snuck a glance at him. After Beth had filled me in on them, I’d done my own research on the bikers, verifying that they did indeed help vets. They recruited former soldiers who needed a brotherhood—a family—to help them adjust to life outside of the service.
