I clear my throat. “Rocky, Knife—this is my old lady, Gwen. Gwen, this is Rocky, the club’s Enforcer, and Knife, our Sergeant-at-Arms.”
“Hey guys,” Gwen says quietly, her cheeks heating.
“Good to meet you, Gwen. We’ve been hearing a lot about you,” Rocky says, making her smile.
Knife grins. “The kitchen looks like it exploded.”
“All the best cooks have messy kitchens,” she counters.
“Yeah!” Caleb declares. “And I’m the best!”
“He’s modest, like his dad,” Gwen teases.
I kiss her forehead. For a minute, everything else fades away. Then Caleb breaks the moment by pulling on Gwen’s arm. “Get them my cookies, Gwen! I want to show them how good I bake. Knife loves cookies.”
“He’s right about that. I really do,” Knife laughingly agrees.
“I’m going to step out and call Storm and get him and Benji or Pie—whichever is free—to come over to watch your house while you and Gwen are out,” Rocky says, with a nod in Gwen’s direction.
“Thanks, man,” I acknowledge.
Caleb worms his way to the floor and follows Gwen to get the cookies that she’s been keeping in an airtight container on the island. She hands them to my boy, and he takes them proudly, strutting over to Knife with a confident look on his face. “Here, Uncle Knife! Try one!”
Knife grins. “Thanks, Bub,” he says, taking the container and pulling out the cookie with the white frosted Grinch with bright green eyes. Seeing it makes me smile. Knife stares at itfor a moment and then surprises me. “It feels strange to eat the Abominable Snowman, but he sure looks tasty.”
“See, Dad! I told you it wasn’t the Grinch.”
Knife looks back at the cookie and then at me and Caleb. “Why would you think it was the Grinch, Horse? The Grinch is green. This guy is clearly white.”
I roll my eyes, muttering, “Whatever,” making Gwen and Caleb both laugh. I look at my woman—regretfully. “Baby, why don’t you go clean up and help Caleb change while I pick up in here and talk with my men?”
She looks at me funny, but nods. “Okay. Knife, it was good meeting you.”
“You too, Gwen. We’re all really looking forward to spending Christmas Eve with you.”
“Make sure you come hungry,” she orders, making Knife smile. “Caleb, sweetheart, why don’t you put the cookies on the island so Rocky can get one if he wants? You and I better need to go get cleaned up. Mal will be here soon, and when she does, she’ll be bringing a surprise for you.”
“I love surprises. Let’s go!”
I shake my head as I watch them leave. My son is on cloud nine. He feels so good that he’s not even nervous about being alone with Mal. Still, having Storm here will make things better. He loves Storm.
I go to the broom closet across from the fridge and take out a scrub brush, a large dustpan where the handle comes up to my hip, and the broom that’s attached. I busy myself using the brush to rake all the sugar onto the floor. Then sweep it into a pile so I can capture it with the dustpan. I’m mostly keeping myself busy until Rocky comes back, but this will be less work for Gwen.
“This cookie really is the shit, man. A woman who looks like that and creates magic in the kitchen. You better hold on to her.”
“Man, my Gwen creates magic anywhere she’s at. That’s just the truth. I definitely plan on hanging on to her, though. I’m going to put her name on my body, give her a cut, and put a ring on her finger.”
Rocky lets out a long whistle as he steps back into the room, clearly having heard everything I just said.Good.I want all of my men to know how important Gwen is.
“Damn. You’re going to tie her to you big time, huh?” Rocky croons.
“Oh, yeah,” I agree at once. “Hell, I also plan on knocking her up as soon as she’ll let me. She has a career. I don’t want to interfere with that, but I plan on making sure she knows that she’s mine and always will be.”
My men look at each other and then back at me. “We’re happy for you, brother. The whole damn club is. We know how bad Dee chewed you up and spit you out. It’s great seeing you with a good woman now.”
“Shit, she’s not good, boys. Gwen is the fucking best. I’m a lucky bastard.”
“Well, we need you to hold on to that, Horse, buddy,” Rocky replies with a sigh. “I’ve got to give you some bad news.”
