“It doesn’t matter. Your grandad will get a kick out of building it with you, even if you don’t finish.”
Ever since he was little, Flash loved to build model airplanes, and Hatch made sure that he’d carve out several hours a week for them to work on them together. When my dad had found this out, he’d bought a model every time we visited for them to work on together. This time, though, he’d sent money ahead and asked Flash to pick one.
“Don’t worry, we’re still gonna hang at the club,” Hatch said.
Flash grinned. “It’s all good, Dad. I like Grandad. He’s cool.”
Flash was eleven going on sixty, with a soul as old as they came. Jamie, on the other hand, was nine and I was in constant fear that he’d impregnate every girl he came in contact with the second he hit puberty.
Our front door opened, and Poppy walked in with Devon following, carrying Niall in his car seat. “Sorry we’re late,” she said. Their little dog, Sparky, trotted in as well, looking a bit confused and concerned that something he wasn’t going to like was about to take place.
“You’re not late, love,” I said, hugging her. “Train’s still on the way with the van, so we’ve got time.”
Train, one of Hatch’s most trusted club brothers, would be driving us to the airport, and also watching our house while we were gone.
I leaned down and stroked my grandson’s cheek. “How’s my wee baby?”
He grinned up at me and my heart melted. As it always did when I saw him.
“Hey, baby girl,” Hatch said, pulling Poppy in for a hug before lifting Niall from his car seat.
“Hi Sid,” Poppy said.
“I’m here too, but that’s okay, I don’t need a hug,” Devon said, and Hatch grinned.
“Feelin’ ignored, bud?”
“Wounded would be more accurate,” he said, dramatically. “But I’ll talk to my counselor about it when we get back.”
Poppy laughed, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I’ll give you all the love you need later.”
“Enough of that,” Hatch said, and rocked Niall. “Right, bubba? We don’t need to hear about your mommy giving anyone love. You were an immaculate conception.”
“Darling, we’re leaving in minutes, don’t get him riled up,” I admonished.
Hatch held him close and kissed his cheek. “I’ll do whatever the fuck I want because he’s my grandkid.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, you can deal with him if he gets fussy on the plane, then.”
“Bring it.”
As if on cue, Train pulled up and it was time to load everyone and everything into the van. Train would be watching Sparky as well, but we piled him in the van so he could get a little extra attention before we left him alone with the big biker. He curled up on Poppy’s lap, happy as can be, while Train drove us to the private airfield.
We arrived at Beckett’s Gulfstream and walked onto the plane while the ground crew dealt with our luggage. Niall was sleeping soundly, so Poppy buckled his car seat into one of the rear plane seats and then sat beside Devon across from him.
Flash and Jamie took seats beside each other and promptly began some Pokémon battle on their Nintendos, and I took a few minutes to speak with the flight crew while Hatch finalized whatever he needed to finalize with Train.
Within thirty minutes, though, we were ready for takeoff, ten minutes ahead of our flight plan.
“Welcome aboard, Wallace Family,” the pilot said over the intercom. “Please buckle your seatbelts as we prepare for takeoff.”
“Poppet, you’ll want Niall feeding while we take off,” I said. “It’ll help his ears pop.”
“Oh, right,” she said.
Devon got him out of his car seat and Poppy got him settled at her breast just as we began to taxi. Before we knew it, we were in the air and heading toward home. I made a mental note to always take Beckett’s plane anytime I needed to fly.
* * *
