“Still true.” She finishes her ice cream and puts the bowl in the dishwasher. “I’m going to check on the girls.”
“Thank, Sissi.” I wait until she leaves and lean back in my chair.
If my sister knows I’ve been fantasizing over Darin, has anyone else figured it out? Has he noticed? I didn’t come back to Willow Creek to get tangled up with a man. Still, it’s hard to watch so many couples falling in love and not consider it for myself. Lily and Jack are amazing together. Mack and Nanny set a standard so high. It’ll be hard for anyone to match them.
The door to the guard’s room opens and closes. It’s about eleven o’clock. A little early for a Viking to be turning in for the night. Of course, it’s Sunday, and there’s no party at the Den tonight. Darin probably sent Patches. He seems to be their most trusted prospect. His hand and wrist are in a cast, but it’s not stopping the boy. With his loyalty, he'll patch in soon.
There’s a mini fridge and microwave out there. However, I forgot to stock the fridge and cabinets today. Skylar was my main focus. I’ve had enough ice cream. I set the bowl in the sink and grab a couple of reusable bags. I can’t let Patches starve or thirst to death tonight.
We have more than enough fried chicken left over from dinner to share. I fill the shopping bags with snacks and sandwich supplies. I have extra peanut butter and jelly. There’s way too much ham and cheese here, too. The dinner plate has three pieces of chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and green beans. Rolls. He needs bread. I grab a pack from the pantry. We ate all of the biscuits Lauren made. He has a Keurig out there, so I toss in some extra K-Cups of coffee and a few of hot chocolate. Oh, bottled water and soda. That should do it.
I’ll text Darin when I go to bed and thank him for sending Patches. Hopefully, we won’t need his help tonight.
Chapter 16
Worley
Problem by problem, I took care of as much as I could today. Everywhere I turned, it was something. Hendrix is on duty at the hospital with Bankz. He should go home tomorrow. Parker has the Roadhouse boarded up and locked down. Dobbs and Colt are helping watch the bar tonight. New windows and doors will arrive tomorrow around lunchtime.
Ross and Coty have the Den. Kayla wasn’t happy about staying in Coty’s room at the clubhouse tonight, but she gave in when Mack walked into the Den. She’ll have to get used to a lot of things she won’t like one day. When Jack becomes president, Rodeo will be his VP. Once he’s healed and the doctor releases him, I might as well start training him to take my place.
Someday, I won’t be VP anymore. The thought hits me hard. What will I do with my life when Mack and I retire? Maybe I could ride across the country like Jack and Coty did. I lock the side door of the clubhouse behind me. It’s cold tonight, probably in the forties. My eyes roam around the property behind the clubhouse. Through the trees and over the second hill is TheHaven House. Five women, one an angel, are safely inside the house.
My thoughts go to one of those women. I shouldn’t think about her as often as I do. Yet, no matter how hard I try to focus on my duties for the club, she pops up in my thoughts. Tonight, I’m her guard. I’ve been several times. She just never knew. My phone rings.
I answer Mack’s call as I walk up the path. “Everything okay?”
“No, but yeah, considering.” Mack sighs deeply. “Ev’s resting. She wanted to go with Maci to The Haven House.”
“Glad she’s resting. You know we can’t keep treating our Queen like a baby. She won’t stand for it.”
Mack huffs. “That’s the truth.”
“Let her do what she needs to stay busy. We’ll keep someone close to make sure she doesn’t overdo it.”
Our Queen is in shock right now. When it wears off, she’ll work herself into exhaustion if we don’t keep a close eye on her.
“I know.” He’s quiet for a moment. “The club good?”
“For now, and hopefully the night.” I might start hurting people if they act up tonight.
“Nina asked for a meeting before we talk about the next steps with our angel.”
“Really?” I didn’t know that. “Yeah, that might be a good idea.”
“I need to see her file first thing in the morning. How bad was she hurt?” His voice is a little strained. He knows just how bad a situation like this can get.
“The physical we’ve seen before. It’s the mental abuse that concerns me and why Nina has her on suicide watch.” I hate saying those words.
“I’m guessing you’ll be their guard tonight.”
“On my way there now. Everyone’s gone home for the night.” I stop at the side of the house so the women won’t hear me on the phone.
“You spend a lot of time there.” His statement holds a question to it.
“I…” How do I respond to that? “Yeah, man. I have.”
“We should talk about that.”
