“Where’s Leon?” she asks.
“You mean, Ambien?” I scoff. My brother getting the road name Ambien has been the highlight of my whole life, and it takes everything in me to not laugh whenever I hear it.
She smacks me lightly with the dish towel she’s holding. “You leave your brother alone. He’s proud of his name.”
“They named him after a drug that helps you sleep,” I deadpan.
“Well, he doesn’t sleep. They’re lucky to have him work so much at night,” she responds, giving me the scolding mom look.
I hold up my hands in mock surrender, and she rolls her eyes as she continues to get the barbecue set up.
The purr of multiple engines alerts us to some of the guys arriving. My brother is one of the first headed towards us. He’s wearing a black t-shirt, his black cut, and jeans. Once he parks his ride, he automatically wraps his arms around my mom, making her grin from ear to ear before he kisses the scarred side of her face.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Hey, baby,” she greets, turning around to get a good look at him. Her hand cups his face, and he grimaces. “Leon, have you been sleeping at all?”
My brother removes her hand and gives her a look that says ‘don’t baby me in front of the club’. She scoffs and shakes her head.
“What?! No hello for me?” I jest.
My brother just rolls his eyes, wraps me up in his arms, and lifts me off my feet in a tight hug. He nearly takes away my breath with how tight the hug is, and I smile against his shoulder. I hold onto him just as tight, inhaling the leather of his cut and his comforting Alpha scent. It’s not gross like you would think, it’s just comforting. Leon is five years older than me and has always taken care of me in any way I needed. His designation wasn’t surprising, and it only made him even more overbearing.
“How’ve you been, Lil?” he asks. Dread calls my mother’s name, and she gives us a soft smile before walking away.
“Bored out of my fucking mind,” I tell him plainly.
He kicks at the patch of sandy grass beneath us and exhales. “Well, that should be changin’ soon, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Kurt said he’d be findin’ you a pack soon,” he replies.
“I can find my own pack. Fuck you, very much.”
He holds his hands up in mock surrender. “Listen, Lily, it’s your life. I just want you to be happy.”
“Just as long as this club isn’t a part of my life, right?”
“It’s dangerous. You need to get out of here, Lily. I mean it,” he says, making me want to smack him across the back of the head, but I shove down the instinct. There’s no point in arguing.
“Okay, but what about you?” I ask him, wiggling my eyebrows. “Any special person caught your eye lately?”
“There’s always a special person, if you know what I mean,” he replies with a wink.
“You’re gross.” I grimace.
“You started it. But there really might be someone special.”
“Are they here or in Georgia?” I ask, wondering if a girl is why he’s been gone longer than usual this time.
“Like I’d tell you, if it works out, you’ll be the first to know.”
“You’re so boring. If you’re going to come back home you should at least come back with some good gossip,” I tease, making him laugh.
“Oh, so not happy to see me, huh? You just want the gossip?”
“Hell yes I do, it gets boring in my ivory tower.”
