Since Exile was in a tense mood anyway, I added, “I think Boone Chester plans to make a move on your sister.”
“What?”
Shrugging, I didn’t wait around to deal with his panic. I left the room and found Lula and Sabrina snarling at each other.
Lula growled, “Bossy brat.”
“Shut your cornhole, Miss Daisy,” Sabrina replied before noticing me. “Oh, here’s the anal sore now.”
Ignoring Sabrina’s rage, I focused on Elle, who offered a tight smile.
“Have we decided, or should I go hide in your room for a while longer?”
“Why do you have to decide right now?” Sabrina asked Elle. “Take your time. Maybe wait until your head injury heals.”
Elle touched her temple and sighed. “It’s been a weird day. I killed a man. I hit my head. I cried over a lady getting turned into ground beef. My baby daddy asked me to live with him. I should probably sleep on it before deciding, but Sutter and I want to give you a chance to fail.”
Smiling, I liked how she didn’t get overly sentimental. Sutter studied me, but his expression was unreadable. Ford was more obvious about his feelings.
“Let’s go talk logistics,” Ford told me and stood up. “Shay and I have concerns.”
Before following Ford, I stroked Elle’s head. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes.”
I glanced at Sutter. “How about you?”
“I’m okay, but I wish my mom didn’t hurt her head or cry over that lady turned into ground beef.”
I grinned at the kid. “We’ll take care of her. Maybe we can eat burgers for dinner, so she’ll think of that instead of the lady.”
Ford snorted at my comment before gesturing for me to follow him upstairs. I scanned the people in the basement. Elle smiled softly at me. Sutter watched me like I might be someone cool. Sabrina stared like she was trying to kill me with her mind. Exile was checking out Lula’s tits. She was watching the dog while casually fondling Exile’s ass.
And then there was Shay, watching me like I held her heart in my hand. Her miserable gaze made me uncomfortable, so I left the basement drama and walked upstairs to find Ford at the back windows.
“Are you going to get a decent place for Elle and Sutter to live? I can’t have them slumming it in your hometown.”
“You’ve seen Lula’s place. There are nice houses in Baton Rouge.”
“Will Elle and Sutter be safe there?”
“I plan to keep Elle trapped at the house, so she can’t get into shootouts like here.”
“Good,” Ford said and exhaled as his gaze scanned the backyard. “She won’t be happy. Not right away. I expect her to be excited and optimistic when they first move down there. But there’ll come a time when she’ll cry a lot and get mopey. Are you ready for that?”
“Are you saying she won’t stay there?”
“No, I’m saying she’ll need patience and reassurance. She might be bursting at the seams with your baby and looking a mess. Can you be someone who makes her feel better? Or will I need to drive down there to deal with her bad moods?”
“I don’t know.”
Ford eyed me and nodded. “I know you don’t, and I’m glad you can admit you don’t. Because I know what kind of man you are. I was that kind of man. But I had Pax to keep me from going cold inside. So, I worry this thing with Elle might be more than you can handle.”
“You’re right to worry. I didn’t plan to ask her to move to Baton Rouge. But I can’t keep leaving my club and riding up here. So, I knew she needed to move, or I needed to give up my club.”
“Would you really walk away from the Black Rainbow?”
“Sure. I wanted to claim the club, and I did. I wanted to be a better president than Wrecker, and I am. Now, I want Elle in my bed every night. I’m curious about what Sutter’s learning each day. I’ve gotten to thinking about how my boy needs to see my face when he wakes up. If that can’t happen in Baton Rouge, I’ll start over. I’ve done that shit my whole life.”
