“I don’t want you to feel isolated.”
Elle hugged her agitated mom, even while remaining focused on the future. “In the beginning, I’ll be busy with fixing the house andhelping Sutter with his schooling. Then, the baby will be here, and we’ll have lots of visitors. Over time, I’ll meet local people, so Sutter and Trent can have kids to play with.”
I smiled at how Elle was already set on this place, and she hadn’t even seen most of it.
Shay looked to Ford, who shrugged. “The upside to all this space is obvious. But the location could be good for safety, too. People can’t just ride up to this house without tripping the security we’ll set up.”
Clint checked out under the sink and frowned. “I worry about what you’ll find once you start updating.”
“Maybe we should look around more,” Sutter said and gripped Elle’s hand. “I want to see everything.”
As we walked around the large main house, Sutter zeroed in on a particular bedroom. Based on the décor, someone’s grandma likely lived here.
“I could fit a big desk and workspace in here,” Sutter said, mentally arranging the furniture. “It’d be way bigger than my room now.”
Elle smiled at his enthusiasm. When we got outside, he started talking about space for soccer. Plus, the boy was excited about the gated pool.
While Ivy followed after Elle and Sutter, Clint kept whispering with his parents. I sensed Shay wanted the men to use logic to shut down the move.
Before they could gang up on me, Elle hugged her mom. “This place could be really cool. We’d have the space for both clubs to hang out. The main house has space for you and Dad to stay with us. Clint and Ivy, too. If I’m going to live far from home, I want my people to be able to drop by without worrying about space.”
Shay’s face twisted into a sad expression as she mumbled, “Far from home.”
Elle hugged her mom tighter and whispered promises about how everything would be okay.
“What if the three of you living together doesn’t work?” Ford asked me. “The plan is to give it a year. What happens if you realize you don’t want to be a domesticated man? Sure, Elle, Sutter, and the baby can always come back home. We’ll build them a house in thecommunity. They’ll be fine. But do you really want this big fucking house if you end up single again?”
“I’ll just move a few of my guys onto the property. We’ll have endless orgies,” I said and smiled at how Elle rolled her eyes. “I always figured I couldn’t do the family thing. Monogamy felt like a crime against humanity. Fatherhood seemed like a way to snip a man’s brass balls. Yet, Elle does something to me that overrides my old thinking.”
Elle’s smile made me lose my earlier edginess. She was committed to giving life in Baton Rouge a real shot. What surprised me was how gung-ho Sutter was about the move. Unable to see past his big nerd brain initially, I had read the kid wrong. But like the other males in his family, Sutter owned a steel spine.
I hoped my boy would inherit the good qualities I saw in the Reed family. Trent had a shot at a great life with none of the hardships that had held me back. If Elle and I stayed on the same page, I couldn’t imagine anything standing in our way.
ELLE
Zodiac was nervous as fuck about the ugly property he showed us, but I absolutely saw the gorgeous property it could become. Sutter and I didn’t want to look at any other places.
After my family returned to the hotel, Zodiac took his ride to meet up with his guys.
“I’ll be back later,” he promised and glanced at an obviously sad Shay. “See if you can work your magic on your mom. She’s making me feel guilty.”
“Aww, you’re so soft inside,” I taunted while nuzzling my cheek against his chest. “I’ll do what I can with Shay, but she has to embrace her emotions now, or they’ll turn to resentment later.”
“Fair enough,” Zodiac said and kissed me long and hard before taking off to ride the roads of a city I was still figuring out.
With Shay’s bad mood worsening, Ford and Clint decided to take a walk with Sutter. My mom was nearly in tears as soon as I shut the door.
“It was dumb, but I really thought you’d always live with us,” Shay admitted as her tears began to flow.
“I thought that, too,” I said as Ivy and I cuddled against Shay on the couch. “I fought my feelings for Zodiac from the beginning because I didn’t want to leave home. But I have to give this thing with him a real shot.”
“You should live part-time with us.”
“I promise we’ll be in Little Memphis as much as possible.”
Shay sighed and wiped her face. She studied me before caressing my baby bump. “I can’t tell if Zodiac’s right for you.”
I realized Ivy had the same concerns. Their reluctance made sense. I’d been unsure about Zodiac for months.
