The moment they are out of the barn, I rush to Ringo, finally letting go of my hard façade that I needed to keep in place to get through that whole thing.
“We need to get him cleaned up and in bed,” I call to whoever will help, and even though his face is pale, drained of any colour, his eyes soften as they lock with mine.
“We can be in that fight later, right?”
I grin. “Yes, later. I want you strong for when I kick your arse.”
Rumbles of laughter sound around us, and I stand back watching on as JD and Lewy get Ringo situated on a chair and start to clean him up some more.
Ringo watches me as I watch him, his eyes never wavering, almost like I’m what’s helping him remain strong as the guys poke and prod the cuts covering his torso to get them clean.
“Ahhh, Ringo.” Celina clears her throat, almost sounding scared. “Me and the girls can start moving Smitty’s things out of the President’s cottage, and move your things in.”
Shaking his head, Ringo’s eyes dart to me. “I don’t want that place, do you?”
I shake my head too.
“But you’re the President now,” Darla jumps in. “You have to stay in the President’s cottage.”
“There is nothing in the bylaws that states the President gets his own damn cottage,” Ringo hisses as the pain from the wound cleaning gets to him. “You Doxies can have it. There are two bedrooms and a fucking over dramatic bathroom with a spa. The men can start work tomorrow to expand it, so each woman eventually gets her own room.”
A series of feminine gasps fill the air, and I look around at the Doxies and the disbelief washed over their faces.
It’s like they’ve never been shown kindness.
“What about you and Abbey?” Casey asks. “Don’t you need a house?”
Ringo’s gaze flicks to me, and for a long moment, we just stare at each other.
I can’t tell what’s going through his head. Does he think I’m going to leave? We haven’t had a chance to wrap our heads around any of this yet, but he made it clear in the car that he has to be here for the club, and even though I don’t know how that will work with Bobbi, I do know that we will figure it out.
“It can wait,” Ringo finally responds, but his eyes never leave mine. “Let’s get the women out of the barn and give them a real home to live in. We can worry about the other stuff after that.”
A smile tugs at my lips, and his follows.
Cameron Musgrove really is a good man. A selfless man. He may not be able to leave this club behind because of Ewan Marx, but I get the feeling that things would have turned out this way, regardless. This clubishis family, and the men and women here are some of the most individual, crazy, yet big hearted people I have ever met. They mean a lot to him, and for a moment there, I forgot how much they mean to me.
The vibration of my phone in my pocket breaks my gaze from Ringo’s, and I fish it out, seeing the screen flashing with a video call from the letter T.
I can’t hit accept fast enough, holding the screen up as it connects, and tears instantly blur my eyes as I see my sister Tahli, holding Bobbi in her arms.
“Oh my God!” I cry. “You got her!”
“Yes,” Tahli giggles. “Brody and Nessy brought her to me. She’s getting a little restless, so Nessy is just preparing a bottle for her now.”
“Angel, come here.” Ringo’s order has me moving blindly to him, too focused on the sight of Tahli and Bobbi together to take my eyes off the screen.
When I’m near, he pulls me backwards, and I fall into his lap as he looks at the screen too. “Hey there, kiddo.”
Tahli rolls her eyes. “I’m not a kid.”
“Yes, she is.” Devon’s head pops up behind my sister. “If the only thing you want for dinner is chicken nuggets, then you’re a damn kid.”
She rolls her eyes at him, and I smile at the fact my sister doesn’t seem the least bit scared of the normally terrifying, Devon Marx.
“Thank you, Devon,” I rush out, hoping I really can trust this man and his secret sanctuary to keep my sister and daughter safe. “Thank you for taking them both.”
“I will protect them.” He says it so matter of factly that I can feel how true his words are.
