“I get it, we’re nowhere near as interesting as Bea.” Aimee smiles, dropping down to Austin’s level. “But I’ve got something for you from Havoc.”
“What?” His cheeks brighten.
He looks so much like Tempe when he smiles. They have the same eyes. A single crinkle between their eyebrows. The same dimple on one side when they smile.
Aimee pulls something that looks like a garage-door remote from her back pocket, handing it to him.
“He fixed the remote?”
“He did.” She smiles.
Austin throws himself at her, giving her a big hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, kiddo.” She pats him on the back, and he runs back into the house.
Tempe leans against the doorframe, dark circles under her eyes. “Thank Havoc for me. Austin has been going on and on about that remote for a week now.”
“It took Levi longer than he planned to fix it.”
“Don’t worry, I understand.” Tempe’s face winces as she presses her palm to her belly.
“Are you all right?”
“Do you need anything?” Aimee and I ask at the sametime.
If Steel is as busy with the club as Dean is, I can’t imagine how much stress must be on her shoulders.
“Jameson just went to pick me up some of my favorite tea. He should be back any minute, but I appreciate the offer.”
Last night, Tempe only called Jameson by his club name, Steel. But hearing her use his legal name in their home has me seeing the two sides of their relationship. In the clubhouse, he’s the president. At home, he’s just Jameson.
It makes me wonder if I overstepped when referring to Dean by his legal name all night. If he didn’t constantly avoid me, maybe I’d get the chance to ask how things work around here.
“Call if you change your mind,” Aimee says.
“I appreciate it. Did you guys want to come in?”
Aimee shakes her head. “I’m running into town with Levi soon.”
“And I was just getting out of the clubhouse for a minute,” I add when Tempe looks at me.
“Okay, well, have fun.”
Reagan walks up as we turn to leave. She’s accompanied by a little blonde girl who looks no older than Austin, so I assume that’s Bea. It makes sense now why the clubhouse is kept so clean during the day if the families stop by on occasion.
The more I put the pieces together of this life Dean’s built with his club, the less I know what to think about it. Yes, the guys party like the world is ending almost everynight, but during the day, it’s a lot like it is back at the ranch.
A patchwork family looking after each other.
“Do you and Havoc have a house out here?” I ask Aimee as we walk back to her car.
“No, we live at the clubhouse for now. But we’re building something by Luna and Ghost.” She points at a house that’s under construction at the end of the neighborhood. “That’s theirs, but our lot is right next door. We have a contractor lined up to start this fall. I wasn’t in a rush because I like living at the clubhouse. It keeps me busy. But Levi wants it ready just in case I change my mind. I think he’s still worried I’ll get overwhelmed one day and bail on him.”
“Why would he worry about that?”
She frowns as we climb into the car. “Levi and I have a long history. We knew each other in high school, long before he patched into the Twisted Kings. After graduation, he joined the military. He wanted to do something different than follow in his father’s footsteps. But while he was gone, things changed—we changed. I went through a lot… to say the least. When I saw him again, it had been fourteen years since we’d seen each other.”
“I didn’t realize you knew Havoc from back in high school.”
