With a grumpy sigh, Jasper shoved the last of his donut in his mouth, scowling at the table. Honestly, it was an improvement from before since he wasn’t glaring at me specifically or putting up a fight. I’d take it.
We arrived at the clubhouse a little before lunch, but it looked like we were one of the last to arrive. The parking lot was crowded, and one of the prospects was at the gate, only opening it once he recognized me to let me inside. Good. I liked the added security. I gave the prospect a two finger salute as I passed, pulling into a parking spot next to Butch’s truck. It still dug a little that I had to drive a car and not my bike, but it was the first time I was back at the clubhouse since the kids showed up. I gave myself a little leniency in my feelings since it was the first time.
There were a few guys out front talking near the bikes. Butch was squatting in front of one of them, so I assumed someone needed maintenance and didn’t interrupt, waving as I walked past and led Jasper and Simone inside. Isla was on my hip, head on a swivel as she looked around curiously. I gave her a little bounce, pointing out some of the things in the clubhouse meant just for babies like her.
“Stairs are blocked, so no funny business, little miss. This place is Isla-proofed.”
She gave me a drooly smile in response. She’d warmed up to me and the tantrums were easing little by little. It felt good, like I was finally seeing some visual progress.
“Yo! Zero! Long time, man!” Rooster called out. He was on the floor on his belly, letting the smaller kids climb on him like it was nothing. Dude loved being an uncle.
I lifted my chin in greeting, but didn’t enter the chaos. I knew how uncomfortable Jasper was, so I moved toward where Brewer was leaning against the wall, talking to Killer. It was quieter over there, and I figured it’d be easier on Jasper. Brewer gave me a chin lift of his own, clapping me on the back when I got close enough.
“Hey. How’s it going?”
“We’re finding our stride. Let me introduce you.” I sidestepped, waving the duo behind me closer. Not that I had to do much on Jasper’s end. He was hovering at my elbow, looking ready to snatch his sister away on a second’s notice. Figuring it’d make him feel a little better, I handed Isla over, noting the way Jasper’s shoulders came down a little once she was in his arms. “This is Simone, my girlfriend, Jasper, and the little one is Isla.”
“Nice to meet you,” Brewer greeted. “I’m Brewer. That’s Killer.” He tipped his head toward Killer.
When Jasper made a choked sound, Brewer chuckled. “Relax, kid. It’s the most ironic name of the bunch. Killer’s a nice guy with serious resting bitch face.”
“My name is Killian,” Killer added. “They thought they were being funny with the road name.”
Simone offered her hand, shaking first Killer’s, then Brewer’s. “Nice to meet you both. Jasper would prefer it if you didn’t curse around his sister, though.”
Leave it to Simone to put the guys in their place on first meeting while sticking up for Jasper at the same time. Brewer didn’t take offense, wincing when he realized what he’d said. He gave his attention to Jasper.
“Sorry, kid. We’re all trying to do better. If Gracie hears us cursing, she charges us money and we’re all going to end up going broke.”
“Did someone curse?” a sweet voice asked behind us and I turned to see Gracie staring up at us, her infamous swear jar tucked under one arm and her big eyes looking up at us suspiciously. I raised my hands in surrender immediately.
“Wasn’t me.”
She turned her narrow eyed look onto the other two. Neither seemed willing to rat Brewer out to the little tyrant. Shocking the hell out of me, she pointed two fingers at her eyes, then pointed those same two fingers at the three of us before skipping away.
“That little girl is going to be able to pay for college on that swear jar alone,” Brewer murmured under his breath. I nodded solemnly in agreement. I’d gotten a lot more practice holding back the cursing since Jasper and Isla showed up, but I’d already lost a decent amount of cash to Gracie over the years. It seemed like the older she got, the better she was at sneaking up on us and catching us off guard. I swore Butch brought her to certain events just because he enjoyed watching his little girl put us all in our place. Saved him the job of doing it instead.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
ZERO
I wanted to just hang out with my crew and catch up. It’d been a while since I got to see them, and aside from texts to check in, I hadn’t had the time to just talk to them since Jasper and Isla showed up. But I could practically feel the tension radiating off of Jasper, and when I looked at Simone, she gave me a look. I needed to get him to relax before I could do the same.
“I’m gonna check in with Prez, maybe introduce these two around. Catch up later?”
Brewer nodded, waving me off. “Go. The crew has been waiting to meet them. Introduce them to Rooster so he can babysit and you and your new girl can come to the bar for a drink.”
Snorting, I shook my head. Somehow, I didn’t think Rooster would win over Jasper like he did the rest of the kids. Jasper wouldn’t be impressed by his goofiness. He demanded seriousness when it came to being anywhere near his little sister.
Making my way through the room, I introduced the kids and Simone to my crew. Like I thought, having her there seemed tohelp. If Jasper looked uncomfortable, she picked up on it before I did and said something to whoever we were talking to in order to put them in a different light for Jasper. She was a master teenager wrangler. I was in awe of just how easy she made it look.
Most of the guys were easy going, and a few minutes of talking to them made Jasper’s shoulders go down. He even handed Isla back to me at one point, letting her sleep on my shoulder while he kept a protective eye on her. There were a few that I could tell made him uneasy, though. One of the prospects was a quiet and intimidating kind of guy, mostly kept to himself, and Jasper looked twitchy around him, like he wanted to snatch Isla back. I didn’t know the guy that well, but he seemed to pick up on Jasper’s discomfort because he didn’t hang around and put polite distance between him and the kid.
Mojave was another question mark. Dude wasn’t scary looking, but he was… weird. His time in the military messed with his head, and he spent most of his time isolated since he got back. He didn’t go around the kids much, and apparently didn't know how to interact with them. When I introduced him to Jasper, his eyes narrowed sharply and he asked, “You don’t bully other kids, do you?”
Jasper spluttered, taken aback, and I spoke up for him with a frown.
“No, dude. Jasper’s not a bully. Why would you ask that?”
