I smiled gently. “I love you.”
His body finally relaxed as he leaned in to kiss me. “Love you, too, Sunshine.”
“Right, did you see everything we grabbed?”
“Don’t give a shit. Just wanted to get eyes on you,” he said as he released me and hugged Poppy.
Poppy rolled her eyes, hugging him back. “You’re out of control big man.”
He chuckled. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
Her phone rang and she slid it out of her jeans’ pocket. “Hey, honey. Yeah, um, hold on. Are weeating here? Should Devon bring the kids?”
Hatch held his hand out and Poppy set her phone in his palm. “Hey, bud. Yeah, you can bring everyone, just take eleventh, then the backstreets from there. Switch cars, at one-seventy-ninth. Yeah. Good. Okay. See you soon.” He handed the phone back to Poppy.
“Hi. You might as well pack a few bags, so they have stuff here. I grabbed some books, movies, and toys at the store, but if you wouldn’t mind packing some of our clothes and things as well, I’d appreciate it.” She blushed, then let out a quiet snort. “Behave. Okay, baby. Thank you. Love you. Bye.”
“Hey, Pop,” Flash said, waltzing into the great room.
“Hey, kid,” he said, hugging him.
“I’m gonna go meet Tate. Are we eating here?”
“Yes,” I said. “If you want to pack a bag or two to have familiar stuff here just in case, you can do that tonight. Daddy bought extra car seats last week, so you can leave your own in your cars. We can all stay the weekend, if we want.”
He made his way over to Maisie and kissed her cheek before pulling Poppy in for a hug. “Family sleep over, awesome.”
He walked out just as Booker, Dani, and their son, Archer, walked in, followed closely by Flea, Grace, their kids, along with Flea’s sister, Katie.
* **
Hatch
Maisie let out a quiet squeak and made a rush for Dani and Katie. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Got a second?” I asked Booker as my woman had her reunion.
“Yeah,” he said, and we walked outside. “What’s up?”
“Sundance is sending a couple of guys our way. They should be here anytime now.”
Booker frowned. “Nice of him to do that considering he’s goin’ through his own shit.”
“One of them’s Rooster.”
He chuckled. “Maybe not so nice.”
“I’m hopin’ he’s grown up a little.” I shrugged. “Isn’t that why Crow sent him out to Colorado in the first place?”
Rooster was a Dogs of Fire Portland Chapter member who Crow sent out to Colorado after an incident with Tillie, Ace’s daughter. Rooster had always been a solid member but lacked maturity. Crow and I both agreed Rooster had officer potential but knew we already had too much on our plate at the time to invest in his growth as a Dog. We had just started our business relationship with Sundance and the Howlers, so we sent him to Colorado as an emissary of sorts. Sundance took a shine to him and it was decided after sometime that he would patch over to the Howlers while retaining his club status with the Dogs.
“I’m more concerned about Katie,” Booker said.
I cocked my head and frowned. “Why are you concerned about Katie?”
“Oh, shit, brother, you don’t know about their history?”
“I do not.”
