“Alright. Fuck. We’re happy for you, but that’s our little sister,” Beau groaned.
“Glad you guys got your heads out of your asses anddecided to actually support our sister. Not just be macho dicks about things,” Colt grumbled.
“I feel like I poured enough blood, sweat—and even a few tears when I hammered my thumb that one day—out to show how sorry I am for how we handled things.” Hayes held his hand out to Hawk, who took it without hesitation. The shake was strong and genuine.
“There’s no hard feelings from me. I’ll let Jessie know how much help you were getting the house into a livable condition when I take her up there tonight. And things have been better since…”
Shit. Since Lachlan’s stay in the hospital.
“Yeah, man. It sucks that it took Lach almost losing his leg… almost losinghis life…for us to get our shit together,” Hayes groaned.
“It’s actually embarrassing,” Beau admitted. “But I’m ready to put it all behind us and just focus on our niece.”
“While we’re speaking of Lach, Jessie wanted me to float an idea by everyone.”
“What’s that?” Nash asked.
“She was thinking of putting together a fundraiser. Having it here at the ranch, centering it around the founding of Silver Springs since that’s next week.”
“That’s short notice,” Gunner grimaced. “But it is good timing. We don’t have training at The Trident next week.”
“Yeah, and I’m still going to be in Texas for a few weeks, so I can pull some strings with vendors depending on how big she’s thinking of making this thing,” Sebastian offered as he plunged his hand into the drink cooler.
“I’ve got a friend who does those bouncy house things for kids at the county fair.” Hayes shrugged. “And Beau, isn’t Lainey doing that catering business now?”
“Yeah, I think she is. I’ll ask Birdie about it, and see if she can help.”
“Awesome. I know it will mean a lot to Jess, and that means a lot to me.” Hawk grabbed the coke Cap handed to him.
“To the start of something amazing. To Hawk and Jessie.” Cap tapped the top of his can to Hawk’s and laughed as the rest of the guys took turns doing the same.
Hawk dropped his shoulder into Stone’s. “It’s still so weird not having you guys at the apartments. Gunner, you and Lily too. I actually miss hearing Sage’s laughter in the hallway.”
“Yeah, but Embrie’s still there giggling up a storm,” Gunner tipped his bottle towards Nash.
“And Cami’s still screaming at the top of her lungs all night long,” Nash sighed.
“I never heard it, Wings,” Hawk admitted. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“That’s because I paid for the good sound proofing. The last thing we needed was to be able to hear each other all the time.” Seb smiled, before clearing his throat.
“You ever think there’d be a day when we would all sit around talking about our kids like this?” Hawk asked.
“I always hoped,” Nash admitted.
“It’s going to be so weird not being in that building anymore,” he admitted.
“Yeah,” Gage’s hand landed on Hawk’s shoulder. “But you’ll always have your place there. Hell, who knows? Maybe one day, when the kids are all grown, they’ll live there while they’re figuring out life.”
Fuck. That was a really nice thought.
Thirty-Five
“So, what’s your deal?” Hawk watched as Jessie slipped the last piece of brownie into her mouth, turning to stare at Dakota.
“What do you mean, Blue Jay?”
“It’s a billion degrees outside, and you just roasted all day long in jeans and a long sleeve shirt. You didn’t even go in the springs.”
