CHAPTER THIRTY
Brick
Two months later
“Keep your eyesclosed, Starlet!” How many times do I have to tell the woman to cooperate? “It’s not a surprise if you can see it before we get there.”
“We’ve been riding in a circle for at least an hour,” she complains from behind me, giving me an extra squeeze.
She’s right, I had to take her on a long ride to keep her guessing where we were going. I didn’t want her to know we were only a few miles away from the clubhouse. In fact… I turn off the main road then, onto a private driveway. I bought Shorty’s cabin six weeks ago and have been working on it every night since, making it special for Starlet, for us.
I park and climb off my bike. Starlet doesn’t move.
“Well?” she asks.
I love when she’s pouty. “Well, what? Get off the bike, we’re here.”
Her eyes pop open and she squeals in that high pitch tone that makes me want to dig a deep hole and crawl inside it.
“This is Shorty’s cabin.” She studies it for a long moment. “Wait. Something is different. The color?”
“Yeah.” I painted the outside dark brown with green trim, added shutters and garden boxes on the windows. There’s flowers blooming everywhere, compliments of Angel and several other old ladies.
“Why did it take forever to get here?” she asks, sounding suspicious.
I reach inside my cut and produce a key. “Here, sweetheart. Unlock the door.”
I wait as she climbs the three stairs and opens the door, stepping inside. Another screech sounds and I shake my head.
“Brick!”
“What?”
“There’s new everything in here. Stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, leather furniture in the living area. A room divider with a queen-sized bed. Wait.”
I join her inside, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest.
“Why is there a name plate with Austin and Starlet painted on it hanging over the wood burning stove?” She spins around and stares at me.
“Welcome home, baby.”
“Home?”
“All right, halfway home. Our little getaway.”
“Y-you bought this place?”
I nod, thrilled by her reaction. “Shorty wanted it to go to someone who would fill it with happiness again.”
She swipes at her eyes. Starlet cries whenever she’s emotionally overwhelmed—something I appreciate about her. That tenderness has awakened something long dead inside me, the need to be a part of the human race again, to crave intimacy, and maybe someday, my own family. The cabin is my first step in proving that to Starlet. We need an escape from the clubhouse.
“We can live here fulltime?” She walks over and throws her arms around me. “Thank you, Brick.”
I give her a long hug and then step out of her embrace. “Not yet, baby. There’s still possible fallout over what happened between us and the Devil’s Crusaders. Silence is a bad thing.”
There’s been little movement by Silver or his club. Eagle arranged for a longtime Iron Norsemen from an out of state charter to pose as a prospect for the Crusaders. A brilliant move on my prez’s part, the inside information has proven invaluable. “Maybe in another year we can start talking about buying a house together.”
“What about me going back to work at Juanita’s shop? I’m getting restless, Brick.”
