The baby was in my arms before the word was even out of Beth’s mouth. Laughing I bounced Maxine in my arms, making her smile again.
“Now I can drink,” Beth said with a grin as she grabbed a bottle of beer.
“Pyre’s offered to baby sit,” Warrant said with a grin.
“The hell I have,” Pyre said, looking startled.
“Like I’d let him watch Max,” Beth said with a roll of the eyes. “Maybe if Rae was there.”
The sound of gunfire split the air and made me jump. Maxine started crying and I handed her over to her mother while I turned to see where the sound had come from. I looked over at Pyre and put my hand on his arm.
He was tense, so was Warrant, as they searched for where the shot came from. Somewhere along the line he’d picked up a bottle of beer too.
“It’s just Lucas taking care of some ground squirrels,” Beth said in a soft voice.
“I told him not to do that before dinner,” Cindy added.
All the bikers were tense and watchful now. Everyone had sort of crowded in closer to the tables.
Just watching them being so watchful almost gave me chills. It was easy to forget just how dangerous these men could be. It also proved how protective they were, because they’d subtlyshifted so that they were between the direction of the gunfire and us women and the baby.
My heart melted a little. The men in my family were the same exact way. They’d do whatever necessary to protect those they loved. I’d always had a soft spot for men like that. And now I’d found one of my own.
Beth, Cindy, and Ainsley motioned for me to follow them, leaving the bikers and sheriff to go back to arguing and watching for threats. “Thank God you’re here,” Beth said, unknowingly echoing Ainsley’s words from earlier. “We need more women. These guys are…something.”
I laughed. “Are Warrant’s brothers as… Uh…” I looked over at his mother.
“Yeah,” Cindy said in a droll tone. “They’re all like that. Just like their daddy.”
“You must have the patience of a saint,” Ainsley said with a laugh.
“I drink,” Cindy replied, saluting us with her own beer bottle. “Pyre’s a nice boy. I’m glad he’s found himself a sweet girl like you, Rae.”
“Oh, thank you,” I told her, smiling at being called a girl and Pyre being described as a boy.
“Took him long enough,” Beth said with a roll of her eyes. “Everyone in town knew he watched you anytime you were in the vicinity.”
“Really?” I asked.
Why didn’t anyone tell me?
She nodded in confirmation. “Warrant confirmed it a while back, but all it took was seeing him see you out in public. All of Sentinel’s been wondering when he’d make a move. Man is as slow as a damn snail.”
“He takes his time to make up his mind,” Cindy corrected. “Man like that can’t be pushed before he’s ready or he’ll just dighis heels in. Which is why I kept telling Warrant to keep his nose out of Pyre’s business.”
“He didn’t,” Ainsley confirmed, making Cindy roll her eyes.
“Of course he didn’t.”
“Let’s have a seat,” Cindy said. “Dale and the boys will be coming back from the east field in a few minutes and will fire up the grill. I want to hear all about how Pyre won you over.”
I blinked at her because her smile had turned a little predatory and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to leave out much without Cindy knowing it. She seemed like she knew how to pry secrets out of an unsuspecting person.
Glancing over, I met Pyre’s eyes and smiled, realizing I was completely relaxed. Somehow seeing this side of him, and meeting some of the people he respected and loved, made me feel even closer to him. I was looking forward to getting to know these women more. And through them, seeing a different perspective on my biker.
CHAPTER 23
Pyre
