Chapter 11
When we get back to the diner, Hawk takes over the upstairs break room. I really don't have much to do so I just hang out in the corner playing on my phone, waiting for him to take me home.
After about an hour, his phone rings. He answers it and without any indication of who it is, he motions for me to leave the room. A few minutes later he comes out and says, "He's alive. Rebel has been talking to him. He wants you to stay at his lake house until we have a new clubhouse. Spike is on his way over to help you get your things and take you over there. Rebel will bring Ari to the house and then he will go get Emma. She will be staying there as well. Ice wants you three out of the way so he doesn't have to worry about the women he loves." His last words are laced with sarcasm. He's being very matter-of-fact and it is clear to me that he's not happy with the new arrangement, but he’s going along with it because that's what his president wants.
"Oh, ok," I reply. I have to say, I'm a little disappointed that I won't be going back to Hawk’s house. Still, I can't believe that after all these years, I'm finally going to see Ice's house.
Spike shows up with the SUV not long after Hawk calls him. We go back to Hawk's place to pick up the few personal things that I was able to salvage from the explosion and then we drive to the lake. The road that circles the lake is long and curvy. As we approach the back of the house, I'm amazed at the size. There is a two-car garage, even though I've never seen Ice drive anything except his Harley and the club SUV. Spike parks and we get out of the car and proceed to the door. As we walk around the house, I see that the front, which faces the lake, is all windows. The cedar and stone two-story house—more like mansion—is unbelievable. The house has three balconies with stone pillars going down to the main level. The entire right corner of the house is all windows and I can only imagine the view from the inside. Toward the center of the house is the main balcony, and by looking in the windows I can see that it opens into a huge great room that spans the entire height of the house. To the right of the house is a stone walkway that leads to a breezeway underneath the balconies that lead to the door.Holy fuck.
The inside is even more amazing. There is a large great room that encompasses the downstairs, with vaulted ceilings, a huge kitchen with a bar off to the right, and a game room with a pool table to the left of the kitchen. It's fucking unbelievable. I always figured that Ice had money, but never in a million years did I expect his home to be like this. And here I was worried about there not being enough room for us.
Ari is sitting at the bar when I walk in and she smiles brightly. I've only seen her a few times when she makes her way to the club parties on the weekends, but every time I see her she always gives me a warm smile.
"Hey, Ari," I say. "It's good to see you, sweetie."
"Hey, Honey. Can you believe this mess?" she says.
I can't help but laugh. "It's a mess alright," I reply.
"There are two extra rooms upstairs, next to my room. I think Rebel claimed one and the other one is for you."
"Where's Emma gonna sleep?" I ask.
"Oh, she's got Cade's room, on the third floor."
I know she didn't mean to dig the knife in, but fuck, sometimes it still hurts."Oh yeah. I didn't think of that. So Emma is here?"
"Yeah, she's upstairs." She turns to me and says, "You know, it's been years since I've seen Emma." She pauses and then adds, "I used to hate her. She spent all her time with Caden and he never spent time with me. I was so jealous of her."
Oh, sweetheart, I know exactly how you feel. I really thought I was over all this. I know that Ice is not the guy for me, so I really don't understand all this animosity I feel towards Emma right now. Hawk must have sensed it too, now that I think about it—that must be why he was so angry earlier.
I turn back toward Ari and say, "I'm just gonna drop my stuff off upstairs and then I'll be down. Are you hungry?" I ask her.
"Yeah, we were hoping you would whip up something," she says and goes back to playing some game on her phone.
"I'm pretty sure I can handle that," I say as I proceed up the stairs. When I get to the second floor, I look up to the next flight. I can see the light on and a sudden melancholy feeling washes over me. Maybe I'm just feeling this way because I've been so worried about Ice…perhaps I just need to see him. Maybe once I see him, I will go back to my being ok with all this. Taking the room that obviously was not claimed, I drop my things on the bed and make my way downstairs.
Ari is still at the table and I head straight for the kitchen and quickly get to work. I go through the cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer to see what is available to me. There isn’t much, but it looks like someone went and picked up some groceries. There's milk, cream, butter, lettuce, and asparagus, plus all the essentials in the refrigerator. In the freezer, I find chicken breasts and some ground beef. It’s not a lot to work with, but I pull the chicken out and place it in the microwave to defrost.
"Hey, Ari," I call out.
"Yeah, Honey?" she replies.
"Got any white wine, hun?" I ask.
"Sure, I'll get it." A few seconds later she comes in with three bottles of white wine. "I've got pinot grigio, chardonnay, or sauvignon blanc."
"The chardonnay would be perfect." She sets it on the counter and takes the others back.
A little while later Emma comes downstairs.
"Hey, Honey. That smells amazing. Whatcha making?" Emma asks.
"Hey, Emma. Chicken Marsala—you smell the wine. It makes the whole meal."
"I wasn't hungry, but now that I smell that, suddenly I'm starved. You are a fantastic cook."
"Thank you. I don't know about being fantastic, but I do enjoy it." I pause and then add, "So what do you think about all this? It's like a slumber party of some sort." I chuckle and say, "I'm too old for slumber parties."
