Page 73

Chapter Twenty-One

Wyatt

I gaze out at the booths around me, full of stuffed animals and other various toys for kids to win as lights flash and sirens go off in a chaotic symphony that brings a smile to my face and reminds me of my childhood. The smell of popcorn and cotton candy drifts through the air and kids race past my booth, headed for the rides at the other end of the park. Storm and Ali are working the booth directly across from me and next to them is Smith and Quinn. On one side of my booth is Moose and Juliette and Chance and Carly are running the booth on the other side. Henn volunteered to run one of the rides and Kady is somewhere serving food with Blaze. The only ones missing are Kodiak and Tate but only because she had a doctor’s appointment to make sure everything was okay with the baby - something Kodiak insisted on after she felt a little bit of pain at our housewarming barbecue last night. I glance over at Streak on the other side of the booth and frown. Piper couldn’t get out of work or she would have been here with me, running the ring toss game instead of this grumpy fucker and I can’t believe how much I fucking miss her.

About a month ago, the club was contacted by a few people to help work this carnival to raise money for a group of kids in a really bad bus crash. Most of them made it out okay with minor injuries but three of them are still stuck in the ICU and the community has been doing everything they can for them as well as the driver’s wife after he died in the crash. Some of the guys, namely Streak, weren’t too big on the idea but honestly, I loved it as soon as Blaze brought it up. It means that our neighbors are finally starting to see us as more than just a bunch of rowdy bikers and we’re finally shedding more of our past reputation. Plus, this is our mission now - to help people - and that comes in many forms despite what Streak thinks.

“Thank God, this is almost over,” Streak bitches, leaning back in his metal folding chair and crossing his arms over his chest. I glance back at him and shake my head.

“If you’re going to be such a whiney little bitch then why did you even come?”

He scoffs. “Because Blaze made me. Said I needed some goddamn perspective.”

“He’s right. What the fuck is your problem lately?” I ask and he shakes his head, refusing to look in my direction.

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“Mama, I wanna win this one,” a little voice says and I turn back to the front of the booth, smiling as I crouch down in front of a little boy with a mop of brown hair and bright blue eyes. He points to the giant penguin above my head, jumping up and down in excitement as his mom eyes us warily, Streak more than me. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I have spent the whole day listening to his grumpy ass and picking up his slack so I’m done. He can just fucking leave for all I care. I point to the penguin.

“You want this guy?”

The little boy nods. “Yes, sir!”

“Well, you know what you got to do, right?” I ask. He can’t be more than four or five and he’s fucking adorable as he scowls up at me before his gaze flicks over to the game. Finally, he looks back at me and shakes his head.

“No, I dunno.”

I stand up and grab four rings off of the table before showing them to him. “Don’t worry, it’s easy. All you gotta do is take these rings and toss them. If they land on a bottle, you win.”

I’m not supposed to give a prize that big out unless they land all four rings but we’re almost done for the day and I can’t say no to this kid. His eyes light up as a grin stretches across his face and he nods, holding his hands out to me.

“I can do that.”

“All right, bud. Let’s see it,” I say as I hand him the rings and his mom flashes me a more reassured smile as she steps up behind him and tries to help him toss his first ring. He shakes her off with a scowl.

“I got this, Mama.”

Backing away from him, she holds her hands up in surrender. “Okay, baby.”

He narrows his eyes as he focuses on the group of bottles and his little tongue pokes out of the side of his mouth. All I can think about is doing something like this with my own kid someday and I’m so lost in the fantasy, I almost miss his first toss. The ring hits the top of one bottle before sliding between another two and he sighs.

“Wow. That was so close, dude,” I say, flashing him a thumbs up. “Try again. I bet you’ll get it this time.”

His gaze falls back to the bottles, his concentration straining his face as he lifts the next ring and it sails through the air. It’s not a very graceful throw but I’m impressed for his age and when it lands on one of the bottle in the middle, his eyes pop open and he jumps up.

“I got it!”

I clap my hands and crouch down again, holding my hand up for a high-five. He slaps his little hand against mine before spinning in a circle, doing a little happy dance. Laughing, I stand up and grab the giant penguin off of the hook. The goddamn thing is almost as big as me and I have no idea how he is going to carry it.

“You want to try throwing the other two or do you just want your prize?”

He immediately drops the rings back on the counter and reaches for the penguin in my arms, his hands opening and closing in a “gimme” gesture. I chuckle as I pass the toy over to him and he almost falls back as he struggles to wrap his arms around its belly.

“Here, why don’t you let Mama carry that for you?” his mom asks, trying to take it from him but he rips it out of her grasp and wobbles on his feet before righting himself.

“No. I got this.”