Page 13 of Eight Years Later

“Holy crap it’s good to see you,” Harmony exclaimed, throwing her arms around me.

I laughed softly, holding her tight.

“Holy cwap!” a little voice sang behind me, and Harmony suddenly pulled away, her eyes wide. “Holy cwap!” The tiny blonde human sang again as she danced around us, repeating the curse over and over again.

I tried to hide my smile with my hand, but the laughter that bubbled up completely outted me.

Harmony pinched the bridge of her nose before taking a deep breath and reaching for the child, lifting her up onto her hip. “Nya, this is Kat,” Harmony introduced us with a wide smile. “And that’s Layton,” she added, pointing to a young boy sitting on a couch in the corner, focused intently on the Nintendo in his hands.

“It is so nice to meet you, Nya,” I cooed at her and reached out to tug at the little puffy sleeves of her dress. It was green and red and had little matching shoes that curled up at the toes. “This is so pretty. Are you one of Santa’s elves?”

“I am,” she announced loudly, her tiny little head bobbling. “I am an elf!”

Kit and Tally stepped in from outside, both with their teeth chattering. “They think it might fucking snow,” Kit announced with a smile, glancing back at his best friend.

“I hate the cold,” Tally grumbled, scrunching up his nose at the thought of ice falling from the sky.

“That would be awesome,” Layton crowed from the corner of the room, suddenly a lot less interested in his game. Instead, herushed over to the window that overlooked the side yard. There was nothing floating out there yet, but judging from the small breeze I’d caught when the men had come in, it sure felt cold enough. “Mom, can I go out and kick my soccer ball around?”

Harmony nodded. “Go get your coat,” she told him, quickly adding, “Maybe you could ask Dylan if he’d like to kick the ball with you? He’s in the room opposite Tally’s.”

“Sure!” He rushed off down the hall, excited by the idea of having a friend to play with.

“Down,” Nya demanded, taking off after her big brother the second her feet touched the floor. “Holy cwap!”

Kit’s eyes shot wide, and he looked over at Harmony while Tally and I tried not to let our laughter loose. “I have no idea where she got that from,” Harmony insisted, holding her hands up.

“Uh-huh.” Kit scoffed, then bellowed, “Church!”

He and Tally both disappeared into a room with large double doors, and more men appeared from all over—doors, hallways, inside, and outside—until the double doors finally closed behind them.

“Come on. Let’s sit,” Harmony said, taking my hand and leading me to the bar, where we each pulled up a barstool.

“Hopefully, Dylan decides to take Layton up on that offer. He loves soccer,” I said with a heavy sigh. “He doesn’t want to come out of the bedroom. I’m not sure if he’s still scared or what’s going on. I just hope he doesn’t shut down.”

“It’s a lot to digest for someone so young,” Harmony said, placing her hand over mine and squeezing. “Remember, it only happened last night. Give him time.”

She was right.

We’d literally driven through the clubhouse gates less than twelve hours earlier.

But this place felt so much like home to me that it seemed like we’d been there forever.

Or maybe it wasn’t the place exactly.

But the people.

Or one personin particular.

“Oh, Kaci,” Harmony called, waving over a young woman with dark hair. “I want you to meet Kat.”

Kaci rounded the bar, standing on the other side with a bright smile that I couldn’t help but mirror. “It’s nice to meet you,” Kaci greeted happily. “Tie was telling me about what happened. I hope you’re okay?”

It instantly warmed me to hear her genuine concern.

It was a reminder of what the club was like. Whether it was here or in Huntsville, there was nothing quite like the brotherhood and family in this club. The boys were rough around the edges and intimidating as hell to people looking in from the outside. But when you were in, everyone wrapped around you, and the way they supported you was like nothing I’d ever experienced elsewhere.

It was something I sometimes missed.

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