Page 95 of Stone

My eyebrows drew together. “Yeah, thank you, Robert. I don’t know what we’d have done without you and Bert.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s what friends are for.” He rose to his full height and gave me an encouraging smile before disappearing through the door.

I sat back with a sigh, my mind going back over our conversation.

Robert had hit the nail on the head about Bandit. I hadn’t seen John’s dad at all, and honestly, it hurt. Things between us were strained, I got that, but my dad died.

A hug from Bandit would’ve gone a long way; he was like a father figure to me, and some paternal support would’ve filled the gaping hole in my heart that Dad left, if only a little.

Still, I had Mom, Connie, Iris, and even Bert and Robert, and I knew John would have been there for me if he could’ve.

Who cared about Bandit? There was enough love around me without his input, and at least I knew where I stood. It had been a while since I’d been at the club, and I’d made the right decision to stay away.

I didn’t need Bandit Stone or the damned Speed Demons.

They could all go to hell.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Stone ~ Late November

“I’m tellin’ ya, boys,” Duggan drawled in his broad Southern accent. “It’s true what they say. Everythin’s bigger in Texas.”

Spence snorted. “Everything except your johnson.”

Lou and I shared a look and chuckled.

Duggan shook his head and grinned. “How the fuck would you know, surfer boy? You wouldn’t know a big cock if one impaled ya.” He glanced at me and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Give me a G cup any day.”

“Too much,” Lou muttered. “Anything more than a handful’s a waste. I like them itty bitty titties you can fit in your mouth.”

I wiped my brow while simultaneously scouring the desert ahead, wondering how in hell I got lumped in with these jokers. Patrolling the edge of the triangle was shitty enough without having to deal with Duggan’s titty talk. I missed touching Elise enough without having constant reminders about the other things I missed.

Duggan barked a laugh. “Call me greedy, but I wanna handful, a mouthful, and a warm place to slide my dick between. You should come to Texas; the women there would convert ya.”

“Had enough dust and oil to last me a lifetime,” Lou muttered. “Ain’t going to Texas for more of the same.”

“At least we’ve got bars and beer,” Duggan argued. “Along with juicy-titted women.” He glanced at me. “What about you, Stone? What’s your preference?”

My mouth tugged at one corner. “My girl’s my preference.”

Spence grinned. “She’s a knockout, alright.”

Duggan’s head cocked to one side. “Gotta pic?”

“Any disrespect, and I’ll kick your ass,” I muttered, going into my inside pocket and sliding a picture of Elise out. It was one my mom took of her on her eighteenth birthday when she’d finished getting her ready for our picnic date down by the creek.

The night I’d made her mine in every way.

My heart tugged inside my chest.

Fuck, I missed her.

Carefully, I handed Duggan the picture.

He studied it carefully. “She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” I concurred. “She is.”

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