Page 28 of Until Ireland

As we stepped closer to the group of ladies sitting around a firepit, I caught the insignia on the back of the vest one of the men were wearing. TheBroken Eagles MC.My stomach dropped.

They’d also been the reason I left Nashville. More specifically, one of the members had bought a stolen bike from Edgar, who owned an auto auction house called Lux Automotive. When I obtained my ASE Auto Mechanic Certification, I’d joined Landon who’d already been working at Lux Automotive Auction. The attraction to Edgar had been quick—he was a bad boy, which was a major turn on for me at the time. However, I quickly figured out things weren’t what they seemed. Of course, I hadn’t done anything wrong. But, when I found out my ex had been fucking over the customers by selling them stolen property right under my nose? Well, I didn’t stand for that shit. My standing meant more to me than a quick lay.

I never knew the outcome of the situation because I didn’t stick around.Just calm down. No one knows you here. They never saw you at the shop.This was my new life. I was standing on my own. I had the shop and the reputation for no bullshit to back me up. If anyone asked anything, I’d brush it off and keep going.

Ha. That would never work.Gird your loins, girly,as my mother used to say.

Mack leaned into me, his lips brushing against my ear. “Are you okay? I know this must be a lot for you to take in.”

I pasted on a grin and nodded. “Just fine. I guess I’m a little overwhelmed. When you said ranch house, you weren’t kidding. You live on working ranch.”

He chuckled. “Stick around long enough and it might be yours one day too, which means having the pleasure of mucking stalls.”

Mine? This place? I stared out over what appeared to be an endless field in disbelief. I waited for my fight or flight instinct to kick in, but instead a sense of rightness filled me.

Mack pressed his lips to my temple before clearing his throat. “Ladies, this is Ireland.”

The group of women stopped their discussion and turned their heads as a unit. Yeah, no. I wasn’t going to fit in with them. They were all gorgeous, the kinds of women who went for walks and lattes early in the morning. All of the little munchkins running around were probably theirs as well. They more than likely all had bougee names too, like Winterkiss Stardust or Faustus or something equally eyeroll inducing.

“Ireland, this is July, December, June, Harmony, Ellie, and Kayan,” Mack said, introducing them one by one.

I waved. “Hello, nice to meet you.”

“She’s hot, Mack,” Kayan said. “We can’t compete with her.”

July laughed, shaking her head. “We’re not supposed to. We’re already married.”

“She’s definitely not who we thought you’d pick, that’s for sure,” Harmony said with a grin.

“Who’d you think I’d date?” Mack scowled.

“Someone with a stick up their ass,” June said on a snicker. I relaxed marginally. Maybe I would fit in with them after all.

“Come sit with us,” December said. “We’ll fill you in on all the juicy gossip we know about Mack.”

Uh... I glanced over at Mack who’d turned to talk to someone else. Nothing like being the chum in shark-filled water. “Thanks.”

Each of the women were beautiful in their own rights, and it was kind of off-putting. None of them had a stitch of ink on their bodies that I could see, and none appeared to be bikers or gearheads, so this was about to get awkward real fast.

“So, what do you do for a living?” July asked, pouring herself some wine.

“I own a garage with my brothers,” I said then quickly added before they could say another word, “I rebuild engines.”

“Okay,” Kayan said. “We’re screwed. Might as well turn in, ladies. She’s got us beat by a longshot.” There was a hint of teasing playfulness there, so I didn’t take it the wrong way. Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was being serious too.

“You’re the one who Gareth talks about,” December said with a snap of her fingers. “He said you did excellent work and might be the competition.”

Heat filled my cheeks. “Well, Gareth is a great guy who happened to give my shop a chance a few months ago. Now we have more work than we can handle sometimes.”

“He is, isn’t he?” December grinned. “Speaking of which, incoming, ladies.”

Their gazes landed on said men as they approached with my brothers in tow. Hunter and Landon fit in perfectly while Jackson, well, he had a few years to grow into his stature. At the front of the pack was Mack. How he disappeared so quickly after being next to me moments ago, I didn’t know.

Each of the women’s faces turned ravenous as the men grew closer, and I could admit I understood their hunger because the same yearning burned deep within my belly when my gaze landed on Mack. The men dispersed, each going to their respective wives or girlfriends. I hadn’t gotten far enough into our conversation to figure out who was with who with the exception of December. Mack stood beside me, and my brother hung around the periphery.

“Are you going to introduce us to your new friends, Wes, or are they going to awkwardly stand there shifting their feet?” July said with a tinkering laugh.

“These are my brothers,” I said before pointing to each of them “That’s my eldest brother, Hunter, middle brother, Landon, and baby brother, Jackson.”

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