Page 26 of Barker

I had never heard that term before, but I had to admit it made me laugh. “Yes, sir. It is. “

“Okay, I like that you got some manners, but enough with the sir stuff. You’re making me feel old, kid,” he says with a laugh. “Call me Gabe.”

“You got it, Gabe,” I tell him. Calling him by his name feels kind of wrong and my grandpa would be rolling over in his grave if he heard me refer to him by that, but he did request it.

He beams at me then claps a couple of times before rubbing his hands together. “Okay, how about that poker game. Are you any good?”

“I win some. I lose some,” I reply.

“Well, do some losing today, okay?” he teases. Gabe gets out of bed and slowly makes his way to the table by the window in his room. Annistyn stays right by his side. Once he’s seated, he turns to me and says, “She’s always fussing over me. I try to get her not to worry about me, but she still does.”

“Daddy...” Annistyn says with a sigh while her hand rubs at her forehead. Worry is etched in her eyes.

He looks up at her. “Well, I ain’t dead yet, so ain’t no reason to be so damn worried about me all the time.” Gabe turns to look at me. “So, Barker, what do you do?”

I clear my throat because I should have expected I’d get the third degree and twenty questions. “Well, I’m the president of the Sons of Sin and I run Sinner’s Den most of the time. I also work with Drake James at his construction company.”

Gabe sits back then slaps his knee. “Well, I’ll be. I knew that name of yours tickled my brain. You're the group Talon is trying to join. He's a prospect right now. I have to admit I didn’t like the idea at first. But I’ve seen how the Sons of Sin have changed over the last couple of years and I have to say I’m impressed. You must be one hell of a leader. Talon is like a son to me so I always try to look out for him. I sure am proud though of how far the Sons of Sin have come.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

“It’s a damn shame. I know y’all probably get all kinds of judgments and hell thrown at y’all because of the bikes, but just know if you try to do the right thing even if it’s technically the wrong thing, but you have a good heart with good intentions, then you did succeed. That’s the secret to life,” Gabe tells us tapping his slender finger against his temple. His eyes, like Annistyn’s, are so expressive.

When I look up, I see the moisture pooling in Annistyn’s eyes and I want to comfort her but I think if I get up and hug her it could make it worse, so I sit there and watch her just in case. Gabe clears his throat. Maybe he senses the tension too. “Shuffle those cards, Annistyn girl. She’s the best card shuffler you’ll ever see. She’s full of all kinds of surprises.”

I watch as Annistyn’s tears disappear with the task. I notice Gabe watching her out of the corner of his eye and that’s when it clicks. He knew she was about to break, so he distracted her. I can’t help but admire that. Once the cards are shuffled, Annistyn begins to pass out the cards. We play a whole game with Gabe winning before lunch is brought in. Tomato soup and grilled cheese with steamed vegetables and sweet tea. “Did you want the tray? Normally, we just always bring three because Talon is here,” the nurse tells me.

I nod my head. “Yes, it looks delicious. Thank you so much.” We sit at the table and eat in silence.

Annistyn looks up toward the door. “I’ll be right back.” Then she’s out of her seat. When I turn around, I see her stepping into the hallway with a different nurse.

“That girl of mine is going to worry herself to death,” Gabe mumbles.

I give him a tight smile. “She just loves you.” I’m trying to keep an eye on Gabe and Annistyn but she’s out of earshot.

“Yes, she does,” he says with a sigh. “And I’m one lucky man because of it. She’s the one great thing I did in this world, but I worry about her. Aside from Talon, she doesn’t let anyone in easily. You have to fight for every inch. I don’t think it’s her fault. After her mother and brother, I think she just thought it was easier to keep the world at a distance, but she’s worth the fight. That I can promise.”

Brother? I didn’t know Annistyn had a brother. Then again, I guess there’s a lot that I don’t know about Annistyn. I want to ask more about him. I’d like to know what happened, but it’s not my place and when Annistyn wants me to know, she’ll tell me.

“You take good care of my girl, ya hear?” Gabe gives me a stern look.

“Yes, sir. That’s a promise,” I tell him. It’s a promise that I will keep because every moment I’m around Annistyn I find myself falling farther and farther for her.

“You like John Wayne?” Gabe asks. I nod my head. “Good deal. Let’s go watch a movie.”

We get up and I head towards the couch. I have to fight the instinct to stay by his side, because if he doesn’t want Annistyn there, then I’m pretty sure he won’t want me either. I watch him carefully out of the corner of my eye and hold my breath until he takes a seat on the worn brown sofa with mismatched throw pillows on it. A blanket is lying across the back, and from what I can make of it, the pattern is horses on an open range. “Damn it, they didn’t bring me any pudding, did they?”

“With your lunch?” I ask him. Gabe nods in response. “No, I didn’t see any. You want me to go ask a nurse for some?”

“Do you mind?”

I stand up shaking my head. “Not at all. Any preference?”

“Chocolate!” His smile is large like a kid in a candy store. The smile is so familiar it makes my heart squeeze. There’s so much of Annistyn in it.

I chuckle. “I’ll be right back.” I head down the hallway to where I can see a nurse’s station. I’m almost there when I hear Annistyn’s voice.

“It went up, again? I mean, is that common for the prices to keep climbing like this?” I can hear worry laced in her tone.

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