Page 67 of Ignite

He paused with his lips against her skin. “That’s a big ask from someone like me, baby, but I promise I’ll do my best.”

“Okay. Hey, don’t you have to go to work tonight?”

“Nah. Cam’s covering for me at Attic.” He leaned back and continued to comb through her hair.

“Oh.”

“That ‘oh’ sounds confused. What’s on your mind?”

She tilted her head back. “It’s nothing really.”

“What’s nothing?”

“Just an odd thought. Why do you call the bar Attic? It’s on the ground floor of a business row.”

Her innocent question had him smiling from ear to ear. “From what I understand, Melter came up with the name. Attic is actually an acronym.”

“An acronym? For what?”

He let out a chuckle. “Wanna know the joke? Look at your chest and spell the word.”

“Huh?”

He coughed to keep from laughing out loud. “Look at your chest. Now spellattic.”

Her head bent forward. “A-T-T-I-C.” She put her face in her hands and let her wet hair slide against her cheeks. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

He scooped the strands back with the comb. “Nope. Those jagoffs decided Attic was a good name for a titty bar, and that’s why.”

He let go of his laughter at her groan and kissed her again. “You hungry?”

“Not really. You?”

He pulled the towel from around her breasts and dropped it to the floor. “I’m starving.”

EPILOGUE

“I found another one!”Hugo’s excited cry came from down the pebbled beach. He held up a shiny green piece of sea glass to show his sister and brother-in-law before adding it to the collection bag at his hip.

“I got one too!” Ian held up his own treasure. Behind him, Ivan sat on the ground and poked through a pile of smooth round stones.

September temperatures sat in the mid-sixties here in Belfast, Maine, so swimming wasn’t a good idea in the rocky bay area. Still, Jazz’s brother wore his swim trunks along with his hoodie “just in case.”

It had been just over a year since the scam-shielder group imploded. So much had happened during the last ten or so months. Liz found herself a generous man who appeared to genuinely care for her and the three boys. Her tongue was as sharp and critical as ever, but it didn’t seem to bother Reginald in the slightest. He smiled at her demands and gave her what she wanted most of the time, although he did stand up to her when he needed to. Jazz had seldom seen her sister back down, but Reggie had no problem keeping her in line. As long as the boys continued to thrive and grow, Jazz was cool with her brother-in-law.

Leo was still around, but he didn’t call or visit his kids. Jazz was pretty disgusted with him, as he’d signed over his parental rights with no hesitation. When he walked away, Jazz was glad to see him go.

Bill and Madge were ecstatic to find their accounts full again. The email from the bank stated they’d found a glitch in their system and their savings had been drained erroneously. They had corrected the mistake and added the interest that should have been earned. Neither Bill nor Madge questioned the windfall. They didn’t reopen the bakery, as Bill’s health was never going to get better, and they decided to rest easy for a change.

Wolf was now the official president of the Iron City Knights MC. Scrap still sat in his spot at the strip joint and gruffed at anyone who disturbed his chess game with Baghouse or Melter. Otherwise, all decisions about the club’s direction were made by Wolf, Quillon, and Camshaft. Go-Kart would be getting out of prison soon and would rejoin the Knights next spring if all went well.

What path the Knights would ultimately follow remained to be seen.

Jazz waved at Hugo as he found another piece of sea glass, then turned to see what Wolf was doing. On the deck above the beach, she spotted her husband manning the grill with her mother close by “supervising.” Her father was also on the deck, minding his own business as usual. Liz was in the hot tub while Reggie stayed indoors with the napping Isaac.

When Wolf had promised a road trip, she didn’t think he would include her whole family. The three side-by-side cottages they had for the week belonged to a cousin of his who lived in Bar Harbor. Liz and her group stayed in the bigger one while their parents and Hugo were in another one. The smallest of the three was off a little farther to the side and a bit more secluded, which was what Wolf wanted for the two of them. All three gray-colored buildings were connected with a large community deck and hot tub.

Jazz raised her nose and smelled the grilling steaks on the wind. Dinner would soon be ready. She turned and called out, “Okay, all Vulcans and Romulans, report to the mess hall!”

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