Page 55 of Cassie
Extended family
Faith
Faith stood beside the tall windows of the dining room and looked out into a backyard filled with family and friends. She’d been inside for a while and expected her father to appear at any time and demand she rejoin the party playing out behind their home. It was a tradition with them to have this annual bash, celebrating an unnamed milestone for the club. This year the weather had cooperated. Not so hot out that the kids running amok risked getting sick from the heat, but the chill of winter was long gone, leaving their guests comfortable in lightweight shirts underneath their leather vests.
Not everyone wore a vest, of course, only the men who shared a brotherhood with her father.
This particular party was never restricted to only Rebel Wayfarers, and as usual, her brother’s hockey friends had shown up, their conversations circling tightly around ideas about training, the upcoming draft, training, kids coming up the lines, training, and all things hockey. The party marked changes for their family every year, too, because it signaled Sammy would soon be done playing hockey for a time, giving them a chance to bond away from the many rinks they’d followed him to over the years.
The corners of her mouth curled as she watched Sammy’s face, hands flying around animatedly as he explained something to his best friends, Jonny Morgan and Kane Shoemaker. Not just friends from league teams; those two were as much a part of the Rebel family as she and Sammy were. Captain, their adoptive father, was a member of the club, too.
Jonny twisted in place, gaze scanning the groups scattered around the yard and he scowled disgruntledly for a moment, brow wrinkling. Then he caught sight of her in the window and Faith recognized the usual cocky look that came across his face. He turned so his back was to her, deliberately stepping across the small group of players in order to do so, the slight so blatant she felt it like a strike of a blade to her heart. Sammy’s head tilted and he considered his friend for a moment, listening to whatever he was saying, then Sammy’s gaze came straight to her, and she knew Jonny had explained his actions. She’d heard him plenty of times, Jonny not caring if she were close enough to listen or not when he cut her hopes to the quick, declaring by words and actions that any attraction she felt to him was unwarranted and seriously not returned.
“Faynez,” she heard her nickname called from the kitchen, and turned, already smiling, because she recognized the voice.
“Garrett,” she cried, running across the space between them and wrapping her arms around the wiry boy’s frame. “I didn’t think y’all could make it. I’m so glad to see you.”
Garrett Mason had been a friend almost from birth, with only a few weeks between their birthdays. His father was the club’s founder, and a steady influence in the Rebels MC, so he was practically family, too. Tightening her arms, she squeezed until Garrett grunted, then laughed as he returned the favor.
He grunted again, stiffening, and she leaned back to look up into his face. He was staring over her shoulder at the windows, glaring with what looked like anger, the muscles of his jaw jumping as he clenched his teeth. She pulled away, twisting out of his arms and turning to look back at the window to see Jonny had walked up to the glass and was standing, hands to his hips, sending his own glare inside to where she stood beside Garrett.
Garrett’s hand landed on her shoulder, arm banding across her back, and he pulled, tugging her into his side. She leaned on him, comfortably wrapping her own arm around his hip. “Missed you, Faynez,” he muttered, and she glanced up at his face to see he was still glaring at Jonny.
“Missed you, too. Did you enjoy the trip, though?” He and his family had traveled to Texas to see his older brother’s band perform at a music festival. “How’s Chase?”
The patter of light footsteps sounded from the hallway and Faith turned to see a group of kids running through the house and towards the backyard. Before Garrett could answer, her nickname sounded through the house again, “Faynez, you comin’ outside, honey?” Garrett gave her a squeeze, then released her. Another shout, this one louder, “Faynez?”
With an apologetic smile up at Garrett, she answered her father, “Coming, Daddy.” Grabbing Garrett’s hand, she tugged him towards the back door. “It’s chaos today. Come on, everybody’s here. They’ll be glad to see you, too.”
A couple of hours later, Faith had collapsed onto one of the blankets spread on the back lawn. Eyes closed against the glare of the sunshine, she threaded her fingers together across her belly and crossed her legs at the ankle.
Heaving in a lungful of air, she blew it back out steadily, trying to relax just for a moment. This party was always stressful because there were so many details that made it a success. Not entirely her responsibility, but she always felt the need to make it as perfect as possible. She wanted everything to go smoothly so her dad didn’t have to worry about anything. He loved his family and loved his friends, and she wanted that to be what he concentrated on, not whether there was enough beer or if they had enough buns for the brats and hotdogs.
Darkness crept across her lids, and a chill crossed her skin as a shadow fell on Faith’s face. Cracking one eyelid open a slit, she peered up at the form towering over her. Silhouetted against the sun as they were, she couldn’t tell who it was, just knew it was a grownup, and from the broad shoulders, probably a man.I just wanted a minute. She pushed her grumpiness aside to ask, “Need me to get something?”
No response, so she lifted up on an elbow and shaded her eyes with the edge of a palm. Jonny.Figures. “You need something, Jonny?” He shifted slightly, weight transferring from foot to foot, a movement that on another man she would have wondered if it were nerves. Not Jonny Morgan, though. He didn’t have nerves, even when he was at center ice in the season-opening faceoff for a game. Certainly not standing beside her in the backyard where he and Sammy had played so many hours. “Jonny?’
“You havin’ a good time, squirt?”
She could count on one hand the number of times she’d heard him say her real name. He always used a diminutive nickname, but not the one her brother had given her. Sammy had been the one to call her Faynez first, and from the stories their dad told, she’d hated it in the beginning. Now it was just another aspect of who she was, a girl raised in the north, but with a southern attitude. Mostly.I still liked that Drago calls me Faith.
She sighed. Jonny’s nicknames weren’t complimentary, ever, always felt like they were intended to tear her down just a little.
He cleared his throat, then asked, “You’ve been running all over, want a pop?”
Had he been watching her? Tipping her head to one side, she squinted, staring up at Jonny’s face. Inscrutable. She scanned his body, and saw his hands were tucked into the front pockets of his jeans, so he wasn’t holding a can of soda, ready to dump it over her head. No apparent prank was on the horizon.
“Was that a real offer?” She hadn’t meant to say anything, but the words just came out and she bit her tongue, trying to keep anything else from spilling over her lips.
He nodded slowly, still shifting foot to foot.
Weird. Hesitating between each word, she told him, “Bottle of water would be good.” At her quiet response, one corner of his mouth lifted, lips arching into a smirk that left her waiting for him to tell her to get it herself, that the offer had been a joke she’d fallen for, again.
“You got it, short stuff.” He turned and strolled away, easy athletic grace in each stride. The way he walked caused the muscles of his back and butt to bunch and slide, that movement visible even underneath his clothing. Watching as Jonny had matured from the boy who was friends with her brother into the man he was today, none of that physical development had slipped past unnoticed. His behavior just now was a first, though.Way weird.
The sound of someone flinging themselves to the blanket on her other side pulled her attention away from the way Jonny’s ass moved in his jeans, and blood rushed to heat her cheeks as she turned to see Garrett lying beside her, hands behind his head.
“Comfy?” His question was as bizarre as Jonny’s had been, and she squinted at him before turning back to track Jonny through the crowd, trying to decide if they had teamed up to play a trick on her. “Need a pillow?” Before she could respond, he was wiggling around, sliding up the blanket towards her head.
