Page 73 of Gotta Dig Deep
“Finally looked in the barn, huh?”
“How long has this been in here?” He ran a reverent hand over the gas tank, finding only the barest skim of dust. “Motherfucker, what the hell?”
“Three days. And trust, it was hard to get that shit in there while you made a trip to town. We had to fuckin’ hustle, but it didn’t take long to move it from our new base of operations there in Belle.”
“New base of—what the fuck?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you?” Blackie’s voice quivered as he tried to control his laughter. “We took over the old Snyder place. It’s the FRMC ranch now. Gonna move the clubhouse out there. Seems we got more than a few ranchers in the ranks, and they’re certain it’ll be a good income stream for the future.”
“Jesus fuck, man. If I’m the president up here, shouldn’t you have run that shit past me before makin’ it a done deal?”
“Wouldn’t have mattered, and I had to move fast. Fuckin’ Mason was already sending out feelers about it.” Blackie’s grumble was audible. “Asshole. You and I know he wants our patches, but I’m damned and determined to make it hard on him.”
“So the club is invested in cattle now?”
“Good base of operations, like I said.” Blackie’s tone was pointedly neutral, and Horse laughed. They were on a normal call, not through the secure app, so Horse let it drop. He understood the things Blackie wasn’t saying, and couldn’t be bothered to find an argument that would hold water.
“And the bike?”
“Glenna’s idea, as were the updates in there. She was determined to give you everything you needed there, brother. I get the feelin’ she wants to keep you.”
Horse glanced around and saw the other changes Blackie mentioned. In one corner of the shed was a mechanic shop setup, and his old bike sat there, up on a jack.
“Jesus, Blackie. I’d say it’s too much, but I don’t want you to second-guess anything, so I’ll just say thanks.”
Shamu barked and Horse looked up to see Glenna framed in the open barn door, sunlight making her redonned nightgown transparent.
“Thank you,” she mouthed, gesturing behind her towards the ranch.
“I gotta go, brother.”
Blackie was laughing as Horse disconnected.
He settled the bike back onto the kickstand, stepped off, and covered the distance between them in huge, ground-eating strides. Pulling her into his arms, he whirled, lifting her so her feet were off the ground, grinning down at her smile while Shamu chased the flare of her nightgown’s hem.
“You’re fuckin’ perfect, Glenna Richeson.”
“I think you’re pretty nice yourself, Graeme Nass.” Hands on his shoulders, she lifted herself to place a kiss against his mouth.
Horse stopped twirling them, holding Glenna close as he took control of the kiss. He poured everything in his heart into the caress, renewing it again and again until they were both breathless.
“Never gettin’ rid of me, woman.”
“Who said I wanted to?”
Shamu barked as if to emphasize the thought, and Horse captured her laughter with his mouth.
***
Glenna
The next morning, Glenna woke alone, something that had worried her the first few times, but now just made her smile. She stretched and worked her jaw side to side, muscles still aching from what she’d heard Horse referring to as “The War.” He’d been surprised she hadn’t suffered bad dreams, but she knew every night he’d be there beside her.Nothing to fear.
The special emphasis he placed on the name always gave it capital letters in her mind. He wasn’t wrong; there were no other words she could find for it. As brutal as the entire day was, when she gave it space in her head, she tried not to think about the men killed, but focused instead on the brotherhood exhibited on Horse’s side of things.
To realize he had been able to pick up the phone and call—or text—and have men ride to their defense without question hinted at a relationship she could only equate with family. Her grandmother would have done the same, and so would Penn.
She grimaced.
