Page 24 of Defended By Bam
After sliding the mattresses down the hall into the room and placing them on the bed and trundle, Brooklyn pushed me aside, insisting she could handle the bedding. “You’ve done enough. Go sit down. Do you need another beer?”
“I’ll sit when we eat. You finish this since you insist. I’ll go get the grill hot. I got frozen mashed potatoes. Didn’t want to fuss with baked potatoes. Hope that’s okay.” I didn’t care for boxed potatoes, but the frozen ones were almost as good as Allie’s.
Brooklyn was climbing over the bed to tuck the fitted sheet over the corners. She was wearing leggings, so I caught myself and looked away.
“I’m not picky. Really, you’ve done a lot. I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s nothing. I’m gonna get dinner started.”
Walking down the hall, I told Sadie, “You should go check that room. See what you think.”
She practically vibrated off the couch, her blonde hair bouncing as she ran down the hall. I barely made it to the kitchen when I heard her reaction from the bedroom.
I seasoned the steaks, then went out back to light the grill. I had a gas grill and charcoal but used the gas since it was already later in the day.
When I stepped back inside, Brooklyn was in the kitchen grabbing a juice box for Sadie.
“It’s a little warm out but y’all can come out back. There’s a few chairs. Grill just needs to warm up a bit.”
Brooklyn grabbed a beer, then looked at mine as she came closer. “You good?”
“Yep. Come on, Sadie, I’ll show you the back.”
She skipped out the door then rushed to the steps.
“Shit, slow down.”
She turned around, eyes wide.
“Didn’t mean to scare you, but you sure scared me. Don’t run down the steps, okay?”
She nodded then walked down, holding the rail.
“She’s very rambunctious,” Brooklyn said as she stood by the steps, watching Sadie skip around the yard.
“I don’t mind that. My stomach just dropped when she got so close to the steps. Have a seat.” I motioned for Brooklyn to sit in one of the plastic lawn chairs I had on the porch.
“It’s so peaceful here.” She looked around, her face relaxed as she tapped on the top of the bottle.
“I like it. I spend a lot of time at the clubhouse, but I like having this to come to. Let me grab those steaks.”
After I went in and popped the potatoes in the microwave and the chicken tenders in the oven with a timer on, I took the steaks outside and tossed them on the grill.
“So, do you work for them, or how does that work?”
After taking a long sip of my beer, I said, “Sort of. The club has businesses, and we do what has to be done to keep them going.”
She nodded. “Are there um…parties like that a lot?”
“Sometimes. Not all the time.”
“Do you usually party with them?”
Grinning, I said, “Not like what you saw, but I’m no saint.”
“You seem pretty saintly to me.”
Her bright blue eyes sparkled in the waning sun as they stared up at me. I was getting lost in them when Sadie’s voice brought me back to reality. “Bama, where does that path go?” She was pointing to the path that led down to a little cove.
