Page 14 of Gunner
Chapter 7
Kade
Leaving Sadie alonein bed was the hardest thing I’d ever done. For the first time since I joined the Army over seven years ago, I slept throughout the night without a nightmare. Bear usually woke me from them, but to wake up with Sadie in my arms and Bear tucked into her back gave me hope that she was really meant to be mine. I heard Smokey and Bullet speak many times of knowing when the right woman came along.
I just never expected her to be my friend’s sister and I never expected her to be so beautiful. Her fragility and the instant connection couldn’t be normal, and I counted myself lucky, again. Three times in my life, being in the right place at the right time led me onto the right path. Once when the bullet in Iraq didn’t kill me and sent me away from the military, once when I stumbled into that bar and met my real brotherhood, and last night, when I saw a bleeding angel in need of saving.
Sadie shifted in my arms, and Bear popped his head over her side and yawned before leaping to the floor. Her smile was soft, and I brushed my hand over the bruise and small cut on her forehead. She winced, and I pursed my lips at her pain.
“Did you sleep good?” I asked, and she nodded against my chest.
“I didn’t think I would, but you’re so warm,” she admitted, and I chuckled.
A child’s laughter sounded outside the window, and Sadie sat up before she walked over to the window and pushed the curtain to the side. Her smile was infectious as she turned and explained, “I need to check on Jacob.”
She looked down at her clothes, my clothes, and she twisted her hand into the oversized shirt. Reaching into my dresser, I gave her a pair of drawstring shorts and a smaller T-shirt to wear and walked outside with her hand in mine. Bear following closely behind us before he ran behind my cabin to do his morning business. Jacob yelled from the picnic pavilion when we rounded the corner to the clubhouse.
“Sadie!”
She smiled, and we walked over to the youngest Watkins sibling, who was being doted over by Piper and a few of the other old ladies. His face was covered in sticky syrup, and she sat down next to him and hugged him to her side. I kissed her on the head, and she looked up at me with a blush before I walked inside to make us a plate and coffee. When I returned, Skid was sitting on the other side of her, speaking low with a smile on his face.
His eyes caught mine, and he stood, giving me the seat next to her. Separating a member from his old lady was in bad form, even if they’re family. We might be the newest patched members of the Death Hounds, but there was protocol that we abided by. I gave Sadie her plate and watched as she ate half of what I gave her. Jacob kept sneaking bites from her, and she slid the plate in front of him when she was finished.
Her devotion to her brothers was like a breath of fresh air. My own mother couldn’t be bothered to stick around, so I never developed any real relationship with women. I wasn’t an asshole like some men, or even some of my brothers, but I wasn’t going to invite some random pussy for breakfast. When we were done, they knew where the door was.
The weather was beautiful as we sat around, laughing and visiting. Some of the brothers were starting to rouse from their drunken hideaways, and as the table filled, Sadie, Jacob, Skid, and I gave up our seats. The incident from yesterday weighed heavily on my mind, and a few times, I caught Skid’s gaze when Sadie was focused on Jacob. The club officers would be meeting soon, and I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Jacob or Sadie until we better understood the events that led them here.
“Are you my sister’s old man?” Jacob asked me after we found a picnic table to sit down at.
He was coloring in a book from Sadie’s purse, and Sadie spit her orange juice out, showering a laughing Dalton in the sweet, sticky juice. I linked my hand with hers and wrapped my arm around her shoulder as she looked over the table to a group of brothers and their old ladies who were close by. Everyone had a smile on their face, and I looked at the little boy, a small carbon copy of his brother, and asked, “I want to be. How would you feel about that?”
Sadie was a package deal, and I wanted Jacob to like me. He perked up and exclaimed, “She’s happy and that makes me happy.” The old ladies awed, and then the little man spoke clearly and directly to the point. “But if you hurt my sissy, I’ll kill you while you sleep.”
It stunned me into silence. Skid put his fist across the table, and the little man pounded it with a smile on his face. I smirked and looked at a shocked Sadie.
“What do you say?” I whispered into her ear, and she turned her face to mine.
