Page 37 of Raven
“I’ll join you,” Paige said and stood.
“Me too,” Cheyenne replied and joined us as we walked up the steps and into the building.
There was a large table off to the side and I followed them to take a seat. Caleb looked over from across the room and smiled at me before he leaned down and took his shot. A few minutes later, Claire and Willow joined us at the table, and I saw the prospect step inside and off to the side behind us.
Paige’s phone dinged and she looked down before explaining. “Charlie’s home safe.”
“I like her,” I remarked, feeling the rum and coke I’d had relaxing me. “She’s spunky.”
“Spunky? I like that,” Cheyenne reasoned and raised a glass. I lifted my water into the air, as she exclaimed, “To spunky.”
“To spunky,” the table said and toasted each other.
We began laughing and I looked at the ladies sitting around the table. I’d never fit in with other women, and my entire life, I’d felt out of place around females. They weren’t like any woman I’d ever met, and not one time did I feel like I wasn’t part of the group. They explained things if I wasn’t clued into whatwas being discussed, asked my opinions, and listened to what I thought, never cut someone down when they walked away, and their smiles were real.
It felt foreign, but suddenly it dawned on me. I wasn’t used to family because, for the most part, I never had one. Uncle Billy was great, but he wasn’t a parental figure. He was someone who took his responsibilities seriously. And that’s what I was to him.
This group of people sitting in South Dakota, in the middle of the great nowhere in our country, had quickly become my family, accepting me and making me feel welcome, and I owed it all to the man currently looking at me from across the room.
His kind, loving eyes promised so much, and for once, I was going to trust that whatever being was responsible for the universe, had a plan.
And it started and ended with Caleb.
Chapter 17
Raven
Iwatched Sydney and the ladies sitting around the table, laughing and enjoying themselves while me and Jigsaw played pool. He looked across the table to me and said, “Phantom and Laura will be here in a few minutes. Do you want me to start getting everyone inside?”
We’d finished eating over an hour ago, and I wanted to give the club’s VP, Phantom, and his ol’ lady time to get here. He was driving her over so they could be a part of my claiming of Sydney, and I was grateful he was coming. Laura was close to delivering their first child, so he missed quite a few events over the last few weeks. Having him, as well as the rest of the brothers, meant a lot to me.
I gave Jigsaw a nod and leaned over to line up my shot. “Have the prospects get everyone moving inside, but tell them not to make it obvious. I don’t want her getting freaked out.”
Jigsaw raised his hand as I hit the cue ball into a striped ball across the table and watched it roll into the pocket. He spoke low to the prospect and when I stood, I saw the young man walk out the front doors. Jigsaw shrugged and took his shot while I stared across the room at Sydney.
She was so happy, and I couldn’t help but smile across at her. The ladies were so welcoming of her, and the more time she spent with them, the happier she seemed to be.
I knew she still hadn’t given Warhol the letter she found from Nitro and I hoped once he told her about Rooster, she would finally relax and start living. A few times today, I wanted to tellher, but she was having suck a good time and the last thing I wanted to do was make her worry.
Roughstock walked up to the table and leaned against the side as he spoke. “Phantom and Laura just pulled up, if you want me to get everything from my office.”
Hitting the cue ball against the eight ball, I watched as the black ball rolled across the green felt and into the corner pocket. Placing the cue onto the table, I stood and looked at Roughstock.
“Yeah, let’s get this done,” I replied, sounding more confident than I felt.
Sydney could balk at the whole proposal and say no. I didn’t think she would, but we’d only been together for a few weeks, and she may think it’s too soon. I would have put a ring on her finger the day I brought her home, but she would have ran and I didn’t want to chase her.
And make no mistake. I would chase her to the ends of the earth. Sydney was mine and I was past tired of waiting.
Phantom walked through the back door with a very pregnant Laura. Loud voices followed them as he helped her walk into the bar. I noticed brothers were putting out their smokes and waving their hands to dissipate the smoke in front of them as Laura waddled in, holding a hand to her rounded stomach.
I pushed away from the table and walked up to them, offering Laura a smile and bumping fists with Phantom. “Thanks for coming, brother.”
“I couldn’t miss you finally putting a cut on someone, could I?” Phantom joked as he placed his hand onto Laura’s back.
“Do you think she knows?” Laura asked, trying to look around the gathering crowd.
I shrugged and saw Roughstock walking out of his office with his hands behind his back. Jigsaw moved through the crowd of brothers and stepped beside him, giving me a knowing nod.
