Page 4 of Lake
I smiled.
We ate in silence and I thought about just how much these mornings meant to me and how they even came to be.
He had been a scared old man, afraid that no-good bikers were doing shady things across the way. As a concerned citizen, he called the police. Lucky for Knight and I, Connor was the one that had showed up. I still remember that day and the calm feeling I had as I jogged up to his house.
He had been hesitant to let me in and that was alright, but after I introduced myself and told him that we were there to make sure that no funny business was going on, he seemed to relax. He let me in and gave me a cup of coffee. By the time I headed out, he shook my hand and told me to stop by whenever I was out there.
And so I did.
That eventually turned into a breakfast thing whenever I had the night shift over here.
“Alright,” I said after I helped him clean up the kitchen. “I have to get going this morning.”
“I get it, boy. Thanks for the conversation.”
“I’ll see you later in the week. I’ll bring some groceries over on my next shift.”
He waved me off but knew better than to say anything at this point. He knew I’d do it no matter what he told me.
“Don’t break a hip, old man,” I called out as I opened the door.
“Don’t catch crabs from those loose women,” he called back.
I laughed as I jogged down the three rickety porch steps. As I made my way back to my bike, I made a mental note to fix the loose boards on his porch the next time I was there.
When I got back to the compound, I found Iron sitting at one of the long tables in the kitchen. I didn’t have to check in with him every morning, but I did most of the time.
“Hey, Lake. Breakfast?” he asked as I took a seat across from him.
I looked up and saw a tall blonde at the stove making… something. She turned and looked at me with a wide smile but I shook my head letting her know I wasn’t eating. I was a little surprised that Abigail wasn’t around. Dade’s sister had started taking over the kitchen on most mornings. And sometimes in the evenings as well. She kept the food hot and the coffee fresh even though we told her a million times that she didn’t have to do it.
We didn’t have club girls in the way that Moon Hill did. So far, there were none living at the compound. But lately, it seemed like some of the girls that were around more than most, hung around long enough to make breakfast in the mornings. It kept the guys happy, so I wasn’t about to say anything.
I wasn’t sure if I liked how different things were down here yet. The unsaid rule of no club girls living here was something new. It meant less drama, which I was all for. Sometimes women were too territorial even if they knew they were just a piece of ass. I wasn’t a fan of drama. That said, I also didn’t mind the availability of having strings-free sex when I really needed it.
But that wasn’t the point now.
I always treated them with respect, no matter if it was my bed they’d just left or someone else’s. Some people might have just thought of them as whores, and sure, they were willing to take any of us without a care, but they were still people just like me.
“How’s the old man?” Iron asked like he knew I’d already eaten.
Ever since the Laurel thing, he’d made a point to be in our business more. Not in an overly protective parent way, but in a way that he didn’t want to miss anything ever again. Things that happened outside of the club were still things that could affect the club. I think we all learned that harsh lesson quite recently.
No one was safe.
Not as long as they knew us.
Not as long as we could have the potential to make enemies.
Which seemed like something that would always be there.
Even when we thought things were going smoothly.
“Crotchety as ever,” I said with a laugh that he joined in on.
Iron hadn’t met him but he had a good idea from the few stories I’d told.
“Everything else good?”
