Page 5 of Mouse
CHAPTER THREE
Mouse
It was time. Ingram was going to arrive tonight and as I rode my bike over the bridge to the beach, I felt an itchiness crawling all over my skin.
Chris and Ky’s house was already full when I walked in. The smell of so many different foods filled the air while happy chatter floated into my ears.
I tucked away the strange feeling that was clouding my mind.
“Hey, man,” Ky said as he clapped my shoulder. “Glad you could make it. Thanks for all the help.” He was talking to me but his eyes were on the man on the other side of the room.
“No problem.” I plastered on a smile and clapped his shoulder back.
Ky was happy. The smile on his face was small but the light in his eyes was blinding. I think he’d been waiting for this moment since Ingram went away.
I thought back to the day that Ky came after me when Ingram had talk to him about going away. Ky got in a few good punches and so did I. In the end, I helped him to see that this was what she wanted. He took the big brother role pretty seriously even if they hadn’t seen each other in ten years then. I could see how having her back in his life made him feel more whole. Well, it wasn’t only her. Chris was definitely his other half. I was just glad that Ky seemed to be more settled now. And happy. I considered him a close brother. We’d spent a lot of time together since making the move to start up this chapter.
I may have grown up in the Gray Fort chapter but this place felt like home.
Growing up, my mom tried so damn hard to shelter me from the club and that way of life. But I wasn’t dumb, I knew the things my dad and his brothers did. I think if my dad hadn’t loved my mom so fiercely she would have left him. She would have taken me far, far away from the club. But my dad was a good man and she knew that. Hell, she shunned his lifestyle and he bent over backward to keep her happy as well as the club. Eventually, I grew old enough to make my own decisions, and I began to spend more and more time at the compound. I liked what I saw and I knew I wanted to be a part of it too.
That didn’t make my mom happy, but she loved me all the same.
And my dad was so damn proud despite my mom’s anger.
Ky let out a long shaky breath, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“You good?” I asked with a raised brow.
“Just a big night,” he replied as he rubbed the back of his neck.
There was more going on but I knew he wouldn’t spill.
We headed to the kitchen and I grabbed a beer.
I had no idea what time Ingram was set to get here but I knew it wouldn’t be that much longer. I found Brand and Lake with their women. The moment they saw me I was instantly swept up into their conversation.
My shoulders relaxed and the strange feeling eased as I chatted with them.
Then the chime of the doorbell rang out right as a timer went off somewhere in the area of the kitchen. We all went deadly silent as Ky told Chris to get the door while he made a move to get something out of the oven.
We all shuffled closer to the front of the house almost as one.
The moment Ingram walked into the house time seemed to stand still and I didn’t understand why. I couldn’t tell you the look on Chris’ face as he got his big surprise. I couldn’t tell you what the cheers sounded like all round me. I couldn’t tell you a damn thing except that Ingram stole something from me right then.
But I couldn’t even begin to tell you what it was.
She was stunning. Older but still the same in a way. Her hair was dark and hung in loose, thick waves around her shoulders. Her eyes the same hazel I remembered but now they seemed to hold more of a spark in them. Her face was a little thinner and her features a little more expressive. None of her happiness in this moment was forced.
She was the same, but different. She was older. She wasn’t that wide-eyed girl that left two years ago, that was for sure. In fact, though I wouldn’t want to admit it, she wasn’t a girl at all now.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her no matter how hard I tried.
When I finally did, I took in the little boy that wasn’t so little now. I watched as he got passed around and introduced and stole all the kisses from all the girls.
I wanted to leave.
Ineededto leave.
