Page 47 of Rooster

They continued to banter back and forth as I finished getting ready. Once I put on my boots, I stepped across the hall and stuck my head into Nathan’s room. He had his headphones on and was playing his game, so I just waved to let him know we were leaving. He gave me a thumbs-up, and I smiled and left him to it.

I started down the hall, and the second I walked into the living room, a smile swept across Ronin’s face. “There she is.”

“Hey. Sorry, I was running a little behind.” I grabbed my coat as I told him, “But I’m all ready now.”

“That you are.” He turned to Samantha as he asked, “You mind if I steal your mom for a bit?”

“As long as you bring her back.”

“I think I can manage that.”

“Bye, sweetie.” I walked over and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “We’ll be back in a bit.”

“Bring me back some dessert.”

“You got it, kid.”

Ronin took my hand and led me out to his truck. He opened my door, and I was about to get inside when he whispered, “I missed ya.”

“You just saw me two days ago.”

“What can I say?” He lowered his mouth to mine, kissing me briefly before saying, “I’m a sensitive fella.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

I shook my head and giggled as I got in the truck. He closed the door behind me, and seconds later, we were on our way toward town. Ronin took me to a charming Italian restaurant right on the square. It was small and quaint, with little twinkle lights hanging overhead, and we had the perfect corner table with a view of the people walking by.

It was like something out of a scene from a romance movie, and I couldn't have asked for a better evening. As soon as we finished eating, Ronin placed his napkin on his plate and asked, “You ready to break out of here?”

“I guess, but it’s still kind of early.”

“Yeah, but I’d hate to leave the kids home alone for too long.” He gave me a playful wink. “You never know. They might join forces and form an uprising.”

“Yeah, that could be a problem.”

“Exactly.” He paid the bill as he said, “Maybe we get there in time to convince them to watch a movie instead.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We paid the bill and quickly gathered our things before Ronin led me out of the restaurant. It was cold, and my focus was on getting back to his truck until I heard Ronin mutter, “Oh, damn.”

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just Clutch and Liv.” I could feel his body tense as he said, “He’s one of the brothers.”

“Oh, is there a reason you don’t want to see them?”

“No, it’s just I haven’t really said much to the guys about me and you.” My expression must’ve given me away, and he immediately added, “It’s not like that. I just kind of wanted to keep you all to myself.”

“Well, that’s kind of sweet.”

“More like self-preservation, but you’ll see soon enough.”

Clutch and his wife approached with kind smiles on their faces. Clutch was older with shaggy salt and pepper hair, and his wife was absolutely stunning. Clutch gave me a curious look as he said, “Hey, brother. How’s it going?”

“Good. We just finished having dinner.” Ronin motioned his hand towards me as he said, “I don’t think you guys have met... This is Maggie.”

“Hey, Maggie. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

---