Coyote hawks mc next gen.., p.13
Coyote (Hawks MC (next generation) Book 1), page 13
“You too, Channa.”
“And it was great to see you again, Clary. And meet you, Julian and Zara. I hope you’ll stop by again.”
“We will, pumpkin,” Julian said. Clary nodded with a smile.
“Have a good day,” Zara said.
“You also,” I called over my shoulder as I got back to work.
Chapter Thirteen
Coyote
Even as I pulled up out the front of Channa’s house with a damn flutter to my gut, I couldn’t get the phone call I had with Mum out of my head. There was just something about it that seemed suspicious.
I’d been sitting in my office going over some paperwork when Mum’s name had flashed over the phone.
“Hey, Mum, what’s happenin’?” I’d asked.
“Oh, nothing much, Cody. I wanted to know if you could come to dinner tonight?”
First of all, she usually texted me about dinners. Her calling about it had me puzzled.
“Can’t, Mum. I’ve got plans.”
“Really? What type of plans?” Secondly, her voice had taken on a different, higher tone when she’d asked that.
“Just seeing a friend for dinner.”
“Oh, that sounds nice. What will you be eating?”
Usually she wouldn’t ask something so specific. “Pizza. Why all the questions, Mum?”
“No reason,” she’d said, a little too quickly.
“Okay,” I’d drawn out. “Was there somethin’ else you needed?”
“Nope.” The p had popped from her lips. “But how has life been?”
My brows dipped. “Good. Busy with work. Drake texted me the other day tellin’ me about gettin’ into a fight at school. You know it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t start it.”
“I know. It’s all been sorted. You Marcus boys are always defending people in the right way. His poor friend, though.”
She’d spoken the truth. I would’ve done the same because I felt bad for Drake’s mate. My brother had saved him from a group of idiots bashing the shit out of him because he was gay. They’d said they’d caught him looking at their junk in the toilets. Drake knew it was a bunch of bullshit and took matters into his own hands when he’d seen the way his mate was injured.
I hadn’t thought that shit still happened nowadays, but then again, there were stupid fucks in the world.
I’d shifted the conversation. “Okay, so this call isn’t about Drake. Has Ruby done somethin’? Maya?”
“No, I was just checking in with my boy. God, can’t a mother do that?”
“Yeah, Mum. Course you can.”
“Good. Now, I better go. Have a good night, Cody.”
“Will do.”
While I’d known I’d have a good night since I was seeing Channa, there was something about that call that put me on alert. I’d have to go and visit Mum to see if I could get a better reading off her.
Grabbing the pizza boxes, I climbed out of the car and found Channa already on the front porch waiting with a sweet smile. Fuck me, just the sight of her had my heart feeling thicker and beating a bit harder. She wasn’t in her pyjamas tonight, unfortunately. Actually, it was probably good she wasn’t. Instead, she wore jeans and a tee, and I noticed when I got close, her feet were bare.
“Hey, angel.” I grinned. Leaning in, I kissed her pinking cheeks.
“Hi,” she said softly, and it went straight to my cock, causing it to jerk.
“You ready to eat?” I lifted the boxes a little.
“Sure am. Come on in.” She moved to the door and stepped through, shifting to the side for me to enter and then shut the door. “Do you want a plate?”
“Nah, I’m good. You grab one if you want.”
“I’ll be fine…. Wait, you didn’t get a whole pizza for me, did you? I won’t eat a whole one, sorry.”
“All good, babe. Save what you don’t for tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” She took the box I held out to her, and we both sat on the couch.
“Where’s Harley and Coco?”
“I locked them outside. They’ll hate me for it, but it saves them staring at us while we eat. I’ll let them in when we’re done.”
Chuckling, I nodded. “Fair enough.”
She opened the box. “Meat lovers, awesome. What did you get?”
“Same. Can’t go wrong with it.”
“That’s true.”
We both took our first bite, and I stilled when she moaned around her mouthful. Jesus Christ, I’d love to hear that sound when I was inside her. I shifted on the couch and ate some more pizza, hoping it’d distract me.
“This is good,” she told me with a warm smile. “How was your day?”
“I had a customer come in wantin’ to know if there was anythin’ in the store that could be used as a sex toy.”
She sucked in a breath and started coughing. “What?”
Grinning, I patted her back until she settled. “Yeah, the woman asked Cowboy. He’s the younger Hawks member and damn shy. He ran to me for help to deal with her.”
Her brows dipped. Had me wondering if she didn’t like the thought of me having to deal with the sex-crazed woman.
“Um, how did it go?”
“I told her nothin’ in the store would be appropriate for what she wanted it for.”
“I think I’m scared to ask what she wanted it for.”
I snorted. “You should be, but I’m gonna tell you anyway, ’cause I’m just the sharin’ kinda guy. She wanted something to shove up her husband’s arse because he gets off on anythin’ Harley.”
Her nose screwed up and she faked a gag.
Damn cute.
“That’s…. Okay, I could have done without hearing that.”
“Hey, I’m hoping if I share, it’ll get outta my head.”
Channa giggled. “Well, I hope it helped. But I’m blaming you if I can’t get it out of my head.”
I grinned. “Fair enough.” We continued eating and talking about our days, and I couldn’t help but notice how comfortable I felt around her. I liked talking to her. Liked telling her about my day and hearing about hers.
Once we’d finished eating, we went into the kitchen. Channa deposited the boxes in the recycling bin, and I let the dogs in. They were excited. Harley jumped around stupidly while Coco, the gorgeous girl, sat before me with her tail wagging. I made sure to pay her a little more attention. Harley didn’t like it, so he raced off to get some from his momma.
“Oh, guess who got some emails about the job opening?” she said, leaning up against the counter. When Harley dropped a toy at her feet, she bent to pick it up, putting her arse on display.
And what a view it was.
One I wanted to touch. I quickly turned away and said, “That’s good news. How many applied so far?”
“Three. But one I’m not too sure about.”
Standing, Channa gestured back into the living room and then handed me a beer. I made my way back to the couch, but someone got there first.
“Harley, off,” Channa ordered. He paused for a moment until Channa clipped, “Harley.”
He quickly jumped down and sat at her feet while Coco sat on mine. I caught Channa’s warm eyes when she took in the scene. “She really likes you.”
“And I like her,” I said, patting Coco’s head. “What were you saying? How you weren’t sure about one?”
“Yes. I don’t know what it was, but even in the email he sounded like he was looking down on me, and….” She trailed off, looking towards her front window.
“What?” I asked.
Shaking her head, she said, “Nothing. Well, I just thought I saw someone, but I mustn’t have.”
“I’ll take a look.”
“Cody, you don’t have to.”
I rested my hand on her shoulder. “I want to.” I was out the front door quickly and did a look around the whole property of her house. I didn’t see anyone, but I noticed footsteps in the front garden. Only I didn’t want to stress Channa over it as they could have come from her. They looked female. Before I went back in, I took another look around, but once again, I saw and heard nothing out of the ordinary.
Channa was at the door by the time I got back. “Everything okay?”
“Yep, didn’t find anyone.”
She smiled. “See, I told you I was probably seeing something. Could have been a possum.”
“Better to be safe than sorry. Precious cargo in this house.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it, and red coated her cheeks. “Um, okay.”
Grinning, I took her hand and pulled her inside. But just in the doorway, I stopped. “I better hit the road. We’ll do this again soon.”
“Okay,” she whispered, looking everywhere but at me.
“Night, angel.”
“Goodnight, Cody.”
Leaning in, I pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and waited a beat to see if she’d try and kiss me. She didn’t, which I’d already suspected since she’d been so flustered the last time.
“Reach out in text if you need anythin’ or just want a chat, yeah?”
Her smile turned soft. “I will.”
“Lock up after me.”
She laughed. “I will.”
I tapped the door frame and walked out the door. I waited until I heard the locks engage before moving off to my car. It was early enough for a visit home. I knew my family would still be up and awake. The twins, no doubt, causing havoc.
“Knock, knock,” I called, entering through the front door. I could hear music, no doubt coming from Ruby’s room, some cursing, probably from Drake playing some Xbox game, and then voices towards the kitchen.
“Is that my boy?” Mum called. She walked down the hall from the kitchen with Dad and Maya following. “What are you doing here? I thought you were out with a friend.”
“I was, but it ended, and I thought I’d drop by.” When she got close, I hugged her to me and kissed her head. She was short, just like Maya and Ruby were.
“Always nice to have you drop in,” she said and glanced around me.
“What are you lookin’ for?” I asked, greeting Dad with a slap to the back and Maya a hug.
“Looking for your laundry bag.”
Chuckling, I said, “Don’t have any.” I’d only dropped off my laundry a few times before I bought my new washing machine.
“Ruby, Drake, come see your brother,” Dad yelled.
“Fuck!” Drake bellowed—he probably just got killed in his game.
“Drake Marcus, enough of that language,” Mum yelled, and slowly turned her glare to Dad. I hid my grin behind my hand and walked over to the couch. Maya quickly followed in case Mum was about to lecture Dad for the billionth time.
“Come on, Kitten. He’s sixteen—”
“Sixteen, Talon. Sixteen. Not eighteen, not legal enough to drink. Until he is, I want to curb the swearing.”
I caught Drake out the corner of my eyes turning and trying to sneak back to his room.
“Drake! I see you. Come here and hug your brother,” Mum demanded. “And what do you say?”
“Sorry for swearin’, Ma. But Dad’s right—”
Dad groaned and palmed his face. “Boy, no.”
“Your dad’s right? Your dad’s right? So you think I should just let you swear, smoke, do drugs, and drink?”
“Kitten, how in the fuck is swearin’ the same as doing drugs and drinkin’?” Dad asked.
She opened her mouth and snapped it closed before glaring at everyone. “I’ll think of something, and when I do, you’ll all hear about it.” She pointed at me and ordered Drake, “Hug him, then go get your sister. I’m sure she’ll be deaf by the time she’s twenty with that music.”
Drake shuffled over, bent, and gave me a quick hug. “Hey, bro,” he said.
“What’s up, loser?” I teased, ruffling his dark hair.
“You’re the loser, and not much since the last time we talked. I’ll go get Ruby.” He added under his breath, “Before she gets chewed out.”
“I heard that,” Mum said.
Drake groaned and quickly disappeared down the hall again. Mum and Dad sat on the couch opposite Maya and me.
“How was your pizza tonight?” Mum asked.
I raised a brow at her. “Good, why?”
She shrugged and looked around the room. “Just wondering.”
I shook my head at her. Yeah, she was acting weird. Turning to Dad, I asked, “You heard from Ruin?”
“Yesterday. You?”
“Same. Seems to be takin’ longer than he thought,” I said.
Dad scowled. “Yeah. Stupid fuckin’ dicks.” He was right to call them that. Ruin had told me what happened when he’d gone with Mimi to see her father and uncle. I thinned my lips at the thought. It would be better for everyone when her father did die.
“I expect him to be gone for another few weeks,” Dad said.
I nodded just as Ruby’s music switched off. It was only moments later when she walked into the living room with a smile.
“Hey, Cody,” she said, leaning down to give me a hug, which I returned before she moved to sit on the floor near Mum.
“You gotta get better taste in music, kid,” I told her.
She stuck her tongue out. “Yungblud is the best singer.”
Dad snorted. “I’m about ready to tear my ears off if I hear that ‘Parents’ song again.”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “You’re just getting old, old man.”
He reached over Mum and gently clipped Ruby in the back of the head. “Enough of that ‘old man’ shit.”
Ruby giggled. Dad settled back into the couch, putting his arm around Mum, who snuggled into him with a smile on her face. As they went on talking, I took in what was in front of me. A family who loved each other unconditionally. I wanted that for myself one day, my own family. My own woman who gave me shit, who told me what for, who loved me like I was the only reason she kept breathing.
Maya nudged me in the ribs. “You off with the fairies?”
Snorting, I said, “Somethin’ like that. What were you sayin’?”
“My brilliant idea.”
Oh shit.
“What?”
“It ain’t so brilliant,” Dad commented.
Maya glared at him and turned back to me. “That I could move in with you instead of some of my girlfriends.”
Hell.
“Ah… I don’t know if that’d be a good idea.”
Maya frowned. “And why not?”
“’Cause he don’t want his style cramped when he brings home his chicks and his little sister is there,” Drake said, coming back into the living room. He sat on the couch arm near Dad.
Dad chuckled. Mum frowned.
“Come on, I wouldn’t get in your way. You have, like, three extra rooms.”
“Maya,” Ruby started. “He’s Cody. Do you really want to clean the bathroom after him?”
“Hey, I’m not that bad.”
Ruby scoffed. “Yeah right. You’re just like Drake, and I have to share one with him. Some days I want to wear a hazmat suit in there. Besides, the spare rooms are near his. Do you want to hear the stuff he gets up to in there?”
Drake started moaning obnoxiously. Dad roared with laughter while Mum reached over him and smacked Drake on the thigh.
“Enough of that.” Though her lips twitched.
Maya sighed. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t really think it through.”
“There’s no hurry to move out,” Dad said.
If I didn’t change the subject, things were about to get rowdy. “Anyway, what else has been goin’ on?”
“Ruby has a boyfriend,” Drake answered with a smirk.
“Drake!” Ruby yelled.
“What the fuck now?” Dad said.
Goddamn my idiot brother and his shit-stirring ways. Still, Ruby was too young to start dating.
“Honey, is this true?” Mum asked.
“No… yes.” She groaned. “He asked me out, but I haven’t given him an answer yet.”
“It’s a no,” Dad and I said at the same time. We shared a grin.
Ruby whined, “Why?”
“You’re sixteen,” I said.
“You’re too young,” Dad clipped.
“Now, hold up,” Maya started. “If Drake came home and said he had a girlfriend, would he be allowed to date her?”
I snorted. Dad chuckled. “That’s different.”
Mum slowly turned to Dad. “It’s different? Haven’t we already been through this with Maya when she started dating? There is no double-standard bullpoop in this house. Cody brought home a girl when he was fifteen. Ruby is sixteen. If she likes this boy, then we’re giving her permission to date him.”
Ruby leaned back against Mum’s leg and the couch, crossing her arms over her chest and looking damn smug with that satisfied smile.
“Fine,” Dad said.
“What? No,” I barked.
Dad’s hand came up. “No, it’s fine. He just has to come to dinner here first before any said dates.”
“No!” Ruby screamed. “You’ll all scare him off.”
Grinning, I said, “Tell me when and I’ll be here.”
“Now, Ruby,” Mum said, “I think it’s a good idea, and then you’ll know if he’s really interested in you. If he is, he won’t be scared off so easily.”
“Darn it all,” she snapped and stood. “Fine. I’ll ask him.”
“And you do this before you even agree to date him,” Dad said.
“Fine.” Ruby glared. “I’m going to bed.” She stomped off, only to turn around to hug and kiss Mum, Dad, Maya, and me. When she passed Drake, she hit him in the gut and then ran for it. She couldn’t stay shitty; she was too nice, which was why all we wanted to do was take care of her.
Even with all the crap we gave each other, and all the disagreements, I still wanted this for myself one day.
Chapter Fourteen
Channa
In the next few weeks, a routine seemed to settle in where Cody would drop by every couple of days and we’d eat dinner together. And not only had I made a few deliveries to his shop, but also to his dad’s mechanic business. It was there I found out that it adjoined the compound of the Hawks MC.
