Mace, p.7
Mace, page 7
At one point, all of the ol’ ladies had been new and forged their way into the group.
“We were hoping to catch you before you headed back to Jackson,” Barracuda called.
“Don’t believe him,” Rayna laughed. “We’ve been driving around waiting to catch a glimpse of you and Imogen.”
Raelynn pointed at Monk. “You need to stop picking your nose when you think no one is looking because someone is always looking.”
Monk flipped her off and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “I wasn’t picking my fucking nose.”
“Right,” Playboy drawled. “You must have had something in your eye then, and it was a bad angle.”
“Shut up,” Barracuda growled. “What the hell went on with the lawyer?” he demanded.
“Uh, we have some work to do, but things look good.” Imogen moved closer to me. “And let me introduce you guys to Imogen.”
“Hi!” Raelynn chirped. She held out her hand to Imogen and smiled wide. “I’m Raelynn, and this is Playboy.”
Playboy nodded to Imogen but didn’t reach out to shake her hand.
Imogen was beyond uncomfortable, and you would have had to be blind not to see it.
“And I’m Rayna. The grumpy one is Barracuda. If he gets to growly, just know he is a teddy bear on the inside.” She leaned toward Imogen. “His favorite thing to do is to roll around on the floor with Willem and play peek-a-boo.” She bumped into Barracuda. “Marshmallow through and through.”
“You wanna keep your voice down, woman?” Barracuda growled.
“See, growly, but he’s nice.”
Barracuda put his arm around Rayna’s waist and pulled her to his side. “Shut it, woman, before I physically make you shut it.”
Rayna pressed a kiss to his lips and let out a laugh.
“Where is Mitzy?” Raelynn asked.
“Back at the funeral home. She’s got a hands-on tour from Dorothy,” Monk explained.
“What?” Rayna jumped back from Barracuda. “How did she get so lucky?” she demanded. “I want a tour of the funeral home.”
“Babe,” Barracuda drawled. “It’s a funeral home, not an amusement park.”
“So?” Rayna scoffed. “Haven’t you ever wondered about the inner workings of a funeral home?”
“Uh, no,” Barracuda grunted.
“Why don’t we head to Jackson instead of grabbing a bite to eat here?” Raelynn suggested.
“Or we can grab a bite to eat here and then go to Jackson.” Rayna clapped her hands together and rocked up on her tiptoes. “Let’s go.”
“What in the hell is wrong with you girls being so interested in a funeral home?” Monk asked. “Mitzy pretty much tripped over herself trying to get into the funeral home.”
“Now probably is the best time to come for a tour since we don’t have any... clients right now.” Imogen blushed and pushed her hair behind her ear.
“That’s it, we’re going,” Rayna announced.
“Babe, we only have daycare for another hour,” Barracuda pointed out.
Rayna rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. “As if Pru or Memphis would turn down watching Willem for a few hours for us.”
“Just don’t tell them we’re going to the funeral home,” Raelynn advised. “Then they’ll want to come with, and then you won’t have anyone to watch Willem.”
Rayna nodded and typed on her phone.
“You okay with this?” I softly asked Imogen.
She tipped her head back and looked up at me. “I mean, it’s fine with me. It’s actually pretty cool that they are interested in the funeral home. Most people think I’m creepy and weird when I tell them what I do for a living.”
“You seemed pretty upset before.”
She quirked her lips and shrugged. “I mean, I’m not entirely excited about talking to my grandma about the past, but we have two weeks, right? It’s not like I need to run there right now. I’m going to need to get some time off of work and make the almost eight-hour drive down there.”
“We can figure that all out.”
She nodded. “Yup, and that can wait till tomorrow. I like getting to meet the people whom you call your family.” She glanced at Raelynn and Playboy. “Uh, is this all of them?”
I shook my head and laughed. “Uh, no, babe.”
“How many more are there?” she asked softly.
“Eight more?” I mentally counted and nodded. “Yeah, eight more.”
“And they all have ol’ ladies?”
“Yeah, and that is counting their ol’ ladies. Wait, shit. Make it ten. I forgot about Constance and Yule. He just joined the club.” That had come out of nowhere. Monk went way back with Yule, and it was natural for him to become a club member after he fell for Constance. I had never really talked to her much, but she was around the clubhouse more now.
She seemed to fit in with the other girls, and Yule slipped into the club routine like a glove.
“People join the club often?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No, not really. Yule has been friends with the club for a while.”
“Done,” Rayna cheered. “Memphis and Six-Gun are going to pick Willem up from daycare and then take him back to the clubhouse.”
“Jesus,” Barracuda grumbled. “Did you just get a babysitter so you can go tour a funeral home?”
“Sure freaking did,” Rayna bragged. “Now, let’s go eat and then head to Jackson.”
This was not how I had expected the rest of the day to go, but if Imogen was okay with it, so was I.
Besides, it might be good for her to be surrounded by good people and have fun. Granted, I didn’t think funeral home tours were fun, but whatever.
If she was happy, I was happy.
Chapter Ten
Imogen
“Girl, what in the hell is going on?”
I flopped down next to Dorothy and sighed. “I seriously have no idea what you’re asking.” There was a lot going on around us, and I wasn’t sure which she was referring to. And there were things going on that she didn’t know about unless Mitzy had told her about them.
“Where in the hell were you hiding this part of your life?” she laughed. “You always said I was your only friend, but these girls are acting like they have known you for ages.”
“They’re treating you the same way,” I pointed out.
She blew out a raspberry. “Sure, sure. They’re only here because of you and your hot biker.”
“He is not my hot biker, Dorothy,” I hissed. “Please stop saying that.”
She took a sip of her water and stared at me over the rim of her glass. “You are in denial, girl. I have watched how that man has looked at you from day one, and he is looking at you like you more than own him.”
“He is not looking at me anyway like that. I am not Mace’s type. He took pity on me when I was growing up because kids picked on me. It was nothing more than that.” And that was exactly what I was telling myself. Mace was always nice to me, and that is what he was still doing. I was like his dorky younger sister he protected. That did not mean he liked me in any way.
“Do you need me to go get your glasses?” Dorothy asked.
“I have my contacts in, Dorothy.”
She waved her hand in front of my face. “Then open your eyes and see how that hunk of a man is staring at you.”
Mace was out on my deck with Monk, Barracuda, and Playboy while Raelynn, Rayna, and Mitzy were making another round of drinks in the kitchen.
Mace glanced at me through the sliding door, and a smile curved his lips.
“My god,” Dorothy moaned. “My panties just went up in flames, and the man wasn’t even looking at me. How are you still sitting there and not ripping all of his clothes off?”
I looked over at Dorothy. “We need to get you a boyfriend, Dorothy.”
“Or just laid,” she muttered. “I’m not looking for the headache of dating someone. I need a man who will just slip into my bed once a week, rock my world, and then be on his way.”
“And you really think you will find someone like that?” I laughed. “And you don’t think you’ll get attached to him.”
“I mean, sure, I’ll get attached to my world being rocked once a week, but I will be thankful to now have to deal with a man and his manly ways.”
“Manly ways?” I asked. “Just what does that mean?”
She rolled her eyes and huffed. “As if you don’t know what I am talking about. The dirty laundry all over the floor, the pee on the toilet seat, trash sitting on the counter when the garbage can is just two feet away, or the hair.”
“Hair?” I laughed. “You had me, and then you lost me.”
She grabbed her chin. “The hairs from when they shave. They fall all over the sink, and they are too blind to see them. They sit there until they drive you insane, and then you clean them up yourself.”
“I feel these are past problems you had, Dorothy.”
She sighed heavily and sat back. “You don’t even know the half of it. I had two live-in boyfriends, and they both did all of those things and then some.”
“Then why are you trying to push Mace and me together?” I questioned.
“Because Mace or any of these guys are nothing like the dingleberries I lived with,” she explained.
“Then maybe you should be the one chasing Mace.” If Dorothy were looking for a good guy, then Mace would be the one for her.
“Girl code, Imogen. There is no chance in hell that I would ever try to snag Mace. Never going to happen. I can appreciate the fact that he is hot, but he’s yours.”
“Who?” Raelynn squeezed onto the couch next to Dorothy and kicked her feet up on the coffee table.
“Who, who?” I squeaked.
Dorothy patted my knee. “Imogen is floating down the river of denial when it comes to Mace.”
“Girl,” Mitzy drawled. She sat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table. She set her glass of water down and grabbed a handful of chips from the bowl Rayna set down. “Listen to me when I say this. Do not fight it.”
“Fight what?” I asked nervously.
Rayna rolled her eyes and laid out on the floor next to Mitzy. “Do not fight the hot biker who wants to protect you from everything and give you toe-curling orgasms every night.”
“I, well, blah, uh...” Oh my god. I did not want to have this conversation. “I haven’t seen Mason for fifteen years.”
“Say who?” Mitzy laughed. “Girl, did you just tell us his real name?”
“It is his name,” I grumbled. And now he was going to be mad I had told the girls his real name. “But I did not tell you.”
“Ha,” Mitzy scoffed. “I’ll forget it by the time we leave. I can barely remember Monk’s real name.”
“Stop,” Raelynn laughed. “You have to be kidding me.”
“I’m not,” Mitzy shrugged. “He’s Monk to me. It fits him.”
“Do all the guys have names that aren’t their names?” Dorothy asked.
“You don’t believe that Playboy is the name on his driver’s license?” Raelynn asked.
“Just wait until you meet Six-Gun or Rebel,” Mitzy laughed. “I’m pretty sure neither was named that at birth.”
“Oh, oh,” Rayna interrupted. She sat up and pointed her finger in the air. “We also have Yule now, and that is actually his name. I always want to call him yule log, but I’m pretty sure Barracuda would lock me in an insane asylum.”
“I fight the urge to do that daily,” Barracuda called.
The guys meandered back into the living room and stood around the couch.
“What were you guys doing on the deck?” Mitzy asked.
“Talking,” Playboy replied.
“Club business?” Rayna sassed.
“There must be something in the air around here,” Barracuda grunted. “You’re sassy as hell today, babe.”
Rayna grabbed her glass of wine off the coffee table and held it toward Barracuda. “Don’t act like you don’t like it.” She paused and looked to the ceiling. “I mean, wait, I said that right.”
Barracuda chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair. “And I think this is when we call it a night because we still got an hour's ride home, and I don’t want you falling off the back of my bike.”
“Then put me in front of you.” Rayna chugged the last of her wine and slammed the glass on the coffee table. “I can pick the radio station then.”
“Dear god,” Barracuda groaned.
“We should get going,” Playboy called.
“I need to get my baby.” Rayna stood and smiled wide. “I love having a baby.”
“You’re so sweet when you’re drunk,” Mitzy laughed.
Rayna pointed at Mitzy. “Just wait until you have your baby. You’re going to love it.”
Barracuda reached out and grabbed Rayna’s arm. “Okay, Captain Obvious. Let’s get out of here and home to our baby.”
The girls all stood and gathered by the front door.
“Let me get the door for you,” Dorothy called. I tried to stand, but Dorothy pushed me back down. “Stay,” she hissed. “Keep your butt on this couch, and I will take everyone downstairs so you can say goodbye to Mace,” she rambled. She stood and beamed at Mace. “You stay, too.”
Good gracious.
Dorothy shooed everyone out the door and down the stairs.
“Your friend is something else,” Mace laughed.
“Yeah,” I sighed, “but I like her. I don’t know what I would have done the past ten years without her.”
Mace moved around the couch and sat next to me. “You’re pretty resilient, Imogen. I’m sure you would have been fine.”
“Maybe,” I whispered.
He looked over at me, and his eyes connected with mine. “You doing okay?”
“Uh, well, I guess.”
“You guess?” he asked.
It had been a hell of a day. If you had told me last Thursday that I would spend my Monday night with an MC and Mace, I would have laughed in your face. “It was a lot today, but meeting so much of your family was nice. And even though I have to talk to my grandma and dig around for hospital files, I’m good.”
“When did you want to head to San Diego?” he asked.
“Uh, probably soon, right? I don’t want to wait until the last minute to talk to her. I’ll discuss it with Dorothy tomorrow and figure out when I can take two days off. Right now, we don’t have any funerals coming up, but that can change pretty quickly.”
“Don’t you ever have a day off, babe?”
I tipped my head to the side. “Uh, well, yeah, but it’s not planned out very far in advance. I plan to work every day, but there are days it’s only an hour, and then I’m off.”
“Well, I guess that isn’t so bad.”
“But I’m on call twenty-four-seven.”
“That is not so great,” Mace laughed.
I shrugged. “It has its drawbacks, but I like it.”
“Well,” he drawled as he stood. “figure out when you can sneak away for a couple of days and let me know.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m back.”
Mace shook his head. “You aren’t going without me, babe. You have to do this because of me, so I’ll be there to help.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I insisted. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go when I visited my grandma, and I wasn’t sure I wanted Mace there for it.
“You’re not going to San Diego alone, Imogen,” he insisted.
I quirked my eyebrow. “Um, I have made that trip myself before, Mace. I’ll be fine.” Sure, it had been a while since I had visited my grandma, but I couldn’t even count how many times I had made the drive to and from San Diego.
“That’s fine, but you won’t do it again by yourself, Imogen. Let me know when you want to leave, and I’ll be here. You’re not going to fight me on this.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “Oh, really? I seem to have survived the past fifteen years without you.”
“Yeah, but if I could go back and do the past fifteen years over, babe, things would be a lot different.”
“Different how?” I asked. “I love the life I have, Mace.”
“I’m sure you do, babe.” He stood and looked down at me. “I would just make myself a part of it.” He cupped my cheek and brushed his thumb over my lips. “I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon, babe. Get some sleep.”
“Uh, well.” I couldn’t think with Mace touching me. I hadn’t felt his touch for fifteen years, and it sent a shock through my body each time he was near.
His hand left my face. “Bye.”
“Bye-bye,” I whispered.
A smirk crossed his lips, and he shook his head. “You’re a goof, Imogen. That never changed.” He moved out the door, and I listened to his footsteps patter down the stairs.
I flopped back into the couch and covered my head with my hands. “Ahh,” I moaned.
What in the world was going on?
How did this happen?
I was happy living my life, and suddenly everything was turned upside down.
“Girl,” Dorothy hollered from the bottom of the stairs. “I’m taking off. Do you need me to come up there while you have a nervous breakdown and stress over everything that happened today?”
“I’m not going to have a nervous breakdown,” I called. I was already in the middle of one.
“Try not to talk yourself out of being with that hot biker, Imogen.”
“I’m not with him,” I retorted.
“Yet,” Dorothy cackled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Bye.”
“You mean bye-bye?” she laughed.
I got up and listened to Dorothy lock the front door. I turned off the stairway light and closed my door.
Most would be freaked out living above a funeral home, but I liked it. It was quiet and peaceful.
It was exceptionally quiet after having half of Mace’s motorcycle club hanging out.
I always told myself I wanted quiet. I craved it.
Tonight that wasn’t so true.
I had too much to think about, and it was all hitting me at once.
