He chuckled. “Good try, Birdie, but I see you.” He threw his arm over my shoulders. “I think we’ll start you off with a strong drink.”
The clubhouse was huge. And noisy. But then, I’d expected that. Music pumped through the air around us as Winter guided me to the bar and ordered us drinks.
“Winter,” a deep voice sounded from behind us, “you got a minute, brother?”
It was Hyde. I’d met him the other night when he helped move me into Winter’s house. When I turned to face him, he acknowledged me with a jerk of his chin, but his attention was heavily focused on Winter. It seemed like whatever he wanted to discuss was urgent or extremely important.
“Can it wait?” Winter asked.
I knew why he asked, and I loved him for not wanting to leave me alone, but I didn’t want to get in the way of club stuff. I touched his arm. “I’m good. You go.”
Hyde eyed me with appreciation before saying, “It can’t wait.”
“I won’t be long,” Winter said to me.
They cut a path to the door, disappearing down the hallway I’d seen on our way in here. My attention was quickly directed back to the bar when the woman manning it said, “Here’s the whisky Winter ordered and a Jägerbomb from Monroe.” She hit me with a warm smile. “Enjoy.”
I leaned across the bar so I could hear her better over the music and laughter. “Who’s Monroe?”
Her smile grew as she pointed to a group of women sitting in the middle of the room. “She’s the redhead.”
The woman she pointed at waved at me and then motioned for me to join the group.
Picking up my drinks, I smiled at the bartender. “Thank you.”
“I’m Kree. Always here if you need anything.” She moved onto the next drinks order, leaving me with a warm fuzzy feeling. Every single person here tonight will be looking out for you. Winter’s words from earlier replayed in my mind, and I took a deep breath as I decided to run with what he’d said.
I made my way to where Monroe sat with two other women. She stood to greet me, a friendly smile on her face. “Hi, Birdie, I’m Monroe.”
She was super friendly and I was surprised that she knew my name. My face must have registered that surprise because she said, “Hyde told me you’d probably be here tonight.” She then motioned at the spare seat. “Come join us. This is Tatum”—she pointed at the blonde sitting next to her—“and Hailee”—she pointed at the dark-haired woman on her other side.
Hailee smiled at me with the same kind of warmth Monroe and Kree had, while Tatum’s smile was a little more reserved.
I placed my drinks on the table and took a seat as I glanced between the three of them. The way they all stared at me had me feeling all kinds of nervous again. “God, I feel like I’m back in school trying to make friends for the first time, which is just ridiculous. But seriously, did you guys feel like this your first time here or is it just me? And if you’re gonna tell me it’s just me, maybe consider lying, okay?”
Monroe broke into laughter. Hailee grinned and nodded. Tatum cracked what looked like a smile, but I couldn’t be sure, because if it was, it didn’t last long. However, she was the one who picked up the Jägerbomb Monroe had bought, and passed it to me. She then took her glass and raised it to mine. “You’re not making friends here, Birdie. You’re making family.”
It was like she’d taken a blanket and covered me while I froze. It might have been the nicest thing a stranger had ever said to me. And it really did bring it home that Winter was right when he’d said I didn’t have to figure this all out at once. Family bonds were forged over time. I would build my ties with Storm over time. And looking at the kindness in the eyes of these women told me that the family I was joining might be one I would grow to treasure dearly.
33
WINTER
I watched Birdie talking with her mum in our kitchen, my gut tightening with the ever-present need I had for her. It had been a week since she’d moved in and I often caught myself wondering how the fuck I’d let her stay out of my life for so long. Not even the heavy club shit I had going on at the moment kept her from my thoughts, and that was unusual because when shit was going down with the club, it was usually all I could focus on.
Her gaze drifted to me as her mother talked her ear off. Since Jennifer had discovered the asshole she’d been seeing was married, she’d leaned on Birdie a lot. I knew Birdie wanted to support her mother through this, but I also knew Birdie was ready for her mum to go home. It was almost 10:00 p.m. and Jennifer had been here since 5:00 p.m. We hadn’t been expecting her. Birdie had just wrapped her lips around my dick when her mother had pulled into our driveway. The way she looked at me now let me know her thoughts were with my dick again.
My phone rang, the caller ID alerting me it was King. With one last look at Birdie, I exited the house and took the call outside.
“What’s up?” I answered.
“Just wanted to let you know your work on that Ryland stuff last week paid off. I appreciate the fuck out of what you’ve been doing for us, and I’ve got more for you to take care.”
“Whatever you need, King.” Over the years, I’d mostly taken care of cleaning jobs for the club. However, King had started putting my surveillance and reconnaissance skills to use. I’d take on any job he set me, but fuck, it felt good to be back doing what I loved.
“Axe was right about you.”
“Yeah?”