“This is Rebecca.” The room fell silent as the other brothers turned and listened. “You might’ve seen her here before with Delilah.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. You work at the nursing home with her, right?”
“I do,” Bec answered.
“Hey there, Becca.” Hawk stood up and stepped over to shake her hand. “It’s good to see ya again.”
“Good to see you, too.”
“Does Delilah know you’re here?”
“I doubt it.” Bec chuckled. “I didn’t even know I was coming here myself until we pulled up.”
“Hold on.” Lynch’s eyes dropped to my arm around her waist, and a smile swept across his face. “Are you two ...? Ah, hell. Prez has gone and gotten himself a lady.”
“No shit?” Country asked. “Is that what’s going on here?”
“Well, look at ’em.” Lynch looked over to Country, then back to us. “That’s a couple if I ever saw one.”
“But Prez doesn’t ...”
Before Country could finish his sentence, Lynch snickered. “Well, he does now.”
“I’ll be damned,” Country replied excitedly. “Should’ve known something was up when he shaved that fucking beard.”
“Yeah, and all that cologne he’s been wearing.”
Rafe was quick to add, “And the new clothes.”
“Ah, yeah, and he even cleaned up his truck.” Lynch was smiling ear to ear as he teased. “Definite red flags.”
Axel and Menace had known about Bec from the start and were sitting over to the side smiling like two Cheshire cats as they watched the show. Hoping to put an end to their heckling, I asked Country, “You three done?”
“Hell, naw,” Country answered. “Are you kidding? You’ve been hiding your lady friend from us all this time, and you really think we’re not gonna give you hell about it? You two might as well take a seat. We’re just gettin’ started.”
“I think that’s my cue to go find the girls.”
“I think you might be right.” I pointed to the doorway. “They’re down the hall in the kitchen.”
“Great.” She gave the guys a warm smile, then said, “It was great to see you all again.”
“You, too,” Shotgun replied. “We look forward to seeing more of you around here.”
A few seconds after she walked out of the room, I heard the girls’ voices grow louder as they all greeted Bec. They’d all met her before and were curious to find out what she was doing there. Knowing they’d keep her entertained with questions and stories, I went over and grabbed myself a beer and sat down next to Axel and Jagger.
As I took a sip of my beer, Axel leaned over and said, “It’s about fucking time. I was beginning to think you’d never bring her here.”
“Just waiting for the right time.”
“Hold up.” Jagger looked at Axel with surprise. “You knew about this?”
“I’m his VP. Of course, I knew.”
“No shit.” Country looked over to the others as he asked, “Who else knew?”
“I did,” Menace answered. “Hawk and Shotgun did, too.”
“I knew,” Widow admitted with a smile.
“You gotta be kiddin’ me.” Country looked entirely wounded. “And no one said anything?”
Locke chuckled at him. “With all the late nights, strange phone calls, and disappearing acts, I can’t believe you didn’t figure it out on your own.”
“So, you knew, too?”
“I had my suspicions.”
“I’ll be damned.” Country eyed his best friend, Rafe. “What about you?”
“I had them, too, but it wasn’t my business to share.”
“Fuck.” County nudged Lynch. “I guess we’re just a couple of asshats who don’t know shit and nothin’.”
“Apparently so.”
I laughed at them. “Glad you two are finally figuring that out.”
“So, what’s the story with you two?” Jagger asked. “You gonna make a go of it?”
“Wouldn’t have brought her here if we weren’t.”
“I can’t believe it. Business is good, Jagger’s home, the Titans are winning, and Prez has himself an ol’ lady.” Lynch nodded his head and smiled. “Can’t get much better than that.”
Axel lifted his beer. “Can’t disagree with you there.”
We all continued to talk and drink our beers as we watched the game, and it wasn’t long before the girls had dinner ready. When we all started gathering in the kitchen, I watched Bec with the girls, and just as I expected, she hadn’t skipped a beat and was fitting right in.
I walked over to her and lowered my mouth to her ear as I whispered, “Knew you had nothing to worry about.”
“You were right.” She smiled. “This has been pretty great.”
“Should’ve done it a long time ago.”
“No, I think this was the perfect time.” She gave me a kiss on the lips, then said, “Besides, I kind of liked having you all to myself.”
“Aw, aren’t they just the cutest?” Country teased.
I gave him a warning glare and ordered, “Shut it, Country.”
“Okay, okay.” He shrugged innocently. “I was just saying.”
“You’ve said plenty.”
I grabbed Bec and me a bowl of chili, then carried it into the family room. Once the game was over, Bec and I made our grand escape and headed over to my place. As soon as we got in the house, she turned to me and asked, “So, what was today really all about?”