In just a week, her sister had become comfortable with the MC’s way of life. Going from one bad boy like Billy to a whole club of them was not what Reese wanted for her sister’s future.
“Oh, so they’re building their own home?” That sounded promising and responsible.
“Yeah,” he jerked his hand toward the left, “over yonder past the tree line. Cassie’s got a kid. And Rev’s baby sister just moved in with them to be their house mouse.”
House mouse. That was one term she hadn’t heard yet. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what that meant, but asked, anyway. “What’s a house mouse?”
“Kinda like a housekeeper. Or a housewife. Takes care of a brother and his place but ain’t an ol’ lady.”
Great. She would now need to have a little discussion with Reilly to make sure she didn’t get the bright idea of becoming one.
“I guess that doesn’t pay well.”
“Don’t fuckin’ pay at all. She gets a roof over her head and other shit. Better deal than a sweet butt, but not the status of an ol’ lady.”
Great. Reese wondered what the “other shit” entailed. And while Sig was a master conversationalist, she decided she’d learned enough about the club life for one night.
“Where’s Autumn?” The redhead was young and she and Sig seemed mismatched. But she had appeared content, if not happy, while clinging to her ol’ man on the earlier club run.
“In bed.”
When she and Deacon finally caught up to the large group in town, the club had taken over Dino’s Diner. Sig never let Autumn out of his sight once and most of the time held onto her hand as if he was afraid she’d float away.
Reese noticed a couple of times when the woman’s blue eyes would go completely empty. A moment later she’d snap out of it and be smiling and joining in on the rowdy conversation at the long, crowded table.
Judge’s ol’ lady, Cassie, didn’t seem to fit in with this crowd, either. The only woman who did was Stella. She was exactly how Reese would picture a biker’s woman. She looked and acted badass when she kept the guys in line, especially when they were in town, by reminding them to behave. Almost like a den mother. She seemed the perfect partner for the club president, Trip. Reese had been surprised to see Stella had almost the same amount of authority as Trip did. Almost.
Reese had expected a group of rough and tumble bikers to be nothing but misogynistic assholes. And while some acted like that, not all of them did. Especially the ones who had ol’ ladies. Reese was pleased to see they might be complete jerks to each other by riding each other’s asses, or even to outsiders, but they treated their women like queens.
“I was having a hard time sleeping. You can’t sleep, either?”
Sig lifted the bowl. “This will help.”
“Okay, well, I need to talk to Deacon.”
“Talk, huh?”
It was a total lie and Sig could see right through it, but she was sticking to it. “Do you think he’s still awake?”
“Could be.” Sig smirked. “If he is, don’t be surprised if he ain’t alone. Sweet butts were on the prowl tonight.”
Again, that term. She was smart enough to put two and two together after what she saw downstairs. But apparently not smart enough to abandon her restless need to find Deacon.
He was probably not happy she just up and deserted him earlier without a word. But he hadn’t stopped her or chased her down, which meant he could very well be with someone else right now. And if he was... Well... They’d only known each other for a week and had no ties, so it shouldn’t bother her.
“Head down the steps, hook a left and go through the back door into the bunkhouse. Doubt it’s locked. Rarely is.”
“Thanks.” She paused at the top of the steps. “Hey, I’m curious. How did you and Autumn meet? She’s an accountant, right?”
“Yeah. She’s an accountant. For us, mostly.” He pulled on his bearded chin. “We met by fate.”
Reese frowned at his ambiguous answer.
Just when she figured that was all she would get from him, he continued. “Never had anythin’ good happen in my fuckin’ life ‘til her. Fate musta decided I’d eaten enough shit sandwiches and gave me her as a reward for makin’ it through the fuckin’ meal without dyin’.”
“I don’t understand.”
Sig unfolded himself from the chair and got to his feet. “Yeah. Me neither. Let’s just say I’m a lucky motherfucker.”
“She’s very sweet... and really young.” If Autumn was as old as Reilly, Reese would be surprised. “I’m sorry if that sounds like I’m insinuating anything inappropriate, I’m not. She just looks very innocent to be tied in with a bunch of bikers.”
Sig stared at her with a tilt to his head for a long, uncomfortable moment. “Yeah, she’s young. But like me, she’s lived a lifetime already. Stella might look like the baddest bitch of the bunch, but scratch the surface and you’ll find it’s Red.”