“You can ride a motorcycle?”
“No, but he tried. He made up reasons his bike was getting scratched up, and Shade found out. Then he talked Shade into letting him teach me. I gave up after a week.”
“So he was like Shade except nicer?”
Penni turned onto a smaller road that was off to the side. The house she pulled in front of was secluded. No one would even know it was there unless they had searched for it. Large trees surrounded the property, and the cabin blended into its surroundings.
“Nice.” Jackal got out of the car, walking beside Penni as they reached the front door.
“It’s Cash’s family home. When Rachel and him got married, they added a couple of bedrooms and the road.” Penni knocked on the door.
A gorgeous red head answered the door.
“Hi, Rachel. I heard you decided to have the baby a couple of weeks early.”
“Thank God, too. If I kept eating that cornbread Cash was making for our dinner every night, I would be as big as our house.”
The two women hugged before moving away from the door and entering the house. Jackal found himself receiving a curious stare as Rachel and Penni sat down on the living room couch.
“This is Jackal.”
Rachel gave him a welcoming smile. “So he’s your new boyfriend that everyone is talking about?”
“That was quick. The gossips must have texted you before I got in the car.”
“It gives them something new to talk about.”
“I thought The Last Riders kept the town gossips busy.”
Rachel shook her head. “They’re too afraid of them to gossip, but your fair game. You’re an outsider, and you tend to make a stir when you come for a visit.”
“They’re exaggerating. When I came to town the last time, nothing happened.”
“That’s only because you didn’t cook, and everyone refused to drink anything you made them. Sex Piston’s gang refuses to come to Treepoint if Beth tells them you’re in town.”
“Sex Piston?” Jackal inquired. He needed to meet the woman. She sounded perfect for Stump.
“You’re better off not knowing,” Cash said as he came in from a room off the living room, carrying a small baby against his chest. He shook his head when Penni started to explain and said, “She’s getting fussy.”
Rachel reached up, taking the sleeping infant from his chest. “You couldn’t wait for your coffee?”
He bent over, placing a kiss on her cheek. “Want me to get you something?”
“No thanks.”
Jackal looked back and forth from the couple. He had researched The Last Riders when he had become interested in Penni. Shade’s military record was buried, which had cost King a fortune to find out. Cash’s exploits were well documented. The bastard was lethal. He had been a SEAL, and the commendations he had earned in the military had made him a force to be reckoned with as the clubs’ lieutenant.
His own father had a brief stint in the military before he had joined a bike gang that consisted of wannabes and drug addicts. It gave them the opportunity to steal money to buy their drugs and little else.
Cash walked across the room, opening a door and leaning in. “You want a cup of coffee, Mag?”
Jackal couldn’t see the occupant of the room, but the voice coming from it had him shifting, trying to see inside.
“Lord, why am I still here?”
Rachel smiled, seeing Jackal’s concern at that remark. “She’s in her nineties. Mag thinks that’s long enough.”
“You want me to help you into your wheelchair? Penni came for a visit.”
“Did she bring any moonshine?” Mag asked.
“No.”
“Lord, why am I still here?”
“She brought a friend,” Cash added.
“Is he my age?”
“No.”
“Is it the pastor?”
“No.”
“Lord, why am I—”
“Rachel is going to make some fried chicken for lunch.”
“Give me my wheelchair.”
A few minutes later, Cash wheeled a feisty grey-haired woman into the living room. She treated him to a narrowed stare then turned toward Rachel.
“You’re holding her wrong.” Mag stared at Rachel critically. “Hand Ema to me.”
Rachel shook her head, handing the baby to her great-grandmother. “Let Penni hold her for a while. I’ll go start lunch.”
Rachel and Cash left the room, and the stern expression vanished as the old woman held the child.
“Why didn’t you bring me some moonshine?”
Penni lifted her hands. “Tate threatened to take away Greer’s new truck if he gave me any.”
“Since when has that asshole listened to his brother?”
“He loves that truck.”
The woman turned her attention on Jackal. “Who are you?”
“I’m a friend of Penni’s.”
“You her boyfriend?”
“Kinda.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“She’s trying to make up her mind.”
Mag looked at him from his head to his boots. “You got a college degree?”
“No.”
“You been to prison?”
“Yes.”
“What for?” She snapped the questions out as if she were a parole officer.
“Drug possession, a couple of times for extortion, and three times for fighting.”
“You’re not smart enough not to get caught?”
“It was when I was younger.”