Rhythm of the Road (Lost Kings MC 16)

“I’m sorry.” Wrath scratches his chin and feigns confusion. “Was Willow sneaking out of the basement every Sunday morning supposed to be a secret?”

Muttering and cursing to himself, Sparky heads back down to the basement. Stash follows a few seconds later.

“You’re such a dick,” Ravage says to Wrath.

“The biggest,” Wrath agrees.

“Let’s go!” Z calls. “Girls are waiting. Food is ready.”

I follow the rest of the herd down the hallway, hoping Shelby’s downstairs by now.

The dining room is loud and boisterous. There are so many of us that the room has been arranged into two long rectangular tables side-by-side to accommodate everyone and their families.

This is one of my favorite things about weekends upstate. And today’s even better because I have someone who’s with me. I’ve been picturing Shelby by my side for Saturday morning breakfast for months—and now she’s finally here.

There she is. By the kitchen door, talking to Trinity. Yeah, I definitely like Shelby getting cozy with Wrath’s wife. Trinity’s opinion means something to the guys. Not that Wrath would be one of the officers to vote Shelby in—should I ever want to patch her. I just like how she easily fits in with my club’s ol’ ladies.

Trinity’s gaze lands on all of us crowding into the dining room. She nudges Shelby. A few seconds later, they approach us.

“How’s it going?” I ask Shelby.

“Good. I helped Trinity make a big ol’ batch of sweet tea.”

Wrath sort of scowls at Trinity. “I can’t drink that.”

“It’s not for you.” She pokes his side. “Beast.”

He snarls and picks her up. Trinity’s laughter rings out over the rest of the noise as her carries her to the table. Shelby watches them with an amused smile.

I don’t have a chance to ask her anything else. Heidi’s daughter runs over and smacks into my legs. “Ooster!”

“Hey, pumpkin.” I glance down at her. “You planning to play football?”

“Sorry,” Heidi says. “Shelby, this is my daughter, Alexa. Alexa, can you say hi to Shelby?”

While she was nice enough to the kids at the show last night, I have no idea how Shelby feels about them in her free time. She squats down so she’s almost eye level with Alexa. “Well, aren’t you cuter than a sack full of puppies?”

Alexa squints at her, then up at her mom. Guess she doesn’t find Shelby’s Texas-isms as fucking adorable as I do.

Shelby winks at Heidi. “I am living for these pink camo overalls.”

“I told you.” Heidi shakes her head and the two of them share a laugh. “Come on. Let’s go clean up before breakfast.” Heidi grabs Alexa before she scurries away.

Something slams into my other leg. I glance down, already knowing who it is. “You two trying to cripple me today?”

Z’s son flashes a toothless grin before running over to see Hope. “That one’s Z’s,” I explain to Shelby. “Chance.”

“I didn’t expect it to be so…family-friendly at a motorcycle club.” Shelby stares at the scene in front of us. The couples and a good portion of upstate’s members situate themselves around the first table while the rest of the guys grab a seat at the next one.

I wrap my arm around Shelby’s shoulders and lead her around to the other side. Murphy points at the three chairs next to him. “Heidi’s sitting there if you want to sit next to her, Shelby.”

I lift my chin, a quick thanks for trying to help Shelby feel included and pull out her chair. Jigsaw pulls a chair over to the corner right next to me.

“You plannin’ to eat off my damn plate?” I ask.

“Only if you ask nicely.”

Swan and Lala bring out platters of food for both tables, with Birch and Stitch helping them carry the heavier loads.

“What time do you need to be down at Empire Med?” I ask Shelby.

“One.”

“Okay. We’ve got time.”

Heidi’s got tons of questions for Shelby and they end up talking through most of breakfast. I rest my hand on her knee, absently running my fingers over her soft skin. Never thought I’d enjoy having someone with me at the club this much.

It doesn’t take long for a bunch of bikers to demolish a breakfast.

Shelby pushes her chair away from the table. “I’m stuffed.”

Little Alexa toddles over and hands Shelby a broken ponytail holder. “Fix it.”

Murphy stretches his arm and taps her shoulder.

“Please,” she adds.

Poor Shelby does a quick scan of the room for Heidi. She even throws a pleading look Murphy’s way, but he’s busy talking to Charlotte now.

“Okay, sure. Come here.” She sets Alexa in her lap and reaches into her back pocket. “Aha. I’ve always got an elastic on me. Okay, what’re we working with here? Your momma do these pretty braids?”

“No, Daddy.”

Jigsaw leans over the table. “Murphy, your kid’s ratting you out.”

“What?” Murphy turns.

“You braid hair?” Jigsaw draws out the question, like he’s hoping to embarrass Murphy.