Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 73311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
I wasn’t sure what had gone on, but luckily it’d all been okay. It could’ve been terrible.
Booth could’ve lost his wife. Twice.
And that was more than some men could handle.
“They’re doing okay,” I finally settled on. “Booth is following Masen around like a lost puppy, and Masen’s trying not to pull her hair out. It’s definitely been rough on the both of them.”
“Was it a boy or a girl?”
“Girl,” I grinned. “Chubby ten pound little baby.”
Imogen snickered. “Davis was ten pounds, too. I’ve never seen my sister’s face turn that red before. I also made sure to take a picture of the incident for future blackmail purposes.”
Tommy Tom snorted. “That’s not very nice.”
Imogen turned to survey Tommy Tom, who wasn’t drinking like the rest of us. He was on call, and likely would be called in before the night was through.
“When I was in eighth grade, my sister told my crush, at the time, that I had large pepperoni nipples and had a fire crotch. Which she still likes to tell me to this day. So no, I don’t feel the least bit sorry for holding that picture as collateral. Nor do I go a day where I don’t tell her in some way, shape, or form that she pooped on the table while giving birth.”
I covered Imogen’s mouth before she could continue.
“All right,” I told her, trying to soothe her with my voice. “He didn’t mean it.”
Tommy Tom opened his mouth to deny it, but chose wisely to shut the fuck up when he caught my glare.
Don’t you fucking dare, I mouthed.
Tommy Tom’s eyes twinkled.
Moving my hand away from her mouth, I realized that she’d become really quiet in the last minute. So quiet, in fact, that I had to look at her.
And when I did, I realized that she was sleeping.
Her eyelashes fanned against her cheeks, and her head was lolled to the side.
She’d already been leaning on me pretty heavily, but now it was like the fight had gone out of her.
“Looks like you have a live one on your hands,” Big Papa joked.
“Daddy would’ve liked her,” Memphis murmured.
The table went silent.
“I think it’s time for us to go,” Memphis groaned as she straightened out of her seat. “I’m tired.”
Everyone stood but me, and we all watched as Downy led his pregnant wife out of the clubhouse, closing the door softly behind them as they went.
The party was still going strong. Everyone surrounding us celebrating Stone’s life. Celebrating the man he used to be.
“This fucking sucks,” Seanshine murmured. “I’ve lost men with me in Afghanistan that didn’t hurt as much as this.”
Sean was rubbing his sternum as if his pain were a physical thing.
“That’s ‘cause he was like a second father to you, kid,” Big Papa stood. “I need to get home myself. Kay’s going to be wondering what is keeping me.”
Kay, I’d found, always wondered what was keeping Big Papa. She was a bitch, and never even tried to act differently.
Stone had died forty-eight hours ago, and Big Papa had spent the majority of it here or at work. Kay, though; well, let’s just say that Kay was a bitch to an exponential degree. She didn’t care that he’d lost his best friend. She didn’t care that he was needed elsewhere. She only wanted him there, with her, and that was that.
Nobody in the club liked her, me especially.
I knew what that felt like. I’d experienced it for years with Lynn.
I knew the overwhelming urge to pull your hair out when she started on one of her rampages. The bad thing was that every single one of us knew that she was a bitch. It had been the same in my situation.
At the firehouse where I used to work, nobody made it a secret that they didn’t like her. When she came around, they made it a point to leave. I should’ve read the signs.
Big Papa should read the signs as well.
Before it was too late, and he had something shitty happen to him like had happened to me.
Beep-Beep-Beep.
Tommy Tom’s phone started to chime, and we all looked, waiting.
“Dr. Bones.”
Sean started to snicker.
Tommy Tom, or ‘Dr. Bones’ gave Sean a quelling look.
Knowing where this was going to end up, I shifted Imogen in her seat, got a hold of her around her knees and behind her back, and stood.
“Going to your room?” Ghost asked.
I nodded once.
“10-4.”
Without another word, I walked through the stragglers of cops and bikers, nodding at the president of the Benton, Louisiana chapter, Silas Mackenzie, and kept on walking.
I’d meant to talk to all of them tonight, but we’d been pretty closed off, and the majority of the attendees knew that.
I’d get the chance to talk to them in the morning. A lot of them were camping in the woods beyond the clubhouse, most of them getting closer to the lake that was just beyond the trees.