"Since when do you care about the Ducette family?"
"Since right now. That's all you need to know." He uncrossed his arms and gripped his handlebars. "If I hear you've been around Sara again, you'll answer for it at church. And I promise you won't enjoy how that conversation goes."
He kicked his bike to life and pulled out of the lot without giving me a chance to respond, and I sat there with my engine cold and my fists tight on the grips.
Lightning had never mentioned Sara's name once in four years. Not once. And now she was back in town and suddenly, he was pulling rank to keep me away from her. That wasn't club business. If it was, it'd come from Fox, not him. So what was going on and why did he want me away from her?
I started my bike and pulled onto the road toward town, and somewhere around the halfway mark, it clicked. Lightning didn't give a damn about protecting the Ducettes. He wanted Sara for himself, and he was using his rank to clear the field. It was the only logical reason that made sense.
I twisted the throttle and the bike surged under me.
If anyone was going to have Sara Ducette, it was me. And if Lightning wanted to make that a problem, then we'd have a problem.
15
SARA
Kip's forehead was warm where I pressed my cheek and his breathing was raspy and rattled a lot. He'd been running a fever since yesterday morning and hadn't wanted to do anything except lie on the couch under his blanket and watch cartoons. I had the volume low and his favorite show playing on a loop while I rubbed small circles on his back with my palm.
"I not feel good." His chubby little hand ground against his ear and he pouted.
"I know, baby. The medicine should kick in soon." I kissed the top of his head and adjusted the blanket around his shoulders. "You want some juice?"
"No," he grumbled, swatting at my hand as I tried to touch his forehead and gauge how bad the fever was.
"Water?"
"No." He burrowed deeper into my chest and closed his eyes. Whenever he got sick like this, I hovered a lot more than normal. In St. Louis, I'd have canceled everything, had Andycall his backup guy for the pit, and stayed home. But I didn't have that option here. The diner was my responsibility as long as Mom needed someone to cover for her. Leaving Kip would be physically painful for me.
Tiffany came in from the kitchen carrying two mugs of coffee and handed me one, careful not to jostle Kip. She settled onto the floor next to the couch and pulled the bucket of blocks toward her, stacking them in a tower like she was only two years old. I chuckled at her, but there really was nothing to do in this house. Mom and Dad didn't even have the internet like most normal people.
"He eat anything this morning?" she asked.
"Half a piece of toast and some applesauce. That's it."
"Poor little guy." She reached up and brushed his hair off his forehead. "He's burning up, Sara."
"Yeah," I said sadly, "I gave him the Children's Tylenol about twenty minutes ago. If it doesn't come down by noon, I'll call the doctor."
She dumped the block container out for more blocks, and Kip perked up for a second, then burrowed into me again. I held him close but I was starting to sweat. He was a little furnace, which worried me. I suspected an ear infection, but I wasn’t going to rush off to the doctor for no reason. Mom taught me that—to wait until the third day or until the fever went much higher. It was torture, though, all that waiting.
When I finally managed to relax and Kip dozed off, I noticed Tiffany was texting someone, grinning at her phone. She glanced up at me looking sheepish and I chuckled.
"What?" I said.
"Nothing."
"That's not a nothing face. That's an I've-got-something-to-tell-you face. Who are you texting?"
She tried to fight the grin and lost. "Danny… He asked me out."
"He what?" I said it so loud, I almost startled Kip awake. He stirred and then rolled over to my other side and turned his head on my shoulder.
"Last night. After you went to bed. We were sitting on the porch talking and he just came out and asked me if I'd want to go to dinner when things settle down." The grin turned into a full smile. "I said yes."
"Tiffany, are you serious right now?" My best friend, dating my brother? I never saw that coming, but then we'd been forced into this situation where we were spending far more time together around this house. And it made sense too. Tiffany and Danny were naturally together. They got along well, and everyone in the family loved her. It just made me feel sad that I didn't have that. I wasn’t jealous, but I knew the man I loved didn’t fit. My brothers wouldn't accept him without a lot of hard thinking on their prejudices.
"Dead serious. Is that okay? I know he's your brother and it might be weird, but?—"
