Page 20 of Tack’s Bounty

He was hoping that by next week either Cuffs or Scoop and Sarah from Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC would have something concrete that could point which way to investigate.

But for now, he couldn’t do anything about that, so he’d hold her while they slept and enjoy the feel of his woman.

Chapter Twelve

Tack had wanted to stay in bed with his woman, but she’d planned on being up at six a.m., and he’d wanted to have her day start off perfectly. He’d set his watch alarm to wake him at five-thirty so he’d have time to brew her coffee and bring her breakfast. It was five ‘til six a.m., and time to wake her up. He’d left the door open a crack so it wouldn’t make a sound when he walked back in. He paused because he heard talking from her room.

“What’s it mean that he left before I woke up? I mean, was I so horrible snuggling in bed that he had to get away? Did my smelly morning breath turn him away? I thought our kiss yesterday was the start of something, but now, waking up alone—was it all an act? Oh, I don’t have time for this. I need to shower and get ready.”

He needed to put a stop to this because he wasn’t going to allow Sophia to have any doubts about how he felt about her. He pushed the door open, spotting Sophia sitting on the side of the bed, despondent.

“Hey, babe, I wanted your day to start perfectly. I set my alarm so I could brew you coffee,” he reported, placing the steaming cup on the bedside table. He knelt in front of her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I thought I’d be back in plenty of time, but we need to talk. Our first kiss yesterday was the last first kiss either of us will ever have because, babe, you’re it for me. In biker speak, you’re mine. I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t care about morning breath. My mouth, when we have time, will be all over your body. Now, let’s start this day off right,” he proposed, sliding his hand into her hair to pull her closer.

She slid her hand over her mouth, glaring at him. He chuckled. He loved her sassiness and strength.

“So you’re not going to let me kiss you until you brush your teeth?” he questioned.

She shook her head. Oh, she was hysterical, not even speaking because she didn’t want him smelling her breath.

“I’ll agree on one condition—that I can kiss you anytime I want, even today. Deal?” he asked. She stared at him, not answering while she thought it through. He could see he’d have his hands full bargaining with her the rest of their lives, and he was here for it.

She nodded, agreeing.

“All right. Do you want me to stick around, or do you want to get ready on your own to get in the right headspace for the event?” he asked.

She pointed to the door, making him chuckle again. “You got it, babe. I’m yours to command today.”

He stood up, waiting until she headed into the bathroom before heading downstairs, chuckling. Life with Sophia would never be boring.

He joined his mom in the kitchen, slipping an arm around her waist and giving her a hug.

“Thanks for being here, Mom,” he replied warmly.

She stirred the gravy, hugging him back. His mom was the queen of multi-tasking. “I’m happy to. She’s perfect for you.”

“I agree. I’ve got this itch that I need to make a quick walk around the property after I check with Cuffs how last night went,” he admitted.

“He’s already sleeping in the room I slept in. He left a note, but he said no activity besides a couple of deer,” she informed him.

“Will you tell Sophia where I am when she comes down?”

His mom nodded. He poured a coffee and headed through the hallway toward the front door. Once on the front porch, he allowed himself a little smirk. The huge sign his friend had brought was perfect. He couldn’t see any of Jolene’s house, so he knew she couldn’t see them.

He headed out through the gate in the front yard, but instead of taking the driveway, he decided to walk on the sidewalk until he got to the edge of Sophia’s property. Her house and Jolene’s were the last on the street before the wooded area started.

On Jolene’s side of the street, the land was farmed, so there weren’t any trees to hide anything. On Sophia’s side, her dad had left the front of the property natural. Trees dotted the area with natural grasses filling the open spaces. He’d had Shield mow the area yesterday after Sophia asked if they could use it for extra parking. When he reached the edge of Sophia’s property, he turned to walk back. Her property had a nice wooden fence with posts every eight feet. Between the two posts, there was a bottom and top fence rail and another two pieces forming an X. It was more decorative than a barbed wire fence would be, but it wouldn’t hurt animals that came onto the property like barbed wire could. The area on the other side of Sophia’s was tall natural grasses. He wondered who it belonged to.

He stopped when he saw a place where the top fence rail had been removed with the grass stamped down as if someone had worked here for a while before going over. The removed fence rail was lying on her property. He hopped the fence and headed over toward her house from where the fence had been taken down.

He wished he was better at tracking, but it wasn’t his specialty. He headed in a straight line toward the house and ended up back near the spot where he’d assumed someone had been watching Sophia. Looking around at the trees, he spotted the cameras that had been added.

How was he going to keep her safe when he didn’t know what he was keeping her safe from? Rufus would be the easy suspect, and he was on the list, but Tack didn’t want to focus only on Rufus and miss a threat from somewhere else.

He’d head back and help today. Hopefully, some of the people searching would find something.

Sophia glanced at how many people were still looking. She’d estimate around fifty but most of them were with families. She still had a lot of animals who needed fosters.

She’d been watching how the MC men and women interacted with the animals all day. She had a couple ideas now about where some of her fosters might go.