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“Sorry I interrupted.”
“It’s okay.” She moves my hand to a slightly lower spot. “He was kicking earlier.”
“Damn.” Hate that I missed our little guy’s kicks. Love making that connection with him whenever possible.
“He’ll be at it again.” She frowns and reaches up to stroke my cheek. “What’s wrong?” She slides one finger between my eyebrows, chasing away the tension gathered in that exact spot. How does she always know? “Was church okay?”
“Church was fine. After church is when things went sideways.”
“Why?”
I drop onto the edge of the bed and pull her into my lap. Should a brother discuss things that happen at the table with his ol’ lady? Every biker I’ve ever met has had a different opinion on this. When it’s something that will impact her life, yeah, I think I should.
“Z asked me to be his SAA.”
She’s quiet for a moment, absorbing the news. “Wow. What happened to Steer?”
“Looks like he’s moving on to our Tennessee charter.”
“Huh. If anyone was going to move to Tennessee, I thought it would be Rooster.”
“I got those vibes too. But Rooster denied it. Besides, if he goes, Jigsaw goes, then Z loses most of his officers in one exodus. We can’t have that.”
“It makes sense. You and Z have a lot of history. His trust in you runs deep and that’s what a president needs.” Her gaze slides away. “Especially after what Shadow did to Sway. The guys respect Z and I know he trusts them, but it’s still not the same as the bond you two have.”
God damn, she gets this stuff better than some brothers do.
“Will you be upset if this is my home charter?”
“Will you?” she counters. “You’re close to Rock and Wrath too.”
“Yeah, they won’t be far away. They were all for it.”
“I’m sure it was because it’s good for the club. Not because they want to get rid of you.”
“That’s what they said.”
“Tawny’s really gone, right? The ban won’t get lifted?”
I won’t tell her about Rooster’s joke that we should lift the ban. “Not on my watch. Not on Z’s either. You saw how pissed he was.”
She tilts her head, looking around the room we’ve claimed as ours when we visit downstate. “I’ll be okay with it. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“That we don’t live here.” She presses her hand to her stomach. “He needs a happy, peaceful, real home.”
I wrap her up tight in my arms and press my forehead against hers. “Absolutely. I’d never, ever expect my family to live at the clubhouse. No matter how nice it’s been fixed up. I want a home where I can just be with my wife and kids.”
She gasps at the word wife. My sweet Serena, you didn’t think a property patch was enough for me, did you? I’m not ready to propose today, so I ignore her reaction.
“I’ll tell Z yes, then?” I want to be sure she’s okay with this.
“You didn’t already say yes?”
“No, I wanted to talk to you first.”
“Gray,” she sighs. “Thank you.”
“It’s not set in stone, yet.” For all I know, Z will be pissed I didn’t accept immediately.
The corners of her mouth lift. “The future never is.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Grinder
“All right. I’m in,” I announce at church that evening. “On one condition.”
Z raises an eyebrow. “A little soon to be making demands, but all right. Let’s hear it.”
“This twice a day, sitting down for church bullshit stops.”
Everyone chuckles at that. Even Sway, who’s seated as far away from me as he can get. As he should be.
“But I love seeing your grumpy mug.” Z waves his hand at the table. “Besides, it’s a special occasion.”
“You didn’t know I was going to say yes.”
His lips twist like he’s trying to restrain himself. When he’s finally in control he lifts his hand. “Sway, you had something to share?” Z nods to Sway.
Sway stands and drops his Downstate, NY bottom rocker on the table.
It’s a cloth patch. Doesn’t weigh much but it hits the table with the force of years behind it.
“Already talked to Z about this, but my ol’ lady and I decided to move on down to Florida.” His mouth slides into a distorted half-smirk. “This last winter was rough.” He taps the side of his head. “With the hole in my noggin’ and all. Tawny and I are thinking Florida weather would be better for both of us.”
Weather my ass. Tawny must still be steaming mad she’s forever banned from this clubhouse.
“Fuck, we’re gonna miss you, brother.” Steer stands and embraces his old president.
“The fuck you are, traitor. You’re moving to Tennessee anyway.” Sway laughs and returns the embrace.
This is less of a meeting and more of a farewell to Sway. Everyone shakes his hand and shows respect. No one mentions how strange it is not to have a send-off party for him. He seems to want to go as much as we want him gone.
