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Landry messages to share how Nomad was in a rage over his foot until the kids wrapped it with Christmas tinsel. Now, he’s enjoying a hearty meal cooked by Rosemary and Woodrow. Hobo and I chuckle at a photo of Nomad sitting in a recliner with his decorated foot and a lap full of kids.
Through Selene’s texts, I learn Yazmin and Gavin are at her house. Apparently, Callie and Ed are hunkered down at their place, watching security footage of Ruin and Tomcat hunting down the bad guys.
Finally, Wynonna announces to everyone in texts how she’s sick of real violence and misses the good old days of tire slashing and house teepeeing.
For the time being, McMurdo Valley feels safe again, even if that security is only superficial.
After a fitful night on the pull-out sleeper chair, I help Hobo get dressed in the clean clothes Walla Walla brings. On the drive home to the Pigsty, the mood’s relaxed in the SUV. Walla Walla talks about the cats and how the new security system picks up movements from various animals. I smile at Hobo when his club brother mentions a raccoon. We don’t have many shared memories yet, but each reminder of our time together makes my heart race.
Once at the Pigsty, I suggest we sleep in Hobo’s old room so he won’t need to deal with the stairs. His icy blue eyes immediately flash up to his new room and then toward the back downstairs corner where his old one is located. Finally, he looks at me. I feel him struggling to know what’s right.
“Yeah,” he says, surprising me a little. “No stairs and closer to the panic room if trouble hits.”
I frown at that last part. Hobo wobbles to his old room, locks us inside, and kisses me hard. Without our lips parting, I undo my jeans and let them drop to the ground. Undressing Hobo involves more effort and concentration. I carefully remove his clothes and wet a wash cloth. Cleaning him leads to sucking on the erection I’ve caused.
In bed afterward, Hobo doesn’t watch me with lust. He’s working through things and adjusting to how his life holds more value now. He can no longer take bullets for other people without putting his own future at risk.
Later, as we sit out on the back deck and watch Rose the Cat slinking around the edges of the Pigsty, I wonder how Hobo saw his life before we met. Did he ever consider himself a year in the future, let alone what he’d be doing in decades? Had he considered what getting old meant to his lifestyle? Or was he simply moving through one day after another without any sense of time?
Behind us in the house, Walla Walla mentions how Ruin wants people to join him for a meeting with the Halvorson family. I hear Hobo’s name mentioned. He must hear it, too, because he tenses. I feel him wanting to hide away with me and enjoy the quiet.
A part of me demands I stand up for Hobo. There’s a hierarchy in families, and that’s what the club really is. If they’re siblings, Hobo is the weird brother who disappears for long stretches of time. He’s one of them yet separate. I’ve noticed the way they talk to each other. The others are close enough to finish each other’s sentences. With Hobo, they never seem sure what he’ll say or do.
I want to be his protector. Except I don’t know the club’s rules.Can Hobo tell Ruin no? Can I?
“It’s okay,” Hobo says despite my silence. “I’m going to do this one thing for the club and then I’m on vacation. Consider it an early honeymoon.”
Smiling softly, I love how he already knows how my mind works. Wrapping my arm through his, I trust Hobo more than I’ve ever trusted anyone. If he has a plan, I’m going to do what I do best and follow.
TOMMY
Xenia doesn’t wantme to go to the meeting with Ruin, Armor, and Walla Walla. Of course, she doesn’t come out and say as much. However, when we’re wrapped up together in bed, she does mumble something about Tomcat only getting a few scratches. I think that’s her way of saying he should go in my place.
“Tomcat’s not scary,” I explain, answering her unspoken question.
When Xenia frowns, I remember how she doesn’t see me as scary, either. Her love blinds her to my less romantic qualities.
