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What a homecoming.
“What kind of dog?” Murphy asked as she followed her dogs in from, likely, playing fetch out back.
“Basset,” Colter said with a smirk. “Stubborn-ass dog. But lots of love to give.”
“And, I mean, the ears,” Murphy said with a smirk.
“Gotta love the ears,” Colter agreed.
“Anytime you need a dog fix, the girls love fetch. And long walks,” Murphy told him. “Murphy,” she said, giving Colter her hand. “I’m with—“
“Me,” Sway said, coming up behind her, and slinging an arm over her shoulders. “Sway.”
It was all introductions then as Slash, Riff, and Raff came in. Eventually, Crow and Judge showed up to meet the new guy too, and I snuck out to go grab the groceries for dinner, snagging some pumpkin spice creamer for Everleigh because it seemed like it would be right up her alley, then heading back.
By the time I got there, Crow, Judge, and Slash had either headed out or went to their rooms, and the guys were already drinking and getting loud.
I found Everleigh waiting in the kitchen, looking uncomfortable, but waiting to help me unpack the food, and start working on the chocolate cream pie she’d agreed to make for Colter.
“So, this is a biker party,” she said a few minutes later as I set her up chopping some veg for dinner while I seasoned the steaks.
“Sweetheart… no,” I said with a little laugh that had her turning, brows furrowed. “This is… a pre-party,” I told her. “It’s about to get a whole lot crazier. But we’re gonna try to get some food in their stomachs before it gets there,” I told her.
We worked quickly and quietly. Not that we would have heard each other with the music starting to blast anyway.
“Detroit, my friend, my brother, the light of my stomach’s life,” Raff said, already halfway to sloppy drunk. “That last part was a little weird, but you know what I mean,” he said, trying to stick his finger in the bowl of mashed potatoes I was trying to whip, only to get his finger swatted with the wooden spoon Everleigh was holding.
“I’m not calling Lula,” I said, knowing where he was going with this.
“But she’s the love of my life, man,” Raff said, pressing a dramatic hand to his heart. “We are suffering each moment we are not together,” he insisted.
“She barely knows you exist,” I said, smirking as his body jerked like bullets were riddling it.
That wasn’t technically true.
Lula knew Raff existed. How could she not, when he was forever declaring his undying love to her? But as far as I knew, Lula just found it charming and silly rather than an actual interest in her.
Which was fair.
It wasn’t serious.
If it was serious, Raff would plant his ass in Shady Valley and take her on a proper date. As it was, he just liked to flirt endlessly with her when he was in town, and enjoy the life of a single man when he wasn’t fawning over her.
I suspected that Raff had a Lula in every town he frequented. He was a shameless flirt and notorious manwhore.
But the girls indulged him because who didn’t want to be flirted with like that?
“Go call a club girl,” I suggested, waving him away from the food that was almost ready.
“Lula,” Everleigh said. “She comes to the gym,” she added, a question hanging in the air.
“She’s my cousin,” I told her. “She works for the Murphy brothers.” I didn’t say that what she actually did was cook their books, so the law never found out which money was legit from the bar, and which came from… other endeavors.
“Is he really in love with her?” Everleigh asked, pupils practically heart-shaped. The woman loved love. And it was sweet as could fucking be.
“No. He barely actually knows her. He thinks she’s gorgeous.”
“She is,” Everleigh said.
