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“I don’t eat out much. I like to cook all my meals,” Riley told Bones as she followed him into the kitchen area, which was gorgeous and right up her alley. She heard a lot of heys, hellos, and damns. With her stomach in knots, she just gave a nod and a smile.
She handed off the grocery bags, watching as Bones set them on the kitchen island. Riley didn’t want to make eye contact with any of the others in the room, so she started unpacking the bags and setting them on the counter.
Deciding it was better to just figure things out for herself, she went about opening the freezer and putting the ice cream away first. Then she opened the fridge and wanted to close the door immediately. Instead, she looked for the garbage can and dragged the thing over.
She looked inside to-go containers and cringed at some of them. Riley heard someone ask if she needed help. Turning around, she found Preacher lying on the sofa and leveled a glare at him. “Have you been eating takeout since getting home?”
Preacher tried to push up but failed. He felt like he was being scolded like a bad child. “Some of that is from LuLu’s. Wrench’s old lady cooks there,” he said, defending both himself and Frisco.
“That was nice of her, but most of this is expired, so it’s going in the trash.” Turning around, she went back to her task. It was better to focus on the fridge than on the room full of people. “Can I help you put the groceries away?” a woman in the house asked her.
Looking up at Gypsy’s wife, Riley didn’t know what to say. The woman in front of her was tall, beautiful, and polished. Not what she would’ve expected for a biker’s old lady, that was for sure. “Do you know where everything goes?” She watched as the woman laughed, shaking her head.
“I’m Quinn.”
Riley shook Quinn’s hand. “Riley James.”
“Thank you for saving Preacher’s life. I don’t know how it would have affected the brothers if he would’ve died.” Quinn always thought it was best to be honest.
“You don’t have to thank me.” Riley was shocked when Quinn grabbed her and gave her a hug. “I . . . um . . . yeah, okay.”
“Sorry. It means a lot to me that you helped him. He’s family.” Quinn smiled at Riley as she tried to keep from crying. She knew damn well if Preacher would’ve died, her husband would’ve led the charge to burn the town down in order to find who had harmed Preacher. Riley saving him was probably the only reason they were not in jail at the moment.
“I’m glad I was there to help.” Riley looked at the counter and all the groceries. “I guess we should find the pantry.”
“Yes, let’s get this stuff put away so you can join us in the living room.”
Shit, she hadn’t thought about being invited to visit. “Do you know if Preacher’s eaten today?”
“No, but I can ask.” Before Riley could stop Quinn, the woman was letting out a shrill whistle, gaining everyone’s attention. “Preacher, when was the last time you ate?”
“Yesterday,” he shouted back.
“Did he say yesterday?” Riley looked at Quinn wide-eyed.
Quinn shook her head. “Yes.”
“Bones,” Riley yelled.
Bones held up his hands in surrender. “I wasn’t on Preacher duty this morning, Tool was.”
Riley and Quinn both shook their heads at the men. Turning around, Riley dug around until she found a frying pan and a spatula. Next, she pulled out the things she needed to make a deluxe grilled ham and cheese. Cooking feel-good comfort food was her specialty. The man wanted off the sofa. Then he needed to be fed.
ChapterTwenty
Riley remained at the stove, working on food for Preacher and ignoring the conversation that was taking place across the room. Quinn had wandered back over to where Gypsy sat, leaving her alone. The whole situation stressed her out. Bones could have called and let her know today wasn’t the best time. She would’ve made other plans.
“Hey.” The sound of someone behind her had Riley jumping. Hot butter spit at her from the frying pan, burning her hand. “Damn it!”
“Sorry, Riley. Are you okay?” Bones asked, glancing at her hand. He could see little red dots where the butter had hit her. “I wanted to tell you everyone’s heading out. I have a few errands to run.”
Riley glanced up at Bones. “Dude, I’m cooking you guys lunch.”
Bones saw Riley glare at him and held up his hands. “I can stay and eat.”
“Yes, you can.” Riley pointed to the living room with the spatula. What did they think she was doing, taking dictation? Plating up the grilled sandwiches, she carried the plates over to Bones and Preacher. Handing them off, she sat on the opposite end of the sofa from Preacher, kicking off her shoes and curling up in the corner. She watched him take the first bite and stifled a laugh. Evidently, the man was either starving or she really was as amazing at grilled ham and cheese as she told everyone.
Sitting there, Riley listened to the sounds of both men enjoying the simple meal. Neither bothered to make small talk. Uncurling herself, she leaned off the sofa and grabbed the TV remote.
