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“But I thought the ranch hand fuckers were dead,” Dice mutters. “Are we expecting more trouble?”
“We shouldn’t let our guard down yet. We have Austen and Coco here. Yagger will be returning home. Hobo isn’t a hundred percent, and Xenia just moved in. We have a lot of reasons to act as if we’re still under attack.”
When the men only stare at me, I ask, “Where is Hobo?”
“Out back with his woman,” Tomcat says and gestures toward the expansive flat yard surrounded by woods.
I look out to find Hobo sitting in the grass with Xenia. Their backs are to the lodge. She rests her head on his shoulder. I smile at the sight of them, knowing Hobo’s finally found a comfortable home.
I’m a fan of all my club brothers’ women. The current ones, anyway. However, Xenia’s a special lady. She gets so happy when cooking for us. I hope she’ll get along with Austen. They might even have some things in common since they’ve both lived in gambling cities.
Goose joins me on the back deck as I look over the Valley and try to breathe like I did before my trip to Banta City.
“Coco’s worried about Austen,” she says, standing next to me.
“I know.”
“Them coming here wasn’t smart.”
“I’m not having this conversation again.”
“Coco and Austen nearly died.”
“So did we.”
“Yeah, but we face that shit all the time. I almost died twice in a fucking week, yet I’m fine. Coco’s getting that weird, mopey vibe people get.”
“You mean she’s sad?”
“No, the uglier vibe.”
I frown down at her and poke at my friend hiding behind her armor. “Why can’t you just spit it out?”
“I don’t want to.”
“Because you feel guilty?”
Goose’s blue eyes flash with rage and confusion. “She was flirting with Tomcat. I shouldn’t be feeling anything about that bitch.”
Leaning against the railing, I study Goose, who’s nursing her own “weird, mopey vibe.”
“Straight out, just you and me here, do you like Coco in a real way?”
Goose runs a hand through her hair and stares at where Hobo sits with Xenia. I get the feeling she’s about to change the subject.
“When you were dancing with Austen, Coco settled down and got really interesting. I could see spending time with her in a way like Hobo does with Xenia, where they just chill and talk and don’t expect a lot.”
“Love isn’t why your parents were miserable,” I say, and she shoots me a nasty look. “Your dad was a bad guy, and your mom was weak. Love wasn’t in the equation.”
“I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do. Armor used to think love was a bad thing.”
“Well, love can ruin things.”
“I guess.”
“If Austen didn’t feel anything for you, she’d be safely at home with her mom. No stress. No crying in gas station parking lots. No stress naps at noon.”
