Happier than I could ever remember being, I tilted my head to the side. “Goodnight.”
He kissed me. “Goodnight. Glad we’re one step closer to it all.”
“To what all?” I asked.
“I love you.”
I knew better than to ask. He would only piss me off. “I love you, too,” I said. “See you tomorrow.”
* * *
We followed Brisco’s truck north of town thirty miles. It seemed weird that we couldn’t ride with him, but Price had his rules about riding in cars and I respected them. I wondered if it had anything to do with his parents dying in a car, or if it was just a hardcore biker thing.
We exited the highway and drove down two miles of county roads, eating Brisco’s dust the entire way. All that I could see in the distance were cactuses, rocks, sand, and sagebrush.
I licked the sand from my teeth and leaned forward. “How much farther?”
“Dunno,” he replied. “Never been there.”
Irritated, I tried to make the best of it. Afterall, I was on Price’s motorcycle and we were officially a couple. I was sure it wouldn’t be the last time we’d be following one of the club’s members somewhere—likely in the winter—because Price wouldn’t ride in a car. I decided to thank the weather Gods for the nice weather and enjoy the ride.
In the distance, a ranch emerged. A monstrous steel gate with crooked “B” in the center blocked the entrance. A winding paved road led to the home, which was positioned half a mile away from the gate. Surrounding the home was a wooden fence, marking the property, which I guessed at hundreds of acres. Inside the fence, there were several horses running. I grinned at the sight of the beautiful horses and hoped it was our destination.
Through the cloud of dust, I saw Brisco’s brake lights illuminate. Then, his turn signal. I mentally clapped as we slowed to pull into the drive.
Brisco spoke into a steel box, and the gate opened. As we followed him down the winding road, I imagined meeting a drug dealer who had an affinity for horses. Maybe a bike builder who was hired to make Price a new custom cruiser, complete with shock absorbers.
Or, Price was going to buy me a pony.
I coughed out a laugh at the idea.
“What?” Price asked over his shoulder.
“Nothing,” I said. “Inside joke.”
We parked in front of the massive ranch. Eager to know more, I dusted myself off and followed Brisco to the door, not caring if Price was thirty feet behind me.
“Hold up,” Price said.
Much to my dissatisfaction, Brisco waited for Price before he rang the doorbell. In an instant, the door opened.
A petite gray-haired woman stood just inside the door. Wearing a cream and red flowered sundress and an apron, she was adorable. She dusted her hands on the apron and gave Brisco a hug.
She leaned around him and looked at me. “Is this her?”
“That’s her,” Brisco said.
She offered her hand. “Nice to meet you, Gray. I’m Marbella.”
I wondered how she knew me. “Uhhm.” I shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
She shook Price’s hand. “Nice to see you again, Price.”
“Likewise.”
She stepped aside and waved her hand toward the living room. “Have you given any though as to what qualities you’re after?”
I looked at Price. “Who’s she talking to?” I whispered.
His brows raised.
“Me?” I asked, still whispering.
Marbella turned around. She looked at Price and then Brisco. I did the same. The look on their faces told me there was a secret being kept.
She fixed her eyes on Brisco. “She’s going to have to find out at some point.”
“I ain’t tellin’ her.”
“Me neither,” said Price. “It’s a surprise.”
“Well,” Marbella said, giving each of the men a playful scowl. “I’m not having her scare the babies.” She looked at me. “Sweetheart, you’re here to pick out your new kitten.”
My heart burst from my chest. I covered my mouth with my hands. “Ohmygod. Are you serious?”
She nodded.
I looked at Price. “I’m getting a kitten?”
Price nodded. “Pick of the litter.”
“Can I see them?” I asked excitedly.
Wearing a prideful smile, she reached for my hand. “Follow me, sweetheart.”
I followed her down the hallway. She reached for the door and then paused. “There are six. Three little boys, and three little girls. Take your time. Let them settle down before you try to pick them up, they’re quite rambunctious. They’ll be excited to have a new visitor.”
“Okay,” I said, nearly choking on the word. I was so excited I almost peed. “I’m ready.”
She turned the door handle and pushed open the door.
Cat trees and cat toys were everywhere. At the very top of the tallest of the cat trees, a kitten was curled into a tight ball, sleeping in the sun. I took a moment to admire the little ball of fur.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash.
A spotted flash.
“Oh my God,” I said, nearly bringing myself to tears. I looked at Price. “They’re Bengals?”
Wearing a clever grin, he nodded. “Like she said, take your time.”
I couldn’t contain myself. I knelt and waited for them come to me. After nothing happened, I wiggled my finger on the floor. “Come here, kitty, kitty.”
Five spotted balls of fur came running. The cat on the top of the tree raised his tired head, took a quick look, and then lowered it.
Marbella nodded at the lazy one. “He’s the most energetic, believe it or not. Little boy. We call him Eddie. He was up all night, terrorizing the others.”
There was no way I could decide. They were all adorable. I picked up the one that was rubbing against my leg. She was a golden color peppered with brown Cheerio-like spots
She purred so loudly I could hear her over the all the others.
“She’s a sweetheart,” Marbella said. “Belle is what we call her. The names are temporary, you can rename them however you like.”
Belle looked just like a baby leopard. While I held her, she buzzed like a wind-up toy. “She likes me.”
Marbella smiled. “She seems to.”
“Can I take her over there?” I asked, nodding toward the corner of the room.
“Sure.”
I carried her away from the excitement and rolled onto my back. I placed her on my chest and ran my open palm along her spine. She walked up to my chin, stepped onto it, and took a swat at my hair.
I picked her up. “Well, aren’t you feisty?”
She swatted my hair again.
I glanced around the room. Price was at the cat tree, petting the lazy cat.
I looked the kitten over from head to toe. Her spots were perfectly symmetrical, each side being a mirror image of the other. Her front legs were covered in little spots that almost connected to make stripes.
I glanced at the other four cats. They were nowhere near as pretty. “I like this one,” I said. “I’m pretty sure she’s the one.”
Price held the crazy little boy to his chest. “What about this one?”
Marbella turned around. “What about it?”
“Is it available?”
“Pick of the litter was paid for,” she said. “The two of you can pick the one you like out of the litter.”
“I want two,” Price said. “This one and whichever one she picks.”
Marbella looked at Brisco, scowled, and then looked at Price. “Five are spoken for. We were going to keep one of the boys for breeding, but I suppose we could let him go.”
“Don’t have the cash on me,” Price said. “Take a card?”
“Sure.”
Price raised the kitten and grinned. “I’ll take Eddie.”
Belle was curled in a ball in my cupped hands. I was giddy with excitement. “I’ll take Belle.�
�
Marbella smiled. “Well, that was easy. Follow me in the other room, and we’ll draft up the adoption papers.”
“Adoption papers?”
“Yes,” she said. “You’ll have to sign an adoption contract.”
“Oh, wow.”
“Big responsibility,” Brisco said, puffing his chest.
“I think we’ll manage,” I snipped.
“You’d better be nice to him,” Marbella said. “He paid for yours.”
“Pardon me?”
She looked at Brisco. “I’ll let the two of you iron out those details.”
I learned that Bisco had forfeited a kitten he paid for long in advance, so I could have a kitten of my own. Flattered and more than grateful, I picked a cat carrier, a collar, and a few toys from the options she had on hand.
After bidding Marbella a tearful farewell, I got in the truck with Brisco, excited to take the thirty-minute ride home with our newly adopted Bengal kittens.
“I’m so excited to raise these little guys from babies into adults,” I said. “I can’t wait to get home and show then their new house.”
“Do like she said and keep them contained to ne room for a day, before you let them out into the house. They’ll acclimate better if you do.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t ever feed them anything but the proper food,” he said. “The no preservatives chicken food.” He nodded toward my bag of goodies. “The samples she gave you.”
“Okay.”
“No table scraps.”
“Huh?”
“Table scraps,” he said. “Don’t let them have them, no matter how much they beg. It’s bad for digestion.”
“Uhhm. Your cats might have got a few table scraps.”
“What?!”
“I might have given them a few things off my plate.”
“Like what?”
“I dunno. Mashed potatoes. Meatloaf. The big one really liked tomatoes, for some reason.”
Alternating glances between me and the highway, he glared. “You’re fuckin’ around, right?”
“I wish I was.”
He shook his head. “Guess it’s the price I pay.”
“For?”
“Being a shit hat.”
“I’m sorry.”
He smiled a crumpled grin. “It’s okay.”
He’d paid time and time again for the mistakes he’d made. Like Price said, he was merely trying to protect the men he looked at as brothers. Heck, I’d only had the kittens for an hour, and I couldn’t imagine what I’d do to protect them from harm. Kidnapping someone to save them wouldn’t be out of my wheelhouse, I knew that much.
After we arrived at home, we placed the kittens in the spare room. Brisco stayed for a while, admiring them. When they fell asleep, he went home to take care of his own cats, sad a little bit that he didn’t get to add another member to his family.
While the kittens slept, Price and I made a few adjustments to the home’s décor, making it kitten friendly. When we finished, it was almost dinner time. Price snuck to the spare room and cracked the door a few inches.
He glanced over his shoulder. “Look.”
I peeked inside. Eddie had Belle in a bearhug and was kicking her in the stomach. After a few kicks, she swatted his face.
He released her and they began running after each other, taking turns on who was chasing who.
Price and I looked at each other at the same time.
“Little fuckers are pretty cute, huh? he asked.
I nodded. “Adorable.”
He glanced at the cats, and then pulled the door closed. “We’re supposed to have dinner at Jack’s in an hour.” He glanced at his watch. “Forty minutes, actually.”
I’d forgotten it was Sunday. “Crap,” I said. “We can’t leave them here alone. Not on their first night.”
“No,” he said. “I wouldn’t feel good about that.”
“What are we going to do?” I asked.
“I’ve fucked around and put myself in an awkward position,” he said, gazing at the floor. “I’m a man of my word.” He brushed his hair away from his face and looked up. “We told Jack we’d be there for dinner, so we’ve got to go. Taking care of cat’s isn’t an excuse.”
“One of us stays here, and the other goes?” I asked.
He scowled. “We’re a couple. Unless one of us is dead or dying, we go together.”
I was thoroughly confused. “So, you want to leave them?”
“We could take them,” he said. “Show Jack what a Bengal looks like.”
I gave him a shitty look. “On your motorcycle? I don’t think so—”
“We can take your truck.”
My jaw hit the floor. I looked back at him with bulging eyes. “You’re going to ride in my Pathfinder?”
“Can’t see I have a choice,” he said. “I’m a man of my word, so I’ve got to go. You and those two kittens are the only family I’ve got, beyond the club. It’s my responsibility to take care of the three of you. Family always comes first. We’re taking your truck, and we’re going to dinner, as a family.”
Tears welled in my eyes. I kissed him, hoping to hide them as they began to roll down my cheeks. “I love you.”
He pulled me against him and held me tight. “I love you, too.”
For most women to be living their dream, they’d need a husband with a six-figure job, a diamond engagement ring, marriage, a house on the hill, and a few kids.
I had a bracelet and a house in the desert. My family consisted of an unemployed biker whose word was as good as gold, thirty-one brothers, two Bengal cats, and an old man named Cactus Jack.
I wouldn’t dream of changing a thing.
Not one.
Also by Scott Hildreth
Devil's Disciples MC Series
Baker - Book One
Cash - Book Two
Ghost - Book Three
Goose - Book Four
Reno - Book Five
Tito - Book Six
To learn more about the Filthy Fuckers MC and the men in their club, follow these links:
Hard - Crip’s Book: http://amzn.to/2jNSCpZ
Rough - PeeBee’s Book: http://amzn.to/2iAYjcJ
Dirty - Cholo’s Book: http://amzn.to/2jUWqpd
Rigid - Smokey’s Book: http://amzn.to/2n3js02
Nuts - P-Nut’s Book: http://amzn.to/2rI1IMw
Thick - Meathead’s Book: http://amzn.to/2AZeLxa
His Rules - Detective Watson’s Book: https://amzn.to/2NNcJaW
Can’t get enough of Scott’s biker books?
Check out the Selected Sinner’s series below.
Making the Cut: http://amzn.to/2v2D5fS
Taking the Heat: http://amzn.to/2vVAcwo
Otis: http://amzn.to/2vUJ9G4
Hung: http://amzn.to/2wuUvC9
Ex-Con: http://amzn.to/2wkgVWf
Money Shot: http://amzn.to/2x9nwQK
Hard Corps: http://amzn.to/2wuJpNH
Other Series & Standalones
Baby Girl Series
Baby Girl - Ruined: http://amzn.to/2FAxe6G
Baby Girl - Owned: http://amzn.to/2FCVxku
Baby Girl - Loved: http://amzn.to/2peR1yw
The UN Series - Boxing Romance
Undefeated - Book One: http://amzn.to/2pbBsHW
Unstoppable - Book Two: http://amzn.to/2pjrsv8
Unleashed - Book Three: http://amzn.to/2pfgIPh
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Bodies, Ink and Steel Series
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Pretty in Ink: http://amzn.to/2peziad
Stand Alone Books
Lover Come Back: https://amzn.to/2QHq8iQ
Broken People: http://amzn.to/2FO1189
Threefold: http://amzn.to/2pe7Aub
Karter: http://amzn.to/2HBvxTc
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Dick: http://amzn.to/2phAXMn
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Finding Parker: http://amzn.to/2pbyzXx
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