Shaker (Blackwings MC Book 5)

by Teagan Brooks

  “That’d be me. Hope that’s okay,” Ranger said, appearing out of nowhere. “I figured since I was yours, I might as well be hers, too.”

  “I thought you didn’t want anyone knowing you were a grandfather,” I smiled.

  “To someone your age,” he shot back. “This one right here is fine.” He smoothed Gabriella’s hair and grinned.

  “Gabriella, how about your Papa and I take you to get something to eat? We’ll come back and see Keegan before going back to the hotel tonight,” Jacquelyn asked.

  Gabriella beamed at Jacquelyn, “Yay! I’ll be back, Sissy. Love you.”

  Jacquelyn scooped Gabriella from the bed and propped her on her hip. “I thought you two might like to have a few minutes to yourselves before everyone else gets back from dinner.”

  “Everyone else?” I asked.

  “Most of the club is here, baby,” Shaker answered.

  “See you in a bit, sweetheart,” Ranger said and placed a kiss on top of my head. With that, he followed Jacquelyn and Gabriella out of the room.

  Shaker sat in a chair beside the bed and carefully lifted my hand to his lips before letting it rest in his hand on the bed. “I love you, Keegan. I’ve never been so fucking scared in my entire life when I saw you on the floor, blood pooling underneath you…” he trailed off, and I thought I heard a hitch in his voice.

  “Jacob,” I said softly.

  He lifted his head and met my eyes; one single tear slid down his cheek. “I can’t lose you,” he croaked.

  “You won’t,” I said, trying to reassure him.

  “I’m sorry about before. You know, about what happened at the restaurant. She was never my fiancée, and she never wore those rings. I don’t know how she even knew about them. Still, I never should have given them to you, fake marriage or not,” he said.

  “No, I completely overreacted to the situation. I should’ve given you a chance to explain,” I said.

  “I should have at least told you where I got the rings before we got married,” he mumbled.

  “It’s okay. Like I said, I overreacted. Things have changed between us since—”

  The door pushed open, and a sea of leather flowed in, with Harper leading the crowd. “Keegan!” she squealed. She leaned in and gave me a gentle hug. “I’m so happy you’re awake. We’ve been so worried. How are you feeling?”

  I smiled at her rapid-fire questions. “I’m okay right now. They gave me some medicine for the pain not that long ago, so I don’t know how much longer I’ll be coherent.”

  One by one, the club brothers and their women circled through the room to greet me. It reminded me of the receiving line at our reception. I was amazed at how many of them had come. It wasn’t like I was a 30-minute drive away in Cedar Valley; I was in a hospital an entire state away.

  Duke was the last one in line. “Don’t worry about the barn. I’ll take care of things until you’re back on your feet.”

  “I can’t ask you to do that. It’ll be months before I can work at the barn,” I said solemnly.

  “You’ll be able to sit and give orders to the prospects in just a few weeks. Plus, we have that new stable hand to help out,” he said with a smile.

  “Thanks, Duke,” I said sincerely.

  By the time the club left, as well as Jacquelyn, Gabriella, and Ranger, I was exhausted. I turned my tired eyes to Shaker, “Can we finish our conversation tomorrow? I don’t think I can keep my eyes open much longer.”

  “Sleep, baby. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Shaker

  After Keegan fell asleep, I pulled the new rings from my pocket and carefully slipped them on the third finger of her left hand. I bought them after our run-in with Beth before going to Lawrence’s house. I hadn’t planned on giving them to her this way, but after everything that happened, it seemed like the right thing to do. Having to wait for her to notice them was going to kill me.

  I didn’t have to wait long. She noticed first thing the next morning. “What in the hell is this, Jacob Kingsley Marks?” she screeched, waving her hand in the air.

  “What does it look like, Keegan Quincy Kensington Marks?” I shot right back.

  She pinned me with a glare and arched an eyebrow. I sighed and gave her what she wanted. “I bought you your own rings like I should have done in the first place,” I said, pausing for a moment. “That’s why I didn’t get to Lawrence’s house sooner. I’m so sorry, Keegan.”

  “Wait a second. You don’t think this is your fault, do you?” she asked carefully.

  “If I had gotten there sooner—” I started, but she cut me off.

  “Stop right there. I’m not letting you do this. Lois and Preston are the only ones to blame for my injuries. Well, I suppose Lawrence and Harold deserve some of the blame, too. But you, none of this is your fault. If you had gotten there sooner, they might have gotten away and then killed one or both of us later. So, we are NOT playing the blame game, and we are NOT playing the what if game. Do you understand me?”

  I simply nodded. What could I say to that?

  “I need words,” she growled.

  I smiled, “I understand.”

  “So, we’re doing this?” she asked.

  “Yeah, baby, we’re doing this.”

  Keegan spent over two weeks in the hospital. Ranger, Gabriella, and my mother were at her side every day. When she was finally discharged, she wanted to go home to Croftridge, but I didn’t think she would be able to handle riding in a car for that length of time. When she started to argue with me, my mother held up her hand and told us she would take care of it. An hour later, the five of us were flying to Croftridge in a private jet chartered by my mother.

  When we turned onto our street, Keegan cleared her throat to get my attention. Her furrowed brow and wrinkled nose had me instantly on alert. “What’s wrong?”

  “I want to see Gabriella when she sees her room, but I haven’t talked to her about living with us yet,” she whispered.

  “Okay, so let’s get you settled on the couch or in bed, and then you can talk to her. When you’re ready to show her the room, I’ll take you in there first, then go back and bring her in,” I suggested.

  “Thank you. Will, um, will you stay with me when I tell her?”

  “Of course, I will,” I assured her as we pulled into the driveway.

  With Keegan propped up in our oversized chair in the living room, I placed Gabriella beside her and took a seat on the ottoman next to Keegan’s feet. My mother and Ranger were in the kitchen giving us the privacy we needed, but ready to swoop in and help if things didn’t go well.

  “Gabriella, what did Father tell you about the school you went to?” Keegan asked, and I could tell it disgusted her to refer to Lawrence as Father, but it was what Gabriella called him.

  “He said I had to go because he was away a lot. I didn’t want to go. He said I was a cry baby and made me go anyway. I hate it there. Do I have to go back?” Gabriella blurted.

  Keegan smiled. “Well, Father is going to be away for a long time, and little girls can’t live all alone—”

  “Sissy! Can I live with you?” Gabriella asked excitedly and moved to launch herself at Keegan, but I caught her just as her little body started to leap. “I want to live with you and Shaky Jakey!”

  Keegan grabbed a pillow and held it against her chest as she tried not to laugh. “With who?”

  Gabriella shot her big sister an incredulous look, then pointed at me with her thumb. “Him. Papa said his nickname was Shaky Jakey.”

  Ranger’s rumbled laughter filtered out from the kitchen. “Oh, he did, did he?”

  “Can I? Can I can I can I can I can I can I?? Pleeeeeease?” Gabriella begged.

  Keegan nodded with tears in her eyes “Yes, sweet girl, you can.”

  “Why you crying, Sissy?”

  “Because you want to live with us. These are happy tears,” Keegan explained.

  “We have a surprise for you,
little miss. Go in the kitchen with Grammy and Papa while we get it ready for you,” I said as I set her on her feet.

  “You got it, Shaky Jakey.”

  “Your grandfather is going to pay for that,” I grumbled as I lifted Keegan into my arms and carried her down the hall to Gabriella’s room.

  “I like it,” the smartass said.

  Instead of trying to get her situated on the tiny bed, I held her in my arms and called for Gabriella. She burst into the room moments later, and the look on her face was perfect. Her mouth dropped open, and she let out a piercing scream of delight. “I love it, Sissy! Grammy, Papa, look at my pink and sparkly princess room!”

  “Grammy and Papa, do you mind looking after Gabriella while I help Keegan get settled?” I asked.

  “Not at all, Shaky Jakey,” Ranger laughed.

  Mom stayed with us for the following two weeks to help with Gabriella while Keegan was healing. By the fourth week, Keegan was able to move around the house without much difficulty, but she tired easily. By the sixth week, she was ready to get back to her normal activities. Patch cleared her to return to work on light duty only, as in, she could sit and tell others what to do, but she was to do no heavy lifting or any work with the horses.

  “Promise me you’ll follow Patch’s instructions,” I said to Keegan one more time before she got out of the car to begin her first day back at work.

  “For the thousandth time, I promise. I want to avoid any setbacks just as much as you do. I’ll see you this afternoon,” she said and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before she headed to the barn.

  I wanted to beg her to take more time off, but I kept my mouth shut and let her go. I had been hovering over her since she was shot, and I knew she was going to blow if I didn’t back off. In my defense, I loved her and watched her damn near die in front of me. I would do everything in my power to prevent that from ever happening again.

  As far as I knew, she was true to her word and followed Patch’s orders. Getting back to work was exactly what she needed. After three weeks of being back at the barn, she seemed like she had recovered 100% from her injuries, and her overall mood had drastically improved. I hadn’t realized how much she loved her horses and her job.

  I was in my car, on the way to pick Keegan up from the barn when Duke called. I tapped a button on my steering wheel and answered. “What’s up, brother?”

  “You need to get your ass out to the barn,” he said, and I didn’t care for the urgency in his tone.

  I was instantly on alert. “Why? What’s wrong?” I barked, pressing harder on the gas.

  “Sorry, brother. Nothing’s wrong. Just something you don’t want to miss. ETA?”

  “About five minutes,” I guessed.

  “I’ll try to stall. Come to the back side of the barn as soon as you get here,” he said and disconnected.

  Five minutes later, I jumped out of my car and rounded the corner of the barn, damn near having a heart attack from what I saw. Keegan was riding Blink, on that damn race track. I growled low in my throat.

  Duke’s head whipped around at the sound. “Don’t say anything, brother. Just watch.” When he noticed my glare, he added, “She knows what she’s doing. She’ll be fine out there.”

  I didn’t comment. I crossed my arms and tried to keep my heart from beating out of my chest while I waited for whatever was to come.

  Keegan and Blink had come to a stop. She wiggled around in the saddle; I presumed to get herself situated. Then, suddenly, she yelled, “Go!”

  My jaw dropped open. Blink was flying down the track at a speed that seemed impossible for a horse to travel. If he tripped or she lost her grip and fell, she would be severely injured, possibly killed. Was this what she did all day?

  Before I knew it, they rounded the last turn and crossed what appeared to be the finish line, though it wasn’t visible to me. Hoots and hollers erupted from the sidelines, startling me. I had only seen Duke before my eyes were glued to Keegan and Blink.

  Duke bumped my shoulder, “Come on; she’s going to want to know the time.”

  I followed Duke to the track. “Why is she still riding?” I asked. My knowledge of horses was quite limited.

  “She has to cool him down after working him like that,” Duke explained.

  “How did we do?” Keegan asked when we got closer. I saw her visibly flinch when she noticed me standing beside Duke. “Shaker, what are you doing here?”

  “Picking you up from work,” I said flatly.

  She grimaced but didn’t comment. Instead, she turned her attention to Duke. “Tell me, tell me, tell me!” Duke held up the stopwatch for her to see. “Holy shit!” she gasped. “That’s—”

  “Almost five seconds better than the last time,” Duke finished for her, beaming from ear to ear. “Very impressive.”

  She finished up with Blink while various people, including Phoenix, Dash, and Ember, congratulated her on her time.

  I patiently waited for her and helped her into the car when she was finished. “Where’s Gabriella?” she asked.

  I sighed. “She talked Ranger into taking her to the pet store. I told him no dogs, cats, snakes, spiders, or creepy reptiles, but something small would be okay.”

  Keegan groaned. “Oh, hell. She’ll probably come home with a baby shark.”

  “Baby Sha—”

  “If you keep singing that song, I won’t fuck you for the next month.”

  “I’ll never sing it again,” I promised.

  We rode in silence for the next several minutes, both of us ignoring the elephant in the car. Finally, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “You’re not supposed to be riding yet.”

  She cleared her throat but kept her eyes pointed out the window. “Uh, about that, I was, um, cleared to ride last week.”

  “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I knew you didn’t think I was ready, and I knew you would want to be there supervising while I was riding. I get it. I really do. But we have to get back to our normal lives.”

  “What exactly do you mean by that?” I asked, feeling a sense of dread start to settle in my gut.

  She reached over the center console and gripped my hand. “I guess I should have said we need to start finding our normal, as a family. You know, where I go to work, you go to work, and Gabriella goes to school. And you need to stop treating me like a piece of fine china. I’m all healed up now.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s just, I thought I lost you that day. I don’t ever want to feel like that again.” I paused and shook my head. “There was so much blood. We did everything we could to help you until the paramedics got there, but then that fucking cop tasered me, and when I came back around, they had already left with you.”

  “You were tasered?” she shrieked.

  I glanced over at her stunned face. “Yeah, for supposedly resisting arrest. You didn’t know?”

  “No, I didn’t. Wow, that must have hurt. Did, um, never mind,” she said and quickly turned away from me.

  “Did what?”

  “Nothing. I shouldn’t ask that,” she mumbled.

  I pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. Then, I reached across the console and started tickling. “Ask me.”

  “Stooooppp! Please!” she squealed through her laughter.

  “I will when you ask me your question.”

  “Did you,” she laughed, “piss yourself?”

  I let her go and looked at her incredulously. “No, I didn’t piss myself. I’m a motherfucking Marine.”

  “How’d you get the barbs out?”

  I shrugged. “Don’t know. When my brain started working again, I was in handcuffs, and the barbs were gone.”

  “Did it hurt?”

  “Fuck, yes, it hurt.”

  “I’m sorry that happened to you,” she said softly.

  “It’s all good, baby,” I said and pressed my lips against hers. Things were just getting heated when three sharp knocks on the window behind Keegan’s
head startled us both.

  “Aren’t you two a little old to be doing that kind of shit in the car?” Ranger asked with a disgusted look on his face.

  “Sissy! Shaky Jakey! Look what Papa got me!” I cringed at the nickname Ranger had taught her as Gabriella squealed and pointed Ranger’s hands. He was holding a tiny cardboard box with a few small holes in the top.

  Keegan laughed. “Gabriella, we can’t see what’s in the box, so why don’t you tell us.”

  Gabriella beamed at her sister. “Mice!”

  “Mice?” we both asked at the same time.

  Ranger cleared his throat. “She thought one would be lonely and asked if she could have two. So, we got two males. I’ve got their cage and everything else they need in the truck,” he explained and handed the box to Keegan.

  Keegan eyed it warily and carefully took the box. Moments later, she was giggling and cooing. She pointed to one of the holes, “Look at its cute little nose!”

  I made a mental note to keep Keegan away from pet stores. Apparently, she was a sucker for animals.

  We spent the next few hours putting together the cage and getting the little rodents set up in their new home, which Keegan referred to as a Mouse McMansion.

  “They are kind of cute,” Keegan mused.

  “Yeah, as long as they stay in their cage,” I grumbled.

  “Hey, at least they didn’t come home with a pig. Just the other day, Gabriella told me she wanted a pet pig.”

  “Just saying, something like that will live at your barn, not at our house.”

  “Agreed.”

  “I can have a pet pig?” Gabriella squealed in delight behind us.

  “Fucking hell,” I muttered.

  Chapter Twenty- Seven

  Keegan

  Later that night, Shaker asked if I would be okay with Gabriella spending Saturday night with his mother.

  “You mean her fairy grandmother?” I asked, causing him to chuckle. “It’s fine with me. Does she have something fun planned?”

  “I’m sure she will, but that’s not why I asked. Kellan is getting patched in Saturday, and there’ll be a party at the clubhouse afterward.”