by Lane Hart
When that issue is finally taken care of, I wash my hair and soap up my body before climbing out and getting dressed to go find Madison while also sort of dreading how she’s going to react.
After the bathroom incident, she got pissed at me, but that was sort of my fault for telling her she would’ve regretted it if I had fucked her. Truth is, I was mortified that I couldn’t last long enough to put on a condom and get inside of her.
Now I have no idea how she’s going to act toward me. But it’s time I find out.
I walk out of the bedroom expecting to find Madison and one of the prospects in the living room or kitchen, but both are empty.
“Hello?” I call out to the too quiet house. “Anyone home?” What a stupid question. It’s my home, not Madison’s and certainly not the prospects. “Anyone here?” I try again as I jog upstairs and find the guest room door open and empty inside.
I jog back downstairs to grab my phone to call them, wherever the hell it is, when I finally see the piece of notebook paper on the kitchen counter.
We went on to the office since it looked like you needed to sleep off your hangover. We’ll be back this afternoon in time to get ready for dinner at your parents.
Then she signed her name. Just her name.
I debate whether or not I should go to her office while I search for my phone, finally finding it in the pocket of the pants I wore last night that were still on my bedroom floor.
For some reason I can’t quite figure out, I don’t want to see Madison right now around a bunch of other people. So, I call Roman.
“Yeah?” he answers on the second ring.
“Hey, great party last night,” I tell him.
“We had a decent turnout I thought,” he agrees. “What’s up?”
“Not much. I was just a little hungover and was wondering if you could send someone to check on things at Madison’s office, make sure the prospects don’t need any supervision.”
He’s quiet for a long moment. “Why aren’t you going?”
“Still hungover,” I lie. I woke up feeling pretty good all things considered, just a little mortified. “Could you send one of the Nomads?”
Roman sighs. “You all have to stop calling them that. They’re no longer Nomads and haven’t been for nearly three years. They’re our brothers.”
“Sorry. It’s just hard to think of them as one of us since they keep to themselves.”
“Maybe that’s because everyone still refers to them as outsiders.”
“Maybe so,” I agree. “I’ll try to stop calling them that.”
“Good,” Roman replies. “And I need to take Madison the funds from last night, so I’ll check on things at the office.”
“Oh. Okay.” Why doesn’t that make me happy? Roman served in the Marines. He’s tough as shit and wouldn’t think twice about hurting anyone who tried to hurt Madison. I guess I just don’t really like the idea of them…talking. What the fuck is wrong with me?
“You there?” Roman asks.
“Yeah, I’m here. You’re going to go by the office and check on things.”
“Why does it sound like you don’t like that idea?”
“Not sure,” I answer truthfully. “But go. Take her money and make sure the prospects aren’t killing each other.”
“How have they been doing? Still going at it every second of the day?”
I consider their behavior in the office and here every night. “Nah, they’ve really helped Madison out and haven’t bitched about taking turns sleeping outside. Maybe our little boys are finally growing up.”
“Maybe,” he replies with a chuckle. “I’ll let you know if there are any problems.”
“Okay. Thanks, Roman.”
“No problem.” He ends the call without another word, and I try my best to figure out why I don’t want my friend and president around Madison and why I’m not ready to face her just yet.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Madison
“Incoming!” one of the prospects says from the front room.
I’m out of my chair and walking out of my office in a hurry, hoping it’s Cannon. It’s not, but it is another man wearing the Savage Kings MC patches with a folder and something else tucked under one arm.
“Hi, Roman,” I say when he comes inside.
“Hey, sorry to drop in, but I thought you might want this.” He holds up a bank bag that’s bulging from all the cash inside.
“Absolutely. Thank you!” I say when I take it from him.
“Jake, Lucas, you two behaving?” he asks the prospects, who have moved up from postcards to working on emails on laptops.
“Yes, sir,” they both answer him before going back to work.
“Keeping them busy enough so they can’t kill each other. Good idea,” he says to me with a smile.
“I’ll take all the free help I can get.”
“Me too,” Roman says. “And I know you’re busy, but Cannon mentioned a while back that you may be able to help us with our business permits.” He holds up the thick folder.
“Of course. Come on back to my office, and I’ll look through them,” I say as I lead the way. “I’m not sure if I can do anything more than the attorney you hired, but I’ll try.”
“Thanks,” he says.
We talk about the appeals process, how long it could take, and ways to expedite the process as I go through all the documents.
“The Kings all depend on the money from our businesses, so the sooner we can get them back up and running, the better.”
“Of course.”
“And I’m sure you know that Conrad and Cannon need it more than most of us,” he says, making me look up at him.
“What do you mean?”
“Hasn’t Cannon told you about his mom?”
“What about her? I met her and his father last night.”
“They’re incredible people, and yesterday looked like one of her good days.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” I tell him.
“You should probably talk to Cannon then. He’ll tell you if he wants you to know his business. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, please,” I beg him. “We’re going to dinner at their house tonight with Conrad and Hannah. If there’s something I need to know, I hope you’ll fill me in now, so I don’t make a fool of myself.”
“Fine, but can we keep it between us until Cannon tells you, if he decides to?”
“Sure.”
“The twins’ mom has multiple sclerosis. It’s gotten worse the past year or so, to the point that their father had to quit his job to stay home and take care of her. The boys pay most of their parents’ medical expenses to help.”
“Wow, that’s awful.” And while I feel sorry for their parents, I can’t help but wonder how much stress that must put on Conrad and Cannon.
“I’m sure they’ve got enough savings to handle things for a while, but if we don’t get our businesses back up and running soon…”
“Then they’ll be in trouble,” I finish for him.
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe Bailey would do something so awful to you all,” I say. “But on the other hand, he nearly had me assaulted and killed, so maybe I can.”
“You have to beat him,” Roman says. “Whatever it takes.”
“That’s my plan,” I agree.
“Good. Well, I’ll get out of here and let you get back to work.” He gets to his feet, and I close and hand his folder back to him. “My wife Charlotte was serious about having you and Cannon over for dinner one night.”
“That sounds nice,” I agree. “Even though it makes it sound like we’re a couple.”
“You’re stuck together for the next few weeks. May as well make the most of it,” Roman says with a smile. “See ya, Madison.”
“See ya,” I say as he walks out.
I glance at the time on my phone and decide we should probably call it a day since I need to get home and changed.
No,
get to Cannon’s place and change. Not home. What the hell is wrong with me?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cannon
I hear the front door unlock and then voices from where I’m sitting in the living room, watching whatever was on the first channel I came to. Getting up, I go around the sofa to meet them, knowing Madison is probably heading straight for the Keurig machine.
“Hey,” I say when I see her and Lucas coming in right behind her.
“Hey.” She gives me a nervous smile that’s so unlike her. Her eyes go to the television and then me. “Where were you today? I thought you would come by the office when you woke up.”
“Oh, sorry. I woke up late and wasn’t sure how long you would be there.”
“Bet you had one hell of a hangover too,” Lucas mutters. He comes to stand next to Madison with a smirk on his face.
“What the fuck does that mean?” I snap at him.
“Calm down,” Madison starts. “Lucas and Jake had to help me carry you from the kitchen floor to your bed after you passed out.”
“I passed out?”
“Don’t you remember?” she asks, staring at me intensely like it’s important I remember.
“Well, I mean, I remember certain things happening.” I let my gaze wander down her body and to the place between her legs. “Then nothing until I woke up.”
“You didn’t miss much then,” she says with a hint of anger.
“Are you mad at me for passing out?” I ask.
“It made me wonder if you were too drunk to be…doing what you were trying to do.”
“What I did,” I correct her. “And trust me, I remember every fucking second.”
“Well, good,” she says as she looks away as if embarrassed and then starts toward the stairs. “I’m going to get changed.” With her hand on the banister, she turns back to me and asks, “What should I wear to your parents?”
“Whatever you want to wear.”
Her dark eyes narrow. “That’s very helpful.”
“Fine. Casual. Everyone will be in jeans or even sweats.”
“Okay.”
She’s halfway up the stairs when I ask, “Do you even own a pair of jeans?”
“I do, but I’m not sure if I have any with me,” Madison responds. “Leggings and a sweater okay?”
Madison’s fine ass with tight cotton hugging it. “Fuck yes. I mean, yeah, leggings are fine.”
She disappears, and then I’m left with Lucas watching me like a hawk.
“What?” I ask him.
“Nothing. Just wondering if you two are fucking or not.”
“That’s none of your goddamn business, is it?” I ask him.
“No. But it would explain why you nearly ripped my head off about the beads and why Jake came down to the car last night blushing before Madison asked us to drag you to bed.”
“Jake was in here last night when…oh shit!” I exclaim because I had forgotten all about him when I went to my knees in front of Madison. She must have sent him out.
“So, something did happen? Damn. Why didn’t he tell me?” Lucas asks.
“Maybe because he’s trying to be a gentleman. How about you go outside and try to learn a thing or two from him,” I say. I’ve already made the decision that the prospects aren’t coming with us to my parents. They can stay here, eat, shower or whatever, but I need them to not be near me.
“Yes, sir,” he says, shoulders slumping and sounding dejected before he leaves.
I’m not really angry at him. I’m angry at myself for doing shit with Madison that I shouldn’t have because now I want to do even more. I need to get a grip before I sleep with her and then have to give her up.
Madison
From the outside, I thought the Eriksons’ house looked similar to Cannon and Conrad’s. But as soon as I step inside, I realize it is nearly identical, as if the twins loved their family home so much that they wanted something similar for themselves.
Cannon doesn’t bother ringing the doorbell or knocking. He just turns the doorknob and walks on inside with me right behind him.
“Mom? Dad? We’re here.”
Their father comes out of the kitchen with an apron on as if he’s been doing the cooking, and his mom walks slowly from the hallway, which if the layout is the same as his place, she was in the master bedroom on the main floor. Cannon hurries over to grab her arm to help her, and it makes my heart melt a little to see him so worried about her, reminding me of what Roman said to me earlier.
“Madison, it’s so nice to see you again,” Mrs. Erikson says first once Cannon gets her settled down in a chair.
“You too. Thanks for having me over.”
“Come in and have a seat,” Mr. Erikson suggests, waving me into the living room. “We’ve got about twenty minutes left on the casserole. Hopefully, Conrad and Hannah will be here by then.”
I take a seat on the edge of the love seat. Cannon asks his father if there’s anything he can do to help him in the kitchen. After his father says no, he sits down next to me.
“How have you been feeling?” he asks his mother.
“I still have good days and bad days, but more good than bad,” she tells him with a smile. I can’t decide if she’s telling him the truth or just what she thinks he wants to hear. “But enough about me. Last night was just a blast, Madison! Did you know that it was one of our neighbors who won the Harley?”
“That’s great,” I tell her. “I can’t thank you all enough for coming out to show your support.” I know now that it was even more considerate of them since his mom doesn’t get around all that great.
“It’s the least we can do to help you beat that jackass,” she says just before the front door opens suddenly, making me jump in my seat. Cannon rests a hand on my thigh as if to tell me it’s okay before his twin comes in holding Hannah’s hand.
“There you two are! We’re so glad you could make it this weekend!” Mr. Erikson says.
“It’s nice to finally get out of the beach house for a little while,” Conrad says.
“I hate you have to hide out like that,” Mrs. Erikson remarks with a frown.
“I love it there,” Hannah tells her. “It’s like we’re on vacation.”
Conrad wraps his arm around her, and Cannon speaks up and says, “I’m glad the two of you took your honeymoon someplace else.”
“We’re not married. Yet,” Conrad says with a grin and then holds up Hannah’s hand. “But she did say yes!”
“Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Erikson says as she pushes herself to her feet to go hug them both. “That’s so wonderful!”
“Congratulations!” Mr. Erikson tells them when he pulls his son in for a masculine hug and then gives Hannah a gentle one.
When Cannon gets up to go to them, I do too, feeling like an outsider, but wanting to congratulate them too.
Everyone asks about how it happened – Conrad proposed on the beach this morning when they went for a walk. And then when they’re going to get married – both want to have a small ceremony soon, before the baby comes.
Then the timer goes off in the kitchen and interrupts.
“Dinner is ready!” Mr. Erikson says as he goes back to the kitchen. “Cannon, could you get out the glasses for us while Conrad picks out a nice wine for us to celebrate this happy occasion?”
“Sure thing, Dad,” they both say at the same time in that freaky twin way before they go in the kitchen to help.
I’m left sitting in the living room with Hannah and Mrs. Erikson, who says, “It’s so nice that the twins have both fallen in love at the same time. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me!”
“Oh, Cannon and I aren’t…” I start to say we’re not a couple, but after last night, I’m not so sure. I don’t think we are. It could’ve been a one-time or two-time thing, and it won’t happen again. I can’t tell their mother all of that, though. Thankfully, Hannah jumps in to help me.
“I don’t think Madison is ready to think about the fu
ture, not until she wins the election.”
“Yes, exactly,” I reply, grateful to her for answering when I couldn’t find the words to deny that I’ve started to have feelings for Cannon or admit them to his mother and myself.
“Are you ready to go into the dining room, Mrs. Erikson?” Hannah asks when she goes over to her chair.
“Absolutely,” she agrees, and then she lets Hannah help her to her feet while I get to mine and stand there frozen. I have a feeling this dinner is going to be awkward.
I’m tense all through the meal, to the point that Cannon places his hand on my thigh and squeezes to get my attention.
“Are you okay?” he asks quietly.
“Yes, of course.”
“You suddenly look like a deer in headlights, but it’s a train coming for you and not a car.”
“Sorry,” I whisper as I set my fork down, unable to eat another bite. “Could you show me the way to the bathroom?” I ask.
“Sure,” Cannon agrees, pushing his chair back. “We’ll be right back,” he tells everyone at the table.
“Hurry back,” his mom says. “We’ve got a blackberry cobbler for dessert.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he tells her before he takes my hand as if he thinks I need the assistance to get up and follow him. Maybe I do. I’m too stunned to function on my own. I want to talk to Cannon and hear him tell me that last night didn’t mean anything because he was drunk and that it won’t happen again. I know that’s what he’ll say, and then we can pretend like nothing happened.
Instead of the downstairs bathroom, Cannon leads me up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms, shutting the door behind me.
“Thanks for helping me escape for a moment,” I tell Cannon. “Your mom is…intense.”
I finally look away from him and take in more of the room – lots of blues and grays, and bikes like it’s a boy’s room. I know without asking that it was Cannon’s room when he lived at home.
“Sorry,” he says. “I thought she would leave you alone tonight because she would be too busy fussing over Hannah and the baby.”
