Cowboy Bikers MC #4

by Esther E. Schmidt

  My chest painfully constricts and I have to take a step back. He doesn’t get it. It’s his fucking sister and he doesn’t see how she’s changed over the past few days. Hell, I’ve only just met her but I’ve noticed how she fucking blooms and became more passionate when she started following her dream of starting her own company.

  Besides, she told me she was moving here permanently. With me. Though I’ve kept things from her–for her own safety and because Colt insisted it during a club meeting–and she absolutely considers it a breach of trust.

  We barely started our relationship and something as withholding shit or sidelining her is not a small speck to simply shrug and get over it. Not like Colt plays it off. Hell, I’d be fucking pissed if someone did it to me.

  “Her life isn’t in Shreveport. It’s here. With me.” The words should have fallen from my mouth with determination but instead there’s a hint of defeat because I don’t know where her head is at right now. “And if it’s not, so be it. I don’t care what town or state we settle down in.”

  Colt is grinning like a loon and it actually makes my skin crawl.

  “I don’t know why you’re happy, but it doesn’t suit you. Get back to your grumpy self and think of a way to make it up to your sister because this is all your fault.” I grab my Stetson and let my fingers slide through my hair before putting it back on. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t want your interference and I’ll make sure Prez knows too. As of now she’s not your sister when it comes to club business. She’s my old lady and if you ever interfere with anything concerning her…brother or not, her brother or not…I will fucking kick your ass.”

  Colt’s grin only gets bigger and right when I’m about to wipe it off with my fist, he holds his hands palms up in surrender. “Understood. I see it now. Not lovesick any longer, eh? The look in your eyes gives me the impression you’re over the sick part and there’s only the love part left. It’s all I need to know and want for my sister. She’s too good for just a fling and that’s what I thought it was when you two were sucking face the minute she showed up.”

  I can’t believe this shit. “You did it on purpose? Withholding information and keeping her out of the loop was your way to test us? Motherfucker. Mere minutes before Kay showed up, she told me she was moving here permanently and now with this shit–kicking me out of the damn cabin–you kindly state you labeled what we had a fling? She was never a fucking fling, asshole.”

  “I didn’t do it on purpose. Club business is between brothers, knowing everything isn’t always a good thing and there was nothing she could do about anything anyway. It’s for us to handle. She doesn’t have reason to be pissy about it.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Do you even know how a woman functions? Not saying anything, keeping her out of things, or merely saying she couldn’t help so she didn’t need to know is stupidity on your part. No woman would ever agree with your reasoning and it’s degrading.”

  He shrugs. As always. The man doesn’t care and waves my reasoning away. “They sulk and get over it. Meanwhile we handle business so they have no reason to complain.”

  “You’re never going to get a woman. And if you do? I hope she carves your ignorant heart out of your chest to show you how dysfunctional it is. Maybe then you’ll see the flaws regarding matters of the heart because the way you describe it? You consider a woman an object to use as you see fit. They have working brain cells you idiot.” A sigh rips from my body. “Whatever. You’re going to find out for yourself when you find the right woman you want to spend–”

  He cuts me off with a fierce, “Never going to happen.” To emphasize his statement, he shakes his head. “I’m a loner for a reason, Ledger. The cabin on the edge of the ranch gives a good indication I can barely stand to be in the company of my brothers. I need space. Getting involved with a woman would mean spending enough time with her to make it work. Like I said, never gonna happen.”

  Our discussion breaks when Colt’s phone indicates he has a message. He takes it out of his jeans pocket and thumbs the screen before he says, “My sister wants to talk to me.”

  I grab my phone to check but I don’t have a message. “What the hell?” I grumble underneath my breath, pissed Colt received a message and I didn’t.

  “Come on,” Colt says and takes a step toward the cabin.

  I stay rooted to the ground. “She texted you, not me.”

  “For fuck’s sake, get your panties out of your ass crack.” Colt steps closer to me. “I thought you owned the manual of the women species. But let me explain the whole reading between the lines part. She texted me, yes. I’m going to get the brunt of her fury. Not you. If my sister told you she was going to move here permanently it tells me you already own her heart. Or a piece of it anyway. Even if you blow this issue out of proportion, she considers her anger with me higher on her priority list. Come on, I’m not getting an earful on my own. When she’s angry she always tends to scream in a high-pitched tone where only dogs can hear her. She’s your woman, I’m her brother. You get to save me, it’s family shit.”

  A smile spreads my face because I can see straight through his bullshit. “You’re scared of her.”

  Colt narrows his eyes. “She has nails that turn to claws when she’s pissed, Ledger. I’d rather face Kay.” His hand goes to his nose, touching it lightly. “At least she throws punches like a dude.”

  “You’re insane,” I grumble.

  “For sure,” he agrees as we head for the cabin.

  Once inside we head for the kitchen to find both women nursing a cup of coffee.

  To my surprise Colt is barking out words in anger again. “Why the fuck have you been crying?” He throws his thumb at Kay while addressing his sister. “Why does she have a tearstained face, May?”

  May stands and strides to her brother. Standing toe to toe she snaps, “Because her mother killed herself the day they buried her father. The day I left and the day her brother locked her up in the clubhouse all by herself. You know, lockdown, don’t care two shits about a state of mind or feelings for that matter.”

  Colt’s face turns to stone and only gives May a curt nod. He spins on his heels and throws over his shoulder, “Don’t be pissed at Ledger. It was my choice to keep you out of the loop while he wanted you to know everything. I outrank him and it was a club decision on my part. I won’t interfere again since he made it clear he’s in charge of you, with you being his old lady and all.”

  The door slams shut behind him, leaving May without an option to reply.

  “Asshole,” she bellows. I guess she did find a way to reply.

  The corner of my mouth twitches but I make sure not to laugh or so much as smile when her eyes land on mine.

  “Did you let him dictate to you?” May snaps as she’s now standing in front of me.

  Great, Colt. I’m pretty sure he said he would take the brunt of her anger, but he totally sidestepped and got the fuck out of the cabin, leaving me to face this shit by myself.

  “It’s not like that. I wanted to–”

  “Save it,” Mayven snaps. “You decided it was okay not to tell me everything.”

  Kay lets out an audible sigh. “May, come on, be reasonable. Some things are club business and how screwed-up it might be, they withhold information for your safety. Besides, you heard Colt, it was his decision since Colt is the enforcer and it’s basically his job to keep shit in line concerning the club. Life is too short to fuss. You love the guy, look at him…I swear his face looks like someone stole his favorite toy. Come on, kiss and make up already.”

  Kay wins points in my book, that’s for sure.

  Mayven’s shoulders sag. “My brother needs to come back so I can yell at him.”

  The door opens and Colt steps inside. All eyes land on him. He glances over everyone and grumbles, “What?”

  Mayven points a finger in his direction. “I’m still pissed at you.”

  Colt merely shrugs again–the man has perfected the move and added it
into his vocabulary–and stalks past her to face Kay. “Seven days. You have seven days here before Rowen comes to take you home.”

  Gratitude fills her face. “Thank you.”

  Colt grunts, spins on his heels and heads toward the door again.

  “Hey, come back here,” May quips.

  “Yeah, yeah, you’re still mad at me, whatever,” Colt mutters before the door slams shut behind him.

  “Asshole,” May bellows again.

  This time I do laugh and Kay bursts out laughing along with me. May huffs but a smile tugs at her face. I hold out my hand and my heart skips a beat when she strides toward me without thinking twice.

  I wrap my arms around her and hold tight, burying my nose into her hair to breathe her in. I slide my hand in her hair to fist it and gently tip her head back to place a soft kiss on her lips. Rather than telling her I’m sorry for fucking up, I let her taste my apology on her tongue.

  “You guys need me to step out for a few minutes? ‘Cause I will,” Kay says, laughter in her voice.

  Not rushing to end the kiss, I engage our tongues into another sensual dance before regretfully pulling back. I murmur my question for her ears only against her lips. “We okay?”

  “Yeah,” she whispers back.

  “It wasn’t my choice but this also shows me you’re the kind of old lady who functions better when she has the flow of information. And there will be things–”

  “You won’t be able to share. I understand, believe me, I do. But this was something that concerns me. I might have blown it out of proportion a bit.” She bites her lip.

  I brush my thumb over her lip to pull it free. “We barely have our footing in our relationship, all while you mentioned relocating here permanently to me mere moments ago and right after you found out we withheld information. I completely understand how it fueled a breach of trust. But it also shows we’re past it now and move on stronger, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” she whispers again.

  “You’re leaving Shreveport?” Kay questions, shock flowing through each word.

  “Shit,” Mayven mutters underneath her breath.

  I place a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m going to leave you two to discuss things. I want to check on Coffee and will talk to Weston to make sure he knows Colt won’t ever have a say in any shit that involves my old lady.”

  The look she gives me makes my chest squeeze.

  “I’ll be back later.”

  “Later,” she echoes and I head out.

  Garrett strolls out of the stables. “Hey.”

  I lift my chin. “I was going to check on Coffee.”

  “A prospect put him in his stall. I just checked and he’s comfy.”

  “Any idea where Prez is?” I question.

  Garrett points toward the pasture on the left. Yards away I see a few bikes herding some of our Longhorns to put them into another pasture. We stroll toward the fence and I lean my forearms on the top rung.

  “Colt came in to check on Coffee too. He mentioned something about needing extra security. He’s helping Weston with the herd and then they’re heading for church. He asked me to sit in during their meeting. Any idea what it’s about? Your old lady?”

  “Her friend, Kadence, just arrived here.”

  “Fucking hell,” Garrett grumbles underneath his breath. “Why would she risk bringing trouble to our doorstep? Does Rowen know? He’s the president now that his father is dead. From what Colt told us he doesn’t seem like the type who would let his sister leave when there’s a risk of a rat out for blood.”

  “I think Colt called Rowen to let him know his sister ran out and how she ended up on our doorstep. He mentioned she’ll be here for seven days.”

  Garrett nods at my words. “Maybe it’s a good thing. A little movement in the clubhouse gives them a chance to draw out the rats and end them. And you know how tight our security is. We only have to assign round the clock eyes where we normally just have shifts keeping an eye out. We’ve been in similar situations before with risks hanging over our heads, and it’s clear we can handle it if someone would want to do her harm.”

  I mindlessly nod. “It’s not just Kadence who’s at risk. She’s my old lady’s friend so where she is, Mayven is near too. And what you mentioned about having been in similar dangerous situations in the past…that was before there were young kids roaming around the clubhouse.”

  “Still. We protect our own. But I don’t get why Colt arranged for her to stay seven days. Why would he?”

  I rub two fingers against my jaw and think things over. “He had a heated reaction when she showed up. They fuel a fire between them and I have no clue why. But we heard her mother killed herself the day of her father’s funeral, after Mayven ran out. Rowen has kept her on lockdown.”

  Garrett whistles low. “Anyone would go crazy. Even more when she hasn’t been around the club lately. That’s what Colt mentioned when he did his research the moment Kadence became Mayven’s roommate.”

  Mayven might not have been aware of all the background information and the situation Deranged Hounds MC is in, but everyone else was briefed by all the intel Colt obtained.

  “Mind keeping us company for a few days? You’re up-to-date about everything and I could use an extra pair of eyes in the cabin just in case someone slips through our defenses.”

  “Sure. Not that anyone would slip through our defenses.” Garrett grins as the roaring of bikes closes in.

  Weston, Colt, Hopper, and Decker park their bikes and head toward us.

  “Kiss and made up?” Colt taunts.

  I ignore his question and jump straight to the point. “I’ve asked Garrett to stay at the cabin. He can–”

  “That won’t be necessary. She’s my sister, your old lady: I’m staying. Garrett can watch the perimeter or keep an eye on the cameras for all I care.”

  I give a firm shake of my head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, you and Kadence seem to go head to head at every turn.”

  “Bullshit. Besides, I already talked shit through with Prez,” Colt snaps.

  My eyes find Weston’s and he’s watching Colt before he turns to me and shrugs. “If it doesn’t work out, we can always switch.”

  “Fine,” I grumble.

  “Okay, I need a drink and some food. Church in two hours since I need to feed my kids and put them to bed.” Weston doesn’t wait for anyone to comment but heads toward his house.

  “I have to pick up Muriel from the airport. She had a concert last night and lands in about forty minutes.

  “Want me to tag along?” Hopper questions.

  Decker nods and both head for their bikes.

  “I’m going to grab some stuff from my cabin. I’ll be at your place within twenty minutes,” Colt snaps and jogs off.

  “Is it me or were his claws and dick out? Ready to pee all over your cabin and claw my eyes out if I came near,” Garrett says.

  We both watch Colt speed off on his bike.

  “Caught that, huh?” I mutter and voice my thoughts, “I have no clue but if he has the hots for a princess of a completely different MC…he’s setting himself up for a doom scenario. Might even pull us down along with it.”

  The both of us fall silent, aware some things just have to play out to see what happens. I guess the next couple of days will prove if the new situation is a challenging one.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  – MAYVEN –

  “I could get used to this,” I murmur as I get on the back of Ledger’s bike.

  The bike comes to life underneath us, the vibration adding to the excitement. I can tell you right now there’s no better feeling than to be plastered against his back while the wind whips around us, clouds above while the scenery flashes by.

  Well, maybe riding Coffee at full speed while Ledger is riding his horse right next to me, or behind me because Coffee is a fast horse. But I guess it’s the speed while enjoying something you share passionately with the right person. And Ledger is the right pe
rson.

  Another four days have gone by since Kay arrived here. Colt demanded she’d stay on the ranch where she’s fully protected but after seeing her wrapped in sadness and grief, he decided it was better to tag along with me and Ledger today.

  I’m doing my deliveries and just dropped off the last lunch packages at the veterinarian clinic. Cassidy was working today along with Harlene. But it was Joaquin who took the packages and gave me the new order for tomorrow.

  We’re riding back to the ranch and Ledger is following Colt. Kay is on the back of Colt’s bike and it makes me smile to watch her throw her head back to yell at the wind. I feel Ledger rumble with laughter and I know it’s because of Kay who is acting like a little girl having excitement over something as simple as a ride.

  Colt seems to catch on too since I hear him rip open his bike as he picks up speed. Ledger doesn’t follow at the same speed. I tighten my arms, relishing in the way he feels plastered against me. His hand touches my thigh and he gives a squeeze before gripping the handle again.

  We might not have had many intimate moments over the last few days due to the fact that we share the cabin with both Kay and Colt, but we’ve grown closer. Maybe the anticipation to have each other again spikes the craving.

  While we could have sex, it would have to be as quiet as possible. The walls in the cabin are paper thin and with Colt sleeping on the couch and Kay on the other side of our bedroom…yeah, no sex. Three more days. Colt said Rowen was coming to pick Kay up in three days and then we’ll have the cabin all to ourselves again.

  I’m sad Kay has to go. She hasn’t exactly said it in as many words but I know she hates that I’m moving in with Ledger. I wish she could stay here and maybe she should since she only has her brother left and the contact between them was always scarce.

  She was somewhat close with her parents and had dinner at their house a few times a week. And to be honest? I’m not liking the fact that she has no one and will be alone at the apartment. But I guess she needs to be back at the clubhouse first because Colt called for an update last night and the two men they are searching for haven’t turned up yet.