“I told you, I was blind drunk and stealing your truck seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“A good idea?” I challenged.
“I said it seemed like a good idea. Obviously, I was outta my fucking mind. Look, I’ve been staying at this shelter for about a week and it’s filled with kids that aren’t gonna see Jack Shit for Christmas, let alone Jack Frost. I was drinkin’, feeling sorry for myself, and then I started feelin’ sorry for all those little kids. The next thing I knew, I was in the suit and behind the wheel of the rig. I’m not even sure how I got into the alley.”
“It’s a miracle you didn’t kill anybody,” Crow said.
“I hadn’t had a drink in over ten years before yesterday morning,” Scott said with tears welling in his eyes as Booker handed him a cup of coffee, which he took and thanked him for. “But I drank until I couldn’t see straight, and I can only see the rest in blurry snapshots. I remember a bell ringing and wrestling with Santa, then I remember pulling on a string of Christmas lights. I have a vague recollection of driving, then the next thing I knew, Hatch was tapping on the windshield.”
“Why start up again yesterday?” Crow asked.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” Scott said, rising to his feet, the tone in his voice darkening instantly. My hand instinctively went to my sidearm and I unsnapped my holster. As harmless as he seemed, this guy was clearly far from stable.
Crow waved a hand. “It’s okay, we’re just talking here. Go ahead and sit back down or you’ll make Hatch nervous.”
Scott did as he was asked and continued, “I’m sorry, it’s just...something I haven’t talked about... with anyone.”
“Look, man, you’ve clearly been through some shit, but you can’t go around stealing just because you got loaded,” I said.
“I wasn’t stealing,” he sighed. “I mean, yeah, obviously I stole your truck, but like I said, in my drunken mind, I was trying to play Santa to a bunch of needy kids, just like I used to.” Scott’s face fell. He looked like a shell of a man and my heart went out to him.
He continued, “You guys saw my bike. I’ve ridden with my friends back in Florida all my life. Never in a formal club or anything, but we had our guys, and every Christmas, we’d join in with a bunch of other local area bikers and do a big toy drive. I was at Duke’s bar on Fifth and I saw y’all’s rig pull up for a donation pick up. Something inside me snapped when I saw it was a club drive, so I followed you back here. I sat and watched, getting more and more drunk, until it got dark and the coast was clear. I remember the keys were in the truck and then it all gets real fuzzy.”
“Ace, call Duke and ask him if he remembers anything from last night,” Crow said.
“I swear I’m telling you guys the truth,” Scott said.
“Maybe you are telling us the truth, but you aren’t telling us the whole truth.”
“What do you mean? I told you everything I can remember.”
“Everything except for what you were running from in Florida, why you fell off the wagon after a ten-year ride, and what triggered a Florida Gator to put on the big red suit.”
“I told you I don’t want to talk about that,” Scott replied.
“And I can’t trust a man if I don’t know his motivations, and if I can’t trust you, I certainly can’t just let you waltz outta here when I don’t know what you’re capable of.”
“Come on, Crow, what’s the guy gonna do, come back in April for our Easter baskets?” Booker asked. “Look at him.”
“I am looking at Mr. Gator here, Booker, and he looks like trouble to me, and troubled people are dangerous. It’s my job to protect this club from dangerous people.”
“I’m not dangerous,” Scott replied.
“What do you call getting loaded and getting behind the wheel of a stolen semi-truck?”
“Regrettable,” Scott answered with zero self-pity in his tone. “Out of everything I’ve done, I regret that more than anything. Please believe me that it won’t happen again.”
“I don’t believe you, because I don’t know you. You won’t even tell us what you’re doing here, or why you’ve been hoboing across the country for a year. It’s time to get the cops involved. If you don’t want to talk to us, maybe you should talk to them,” Crow said matter-of-factly.
Scott swiped a hand over his forehead. “I lost my wife and daughter. They were killed in a car accident exactly one year ago yesterday. I was married for twelve years. My daughter Caitlin was ten-years-old.” He buried his face in his hands before composing himself and continuing, “I’m sorry, I don’t talk about this, ever. I hit the road after the funeral and haven’t been back home since. I left with nothin’ but the clothes on my back and my ten-year coin in my pocket, and now I don’t even have that.”
“Jesus, brother, that’s terrible,” Crow said.
Ace came back into the room. “I just got off the phone with Duke and apparently someone stole the clothes, beard, and hat from the life-size animatronic Santa he puts by the front door every year, along with all the Christmas lights he’d just put up.”
Crow looked up at our guest. “Alright, Gator, let’s figure out what we’re gonna do with you.”
* * *
Maisie
“What do you mean, he’s still there?” I breathed out. “You’re supposed to be keeping him away from the compound, not give him reasons to stick around.”
“Babe, he’s here. We got a situation, but I’m just givin’ you a heads-up,” Hawk said.
“Hawk,” I said, very slowly. “Hatch cannot, under any circumstances, go into the back of that shop.”
“Maisie, we know. If I knew you were gonna bust my fuckin’ balls, I woulda kept you in the dark. We’re handlin’ it.”
I sighed. “Okay, Hawk. I appreciate that.”
“Talk to you later.”
He hung up and I made a plan, letting Poppy know I wouldn’t be long (I hoped), and went to make sure my man didn’t get nosy. As I drove into Cully, I had a moment of guilt, mostly because I had always promised Hatch I wouldn’t drive down here alone, but desperate times and all that. I just hoped he wouldn’t be too angry, especially when he saw what I was hiding.
I pulled into the compound without incident, made it through the first door, then the second, before stepping into the lobby where my arm was grabbed (gently) and I was pulled up against a very familiar body. “What the fuck are you doin’ here, sunshine?” Hatch growled.
Okay, I think I may have made a rash choice.
“Told ya we had it handled, Maisie,” Hawk ground out.
“I know... but...”
Hatch turned on his brother. “Are you tryin’ to tell me you’re the reason my woman drove down here alone?”
“You wanna fill him in, Maisie?” Hawk challenged.
I grimaced.
“Come with me,” Hatch growled and led me into the kids’ playroom, slamming the door behind us. He crossed his arms and stood amongst a plastic kiddie oven, dollhouse, and building blocks, looking like he might kill someone. “Start talkin’.”
I bit my lip. “I don’t actually want to.”
“What the fuck, Maisie?” he snapped.
“If I tell you why I’m here, I’ll have to tell you what my surprise is,” I revealed. “And I really don’t want to do that.”
He scowled. “My surprise is here?”
“Um, no?” I lied.
“What’s the deal, Maisie?”
“I know what the deal is, love. And I’m sorry I drove here alone, at night, but as you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
“Did you tell anyone you were comin’?”
“Well, no, but again, I’m here and I’m okay.”
He stepped closer to me, his arms still crossed, his body still closed to me, and I hated it.
I flattened my palms against his chest, the leather of his cut cold to the touch. “I’m okay, honey.”
He continued to scowl, but he finally uncrossed his arms and wra
pped them around me. “Not happy, Maisie.”
“I can see that, love.” I slid my arms under his cut and gave him a squeeze. “I’m sorry.”
“Fuck!” he growled.
I squeezed my eyes shut and held on tight, then let out a sigh of resignation. “Come with me.”
I took his hand and dragged him out of the room, past some very amused looking bikers, and to the back of the compound. As I pushed open the door into the office area of the auto body shop, Hatch flipped on the lights and asked, “Sunshine, what the fuck’s goin’ on?”
“I have been trying to hide this damn thing for weeks, and quite frankly, it’s stressing me out, so you’re getting it tonight.” He raised an eyebrow and I squeezed his hand. “Close your eyes.”
By now, the rest of whoever had been hanging around had followed us into the back.
“Where did you stow it, buddy?” I asked Hawk.
“We put it back here,” he said, sounding a little irked, and walked toward the main shop.
Hatch and I followed (along with the rest of the guys).
“You know, we had this,” Hawk lamented... again. “If you’d left it alone, this coulda waited.”
“It was your job to keep him away from the compound, period,” I pointed out. “Excuse me if I had a little less faith in your ability to keep the secret... you know, since he’s been here almost every day for a week.”
“You really bustin’ my balls right now?” Hawk asked.
I sighed. “No. Not really. I appreciate your help. He’s impossible, so I know what you were up against.”
“Hey now,” Hatch said. “What the fuck did I do?”
“Why aren’t your eyes closed?”
“Can’t follow you if my eyes are closed, Sunshine.”
“Well, close them now, please,” I said, and kissed him quickly.
He did as I requested, and then Hawk pulled the cover off his surprise.
“You can open them now,” I said.
“Are you fuckin’ shittin’ me?” he virtually squeaked.
“Not even a little bit,” I said.
He circled the vintage bike, his expression one of awe. “Is this really a 1928 Indian Hill Climber?”
“Yep,” Ace said. “Found it down in Salem, and Mav and I picked it up last month.”
“It needs a lot of work,” I rushed to say, suddenly feeling a little insecure about my exorbitant purchase. “But you’ve been saying you wanted a project—”
His mouth was on mine before I could even finish my thought. I slid my hands in his hair as I was lifted high enough to wrap my legs around his waist and promptly carried out of the shop and up the stairs to our private room.
“Hatch,” I said between kisses. “The bike—”
“Can wait,” he growled, setting me on my feet. “Right now, I’m gonna fuckin’ show you my gratitude.”
I shivered in anticipation. “I can live with that.”
He threw off his cut and pulled off his shirt, while I slid my T-shirt over my head, then unclasped my bra. Licking my lips, I ran my fingers between his pecs. He reached for me, unzipping my jeans and pushing them off my body, panties and all.
“On your back, Sunshine.”
“No,” I argued and knelt in front of him, unbuttoning his jeans and tugging them down his legs. I wrapped my fingers around his hardening length and slid my hand down, cupping him before taking his cock into my mouth. Hatch hissed, fisting his hands in my hair.
I took him deep in the back of my throat, my mouth watering almost as much as my pussy, and dragged my lips up and down his length, licking the pre-cum off his tip before taking him deep again.
Hatch tugged my hair gently. “On your knees.”
I’d learned pretty early on in our relationship that he was in charge in the bedroom, and I was thrilled by his bossiness when it came to sex, so I immediately went there. Hatch guided himself inside of me and I dropped my head back at the sensation.
“So fuckin’ wet.” His palm connected with my bare bottom and I whimpered and pushed my body back against him.
“Love the bike, baby,” he said, burying himself deeper. “Didn’t think I could fuckin’ love you more.”
I didn’t get the chance to respond as he slammed into me again, his palm slapping me a little harder this time and the sensation overtook everything. Sliding one hand between my legs and fingering my clit, I came the second the palm of his other hand slapped against my bottom again, crying out while he continued to thrust into me. His body locked and he wrapped his arms around me, gently rolling us to the side and nibbling the back of my neck.
“So, you like the bike,” I deduced, and Hatch laughed, turning me to face him.
He stroked my cheek and his eyes got soft as he said, “I love you Maisie Wallace. I’d love you even if you didn’t spend a fuckin’ mint to buy me that bike, but I do love the bike.”
“It wasn’t quite a mint,” I said.
“You know what I love more, though?”
“What?”
“The fact you went to all those lengths to surprise me.” He kissed me gently. “You bring me to my knees, baby. In the best of ways.”
“Technically, I was the one on my knees.”
He shook his head. “You really can’t take a compliment, can you?”
I smiled. “Guilty.”
“Not gonna beat a dead horse about you drivin’ here, but I need you to promise you won’t do that again, sunshine.”
“I can do that, darling. I should have trusted Hawk to keep the secret.”
“Yeah, baby, you should have.”
“But I can’t say I regret rushing over here... I’ll take a thorough fucking as punishment any day.”
Hatch laughed. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I leaned over and kissed him. “And I win.”
From our first Christmas together, we’d been competing to out-Christmas Christmas. So far, Hatch had won all but one year, because he was so incredibly sentimental and romantic, and I just wasn’t. But this year, I was pretty confident I’d won.
Hatch slid off the bed. “It’s not Christmas yet, Sunshine.”
I sat up with a shrug. “Doesn’t matter. I win.”
He grinned as he dragged on his clothing. “You that confident, baby?”
“Well, I was.” I bit my lip. “What have you done?”
“Me?” he asked, all mock innocence and shit.
I jumped off the bed and slid my arms around his waist. “Did you buy me a pony? Because a pony might give you a lead in the contest, but if it’s not a pony, then I win.”
He grinned, leaning down to kiss me. “You’ll have to wait until Christmas morning.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I hate waiting.”
“I’m aware... further proven by the fact you couldn’t wait to show me my surprise.”
I donned my clothes and said, “I had to do that.”
“Yep, sure you did,” he deadpanned.
I gripped his cut and grinned up at him. “That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.”
“Doublin’ down. I like it.” He kissed me again and stroked my neck. “Come on, baby, I’ll drive you home. A couple of the recruits can bring my truck back tomorrow.”
“Where’s the Christmas truck?”
“Safe,” he said. “I’ll tell you the story on the way home.”
I nodded and followed him out of the room, then down to the great room where Hatch spent some time hugging his brothers and thanking them for keeping the secret, then he led me out to my car and took me home... where he thanked me some more.
Dani
The morning of the party, I woke up with a tightness in my belly and a general uncomfortableness, but I refused to say anything to Austin, because he’d just freak out and overreact. The same thing happened with Archer, and Austin had rushed me to the hospital three times, in less than a week, before the doctor said not to come back unless my contractions were less than five-minutes apart. I
thought my man’s head would explode... or he’d kill the doctor, so I’d had to keep my pain to myself for several weeks and it wasn’t easy.
“Baby, you ready?”
I took a deep breath, and called out, “Yep!”
I ran my hands over my stomach and took another couple of deep breaths before heading down the hall and into the foyer. Austin grinned, holding my coat and helping me into it. Once it was over my shoulders, he placed his hands gently on my belly, leaned down, and kissed me, before standing with a frown. “You’re rock hard, baby.”
“Am I?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You in pain?”
“No.” It wasn’t a lie. I wasn’t in pain right at that second.
“We should call the doctor.”
I smiled, reaching up to stroke his cheek. “Honey, I’m fine. The baby’s fine. I promise, I’ll take it slow and let other people do the work, okay?”
He continued to study me.
“I’m dying to meet Gator and see all the kids. Don’t make me miss it by rushing me to the hospital. It’ll just end up being nothing, and a total waste of time.”
“Dani—”
“I promise if I feel pain, I’ll tell you.”
“Dad, we need to go,” Cash said.
“I know, bud.” Austin sighed, but gave me a reluctant nod. “One twinge and I wanna know about it.”
“Deal,” I said.
He kissed me again, then we headed downstairs and piled into the truck.
Arriving at the compound, I waddled inside while Austin and the boys grabbed all of the food.
“Dani!” Kim called, rushing to me and pulling me in for a gentle hug. “How are you?”
“The same as I was yesterday when you ‘were in the neighborhood’ and dropped by to check on me.”
She chuckled as she guided me to an oversized chair and forced me to sit down. “Macey and Dallas are coming later, so maybe Macey can check you over.”
Macey was a registered nurse and just happened to be Payton’s bestie.
“Honey, I’m fine,” I insisted.
“Awesome,” Kim retorted. “She’ll be able to confirm that.”
“God, lady, you’re worse than my husband.”
She grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
The Davenport Christmas Chronicles Page 5
