by Jamie Begley
Ginny moved her finger back to electronic button. The last thing Gavin needed was to take any of Greer’s marital advice.
“Hey!” Greer shouted.
Ginny reluctantly took her finger of the button.
“You damn near cut my arm off.”
“Sorry.” She really wasn’t sorry, and from Greer’s keen gaze, he was aware of the fact.
“It’s a sorry day when you save that fucker’s arm who beat the fuck out of you, while you try to cut mine off with a window.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“Like I believe that crock. And here I only came over to give you my congratulations on getting hitched.”
“Thank-you. I appreciate your well wishes.”
Ginny raised her voice to be heard over Gavin’s. “Gavin and I aren’t hitched!”
Greer stared at Gavin pityingly. “Boy, you gotta show her who’s boss. She running over your ass now, it won’t be long before she’s taking over your checking account. Won’t let you drink a beer in front of the youngins—”
Greer poked his head up over the roof of the car as another car pulled in next to Viper’s.
Ginny saw Greer’s wife getting out the car as she said something to her sister-in-law, who was behind the steering wheel. From the open window, Ginny could hear the squabble of childish voices coming from the back seat before Holly closed the door to walk around Viper’s car.
“Hey, Ginny,” Holly greeted her.
“Hey, Holly,” Ginny responded. “Sounds like you and Sutton have your hands full with the kids.”
“They’re tired of being cooped up, and so are we. Sutton and I are getting them some take-out and letting them go hiking toward Big Eddy’s Creek.”
“Sounds like fun.”
Holly laughed. “We’re hoping they’ll come back and crash for the rest of evening. Sutton and I need a girls’ night.”
Greer snorted rudely. “How about a hubby night? You promised me for the last week that you would switch out with Sutton and Jessie. What’s a man gotta do to get some lovin’?”
Holly wiggled the back of her finger to Greer, indicting she wanted to talk to him privately.
Mulishly, Greer stomped over to her. “What?”
“I need forty dollars for the take-out.”
“Where you eatin’? Kings?” Greer sulkily took out his wallet. “There’s a twenty; take ’em to 7-Eleven. Their Big Gulps are on sale. Buy two for them heathens to share. It’ll cost you a couple of dollars. Take what’s left and go to White Castle; you can get a ton of those little burgers to feed all of you. Forget the fries; they’re too expensive.” Greer started to put his wallet back in his pants.
Holly determinedly remained standing in front of him with her hand out. “I like fries, and so do your children, Sutton, and your nephews.”
“Woman, you’re killin’ me!” Greer opened his wallet, giving her the money she requested.
Holly still didn’t move her hand away. “You can also hand over the check you stole from the back of our checkbook this morning.”
“Woman, I told you I’ma buyin’ that new rifle that just came back in stock at Beacon’s.”
“And I told you no.”
“It’s my money!” Greer caterwauled.
“Our money. And if you want it that badly, you can ask Santa to bring it to you for Christmas. Give it back.”
“Too late. I already bought it.”
“No, you didn’t. I called and checked before I left the house.”
Greer puffed his chest out like a rooster. “You better not have told Dan why you called! A man’s got pride—”
Holly said something to Greer that she couldn’t hear, so Ginny leaned her head out the window, straining to hear. Whatever she said, it had Greer opening his wallet to give the check back and the extra twenty.
“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Holly said in a normal voice before giving Greer a peck on the check.
“Bye, Ginny!” Holly waved at her as she went back to Sutton’s car.
“Bye!” Ginny called back, watching as Greer swaggered back to lean against the car.
“I didn’t want that gun anyway.” Trying to salvage his ego, he tried to explain why he hadn’t taken his own marital advice but failed to regain his rooster status. “Dan’s got another sweet one coming in next month.”
Unable to prevent herself from smiling, she immediately brought her hand to her lips at the pain. The movement intensified the discomfort she was downplaying.
Greer reached through the open window to rest his hand on her shoulder as he directed his gaze on Gavin. “Friday still good for you? I could use a night out from the ball and chain.”
“Yes, I’m right there with you,” Gavin commiserated.
“What do you mean by that?” Ginny snapped.
“No need to get on your high horse.” Greer laid his hand more firmly on her shoulder, as if afraid she needed to be held back from attacking Gavin. “Ain’t gonna be no hoochie mamas there.” Dipping his head farther into the window, Greer asked wistfully, “Are there?”
“No, just Silas.”
“Uh … Greer? You really shouldn’t be so close.” Ginny began to feel uncomfortable with Greer standing so close to her. The heat coming from his hand on her shoulder was creating tingling through her body.
“Why? The whole town has been vaccinated.”
Ginny looked at him questioningly. “The whole town? When I left PharmFYOU, they were trying to get the vaccine approved for the study.”
“They got approval. Arin sent enough doses for the whole town. I reckon it didn’t hurt none that Jewell and Arin are like sisters, and her man is a Last Rider.”
“Still, the study would have to have a certain number of placebos for the study to be accurate.”
“Do they?” Greer wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Reckon she’ll have to throw out the town’s results. Nice to have people in high places, ain’t it?”
“The whole town?” she repeated.
Ginny found it surprising the town’s Mayor and the health professionals in Treepoint were able to convince the whole town’s population to take it. Many had the wait-and-see mentality that had been bred into them from waiting to see how something tasted until some sucker tried it first, or seeing if a neighbor could pull them out of a ditch before they put their snow chains on.
“You can thank me for that. Since Knox left me in charge while he was out of town, I spread the news around that if any of my deputies wrote them a ticket, they could bring the ticket to me, and if they showed me their vaccination cards, I would tear up the ticket.”
“Is that legal?”
“Of course, I was the sheriff. I could do anything I wanted.”
“But … how in the world was everyone else convinced to take it?” Ginny was stunned. She would have bet that a large section of the town’s population wouldn’t be convinced to take the vaccine. How many tickets had been written?
Greer removed his hand and straightened from the car to pull his pants up. “That was all my doing, too,” he bragged.
Ginny narrowed her gaze on Greer. “What else did you do?”
Greer squinted down at her, unfazed. “It might have gotten around town that everyone who took the vaccine would be given a free ticket to the concert you’re going to have when the state lets us start having them again.”
“The whole town took the vaccine just to come hear me sing?” Misty tears came to her eyes. For the townspeople to be willing to take the vaccine showed how happy they were that she had found a measure of success. However, she was only to experience the joy for a second before Greer brought her back to earth.
Frowning at her as if she misheard him, he clarified what he meant. “I wouldn’t go that far. Some people in town … you know how they be needin’ some more convincing.”
Ginny furrowed her brow. “How’d you do that?”
“When I was having lunch, I might have told a few of the men that I was in th
e trials and my dick grew three inches.”
“You didn’t?” Ginny gasped.
“Why not? It’s not like I had to show them a before and after picture.”
“That’s false advertising.” Besides, what knuckleheads would believe that?
Greer shrugged. “How’s it false advertising? PharmFYOU wasn’t saying it; I was.”
Resting her elbow on the door ledge, Ginny started rubbing her forehead. He was giving her a headache trying to keep up with his train of thought.
“The men in town believed you?”
“Sure did.” Greer snickered. “You should have seen the line outside the health department.”
“Okay. I can see men being stupid enough to believe that nonsense.” She couldn’t, but men’s psyches had never been her strong point. “But you said the whole town: How’d you convince the women?”
Greer blew out a sarcastic raspberry. “They were the ones making sure their men stayed in those long lines.”
“Still …” She couldn’t believe those were the two reasons that got the town inoculated.
Seeing her doubts, Greer looked over both his shoulders to make sure no one was listening then said, “I might—I ain’t saying I did or didn’t—but I might have threw in a couple of greens of Tate’s Tennessee Gold.”
That Ginny believed. “Isn’t that illegal for a sheriff to do?”
Greer didn’t argue that point. “Who’s gonna tell? Tate’s weed is harder to get than the vaccine. We only have a small supply. The wives don’t want us growing it no more. A man has to have their hobbies, you know?” He squinted at her like she should be agreeing with him.
“I can see their point. It’s hard to raise children when their father is in prison.”
“We’d have to be caught first.”
Dismissing her concern, Greer gave a nod to Viper as he walked toward the SUV. “Is that whiny baby still crying for a doctor?”
“Yes. Where’s Dr. Price at? I thought you were supposed to give him a ride from the Fieldman’s when he couldn’t get his car started?”
“On my way.” Greer didn’t rush away at getting caught lingering with them instead of doing the job that Knox had sent him on.
“We headed for the club?” Viper asked once he was seated in the back seat.
“Gavin is taking me to Silas’s home. I’m staying there.”
“We’re staying at the club,” Gavin contradicted her as if it were a done deal. “My wife is staying with me.”
Embarrassed at Gavin making the claim in front of Greer and Viper had her voice raising. “We’re not married!”
Gavin shifted in his seat to give her a steely look. “Viper, are Ginny and I married?”
“Yes.”
Gavin gave her a smart aleck bob of his head as if to say “I told you so” at Viper’s answer.
“We. Are. Not. Married!”
Gavin just arched his brows, refusing to argue with her.
“We aren’t!”
“Ah … Reaper, you want a piece of advice from me?” Greer poked his head back through the window.
“No! We don’t!” Pressing the button to roll the window up, Greer barely managed to get his head out before being decapitated. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep him from yelling his advice out.
“Damn, boy, if my wife said she weren’t married to me, I know what I would do.”
Ginny shot Gavin a killing look when he pressed the electronic button on his door to roll her window back down.
“What would you do?” Gavin asked with interest.
“Run.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“Will you two quit laughing?” Ginny said stiffly, which made them laugh even harder. “I don’t know what you two find so amusing.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t.”
Ginny turned in her seat to see Viper practically curling in laughter in the back seat he was laughing so hard.
“I bet Winter wouldn’t find it amusing either,” Ginny warned him.
Viper howled louder, agreeing with her. “She wouldn’t.”
Ginny loftily stared out the window as they pulled out of the sheriff’s office rather than strangle the two buffoons.
“Hardy har har. Holly is a saint to be married to that man.” Ginny thought back to the way Greer had looked when they left. “Did either of you notice Greer wasn’t looking so hot?” When he stepped away from the car, Greer had seemed ready to drop. Feeling bad for the unkind thoughts about the He-Man attitude that generally came out of Greer’s mouth, Ginny regretted not asking if he was feeling okay. “Should I call him and check on him?”
“Use my phone.” Gavin motioned toward the charging station on the console. “In my contacts is Dr. Price; ask him to check Greer out before worrying about Allerton.”
Ginny looked askance at him before taking the phone. “You want me to use your phone?”
Gavin took his eyes away from the road to give her a frown at the question. “Yes. Why? You afraid of my germs?”
“No. I just thought men hated women using their phones?”
“There’s nothing on there that you can’t see.”
“Viper, do you let Winter see your phone?” Ginny looked at Viper in the rearview mirror, interested in another man’s take on their conversation.
“Fuck no. Not anymore.”
Ginny decided to ask Winter about Viper’s reaction the next time she saw her. She would have asked Viper, but she didn’t want to come across as nosy in front of both men.
Disconnecting the cell phone from the charging cable, Ginny felt an inexplicable rush of pleasure at doing something some couples refused to share. She knew it was silly, but it felt as if Gavin was sharing another part of his life with her.
Making the call, she felt better once she had spoken to Dr. Price.
Disconnecting the call when she finished, she put it back on the charging station.
As they were driving past Mick’s bar, Ginny was tempted to ask him to pull over for a burger, then decided against it. Her mouth was still too sore, and she realized she hadn’t put the ice pack back on her lips and jaw, moving her finger up to explore her face.
Confused at the absence of pain, she lowered the sun visor to look in the mirror. She was still staring at her face in bewilderment when the SUV stopped.
Flipping the visor up, she saw they were at The Last Riders’ clubhouse and factory.
“You dropping Viper off before taking me home?” Holding her anger back until her suspicion was confirmed, Ginny gave him the opportunity to answer before she reached for his phone to call Silas to come get her.
“Viper, you go ahead. Ginny and I will be up in a few.”
Waiting until Viper closed the door behind him after getting out, Gavin turned the motor off, studying her face as he unbuckled his seat belt before turning in his seat to face her. “You’re looking better.” Reaching out, he brushed a fingertip across her bottom lip. “Ginny, for now, it makes more sense to stay here.”
She didn’t let his softness sway her. “How does it make more sense?”
“Allerton may be in the FBI’s custody, but he has enough money to take you out in the blink of an eye. No one will be able to get near you at the clubhouse. We both know you won’t stay in Silas’s house. You’ll be running all over the property, putting not only yourself at risk, but your brothers.”
“No one comes on our property without the dogs or one of my brothers knowing.”
“Silas’s house has a road right in front of it with another property that someone could get access to without your knowledge. A sharpshooter could take you out while Silas is out of the house, or they could take him out also.”
Ginny swallowed hard at the thought of one of her brothers being caught in the crossfire. She started fiddling with the ice pack on her lap, unable to come up with another reason not to stay at the club.
“Ginny, am I taking it too much for granted? Do you not want to live with me?”
�
��I do.”
“You just want it on your terms, then.”
“That’s not true. I want us both to be happy.” Ginny licked her dry lips, still shocked at how much of the swelling had gone down. “I thought you liked living at Silas’s house and working with my brothers.”
“I do, and I will be again when we build our home where you want to. I’m too old to be waiting for Silas to go to bed for you to sneak down to my room, and yours is too small. And take into account whether you would be comfortable having sex with your brother in the house. Would you?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Why don’t you want to stay at the clubhouse?”
Her stomach did a flip at the gentle way he spoke to her.
“I know why Willa and Viper made it a rule for me not to go upstairs when I worked at the club and why I had to be out of the clubhouse by five on Fridays.”
“Killyama told you?”
“Gavin, if you get Killyama in trouble, I’ll never forgive you. She’s like a sister to me.”
“Ginny, it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what goes on upstairs. It’s a motorcycle club, hell, not an apartment building.”
“I would die if I were to see one of the men naked.” She hastily qualified, “I wouldn’t be thrilled to see any of the women naked either.”
“I’ll make sure that they’ll behave themselves as long as we live here,” he promised.
“Won’t that make them mad at you?”
“They can deal. It’ll only be temporary.”
“How long are we talking about?”
Gavin shrugged. “However long it takes you to build our house. With your brothers and The Last Riders working on it, shouldn’t take longer than three or fourth months. If the weather stays good and it doesn’t rain much, two or three.”
“Is Taylor still here?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t asked. If she is, I’ll tell her to leave.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to be with you if your mind is still on her.”
“Taylor is the last thing on my mind. I’m more concerned about making you happy right now.”
