by Jamie Begley
“Four.”
“Four?”
“Four,” Reaper repeated, aware of the brothers in the kitchen listening in. “Any of them have experience laying bricks, I’ll pay extra.”
The humorous expressions had him instantly regretting asking, but dammit, he didn’t want a crooked shed.
“They make brick sheds?”
Tuning out the snickers from the brothers, Reaper answered Viper. “Yes.” Then he gave Viper a condescending-asshole look, like how didn’t you know. “It’s the size of a two-door garage.”
“Hm … And why did you want it to be brick?”
“Ginny bought it for me. She wanted a sturdy garage for my bike.”
The jealous looks the brothers gave him made up for being the source of their prior amusement. Well, except for Shade, who wasn’t buying what he was selling.
“Jesus has the most construction experience; ask him.” Viper nodded his head back.
Reaper dragged his eyes to where Jesus was standing behind the counter with a shit-eating grin on his face. “I worked as brick layer for three summers when I was in high school and worked as one for two years when I worked for my dad’s construction company.”
Did he really care if the walls weren’t straight? Damn, the garage doors might be off track if they weren’t.
“I have to finish with kitchen duty today. I wasn’t planning on going to work for you until Monday, but I wouldn’t mind giving up my weekend. I do charge extra for brick laying.”
“Just let me know how much you want, and I’ll make a check out to you.”
Jesus didn’t let him off so easily. “I’m not cutting my hair.”
“Brah, I was joking. I didn’t expect you to cut your hair.” Calling Suki to him, Reaper got the hell out the kitchen.
Frustrated, he was angrier at himself than he was at Jesus. He didn’t know why in the hell Jesus’ hair bothered him. He just knew it did. He was absolutely losing it.
Ginny wasn’t making him lose his ever-loving mind. He was already there.
Going through the living room and out the front door, Reaper went down the steps to Viper’s car. Opening the back door to let Suki inside, Reaper shut the door before getting in the front seat. He needed to take a day to buy a car. He had basically taken over Viper’s, and while his brother hadn’t said anything, Reaper didn’t want to keep imposing.
He had never owned a car, even when he was in high school. He’d used Ton’s or Viper’s when he’d gone out on dates, if he hadn’t wanted to ride his bike. He needed a vehicle for Ginny and Suki.
Arriving at the Colemans’ property, he found the brothers hard at work. They had started on Silas’s shed, where they would store the lumber and equipment until the house was built.
“How’s it going?” Carrying his tumbler, Reaper walked up to the busy men.
“Pretty good.” Silas wiped a band of sweat away from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. “We’ve got two of the side walls built. Matt and Isaac are starting on the garage doors.”
“Lucky for me, there are so many of you.” Taking a drink of his coffee, he nearly spit it back out.
Silas saw the face he made. “Something wrong?”
“Decaf.”
Silas grimaced in sympathy. “I’d offer you some, but we made the last in the can this morning. I have to buy more when I go to the store tomorrow.”
“I’ll make do.” Reaper set the tumbler aside.
Checking to see where Suki was, he saw her sleeping on the porch.
Taking his phone out, he looked to see if Ginny had called. No messages. Irritated that she hadn’t answered, he almost called, then decided against it. She was probably just catching up with Willa and hadn’t seen his messages. Still, the woman could have at least texted him that she loved him. She could have told him when he was sleeping, and he hadn’t heard her. He would have to ask her when he caught up with her.
Pitching in with Silas and Matt, they worked steadily for the rest of the morning. Breaking for lunch, they went inside Silas’s house to make sandwiches and grab drinks, then returned back outside. They finished Silas’s shed and spent a good hour filling it with the lumber and equipment. Locking when they were done, they walked over to Matthew’s house and began putting his shed together.
Clicking the last wall in place, the men all stood back to admire their handiwork.
Glancing at his phone, Reaper saw that it was four.
“I’m going to have to head out. We can do your shed tomorrow, Isaac. One of the brothers from the club will be coming to help with the brickwork. By Monday, we should be able to get started on the house.”
“Sounds good,” Silas said. “What time do you want Greer and me to pick you up?”
“Six good?”
“Yes, that gives me enough time to eat and shower.”
Saying good-bye to Ginny’s brothers, Reaper called for Suki, who had been playing with the goats that were eating the cleared out brush and weed from where they built his shed.
Driving back to the club, he felt the physical toll of the work he’d done last night and today catching up with him. Stiffly getting out the SUV, he let Suki run up the front steps before him, wishing he chosen the back steps instead. If Puck, Nickel, and Jesus weren’t standing on the front porch, smoking cigarettes, he would have cut across the yard to do just that.
Nickel hurried to open the door before he was on the porch. “Looking rough, brother. Tough day?”
“Fuck off,” Reaper said, going inside.
Bypassing the stairs, he went through the living room, heading to kitchen to get a drink before attempting the steps. He was surprised to see Ginny and Killyama behind the bar, placing bottles of liquor into a blue grocery bag. The brothers were standing on the other side, watching what the two women were doing with tortured expressions on their faces.
Reaper was tempted to go back outside. He would rather be out there than stuck playing referee between Viper and the two women. But when Viper sent him a glare to stop the women—as Ginny picked out a tequila bottle—he walked over to stand with the brothers. He may be curious as to what the women wanted with all that alcohol, but he already knew it was going to be a losing batter to prevent Killyama from taking what she wanted. The clever woman was smart enough to know that without Ginny with her, Viper would never have let her take them. Viper was outgunned.
“Ginny, what are you doing?”
Ginny held the tequila bottle closer to her chest. “You’re back! I was just getting ready to text you!”
Reaper shoved his hands in his pockets. “You’ve had all day to answer my texts, and you’re now ready to respond to them?”
Ginny frowned. “You texted me? I must have missed it. The girls have a sleepover once a month at Sex Piston’s house.” Giving him an excited grin, she placed the bottle of liquor in the grocery bag. “This is the first one I’ve been able to go to.”
“Didn’t you learn a lesson yesterday? It isn’t safe—”
Raising her hand, Ginny lifted a finger one by one while call out names. “Stud, Calder, Dalton, Train, and Cade will be there. The guys stay upstairs when the girls stay for the night. Stud was going to invite you, but I told him that you were going out tonight with Silas and Greer. He said you’re welcome next month.”
When Ginny bent down to gather more supplies, Reaper was about to go around the corner to see what she was doing when cans of sodas began appearing. When the ginger ales began forming their own roll, Reaper had to press Viper back down on the stool.
Seeing that he wasn’t stopping Ginny and Killyama from the pilfering, the brothers turned their gazes to Train, who was playing pool with Razer. “Killy, Viper stocked the bar for the party tonight,” Train yelled over.
“Thanks, Viper.” Killyama popped one of the ginger ales to take a drink, eyeballing her husband who had quickly turned back to his pool game. “Sex Piston, Crazy Bitch, and T.A. thank you, too.”
Ginny popped back up. “Yo
u forgot to include me.”
“Bitch, you’ve got a tongue; thank himself yourself.”
Ginny started placing the sodas in the bag with the bottles. “Thanks, Viper. We really appreciate you letting us take party supplies. I was going to go to the store, but time got away from me. When I go, I’ll rebuy what we’re taking.”
“When are you going to the store?” Jewell asked, leaning over the bar to see what Ginny had placed in the bag.
Ginny zipped the bag closed. “Tomorrow. I need to restock my brothers’ groceries, so I’ll just throw in what I’m borrowing from you guys. I’ll keep the empty bottles, so I remember which liquors to replace.”
“Why do you need so much alcohol? Two of the women are pregnant,” Reaper questioned, studying Ginny closely.
“Just Trudy.” Killyama pulled another bottle of alcohol from the rack on the wall, placing it proprietary in the crook of her arm. “Mine was a false alarm. I didn’t expect Ginny to go blabbing it to Train before I could take a test.”
Ginny made a comical face at her. “Admit it; you used it as an excuse not to get the pot stickers.”
A buzzing had Ginny taking her phone from an outside pocket of the grocery bag. Reading the message, she then placed the phone back. “Trudy is here. Gavin, do you mind taking this bag down to the car for us?”
Internally groaning, Reaper used the strap to pick the bag up and nearly dropped it when he lifted it.
“You need me to do it?”
Reaper searched for the brother who made the muttered offer. They all suddenly seemed interested in playing cards as he walked the girls to the door.
Seeing they were heading out, Train gave his pool stick to Rider.
Letting the women go ahead of him, Reaper motioned for Train to go next, and when he reached his side, Reaper shoved an elbow into his stomach and handed the bag to Train.
He almost fell down twice. His legs felt like jelly. Promising himself to return back to his regular workout routine, he took another painful step, annoyed he’d had to take such a long break during his time on the Island.
At the car, his fingers tightened on Ginny’s elbow to prevent her from getting into the Lincoln Navigator. Reaper wanted to flip off the fucker behind the wheel. “How many expensive cars does Dalton have?”
Missing the snide edge to his voice, Ginny said, “I don’t know. You want me to ask?”
Reaper turned her until her back was to the group inside Dalton’s car. “Why didn’t you tell me last night that you’re staying the night with the girls?”
“I didn’t know it was tonight until Killyama called me this afternoon. I didn’t think it was a big deal with you going out. Do you not want me to go?”
“I want you to go. I was just curious why you didn’t mention it to me last night. I don’t want you to miss the first sleepover with the girls.” Reaper found it hard to convince her when he was finding it hard to convince himself he was cool with her going. “Did you take everything you need? You want to ask Trudy? I could send Train back up to the club to get what she wants.”
“No, we’re good. I took one more bottle than we usually drink when we spend the night together.” Going up onto her tiptoes, she tried to kiss him, but Reaper pulled his head back slightly.
“I thought you haven’t been to their sleepovers before?”
“Oh … not at Sex Piston’s. We’ve had sleepovers when we could sneak off to Lexington after scrounging enough money together.”
Lowering his mouth, Reaper gave her a hard kiss. “Keep your phone on you.”
“I will,” she promised. “You have a good time with Silas and Greer.”
Reaper watched her get in the Lincoln, forcing himself not to remind her that she was forgetting something. He stood there until the vehicle was out of sight, thinking she would’ve remembered and was expecting her to roll the window down and yell out to him.
Going to the side of the house, he went up the back path to the club. There was no way he would be able to make it up the front steps. It would be a miracle if he made it up the stairs to take a shower.
Coming from the kitchen and into the main room, Reaper found the party had already started. Jewell was behind the bar, pouring drinks for the brothers. Jesus and Puck had come inside and were tongue-fucking two of the female members on one of the long couches. As he turned the corner, Reaper saw Knox and Diamond coming into the room, with Bliss and Drake following behind them.
“Come, Suki.” Reaper gave them curt nods as he went up the stairs, using the handrail to pull himself upward.
Today was the first day she hadn’t told him she loved him. Glumly, he thought about driving to Stud’s house after Silas and Greer brought him back from their boys’ night out. It would give her another opportunity to remember what she’d forgotten to do.
Wasn’t telling him she loved him as important to her as it had been? Was she getting bored with him? Closing his bedroom door, he walked toward his dresser for clean clothes, and seeing the mirror perched above, the tight feeling in his chest eased.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
She had written it out six times on his mirror with eye liner.
Finding a sweatshirt and jeans, he went into the bathroom, his reflection in the mirror distorted by the sentences written across the glass.
She had written it six times.
Chapter Forty-Two
“You can have this one.” Prying the old folding chair open, Greer placed the chair down on the ground. Opening two others, Greer plopped down on the best of the three rickety chairs and sprawled his legs out.
Reaper felt as if the old chair was going to break at any moment as he tried to find a comfortable spot on the worn-out plastic. He caught the ice-cold bottle of beer Greer tossed him from the small cooler that Silas brought.
“Next week, I’ll bring the chairs.”
“Suit yourself. You have some fancy ones in that factory of yours? Bring three, and I’ll keep them in my trunk for us.” Greer reached in his pocket, coming out with a joint and a lighter. “Ain’t you got that fire lit yet, cuz?”
Twisting the bottle open, he and Greer watched as Silas got the fire started.
Taking a beer from Greer, Silas sat down on the chair catty corner to Greer’s.
“God, it’s good to get away from them heathens,” Greer groused, sucking in a hit of the joint.
Reaper took a hit, and when he started to pass it back to Greer, Silas held out his hand. Taking a hit, Silas propped his feet up on the cooler.
“Thank God that smell finally went away,” he said, taking another hit before passing it back to him. Reaper took another hit before giving it back to Greer.
“Which one is this one?” Enjoying the cold beer sliding down his throat, Reaper rested his beer bottle on his abs.
“Dustin grew this one. He named it Hollar Wowie.”
“Kentucky Gold is better, but this is a close second.” Reaper took the joint back from him. “Why haven’t you brought us a blunt you’ve grown?”
“Boy, you can live without Kentucky Gold and Hollar Wowie, but once you taste Mountain Flame, you’d think you’ve died and gone to heaven. I keep those to sell to people who are celebrating special occasions.”
“Like what?” Reaper passed the joint to Silas.
“Watching your youngest kid going to his first day of school, getting divorced, catching your woman cheating, killing the motherfucker she cheated on you with. Shit like that.”
Greer’s offbeat humor had him laughing as he took another drink of his beer. “Your wife doesn’t mind you going out?”
“Nah. Friday nights are the girls’ nights. Tate and Dustin watch the kids at my house, while the womenfolk go to Jesse’s house to sit around and watch those pussy movies and drink wine.”
“They go to your house with all the kids?” Reaper took another hit o
ff the joint, then passed it back to Greer.
“Yep.”
“Pretty convenient, it’s the same night you wanted a boys’ night out with Silas and me.”
“Ain’t it?” Greer snickered.
Reaper looked over at Silas. “Every muscle in my body aches from building those sheds and moving that lumber. Aren’t you sore?”
“Nah, I’m good. You need to work out more.”
“I thought I was in good shape, but damn, you’re making me feel my age.”
Greer gave a sarcastic snort. “Tell him the fucking truth.”
“Shut up, Greer.”
“The boy has a brain. I reckon sooner or later, he’s going to figure it out.” Greer shrugged. Then he started laughing at Reaper’s confusion. “Ain’t quick on the uptake, are you?”
Stretching his legs out, Silas rested his head back on the chair. “Lot of stars out tonight.”
“Yep.” Greer opened himself another beer. “Bet a bunch of those stars wish they could switch places with us. Aren’t you glad Silas didn’t let you take a nosedive?”
Staring at the lit end of the joint, Reaper took a hit before handing it over to Greer. Letting his hand drop down to his side, he rubbed Suki’s fur. “Yes.”
“You could sound happier about it,” Greer groused.
“You don’t know what it’s like living with nightmares.”
Silas and Greer gave low laughs.
“Boy, you think you’re the only one with nightmares?”
Greer and Silas shared a bleak glance.
Silas stood up to get himself another beer. “Don’t answer, Reaper. The wrong answer will have Greer ripping that misconception away. Suffice to say, you aren’t.”
“Damn right. You put up with that fucker rotting away for what? Nine years? I put up with the meanest son of bitch in the state of Kentucky for seventeen. The only good thing he taught us was how to shoot. His idea of being a good father was to teach us boys to be tough enough to take any hit and to turn women into doormats. You say or do the wrong thing to piss him off … kapow!” Greer flashed his fist out.
Silas twisted the cap of his beer off. “When Greer says his dad was mean, he isn’t exaggerating. Everyone in town was terrified of him.”
