A grinning Vaughn patted the spot next to him in a booth. As the blonds got comfy, Aaron carried me to the Harley and sat me on the seat.
“You saved me from mean words,” I teased as he felt me up in the spot Mac thought I needed help.
“No one messes with my girl.”
“Mighty sperm and powerful fists. Plus, you can cook and paint and write poems and a million other qualities. I’ve hit pay dirt.”
“I need to get you home,” he said and I sensed the ride would be uncomfortable for him.
As I wrapped my arms around his waist, he started the Harley. “Raven bought headphones, so we can fuck really loud and she won’t be bothered.”
“The best houseguest ever,” Aaron said over his shoulder.
As we sped away, I noticed Judd chasing a laughing Tawny to the parking lot. Cooper strutted out with Farah clinging to him. Everyone was happy except for a naked Mac tied to a tree in what I assumed was the club’s version of a time out.
Chapter Thirty Nine - Aaron
Lark soaked in the claw foot tub with the dogs sleeping nearby. I knew she was tired and pretending otherwise. Eventually, the day would come when she would look at me and admit the pregnancy hormones were a pain in the ass. When she did so, I would baby the hell out of her and make her feel like a princess. Until then, she wanted to put on a brave face without admitting she took mini-naps through out the day.
Leaving her to rest, I found Raven on the front porch. Glancing at me, she looked ready to toss her cigarette then thought better of it.
“Not good to smoke near Lark,” she said, staring at the dark neighborhood.
Handing her an ashtray, I sat on the other end of the porch swing. “My uncle is a smoker and he comes over occasionally.”
“Thanks,” she said in her rough voice. “You’re a good guy. Sorry I tried to pound your face in.”
Smiling, I stretched out my legs. “You wanted to protect your sister.”
“She deserves protecting. Lark was always behaved. She never got a fucking ounce of credit though. They just ignored her or dumped shit on her. I did too. She’s too good a listener and people tell her their problems and never make sure she’s okay.”
“You’re back and I know that makes her more than okay.”
“I shouldn’t have left. I just got this idea in my head that life sucked because of my zip code. If I were smarter, I’d have thought about how Lark lived in the same zip code and she didn’t make such dumbass choices,” Raven said then added, “Not that she’s a genius. Like when we were kids, she loved this baby doll she got for Christmas. Took care of it like a real baby and wanted to be a mom. Always told me that’s what she wanted. To be married and have a nice husband who didn’t smack her around. It was her dream then Phoenix died and she never touched the doll again. That wasn’t really the stupid part though. She got it into her head that she wanted to be a paralegal and work in an office and never get married. She was going to be different by living alone. I tried to tell her a few times how fucking stupid her plan was. I mean, Lark loves people and kids and family. It’s in her blood to be a giver and living alone was never going to make her happy.”
“Now, she can admit what she really wants.”
Finishing her cigarette, Raven put it out in the ashtray then sighed. “I never really bought into the God thing. Religion felt like a lie men told to make people listen to them. Mostly, it seemed dumb to think a magic man in the sky cared about us. Like if I was a magic man and could make the earth or whatever, I wouldn’t waste time on helping out losers.”
Raven set the ashtray on the ground and crossed her arms as if cold. “I see what Lark has now with you, this house, the ugly dogs, her friends, and now the baby. It makes me think God might exist. While losers run in our family, Lark could be more if she let herself. Now she has more and I think God might have helped her out. I prayed someone would. Even not believing, I prayed and told God if He was real and wanted me to believe that He needed to help Lark. I guess He heard me because she’s happy like I’ve never seen her happy before. Not even when Phoenix was alive and we were the best we ever were as a family.”
“I’m glad you’re here and you’re welcome to stay as long as you want, but, Raven, my dogs aren’t ugly.”
She laughed and tapped her foot against mine. “You’re a good guy. I know I said that before, but I didn’t think you would be. I’ve been around and good guys are rare.”
“They exist though.”
Raven nodded. “I need to quit men the way I need to quit smoking. Just go cold turkey. If I try to be rational about it, I’ll fool myself into falling for another creep. No, just say enough is enough all that shit. Focus on other stuff like a job and roller derby and family.”
“If you ever get sick of living here, the Johanssons have an apartment that Cooper used to live in.”