I like the sound of that—my Old Man.
“No ma’am, but she’s covering for Nic.” I feel kind of crappy about how wrapped up I’ve been in Grady and Cheyenne lately. Even Jeremy has been monopolizing my attention, and I haven’t checked in with Mindy in a few days. Since the day at the seawall, she’s been uprooted to Duke and Nic’s house, and yet I’ve only been by once. She’s been to Grady’s house three times, but Cheyenne spent most of the time talking about school and the boys on the football team and even culinary school again—which is a good sign—but it made it difficult to check in with my cousin. Grady chose not to tell Cheyenne about the seawall incident because it wouldn’t do her any good to know. I wasn’t hurt and that’s what is important.
“Got it,” Grady says. Tall turns down the hallway, and Grady moves to close the door.
“Wait!” I shout and bounce in his arms. Grady raises an eyebrow, brings his hand on the still open door back, slaps my ass, and kneads my stinging cheek. Squirming in his arms, I let out a breathless laugh. Tall reappears in the doorway and bounces from foot to foot in obvious discomfort.
“I wanna go,” I say to Tall. Grady gives my ass another slap, this time softer, and levels me with a hard stare.
“You just got here,” he says. He keeps his voice quiet, but his words are said in earnest. “And we still need to deal with that little thing you did.”
Leaning in and whispering in his ear, I say, “I’m going to go hang out with Mindy, but I’ll be home soon and you can show me all the ways in which I was a very naughty girl.”
“You are one crazy bitch,” he grits out and brushes his rough chin against my cheek. I straighten my legs and shove at his chest with narrowed eyes. He sets me down and blows out a frustrated breath. A devious smile spreads across his face. “Okay, you’re one temperamental bitch. Is that better?”
I point my index finger in his direction as I back up toward the open door. “You’re gonna pay for that.”
His smile grows wider. “Can’t wait.”
Chapter 26
TALL AND I walk down the hallway toward the front door in silence. Somehow, Cheyenne charmed Tall into telling her that his real name is Aaron, but that’s something I’m not supposed to know. Grady’s made the prospects’ role in the club very clear. They’re supposed to be treated like lackeys so that by the time the club decides whether or not to vote them in, they already know how dedicated the guy is to the patch. I get it, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling bad for the kid.
Once we’re in the black SUV and pulling out of the lot, he relaxes in his seat. I’ve noticed this with the prospects. They’re all business in front of the club, but once the brothers are out of sight, they chill out some. The fact that I’m up to date on Aaron’s dating life is a secret I don’t plan on telling Grady about.
“Baby Boy’s got a big mouth,” he says with a smirk on his face. “Sent me a picture text of his permit. Says you did good.”
I stir uncomfortably as we turn off of Main Street and down onto Laurel, where Universal Ground is located.
“Hey,” he says. “That risk you took? Pretty big. You’re definitely a keeper.”
“You want to tell my Old Man how awesome you think it is? Because I’m not sure how impressed he is right now.”
“Ha, no.” He laughs. “Until I earn my top rocker, I don’t have an opinion about shit. I’m just saying, between us, you saw an opportunity to help the club and you did it. That’s solid.”
“Thank you, Aaron,” I say softly. He nods and swings the SUV into an empty spot in front of the shop. We climb out and stride inside just two minutes before closing time. Mindy is nowhere to be seen in the small space, which must mean that she’s in the stock room.
Old Man Hill sits at one of the tables with an open newspaper. He lifts his head as we enter and gives Tall a nod and me a smile. In the few times I’ve seen Mindy in recent weeks, she’s told me that since the club can’t have a man on her during her entire shift, a few locals have switched off helping cover her, especially when business slows just before closing time. I have no idea how Mr. Hill got involved, but I’m thankful he did. He may not look like much and he sure is paranoid about safety, but anything so Mindy doesn’t have to be alone makes me feel a little better.
Mr. Hill stands from his seat, grabs his newspaper, and walks out without a single word. At the front door, he turns the lock and lets the door close behind him, locking us in. Tall looks to his watch and jerks his chin to the back of the shop where there’s another entrance. “I’m going to go check the back. When Mindy comes out, let her know where I’m at?”
“Sure thing,” I say and lean over the counter in an attempt to get a view of the stock room. “Minds!”