His statement rattled me. “Who? Ivan? I don’t want you owing a man like him.”
He took a deep breath through his nose and spoke on the exhale. “No, it’s not Ivan.”
“Then who?”
“Prince.”
“Huh?”
He leaned against the wall across from me, planting his feet beside mine. “Prince called me up; I don’t think the idea of what happened to Maizy, her being left on the side of the road, sat with him too well. He’s a man who looks after his own, and while he doesn’t have a mate or any kids I’m aware of, I guess it hit a sore spot with him. Prince is doing it on his own, no strings attached.”
“He isn’t going to hurt my father, is he?”
Austin tilted his head. “That man is not your father.”
“Doesn’t matter. I don’t know what your rules are, but he’s still Maizy’s father. I’m more concerned about the man who’s after him.”
Austin scratched his chin, deep in thought. “I’ll have a talk with Prince and see where his head is. Why don’t you go in there and help your mom? Rumor has it she’s making prime rib, and Denver is coming out of his skin waiting for dinner. I’ve caught that idiot in there three times stealing bites of what they’re cooking on the stove.”
I smiled. “Maybe you need to put him outside in the doghouse.”
Chapter 26
Later that evening, we gathered in the kitchen at the small oval table. Only this time, Austin sat to my immediate left.
“We need a bigger table,” Mom declared, setting the prime rib in the center. Denver sliced into the succulent meat with a carving knife, devouring the visual display with his indigo eyes. He had a fit body—trim, but not svelte like Jericho. By the time my mom was finished with him, he was going to need to upgrade his shirt size.
No one dressed up for dinner. Denver sported an orange Atari T-shirt and Reno wore long sleeves. It was thin, breathable material, but I couldn’t figure out why he’d dress like that in summer. I hadn’t noticed any scars or tattoos, but it did give him a more serious air of authority. Austin had mentioned Reno was the most obedient wolf in the pack, and I wondered how the family dynamic affected the oldest brother who was used to being in charge and looking after his younger siblings.
Maizy sat beside Ivy, who placed a spoonful of cucumber salad onto her plate. Maizy loved vegetables, but she didn’t look crazy about the meat. We also had homemade mashed potatoes, and Austin looked like he was in heaven as he devoured my mom’s home cooking. He used to eat dinner with us at least three times a week, and I could tell each bite took him down memory lane.
Mom periodically described how she seasoned the asparagus, or the technique she used to grill the French bread, just so everyone would compliment her cooking all over again.
Totally eating up all the attention.
“You going back to work?” I asked, sipping my tea.
“I’m not sure what to do,” she said with a click of her tongue. “The house is paid off and I’ve been thinking about selling. Too many memories.”
“You’re living with us,” Wheeler said. “No arguments. If I can eat like this for the rest of my life, then I’m going to die a happy man.”
Mom beamed and tried to refocus on my question. “I’m too young for social security, but I do have a little money tucked away to live on. Not enough to keep up with the bills, so I guess I have no choice but to work.”
Jericho quickly wiped a napkin across his mouth and pushed away from the cabinet where he’d been eating. “I have to head out. I’ve got a gig tonight and I’m already running late for sound check.”
His brown hair had been gelled and styled in that sexy “I don’t give a shit” way, with strands of at least two shades of brown. His jeans were loose and black with a few chains going around the back, and his sleeveless shirt had the name of some band I’d never heard of before. Not to mention he wore a smudge of black liner that made his green eyes pop.
Jericho leaned around to kiss my mom appreciatively on the cheek before heading out the door. “Thanks, Miss Knight.” He strutted out the door and Mom looked wistfully at her plate.
Miss Knight. I knew what she was thinking. She had been called Mrs. Knight for years, and even after my dad left, she never corrected people. That’s just what women her age were assumed to be. It had taken three years before she stopped wearing her wedding ring.
Reno stood up and filled his empty plate with seconds. “The new house needs a paint job,” he informed Austin. “We can hire someone to do the exterior, but you need to figure out if you also want them to paint the inside. We patched up some of the holes in the wall. I don’t know what the fuck happened in there, but it looked like a barroom brawl.”