“This cast is bothering me. I want to take this stupid thing off. I can’t sleep with it on. I keep bumping it on the rails of the bed and the wall,” Wyatt pouted. “And it’s starting to itch a little.”
“Sorry, honey, but you’re pretty much stuck with it for the next few weeks,” she explained.
He let out a disgruntled sigh and said, “Okay.”
“You want to sleep in here with me?” Wren asked him.
“No. I’m going back to Dusty’s room. His bunk beds are cool, and he’s letting me sleep on top,” he answered. Just before he turned to leave, he looked over to me and asked, “Hey, Griffin. Will you sign my cast tomorrow?”
“You know I will. I’m sure some of the other guys will want to sign it, too,” I told him.
His eyes lit up with excitement when he said, “That’d be awesome.” He paused for a minute, then asked, “What about your president? You think he’d sign it?”
“Yeah. He’ll sign it for ya.”
“That would be so cool. The president of Satan’s Fury… Thomas never had anything like that,” he said excitedly as he stepped forward and gave Wren a quick hug. “I better get back before Dusty wakes up and sees that I’m gone.”
“Okay. I’m here if you need anything,” she told him as she watched him take off down the hall. When she knew that he was in Dusty’s room, she closed the door and headed over to the bed. She down on the edge of the bed and asked, “So, what’s the story with Dusty? He is such a cute kid, and Wyatt seems to really like him.”
“Awesome kid. He’s had a rough go of it, but you’d never know it. He lost his dad a few months back, and it was pretty hard on him,” I explained.
“I can’t imagine how hard that must have been on him and his poor mother,” she whispered with an anguished look.
“It hasn’t been easy on any of them, but they’re finding their way. I think Dusty has been a real comfort to his mother.”
“She’s lucky to have him. He seems like a sweet child,” she smiled. “He’s definitely made an impression on Wyatt.”
“He’s made an impression on all of us.”
With a silent yawn, she laid back in the bed and said, “I guess you have that in common with him, then. You tend to make a lasting impression on people, too.”
“Is that right?” I asked her as I turned off the light and settled in the bed next to her.
She nestled into my side, resting her head on my chest and said, “Yep. Very impressionable.”
“Get some sleep,” I laughed.
“I love you,” she whispered and the room fell silent as she quickly drifted off to sleep.
I looked down at her, watching the rise and fall of her chest as she slept. She was perfect, more than I ever dared to dream for, and she was mine. I loved the feel of her body close to mine, and I wanted this moment with her to last, but I could barely keep my eyes open. I reluctantly I closed them, finally giving in to my own exhaustion. Hours later, my phone started ringing. When it started ringing for the second time, I reluctantly got up, cursing under my breath, and answered the call.
Before I even had a chance to speak, Guardrail said, “Cotton’s called us into church. Be there in ten.” Then the phone line went dead.
I quickly got dressed, and as I headed for the door, I looked over to Wren curled up in the covers. She was still sleeping soundly, completely content lying there in my bed, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into the bed next to her. Unable to stop myself, I walked over to her and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, and I pressed my lips against hers once more and said, “I’ve gotta go for a bit. Cotton has called us in, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Okay,” she answered sleepily.
“Try to go back to sleep,” I told her as closed the door behind me and headed to church. When I walked into the room, Cotton was already sitting down at the front of the table, and my brothers were quickly following suit.
Once we were all seated, Cotton said, “It was Derek. He was the man who we caught on the security feed.” The room fell silent as we all tried to comprehend what he’d just said. I’d heard about Derek in random conversations, but never thought much about him. He was before my time, long before I ever joined the club.
“Your cousin?” Guardrail asked, running his hand through his hair in aggravation.
“Yeah, that’s him. Until last night, I hadn’t seen him in almost twenty years,” Cotton explained.
“So why do you think he’s back now?” Maverick asked.