Page 79 of Rome
“He’s a helluva damned good artist, brother. He’ll do good work for you,” Skid interjected.
“I’m sure he will,Matty,” I said with a smirk. Skid’s smile dropped.
“Sonofabitch,” he muttered. Joker, who had only been halfway paying attention, perked up long enough to tease Skid.
King pounded on the table to get everyone’s attention.
“OK, next order of business. We have a new club bunny starting next week. We just got her medical clearance. Destiny will be taking over Paisley’s old room.”
Most of the brothers hooped and hollered over the news. Jag met my gaze and rolled his eyes.
“You all know that the bunnies tend to get a little territorial whenever a new girl comes in. I don’t want any fuckin’ drama, so if you see it happening, put a stop to that shit. Make sure that you’re spreading the love. You can’t all take the new girl for a spin and leave the others hanging, got it?”
There were a few grumbles, but nobody was stupid enough to argue.
“If nobody has anything else to say, let’s get the hell out of here. Have a good week, stay safe, and keep your asses out of trouble. Church is dismissed.” King pounded his fist on the table again, then pushed back his chair and strode out of the room without another word.
I decided to stay for lunch with the family, because I didn’t have anything better to do. Abby had already planned to take the kids to her parents’ house for Sunday dinner, which was just as well. Honestly, I was feeling a little too raw to see her right now, although I hated like hell not seeing my kids.
I followed Jagger and Lucky to a table in the common room. Sinner was sitting at the end of the table already, with a big plastic container in front of him. King and Cowboy took seats on either side of him, and the three of us took the remaining spots.
“What’s that?” Lucky asked Sinner, gesturing toward the container.
“Chocolate chip cookies. My neighbor, Eleanor, made ‘em.” Eleanor had moved in next door to Sinner about six weeks or so ago and had kept him supplied with baked goods ever since. She was a nice woman. The kids and I met her shortly after she moved in, when we went to visit Sinner one Saturday. Ethan had played on the playset Sinner had installed last fall, and Everly had spent a good hour or so sleeping on Eleanor’s lap. She’d sent me home with a huge piece of lasagna and a plate of brownies, which had been delicious.
King reached for a cookie, and Sinner snatched the container out of his reach.
“Lunch first, then dessert, ya damned heathen. I know damned good and well your mama raised you better than that.”
King dropped his chin to his chest and shook his head as we all laughed.
“I still haven’t met that woman, since I’ve been out chasing Pic’s sorry ass across the country. When I do meet her, I’ll have her make me my own batch of cookies, old man.” Sinner snorted and flipped him off with one hand, while keeping a firm grip on the container of cookies with the other.
One of the prospects brought a tray filled with cold bottled water and passed one to each of us. When I’d started my treatment plan with Kim, I’d assured everyone that it didn’t bother me if they drank in front of me. My binge drinking differed from alcohol addiction in that regard. I didn’t have a craving for it, so it didn’t bother me seeing other people imbibing. They’d decided, though, that when we sat down together for a meal, they would skip the booze.
“It’s healthier for us, anyway,” King had declared, and that was that.
Lincoln walked in with a stack of pizzas, then pulled up a chair to join us. He sat down next to his dad, then asked him how Michelle was doing. Cowboy smiled as he reached for a couple of slices of pepperoni.
“She’s doing just fine, son. She’s coming over for dinner tonight, if you get free of this place in time to join us. Your brother and sister will be there, too.”
Linc agreed he would stop by if he could. I could tell by his smile that he was happy for his dad. Molly had set Cowboy up with Michelle, who was the principal at the school. She was a divorcee in her mid-forties, and Cowboy had really fallen for her. I was happy for him. He and Aunt BeBe had a rocky relationship for years before she was killed, but her death had hit him hard all the same. He’d been left with three grief-stricken teenagers, and King and Sinner had both stepped in to help him through those first months until Cowboy could get a handle on things.
Molly had also tried to set Lucky, Trick, King, and even Bull up with various women she knew. They’d all politely declined.
“I’ve got some news about Christy,” King said gruffly around a bite of pizza.
“Her probation was revoked two weeks ago, so she’s sitting in the county jail until the rest of her original sentence is served. She’s looking at another six weeks at least.”
“What did she do to get it pulled?” Jag asked with a roll of his eyes, not concerned in the slightest about our egg donor’s predicament.
“She got called in for a piss test and tested dirty. She may be looking at additional charges for the probation violation, too.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. She was high as a fuckin’ kite when she came into the bar to hit me up for money again. I had to threaten to call the cops on her to get her to leave. That was a little over two weeks ago, so she would have still had traces of the shit in her system.”
“That random testing came at just the right time then,” Sinner observed. I hid a grin when I noticed that he was eating cookies instead of pizza, the damned heathen.
“Wasn’t a random test. Her public defender told me the probation office received an anonymous tip. Christy had the guy call me to see if I could help get her out of this jam. I told him to lose my number and to let her rot.”
