I took her hand and led her to the kitchen counter. “Sit,” I commanded, gesturing to one of the stools.
Joni plopped her butt down and then Darcy set a plate of food in front of her. “Eat every bite,” she commanded.
“Do I need to feed you?” Rachel asked. “I will, you know. I’ll even play the airplane game to make it more fun if that’s what you need me to do.”
“Why are you guys treating me like an invalid?” she demanded. “I’m a nurse. I know how minor this is.”
As if to prove her point, she picked up her fork with her dominant hand, which was also the arm that was bandaged, and scooped up a bite of scrambled eggs.
She ate a few bites and then set her fork down. “See? I’m fine.”
Zip came back down the stairs and walked over to stand behind Joni. “Your stuff is in last room on the right. Third floor.”
“Thanks,” she said.
He stared at her for one long moment and then nodded before joining the guys.
“Dear Lord,” Allison muttered.
“Right? Is it too early for cocktail hour? I need to know everything that look just meant,” Darcy said.
“Nothing. It meant nothing,” Joni said before going back to eating her food.
I leaned closer to peer at her and said aloud so the girls could hear, “Her cheeks aren’t even red. She’s literally got no tells. Forget cocktail hour. Let’s drive to Vegas and make Joni play poker.”
“I don’t know how to play poker,” Joni said.
“I’ll teach you.”
“I don’t know how to play either,” Rachel said with a pout.
“Girls’ poker night,” I said. “Our next hang out. I’m gonna turn you guys into hustlers.”
“You mean you know how to cheat?” Darcy asked in amusement.
“Damn right I know how to cheat,” I said with a laugh.
“I’m so in,” Allison said with a grin.
Acid and Cheese came in the back, sweaty and out of breath.
“What happened to you guys?” Rachel asked.
“The kids,” Acid wheezed. “They have no chill.”
“Kids?” I asked and then looked at Darcy. “Your kids?”
She nodded. “Cam and Lily are in the backyard. Along with Silas—Cheese’s brother.”
The two young bikers grabbed some bottles of water from the refrigerator and then Colt yelled, “Church!”
All the Blue Angels trailed after their president and they disappeared down the hallway. A moment later, the back door opened and then shut.
“And then the women folk were stuck in the kitchen,” Rachel muttered, causing Darcy to laugh. “I can’t believe three kids tuckered out two huge bikers.”
“Children have a special type of energy,” Darcy explained. “It’s endless. And forget giving them sugar. That’s the kiss of death for parents.”
“Reap is dying for a baby,” Rachel said. “I have no idea why, considering he’s never spent more than two seconds in the same room with one.”
“I think it has to do with wanting a kid with you,” Allison pointed out. Her face went pink and she bit her lip like she was hiding something.
“Oh my God,” I said, staring at her. “You’re totally pregnant.”
The girls looked at her in different phases of shock and disbelief.
“No,” Darcy said. “Really?”
Allison nodded, happiness shining from her eyes. “I told Torque last night and he was really excited.”
I’d never officially met Torque. He was once a nomad, meaning he called himself a Blue Angel, but he hadn’t belonged to a specific chapter. When he’d met Allison in Waco, he’d settled down, but he still had the urge to wander. He was constantly on the road, traveling.
I hadn’t even seen him in the clubhouse this morning. No doubt he’d been waiting out back when Colt called for church.
“Are the boys really gone?” Darcy asked.
I hopped off my stool and went to the hallway and listened for a moment. There was no sound of voices or footsteps.
“They’re gone,” I said. “Why?”
Darcy grinned and then she went to one of the cabinets and moved aside boxes of pasta and corn muffin mix to pull out a bottle of Kahlua.
“Seriously?” Joni asked with a laugh.
“Seriously,” Darcy said. “I think we need it. After the night you and Mia had, and now to celebrate Allison’s good news.”
Darcy filled our coffee cups, skipped Allison, and then raised her mug.
“To the Blue Angels women,” Darcy said.
My throat tightened.
I was one of them now.
I wasn’t sure what it all entailed, but I knew that even with the danger, it was worth it because of the protective fold I’d been brought into.
“To the next generation,” I said with a grin at Allison as she beamed with joy.
“Who’s next, do you think?” Darcy asked after taking a sip from her mug, her eyes skimming over us.
“Don’t look at me,” Rachel said. “I could go a few more years without a baby. No offense.”
Allison shrugged. “None taken.”
“I’m not even dating a Blue Angel,” Joni said. “Ah, shit.”
“What?” I asked. “Is it your arm? Does it hurt?”
She shook her head. “I’m supposed to go on that date with the doctor I work with. How the hell am I supposed to explain this?” She pointed to her bandage.
“Tell him you’re a klutz,” Rachel suggested.
“And that you were holding a vase of flowers, tripped over your own two feet, and the vase went flying and you went down and cut yourself on the broken glass,” Darcy said.
“You came up with that story really fast,” I remarked with a laugh.
“It’s a good story,” Darcy said.
“Not if you’re a nurse and you hold people’s lives in your hands,” Joni stated. “If I tell that story, he won’t think I’m a klutz, he’ll think I’m an idiot who can’t be trusted. He likes me because I’m competent, not some goof.”
Rachel frowned. “I’m pretty sure he likes you because you’ve got a great rack.”
“I’ve got a great rack?” Joni asked with a smile, puffing out her chest.
“Dynamite,” Rachel said. “I’d kill for your rack.”
“You guys are kind of amazing, you know that, right?” I smiled. Their banter reminded me a lot of Shelly. I thought about how much she’d like these women and I couldn’t wait to introduce her to them. She’d quickly get over her biker aversion when she saw how they all treated me.
Like it didn’t matter that I was in a world of shit, or that I brought it to their front door or that Joni had gotten injured because she’d been with me at Shortie’s.
“What’s wrong?” Joni asked quietly. The other three women were smiling and talking and hadn’t noticed I’d fallen into a somber state.
“Just thinking.” I shook off my mood. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?”