“We can make it a project, and next week, the kids can help us do it,” Archie suggested.
“If we put it up front, it has a bigger impact,” Fabe stated. “It shares immediately what you’ll find in this store and it’ll do that in a good way. And anyway, we need some fresh around here.”
“Agreed, we need some fresh, totally. I’m tired of lookin’ at this baby this way,” Lafayette said, throwing out an arm to indicate the entirety of the space. “So I say we do a full-store overhaul. Plan it out, even close down a couple of days to get it done.”
If they couldn’t agree on where to put a couch, Jagger didn’t want to be anywhere near when they discussed a full-store overhaul.
“Uh…” Joany cut in. “This is new to the debate, but I will add at this juncture you can’t overhaul a store without breaking a nail. So, if that’s the vote, I’m sitting that work out as a conscientious objector.”
“That’s not what a conscientious objector is, Jo,” Fabe told her.
“It is so,” she shot back. “I am very conscientious about my nails.”
“Can someone either kill me or let me and Archie go so we can get the fuck out of here and start our weekend?” Jagger asked.
“We’ll decide what we’re doing with the store on Monday,” Archie decreed. “And we’ll talk to the kids on Monday too.”
“Maybe we should poll the kids about the couch,” Lafayette suggested.
“That’s actually a good idea,” Fabe agreed.
“Have fun doing something I would not be caught dead doing for two whole days and two whole nights,” Joany bid to Jag and Arch. She finished with, “Or one whole night for that matter.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Archie told her.
“I also don’t care,” Joany said.
She gave them a finger wave, a wink, and with the two guys, she wandered away.
Thank fuck that was done.
He looked down at Arch and gave her a shake against his body.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Am I dreaming, or is my man really going camping with me?” she asked back.
“My father loved camping.”
That bought him warm eyes, a soft look and her melting into his side.
Then she said, “I just gotta grab my bag. I brought it down. It’s in the office.”
“I’ll text Dutch and let him know we’re on our way.”
She smiled up at him, curled into him, rolled up on her toes and tipped her head way back.
Jag didn’t need any more of an invitation.
He gave her a proper hello kiss.
And then they headed through her store to get to her office in order to grab her stuff and get on the road.
Halfway there, he stopped them.
Archie looked up at him curiously.
Jag sighed.
Then he asked, “Where’s this couch?”
She started laughing, her black eyes alight, her expression gentle and happy and ridiculously beautiful.
Then she tagged his hand and they made a detour to look at a couch.
* * * *
The fire crackled as the velvet dark of night with its pinprick stars blanketed two dark-haired men who still had the thrill of the wind on their faces.
They sat on and laid against thick throws covering dirt and boulders in the Colorado mountains, the women they loved between their legs, using their chests as cushions.
One of the women had a certain kind of ring on her left ring finger, and soon, another would be joining it.
The other woman would have those same kinds of rings, just…later.
Not far away, two bikes sat side by side, glinting in the moonlight.
One was new.
One was old and had two lipstick kisses sealed to its tank—the kiss of the love of the man who bought that bike, and the kiss of the love of the man who’d inherited it.
Two small tents had been erected across from each other, away from the fire.
The cooler for their beer was a hitch in the side of the river that ran close to the site.
Dinner had been hotdogs and s’mores.
The bottle of whisky they were passing between them was now only half full of amber liquid.
There were no words.
No conversation.
Eyes were aimed at the fire or at the stars.
It was peaceful.
It was easy.
It was everything.
The End
Stories of the Chaos MC will continue to be told
as part of the Wild West MC series.
* * * *
Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Kristen Ashley, discover Wild Fire, Quiet Man, Rough Ride, and Rock Chick Reawakening.
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DRAGON REVEALED by Donna Grant
A Dragon Kings Novella
CAPTURED IN INK by Carrie Ann Ryan
A Montgomery Ink: Boulder Novella
SECURING JANE by Susan Stoker
A SEAL of Protection: Legacy Series Novella
WILD WIND by Kristen Ashley
A Chaos Novella
DARE TO TEASE by Carly Phillips
A Dare Nation Novella
VAMPIRE by Rebecca Zanetti
A Dark Protectors/Rebels Novella
MAFIA KING by Rachel Van Dyken
A Mafia Royals Novella
THE GRAVEDIGGER’S SON by Darynda Jones
A Charley Davidson Novella
FINALE by Skye Warren
A North Security Novella
MEMORIES OF YOU by J. Kenner
A Stark Securities Novella
SLAYED BY DARKNESS by Alexandra Ivy
A Guardians of Eternity Novella
TREASURED by Lexi Blake
A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
THE DAREDEVIL by Dylan Allen
A Rivers Wilde Novella
BOND OF DESTINY by Larissa Ione
A Demonica Novella
THE CLOSE-UP by Kennedy Ryan
A Hollywood Renaissance Novella
MORE THAN POSSESS YOU by Shayla Black
A More Than Words Novella
HAUNTED HOUSE by Heather Graham
A Krewe of Hunters Novella
MAN FOR ME by Laurelin Paige
A Man In Charge Novella
THE RHYTHM METHOD by Kylie Scott
A Stage Dive Novella
JONAH BENNETT by Tijan
A Bennett Mafia Novella
CHANGE WITH ME by Kristen Proby
A With Me In Seattle Novella
THE DARKEST DESTINY by Gena Showalter
A Lords of the Underworld Novella
Also from Blue Box Press
THE LAST TIARA by M.J. Rose
THE CROWN OF GILDED BONES by Jennifer L. Armentrout
A Blood and Ash Novel