"You're a young woman, honey. You need to have a life besides work."
I opened one eye and turned just enough to meet Ellie's eyes. "I'm beginning to realize that," I admitted, smiling.
"You know, if you need someone to get your brother, um, motivated, I know just the men to do it."
Everyone knew about my lazy-ass brother. Several of us laughed at Bobbie's comment. "As tempting as that sounds, I think I need to let my parents handle Danny. I've made up my mind to give him an ultimatum--either he straightens up and starts working regular hours, or I'm hiring another full-time employee. He knows that means I can't continue to pay him if I'm paying someone else."
"And if that doesn't work?" Annie asked.
"Then I'll threaten him with Mom and Dad." They laughed. "And if that doesn't work, then maybe I'll think about letting one of your big, tough bikers have a come-to-Jesus-meeting with him."
"They have awesome powers of persuasion," JoJo insisted.
A tiny noise came over the baby monitor. A hush fell over the group as we listened, but that was the only sound. JoJo released a loud sigh. "Not my son," she said with confidence.
I didn't question her. She and Ellie had demonstrated their keen ability to differentiate the sounds of the babies at a club event one day.
"This is good guacamole, Bobbie, I want your recipe."
"It's a secret," she responded to Ellie.
Annie released a loud snort. "Yeah, the secret is that she gets it from Moe's."
"I do not!" Bobbie said heatedly, glaring at Annie with fire in her eyes. "And mine is better than Moe's."
"I like Moe's," Annabelle spoke up. "But you're right, yours is better."
"Thank you." Bobbie gave Annie a smirk and settled back in her chair.
That was one of the things I liked about being part of their group. They didn't stay angry or hold grudges. I'd noticed the same thing when there was an altercation between the men. They didn't hold anything back when it came to saying what was on their mind. If feelings were hurt or someone got angry, they worked it out. Even fought it out sometimes, but once it was over they went right back to being okay with each other.
"So, has anyone heard from Holly lately?" Annie questioned while removing her clothes to reveal a bikini that just covered what it needed to, the dark green working well with her hazel eyes. She was a tiny little thing that stayed in shape from working out at the gym she worked at. Her recently dyed brown hair was pink now and in her signature pixie cut.
I remained silent because, until now, I hadn't realized that Holly had been in touch with anyone else. I was glad she had been, because it took some of the pressure off me.
"She called me a couple of days ago," JoJo responded, getting to her feet. "Said she was doing fine and wanted to know how everyone was doing." She pulled her sundress off.
"By ‘everyone’ you mean Sax, right?" Ellie smiled.
JoJo shook her head. "Nope. She didn't say one word about him. She wanted to know how the office in Vegas was doing without her. She asked me to send pictures of Samuel and Izzy. She wants to get them something but said it would have to wait until she came home. Oh, and she asked about you, Annabelle."
Annabelle remained silent. She was a quiet girl. Very petite in her conservative, one-piece swim suit that outlined her soft, full curves. Her large, brown eyes were slightly almond shaped and gave color to the alabaster color of her beautiful face. Tons of strawberry blond hair surrounded her neck and shoulders, hanging over her left breast in a sloppy braid. There was a thin scar running along her clavicle, disappearing beneath the black of her suit. I noticed the way that she nervously played with her braid, making sure it covered as much of the scar as possible. If I didn't know that she was Demon's sister I would never have guessed it. He was big and dark, while she was tiny and light. There was also a big age difference between them.
It didn't seem odd that Holly had specifically singled Annabelle out. They'd both been through a traumatic experience and had probably confided in each other. It was normal to open up with someone who could understand what you were going through. Holly had shared with me, too, mostly because we’d had the time to talk at lunch every day. She'd been good at covering up what she was really feeling about the rape, but I knew that her torment went deep.
"So she is coming back!" Raven rushed out with excitement in her green eyes. Raven was as beautiful as her name, with miles of shiny, jet black hair falling down her back like a silky waterfall, a smooth, dark complexion that had nothing to do with tanning beneath the sun. She was short in stature and had a body most women would die for, but it was the husky, sultry quality of her voice that held your attention. The woman could easily make a career out of singing. "I miss her. She's been gone too long."
"I'm surprised she didn't ask about Sax," Ellie quipped. "They were together for years.
"Yeah, but they had their trouble." I knew what JoJo was going to say before she even said it. "She wanted a baby, Sax didn't, and he wasn't going to bend on that."
"Does anyone know why he doesn't want kids?" Annabelle asked.
I shook my head with everyone else.
Bobbie unwound her wrap and draped it over the back of her lounger. "Well, let's hope she's worked through what she needed to and comes back soon." She turned and dove into the crystal clear pool.
Annie squealed when the splash from Bobbie's dive hit her. Laughing, she went to the diving board and did a summersault before hitting the water, just as a noise on the monitor indicated that one of the babies had woken up. I glanced at JoJo and Ellie to see which one was going to make a move.
"Samuel's up." JoJo took off without hesitation.
"I may as well go, too. He'll probably wake Izzy up," Ellie laughed, following her.
Annabelle rose from her lounger. "Going into the water?" I asked while slipping off my clothes.
She shook her head. "Going to hit up that guacamole. I didn't have breakfast."
That sounded good, but right then I wanted to cool off. I jumped into the pool and sank to the bottom of the deep end and held my breath for as long as I could. There was something so peaceful and relaxing beneath the surface of the water. You could be in a pool full of people and feel totally isolated from the world for however long you could hold your breath. Sounds were muted, and your body sheltered in liquid comfort that soothed all things.
I wished I could stay there for longer when my thoughts returned to LD. The girls saw too much. We were close. But I wasn't ready to expose my weakness to him. Once they knew, they would be like barracudas determined to get us together, meaning well because they were all sweet and wanted all of the men in the club to find their happily ever after. I still had breath in my lungs when I kicked my feet against the bottom and shot to the surface.
They'd recognize my feelings for LD soon enough.
Chapter 5
LD
I sat back in my chair with a deep breath and folded my hands behind my head. My eyes never left Demon as I contemplated what he'd just thrown my way. He'd mentioned this to me in the past, so I wasn't completely caught off-guard, but it was still a lot to take in. I was aware of the silence in the room as my brothers awaited my response.