The jealous looks the brothers gave him made up for being the source of their prior amusement. Well, except for Shade, who wasn’t buying what he was selling.
“Jesus has the most construction experience; ask him.” Viper nodded his head back.
Reaper dragged his eyes to where Jesus was standing behind the counter with a shit-eating grin on his face. “I worked as brick layer for three summers when I was in high school and worked as one for two years when I worked for my dad’s construction company.”
Did he really care if the walls weren’t straight? Damn, the garage doors might be off track if they weren’t.
“I have to finish with kitchen duty today. I wasn’t planning on going to work for you until Monday, but I wouldn’t mind giving up my weekend. I do charge extra for brick laying.”
“Just let me know how much you want, and I’ll make a check out to you.”
Jesus didn’t let him off so easily. “I’m not cutting my hair.”
“Brah, I was joking. I didn’t expect you to cut your hair.” Calling Suki to him, Reaper got the hell out the kitchen.
Frustrated, he was angrier at himself than he was at Jesus. He didn’t know why in the hell Jesus’ hair bothered him. He just knew it did. He was absolutely losing it.
Ginny wasn’t making him lose his ever-loving mind. He was already there.
Going through the living room and out the front door, Reaper went down the steps to Viper’s car. Opening the back door to let Suki inside, Reaper shut the door before getting in the front seat. He needed to take a day to buy a car. He had basically taken over Viper’s, and while his brother hadn’t said anything, Reaper didn’t want to keep imposing.
He had never owned a car, even when he was in high school. He’d used Ton’s or Viper’s when he’d gone out on dates, if he hadn’t wanted to ride his bike. He needed a vehicle for Ginny and Suki.
Arriving at the Colemans’ property, he found the brothers hard at work. They had started on Silas’s shed, where they would store the lumber and equipment until the house was built.
“How’s it going?” Carrying his tumbler, Reaper walked up to the busy men.
“Pretty good.” Silas wiped a band of sweat away from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. “We’ve got two of the side walls built. Matt and Isaac are starting on the garage doors.”
“Lucky for me, there are so many of you.” Taking a drink of his coffee, he nearly spit it back out.
Silas saw the face he made. “Something wrong?”
“Decaf.”
Silas grimaced in sympathy. “I’d offer you some, but we made the last in the can this morning. I have to buy more when I go to the store tomorrow.”
“I’ll make do.” Reaper set the tumbler aside.
Checking to see where Suki was, he saw her sleeping on the porch.
Taking his phone out, he looked to see if Ginny had called. No messages. Irritated that she hadn’t answered, he almost called, then decided against it. She was probably just catching up with Willa and hadn’t seen his messages. Still, the woman could have at least texted him that she loved him. She could have told him when he was sleeping, and he hadn’t heard her. He would have to ask her when he caught up with her.
Pitching in with Silas and Matt, they worked steadily for the rest of the morning. Breaking for lunch, they went inside Silas’s house to make sandwiches and grab drinks, then returned back outside. They finished Silas’s shed and spent a good hour filling it with the lumber and equipment. Locking when they were done, they walked over to Matthew’s house and began putting his shed together.
Clicking the last wall in place, the men all stood back to admire their handiwork.
Glancing at his phone, Reaper saw that it was four.
“I’m going to have to head out. We can do your shed tomorrow, Isaac. One of the brothers from the club will be coming to help with the brickwork. By Monday, we should be able to get started on the house.”
“Sounds good,” Silas said. “What time do you want Greer and me to pick you up?”
“Six good?”
“Yes, that gives me enough time to eat and shower.”
Saying good-bye to Ginny’s brothers, Reaper called for Suki, who had been playing with the goats that were eating the cleared out brush and weed from where they built his shed.
Driving back to the club, he felt the physical toll of the work he’d done last night and today catching up with him. Stiffly getting out the SUV, he let Suki run up the front steps before him, wishing he chosen the back steps instead. If Puck, Nickel, and Jesus weren’t standing on the front porch, smoking cigarettes, he would have cut across the yard to do just that.
Nickel hurried to open the door before he was on the porch. “Looking rough, brother. Tough day?”
“Fuck off,” Reaper said, going inside.
Bypassing the stairs, he went through the living room, heading to kitchen to get a drink before attempting the steps. He was surprised to see Ginny and Killyama behind the bar, placing bottles of liquor into a blue grocery bag. The brothers were standing on the other side, watching what the two women were doing with tortured expressions on their faces.
Reaper was tempted to go back outside. He would rather be out there than stuck playing referee between Viper and the two women. But when Viper sent him a glare to stop the women—as Ginny picked out a tequila bottle—he walked over to stand with the brothers. He may be curious as to what the women wanted with all that alcohol, but he already knew it was going to be a losing batter to prevent Killyama from taking what she wanted. The clever woman was smart enough to know that without Ginny with her, Viper would never have let her take them. Viper was outgunned.
“Ginny, what are you doing?”
Ginny held the tequila bottle closer to her chest. “You’re back! I was just getting ready to text you!”
Reaper shoved his hands in his pockets. “You’ve had all day to answer my texts, and you’re now ready to respond to them?”
Ginny frowned. “You texted me? I must have missed it. The girls have a sleepover once a month at Sex Piston’s house.” Giving him an excited grin, she placed the bottle of liquor in the grocery bag. “This is the first one I’ve been able to go to.”
“Didn’t you learn a lesson yesterday? It isn’t safe—”
Raising her hand, Ginny lifted a finger one by one while call out names. “Stud, Calder, Dalton, Train, and Cade will be there. The guys stay upstairs when the girls stay for the night. Stud was going to invite you, but I told him that you were going out tonight with Silas and Greer. He said you’re welcome next month.”
When Ginny bent down to gather more supplies, Reaper was about to go around the corner to see what she was doing when cans of sodas began appearing. When the ginger ales began forming their own roll, Reaper had to press Viper back down on the stool.
Seeing that he wasn’t stopping Ginny and Killyama from the pilfering, the brothers turned their gazes to Train, who was playing pool with Razer. “Killy, Viper stocked the bar for the party tonight,” Train yelled over.
“Thanks, Viper.” Killyama popped one of the ginger ales to take a drink, eyeballing her husband who had quickly turned back to his pool game. “Sex Piston, Crazy Bitch, and T.A. thank you, too.”