“What?” she gasped, trying to sound wounded by my warning. “I’m going to behave.”
“You better, or there will be consequences.”
Her mischievous smile returned as she asked, “You promise?”
“Bree...”
She gave me a wink, then grabbed Caleb and headed out to the truck. When we got to the clubhouse, everyone was already there, preparing for the big game. While I went out to help Country and Lynch with the grilling, Aubrey took Caleb and went to join the girls in the kitchen. As soon as I stepped outside, Country offered me a beer and asked, “So, whatcha think?”
“About?”
“The game?” It was clear he was hoping for a big win as he asked, “You think we’ll pull one out?”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath, brother.”
“I don’t know, man. I think we’re gonna do it today.” He started flipping the burgers as he said, “It’s been a long time coming.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Widow leaned in and chuckled as he said, “I want a win as much as anyone, but we both know that shit’s not gonna happen.”
“Probably not.”
Once we finished grilling the burgers and brats, we carried them inside and started fixing our plates before the game started. When it was time for kickoff, everyone gathered in the family room and started eating as we watched our boys take the field. As soon as they kicked off, the room filled with the roaring cheers of my brothers. Sadly, it didn’t take long for the cheering to turn to angry, chastising rants. Alabama was killing us, and things weren’t looking good for a turnaround. When ’Bama scored yet again, Bree glanced over to me with a big smile and twirled her hands in the air as she mouthed, “Roll Tide Roll.”
Even though my team was going down and going down fast, I couldn’t help but smile. Not only did I have my brothers, I had my woman, a son I adored, and another baby on the way. I’d never thought I’d be one of those guys who ended up with a happy fucking ending, but I’d found it. And as I sat there staring back at my wife and son, I knew the best was yet to come.
The End
Jagger’s story will be included in the Very Naughty MC Christmas Anthology releasing this winter. There are many amazing authors participating in this anthology, so be sure to pre-order your copy today!
Short excerpt of Widow’s Undoing after acknowledgments.
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Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
I am blessed to have so many wonderful people who are willing to give their time and effort to making my books the best they can be. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to breathe life into my characters and share their stories with you. To the people I’ve listed below and so many others, I want to say thank you for taking this journey with me. Your support means the world to me, and I truly mean it when I say I appreciate everything you do. I love you all!
PA: Natalie Weston
Editing/Proofing: Lisa Cullinan-Editor, Rose Holub-Proofer, Jenn Allen-Proofer
Promoting: Amy Jones, Veronica Ines Garcia, Neringa Neringiukas, Whynter M. Raven
BETAS/Early Readers: Amanda Quiles, Tawnya Rae, and Jessey Elliott
Street Team: All the wonderful members of Wilder’s Women (You rock!)
Best Friend and biggest supporter: My mother (Love you to the moon and back.)
Excerpt from Widow’s Undoing
Prologue
I grew up in Monterey, a small town just east of Cookeville, Tennessee. With a population of about three thousand, there wasn’t much to the place. There was no mall, no bowling alleys, not even a Sonic. But we had the Little General with the best fried chicken in the state and Mario’s, a small Italian joint that made my mouth water every time I drove by. Our town might’ve been small, but every Fourth of July, it seemed to be the biggest place on earth. All our family and friends would meet up at my Uncle Jamie’s for the barbeque of all barbeques with enough food and drinks for an army. The kids would run wild while the parents sat around the grill and threw back a few beers. The Fourth had always been my favorite holiday. I could pretend I was just like every other kid, that I didn’t live in a secret world of hell, but that all changed the summer of ’93.
My mother had one of her migraines, or at least, that’s what she told everyone when she decided to skip the day’s festivities. She wasn’t one for big crowds, so none of us were surprised that she wanted to stay home. Dad was eager to get over to Uncle Jamie’s, so he didn’t complain. Instead, he just ordered my younger brother Madden and I to get in the truck, and we headed over to join the others. As soon as we arrived, we went to join our neighborhood friends and cousins. We rode our bikes down to Manis pond, fished and caught crawdaddies, then came back to the house and cooled off under the sprinkler. As soon as we got dried off, we grabbed a handful of bottle rockets and were shooting at the black birds when my Uncle Jamie peeked his head over the fence and shouted, “Hey, you crazy hood-rats! It’s time to get down to the park!”
“Yes!” we all cheered.
The firework show at Critchfield Park was always a big deal for the folks in Monterey. Everyone in town would gather around with their lawn chairs and coolers, and for a brief moment, all our worries were forgotten. We could all just sit back, shoot the shit, and enjoy the show. Eager to get there and find a good spot, all the kids rushed over and started helping to gather our things. That’s when everything went south.
I was busy helping my best friend Marcus load some folding chairs into the back of his dad’s truck when my father called out to me, “Hey Ro’, where’d ya put my keys?”
“Don’t know.” I shrugged. “I haven’t seen them.”
“What are you talking about? You had them in your hand an hour ago!”
At six-three and three hundred and twenty pounds, my father wasn’t a small man. He towered over me along with most of the people in my family. That was enough to make him intimidating, but it was his ferocious temper that made him scary as hell. The man was a legend in our town, known for whooping half the football team when he was in high school. Those rumors continued when he started getting into brawls down at the local bar. I didn’t have to listen to the rumors to know about his short fuse and the havoc he could bring when he lost control. I lived with him. I knew exactly how terrifying he could be. His cold, black eyes narrowed as I answered, “Yeah, but I gave them back to you.”
He didn’t like my answer. In fact, it was enough to cause his back to stiffen and his chest heave with fury. “If you gave them back to me, I wouldn’t be standing here asking you where the fuck they were!”
“You were sitting with Uncle Jamie when I handed them to you.”
“That’s fucking bullshit, and you know it.” My heart started to pound, and my palms were all sweaty. “You been running around doing God knows what. There’s no telling where my fucking keys ended up!”