She stepped back into the kitchen, opened the bag, and poured it into the bowl. Once the second bag popped, she added that one to the bowl.
The guys in the other room yelled at the referee. She walked into the living room and placed the bowl on the coffee table in front of them.
Romeo hooked her thigh and brought her down beside him on the couch. His hand went between her legs as he palmed the inside of her thigh. She leaned against him, but he kept moving and leaning forward to talk to Brody.
She pushed against the couch to get up, and he brought her back down. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to do laundry."
"Doll, the game is one." He kissed her. "It's almost over. Forty seconds to go."
If she'd learned anything about football, forty seconds on live television could last a long time.
Caleb walked through the front door. Brody caught his brother up on the game. She shifted on the couch when Caleb stepped in front of her to sit down between her and Brody. Romeo picked her up and put her on his lap, making room for the three men.
She leaned against his chest to stay out of his view of the television.
Caleb went at the popcorn like a starving man. She snuggled against Romeo's chest. There was so much she should get done before tomorrow. But if Romeo wanted her with him, she'd sit through the rest of the game.
"Is there anything else to eat?" asked Caleb.
"We had hotdogs and fries." She pushed against Romeo to get up. "I'll fix you a couple and reheat some fries."
"He can make his own," said Romeo, letting her go. "There goes my team. Jackson's going for it. The clock is going..."
She slipped into the kitchen. It wasn't a matter of who made the meal for Caleb. She had time, and it made her an important part of the family when she could take some of the chores off the men.
Loud groans filled the house. She shook her head, putting a plate with hotdogs in the microwave. Men and their games. Tomorrow, they'd bet on another sport and another team.
As she scooped the fries onto the plate, Romeo came into the kitchen. "You assholes need to start doing your share around here. Timber isn't your cook."
"It's fine." She smiled at Romeo. "Honestly, it's no big deal. If he would've been here earlier, I would've made his meal with everyone else's."
"You're too easy." He stole a fry off the plate. "If you don't want to do something, just tell them no."
"But, it's okay."
"No, it's not."
She inhaled and walked out of the room to deliver Caleb his plate. Before Romeo could argue with her again, she escaped to the laundry room to grab the clothes out of the dryer.
It wasn't like it was hard living with the Muel brothers. If she could prove how easy it was to have her around the house, and it would make their lives more enjoyable, then she was happy to help out.
Besides, she hated how it felt not to be wanted.
She wanted all of them to like having her living here.
"Doll?"
She stuck her head out of the laundry room. "Yeah?"
"Let's ride over to the clubhouse."
"You want me to go?" She walked out of the room, forgetting about the laundry.
"Yeah." He grinned and wiggled his brows. "I like how you feel and look on the back of my bike."
Her neck warmed, and she glanced at his brothers before smiling at Romeo. "Let me change clothes fast."
"It's hot." Caleb shoved the last bite of hotdog bun in his mouth. "It's pushing eighty-five degrees."
She groaned. "I'll be right down. Just give me a minute."
"Take your time." Romeo slipped a cigarette in his mouth. "I'll be out front."
She ran up the stairs. Not wanting to overdress but preferring to have jeans on when she was on the motorcycle, she grabbed a tank to put with it and quickly braided her hair down her back.
Once she was ready, she went outside. Romeo whistled. She held her arms out and put a little more wiggle in her walk.
She kissed him before putting on her helmet. No matter the weather, Romeo always wore his black leather Killere vest and a pair of jeans.
"Did you get your laundry done?" he asked.
She shook her head. "It's okay. I can do it later."
"I can wait if—"
"No, it's fine. Really. I want to go with you."
Romeo frowned. "Timber, if you want to do something else, all you have to do is speak up."
"I did." She hated how he made her feel guilty for dropping her chores. "I want to go with you."
Though she could've stayed home, she'd rather be with him. It wasn't a big deal to wait and do her laundry later. If her clothes were wrinkled, she'd start the dryer again to get them looking better.
She climbed on behind him. There was something about riding with Romeo that made her smile. The wind caressed her face. The vibrations between her legs relaxed her. With her arms wrapped around Romeo, she was right where she wanted to be today.
Chapter Thirty
While Timber talked with Vega, Sierra, and Willow in the backyard of the clubhouse, Romeo stood by himself and tipped back a bottle of beer. For the last week, Timber had pretended nothing bothered her.
She hadn't asked where Dice was or if he'd seen any sight of her mother.
She was old enough to live independently, but her lack of concern over having her family split up was a foreign concept to him. Not a day went by that he wouldn't check in with his brothers and make sure everyone was okay.
The same happened at Killere. He attended meetings, went on rides, and stayed in constant contact with his patch-wearing brothers.
He wanted Timber to have a sense of belonging with him. She lived at his house and needed to feel as if it was her home, too.
She went through the movements of living with him. The house was cleaner, the laundry done before it could overflow the basket, and she'd taken over Wednesday night's dinner prep for the whole family without any argument.
She never disagreed with him. She never exhibited a difference of opinion or voiced any needs. It was as if everything was perfect the way it was going, and there was no need to change anything.
She always agreed with him. And not just with him, but with his brothers and everyone she encountered at the club. Even at the diner, she'd take over someone's shift without batting an eye.
It was as if she was trying to please him.
Her good-natured personality was starting to piss him off.
He wanted her to put her stamp on the house, on him, on her life in Spokane. She needed to find something that meant the world to her and fight for it.
He drained the rest of the beer and set the empty bottle on a nearby table. Hell, he wasn't sure he meant more to her than the great sex.
"What's got into you?" asked Big Buck.
"Nothing." He wiped his forearm across his mouth. "I'm going to take off."
"Your woman is enjoying herself." Big Buck pointed, lifting the whiskey bottle in his hand. "It'd be a shame to drag her away."
Timber was only using the others as an excuse to stay away from him. For some fucked up reason, she believed that's what he wanted. All she had to do was ask him what he wanted, and he'd tell her straight up.