Even with all of that, he took me by surprise. I halted, taking a step away from him.
“Who are you?”
“Your bodyguard.” What the fuck was going on here?
Just then my phone rang in my hand. It said, ‘Ensley calling,’ and I answered it without taking my eyes off of surfer dude here.
“What’s…” I started, and she interrupted me. My temper started to rise. I hated getting cut off, and she’d just done it twice. “Micah’s buddy Dryerson is comin’ to escort you to the clubhouse. Be nice to him.” Then she disconnected.
Pulling the phone from my ear, I asked, “You’re Dryerson?”
He smiled wide, almost knocking me to the ground. “Yep. You’re stuck with me.”
In that moment I knew this man was going to change something in my life. I had no idea in what way, but I wanted no part of it. “Look, I’m not some movie star who needs a bodyguard. I can handle it on my own.”
“But ya see... I was asked to help, so here I am helping.”
“Whatever.” I ignored him, got into my Impala, and locked the doors. The entire drive there he was right behind me. And all I could think about was get me the hell away from this man; he’s more trouble than I could handle.
I was not wrong.
Remy caught his attention once more, and he went back to making her laugh. Only when he looked away was I able to breathe and come back to myself, the fog lifting.
“You two not talkin’?” Ensley asked, already knowing the answer. My ever-nosy sister always wanted to be in my business. She did it out of love, that I knew. It was just something I didn’t want to talk about, not now, not ever. She wouldn’t understand. She wouldn’t get why Dryerson and I would never work.
“We talk okay. Don’t start with me. Please,” I answered, wrapping my arms around my middle and feeling the puffed-up scar on my side through my shirt. One of the many beautiful marks I was graced with from my time with psycho Daniel. Yeah. I was gross. They covered me everywhere, which was why I wore long-sleeved shirts, trying to cover my arms. An ever-present reminder of my many bad decisions, something none of them could understand—not my sister, and not Dryerson.
“We really need to talk. Can you come over tomorrow?” Ensley asked while Austyn watched us but didn’t say anything.
“Can’t, I have to work. I don’t know the rest of my schedule.” Thankfully this wasn’t a lie. I really didn’t know when I’d be off in the next few days. Schedules went out later today, and since I didn’t have anyone at home anymore, I kept busy by working. My bosses took advantage of it, and I was grateful.
“You call me tomorrow when you get it and set up a time,” she ordered, brows pinching together in determination.
I nodded, hoping she would back off. Talking about this now wasn’t helping the raging fire inside of me. I didn’t want to talk about this period, but I really didn’t want it brought up around the entire Ravage MC. They all took me in alongside Ensley. It seriously wasn’t fair the kindness they showed to me as her extended family. I put her in danger, and not one of them were rude to me. I risked one of their own, and yet here I stood in a room full of them.
“Food!” Micah called out, entering the kitchen carrying a large platter of burgers and hot dogs. The spread Ensley had out was covering her kitchen island, but that would be expected with all these people. From chips to pasta salads to hamburgers, there was enough food to feed a club full of bikers.
Micah set the platter down. “Hey, Katie. How are ya?” he asked as I moved around the island. One thing was for sure, this man loved my sister and niece, but he’d also taken a liking to me. He was everything I hoped my sister would find and everything I’d want in a brother.
“Good. You?” I asked, pulling down the plates and putting them by the buns so it was easier for people to get their food. That was one thing that annoyed me. Why would you have the plates on the opposite end of the counter when the first thing people are going to pick up were the buns? It never made sense to me.
I digress…
His smile grew wide, and joy flitted through his eyes. “Couldn’t be fuckin’ better. Got my two girls. My family. Couldn’t ask for more.”
Another sucker punch. Yeah, I didn’t fit in here. I wasn’t in the family. Not like they were. That was hard as hell to navigate. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for him. Ecstatic even. It was just something I was still mourning for myself, and it cut like a blade right through the chest.
“You’re a lucky man.”
He moved to Ensley and curled her into his body. “Don’t I know it.” Then he turned to the room. “What are ya waitin’ for? Dig in. We have cake and a little girl who wants to open her presents!”
Dryerson had put Remy down, and surprising me, she came right for me and took my hand. Looking up at me, she said, “Come eaths. We gots tot dogs and chweeze and tips and wathermelon.”
“Well, who could pass that up?” I replied on a smile, getting one in return.
Remy guided me through the line, and I could feel eyes staring at me, making me warm all over. It had to be Dryerson because he was the only one who made me feel like this. I hated it, yet loved it.
Crazy. Yes, I was. When you’d been through as much as I had in my life, it was expected. My head was so screwed up, there was no way to unscrew it.
I helped Remy get her food and carried both our plates outside to one of the several picnic tables.
The outside of Ensley and Micah’s home was set up much like the inside. Lots of comfortable places to sit and socialize. There were outdoor couches, chairs, adult swings and tons of pillows. A huge playground area for the kids and wide-open grassy areas were also included. I knew Micah, Ensley; and Remy spent a lot of time out here. Because of that, Micah wanted them to have a comfortable space, and he'd hit the nail on the head.
Sitting next to Remy, she dug into her hotdog. My burger looked good and tasted just the same.
“Iz excited for my Twollz!!” Remy said, clapping her hands together then grabbing a chip and putting it in her mouth and chewing.
“Me too.” I smiled. “It looks like they exploded in your house!”
“Days did! Youz come payz wit me,” she told me through her crunches. It had only been a few days, but I sensed she felt the separation between us a bit too. I just hoped she did better with getting past it than I had.
“Absolutely. I’ll come over and play soon.” It would be inevitable that Ensley would want to talk during the play session, but it was for my Remy. I’d walk on water for her if she needed me to.
“Mind if I sit here?” The voice I knew without even looking up. He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, Dryerson put his plate on the other side of the table and scooted into the seat.
“Yous gets me Twollz, Unkey WyWy?” Remy asked Dryerson who chuckled, his face lighting up.
“You know I can’t tell you that, bug. It’ll ruin the surprise.”
My heart clenched at him using the pet name I had for her. It was utterly sweet, and I loved that he used it on her. Probably a bit too much.
“No ones tells me my pesents!!” Remy said, taking another bite of her food. Determination crossed her face. She then jumped down and went off toward the house, no doubt going to talk to her daddy about opening presents.