I laughed, and Beau motioned to one of the quad bikes. “I hope you like adventure. The road washed out last night and we need to travel the rest of the way on the quads.”

I’d always wanted to ride on one of those. “Looks like fun.”

Both Beau and Hank grinned. Manic strode to the truck, grabbed our bags, then took my hand and led me around the missing chunk of road. Hank climbed on one of the quads, and Beau climbed on behind him, then wrapped his arms around his brother in a bear hug, laughing when Hank swatted him away like an angry grizzly. They were funny. I could see why Manic missed them.

He strapped our things to the second quad, then Manic went back to the truck and returned with his jacket and held it up for me.

“I have a jacket, you’ll need that.”

“Yours is too thin.” I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so I slid my arms in, and he zipped it closed, then pulled a beanie over my head, his warm brown eyes locking with mine. “Can’t have you freezing, cupcake.”

“Thanks.” Ah, hell, now I wanted to kiss him again.

Then he climbed on and I got on behind him. He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Hang on, baby. We’ll be taking a more direct route to Hank’s place.”

I wrapped my arms around him and we took off.

* * *

Manic

Fuck, I’d missed this.

We raced along the dirt track. Hank gunned it through the creek, but I took it a little slower. I didn’t think Addie would appreciate all her shit sopping wet when we got there. She held on tight, and I could hear her laughing, loving every moment.

I planned on showing her a good time while we were here, and that included a hike to my old hunting cabin, just the two of us for a night. I’d feed her my famous stew, then spend the rest of the night getting her off.

She squeezed me tighter as we went over a rise, and I loved the way that felt so damn much. Fuck, I wanted to hold her just as tight in my truck earlier when she’d told me about her aunt.

I’d had no idea about her aunt. My girl had lost everyone, and the way she clammed up when I tried to ask her about it told me she was still struggling with it. I couldn’t relate, and I was no expert, so I wasn’t going to push. But I wanted to know everything about her, including the shitty stuff.

Tonight was the party and a whole lot of family, but tomorrow, I’d show Addie my home, and, hopefully, the more she got to know me, the more she’d trust I would always handle those parts of her, the parts that gave her pain, with care.

We burst from the small wooded area and into a clearing, and Hank’s house came into view. The rest of the family would start arriving soon, and I could already see Cash’s plane by the barn, which meant Tucker would be here as well since Cash was going to pick him up on the way.

The sun was out, but it was still icy cold. Thankfully, there was smoke drifting out of the barn chimney from an old potbelly stove Hank had put in, since that’s where the party was tonight.

Addie’s fingers slid under my jacket and she gripped onto my shirt. She was nervous. My girl was confident and outgoing, and she loved people. But when it came to new people, I noticed she could also be cautious. She either went full extrovert or hung back and observed, though extrovert Addie was usually the norm.

She gripped my shirt tighter, and I wondered if she knew she was doing it. Riff and Lila had brought her to one of the family parties at the club, and I’d been with her when she’d met a few of the old ladies and their kids that she hadn’t met before, and she’d done the same thing. She’d grabbed the back of my shirt and gripped it for dear life, like she didn’t want me to walk off and leave her on her own.

She definitely hadn’t been aware she’d been doing it then. When she realized it, she blushed and quickly pulled away. She’d made a joke, pretended she was flirting with me and danced away, but I knew what she was doing. She hadn’t grabbed onto Ly, standing right beside her, she’d grabbed onto me because she’d felt this thing between us the moment we met like I had. I made her feel safe, even if she seemed fucking terrified of letting me in.

Well, tonight, I was keeping her glued to my side.

We stopped next to Beau’s truck, and when I covered her hand still gripping me and gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze, she quickly released me and climbed off.

I climbed off as well and pulled her back into my side. “Good?”

She nodded up at me and bit her lip, looking at the house as the door opened and Hank and Beau’s wives walked out. They were smiling and chatting, and both carried trays loaded with food. Then they spotted us and changed direction.

“Levi, you’re here!” Birdie said and handed her tray to Hank. “Hank was worried you wouldn’t make it.”

I glanced at Hank, but he was too busy watching his curvy, little wife. I pulled her in for a hug. Freya gave Beau her tray and came in for a hug as well. “We’re so glad you’re here.” She turned to Addie and smiled wide. “You must be, Addie.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Addison said. Okay, Addie was feeling cautious, maybe a little shy.

They pulled her in for a hug as well, then the barn door opened, and Cash and Tuck strolled out. Cash’s wife, Riley, was with them, and she was laughing at something Tucker was in the middle of saying.

Tags: Sherilee Gray Romance
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