“You’re not pregnant, are you? You’ve only been married a month.”
At Lily’s hurt expression, Shade’s hand went to her jaw, raising her face to his. He leaned over, giving her a kiss which would reassure Lily while at the same time pissing off King. Lily’s face was bright red when Shade let her lips go.
“Lily and I are both anxious to start our family, but no, she isn’t pregnant. Yet.” Shade kept his face impassive as he stared at King.
He intended to get Lily pregnant as soon as possible. She wanted children, and she would make an exceptional mother. Not only that, but it would tie her to him irrevocably for the rest of their lives.
King opened his mouth to reply.
“I think that’s wonderful, Lily. You’re going to make a great mother,” Evie said, cutting in before King had the chance.
King’s mouth snapped closed at her words, and Shade saw his hands clench on the arms of his chair. He hadn’t appreciated Evie butting in to the conservation.
Beth rose to her feet. “Tomorrow may be Saturday, but I have to be at work early. Lily, you and Evie have to be at the church early, too, remember? The luncheon we’re having for Pastor Patterson and his wife?”
“Yes. Rachel is helping, too, and Willa is bringing dessert. You’re right; we should go. I don’t want to tire you, King.” When Lily got to her feet, thanking Beth silently for stepping in, Evie, Razer, who had remained quiet almost all night, and Shade rose to their feet, also.
Lily went to King, reaching up to brush his cheek with a kiss. “I hope to see you Sunday.”
When Lily would have turned away, King took her hand. “You haven’t called me Dad since I was shot.”
Lily looked at him warily at his statement.
Shade was about to intercede at her discomfort when Evie took a step forward, reaching her hand out for King to take. He released Lily reluctantly.
“Thanks for dinner, King.” Evie maneuvered her body, and Shade took the opportunity to lead Lily away from the manipulative bastard.
“Will I be seeing you Sunday, too?” Shade heard him ask Evie as they waited for her by the door.
“I’ll be at the church,” Evie confirmed.
“Good, I’ll look forward to it.”
Shade was damn sure Evie couldn’t say the same. However, Evie was an attractive woman, and from his research, King enjoyed women. That was one of the few things they had in common.
Shade helped the two women into the truck after they said their goodbyes. It was a good thing they were leaving Monday for Alaska, and King would be heading back to Queens City. If King stayed, he would do his best to try to destroy his and Lily’s relationship, uncaring how it affected his daughter.
Shade hated the bastard, already regretting his decision to give him a chance to redeem himself to Lily. There were some men who couldn’t be saved. He and King had that in common, as well.
The clubhouse had all the lights on when they returned and got out of the truck. Beth and Razer pulled in next to them and instead of heading into the clubhouse, they waved as they took the path to their own house.
“Lily, go on to our house. I’ll be there in a few minutes. I need to talk to Lucky for a few.”
“All right. I need to talk to Rachel about next week’s schedule,” she agreed, looking up at the clubhouse. They could hear the music from where they were standing.
She kissed him on his cheek before walking up the pathway.
Evie and he both watched her until she turned the corner.
“She’s never going to get used to the parties, is she?” Evie asked.
“No,” Shade answered, going up the front steps with Evie.
Opening the clubhouse door, they entered to see the party was still going strong.
“See Lucky anywhere?”
“Yeah, he’s over there.” Evie pointed.
The newly retired pastor was making up for lost time. He was sitting on the couch with Stori bent over his lap, giving him a blowjob while his mouth was on Ember’s bared breast.
“Later,” Shade told Evie as he left her to take a seat in the chair across from the couch.
Looking at his watch, his lips tightened as Lucky took his time coming.
Five minutes later, Shade decided he’d had enough.
“Brother, we need to talk. Either finish up or start over later,” Shade told him.
Lucky gave a groan, shooting him a dirty look. “Should you even be in here without Lily?” he asked sarcastically as he rammed his dick farther down a gasping Stori’s throat.
“That’s what we need to discuss,” Shade told him, watching as Lucky tugged at Ember’s nipple with this teeth.
“Dammit,” Lucky groaned, shuddering.
Shade gave him a minute to recover before standing up. “Kitchen.”
Lucky stood up, buttoning his jeans. “I won’t be long,” he told the women as he followed after Shade.
“What’s so important?” Lucky asked as Shade took a beer from the fridge.
He opened it, standing and staring at Lucky who was wearing only jeans. His tats, which would shock both Lily and Beth, were easily visible.
“We need to talk about how your behavior is going to affect Lily, and I don’t think Beth is any more ready to see your dick than Lily is.”
Lucky ran his hand through his already tousled hair. “I agree. I knew you were all out tonight, but when they’re here in the house, I’ll make sure I keep my business upstairs.”
“I know it’s a pain, but I would appreciate the effort.”
“No problem. I care about Lily and Beth, too. I don’t want to hurt them. I’ve waited a long time to live my life, but I can get what I need without throwing it in Lily and Beth’s faces.”
“What about Winter?”
“That’s up to Viper.”
Shade nodded his understanding.
“If that’s it, I—”
“It’s not.” Shade stopped him from leaving. “We need to talk about Merrick Patterson.”
Lucky frowned. “What about him?”
“I like to keep track of my enemies. Fortunately, most of mine are six feet under. Unfortunately for you, I became caught up in club business and Lily and let one slip through my fingers.”
“How does this affect me?”
“I have some history with his wife. Pick someone else to take over for you.”
“I can’t; it’s too late,” Lucky told him. “He resigned from his other church, and his wife’s in Atlanta, putting their home up for sale. Besides, Beth and your wife were on the pastor search committee. They hired him.”
“Fuck.” Shade set his beer down on the counter.
“What does it matter? If you fucked his wife, it’s not like you’re going to be in church staring at her every Sunday.”
“I never fucked her. You have no clue of the woman she is. She’s an evil bitch, and that’s being nice referring to her that way. She’s a fucking psycho.”
“I have friends who are, too.”
Shade sighed, ignoring his jab. “This doesn’t only concern me. She’s hurt Evie in the past and will again. She’s dangerous,” Shade warned.
“Dammit.” Lucky went to the refrigerator, taking a beer for himself and opening it. “Shade, it’s too late. Merrick has already moved into the church, and his wife will be there in a week or two. There’s nothing I can do.”
As the men stared silently at each other, Evie came into the kitchen, carrying a laundry basket.
Shade looked at her curiously. Since when did Evie start doing her laundry during the Friday parties?
Evie, seeing where his eyes were, shrugged. “I need to get caught up with the clothes so I can pack. Penni wants to leave Tuesday.”
Shade took a deep breath. He was going to have to tell her. “Let’s sit down.”
Evie, Lucky, and Shade all sat down at the table.
“This doesn’t seem to be good news.” Evie stared back and forth between him and Lucky.
&n
bsp; “It’s not,” Shade said grimly. “You know the pastor taking over for Lucky?”
“He came to the church to do a ‘in view to a call’ sermon, but I didn’t take the time to meet or speak to him directly, so I only vaguely remember him. He was a chaplain who worked with Lucky before I was discharged.”
“That’s right, but there’s something about him that you don’t know. He’s married to Brooke.”
Evie’s face whitened at his words. “You have got to be shittin’ me.”
“I wish I was,” Shade replied grimly.
“She’s my evil twin,” Evie told Lucky.
Shade silently agreed. Truer words had never been spoken.