AllFreeNovel
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Ivy is shaking a drink and smiling. There’s no one at the tiki bar other than me. Well, me and Ivy. Her gaze is unfocused, but she seems happy, and I’m drawn to that smile. It’s familiar and so fucking welcome. It’s like a hug and a punch at the same time. She’s my best friend, always has been, only now she’s grown the fuck up and more gorgeous than I ever expected. “Ivy.”
“Stone.” Her smile is bland at first, but it gets bigger the longer she watches me. “What’ll it be?”
“What’s in the shaker?”
“Just somethin’ new I’m working on. You brave enough to be my guinea pig?”
“Sure. I trust you, Ivy.”
She arches her brow. “You trust me. You’ve been gone a long time, Stone.”
“Yeah, so tell me what I’ve missed.”
She laughs, and the sound is familiar but slightly different, a little huskier and maybe slightly rougher. “So, what,” she asks as she tips the cocktail shaker into a short glass with ice. “You want me to catch you up on the last five years in three minutes?”
“Nope. I’ve got all night, and I want to know everything.”
She slides the glass across the bar with a smile. “Let’s start simple. I’m a bartender now at The Barn Door.”
“That’s cool. Been there long?” I eye the glass warily. “Why is it green?”
Full lips part into a lightning-bright smile. “Absinthe.”
“Shit,” I whisper to myself and take a sip. “Strong as fuck.”
She laughs again. “It’s called Lights Out.”
I take another sip, my gaze lingering on her expression. It’s hopeful and eager. “It’s weird. Complex. Strong as fuck,” I offer with a laugh. “You got any tequila back there?”
“What? You want a margarita?” She pulls out a bottle of Patron. “This’ll light you right up.”
“No, just a shot. A double.”
Ivy chills the tequila with ice in the shaker and pours me a double shot. “How you been?” I ask and shoot the tequila down with a shudder.
“Good. You?”
“Glad to be—” just then, Gray walks up to the bar, wraps an arm around her waist, and kisses the side of her neck.
“Hey, babe. How’s it going?”
“Good.” Ivy’s eyes slide shut, and an affectionate smile tilts the corners of her lips. “Just catching up with Stone.”
Gray pulls back from Ivy, turning to me with a growing smile. “Stone. Man, it’s good to see you.”
Gray is my oldest friend in the world. He and I ran around this ranch as boys, learning every inch of the place. We’re more like brothers than friends. “It’s good to see you too, man. Congrats on the patch.”
“Thanks.” His face stretches into a proud smile, and we bro-hug like no time has passed, gripping each other’s forearms, then coming in for a half-hug. “Fuck, it’s good to have you back.”
“Good to be back. And weird, but this party is a good way to jump right back in.” Everyone I know and love in the state of Texas is here. This is my home, and while Gray turns his attention back to Ivy, I turn toward the party and watch everyone.
This scene tonight is like a dream come true. From the moment I learned about the family business, the MC, my dream was to have a kutte of my own. I wanted to patch into the MC and one day run it, and until that day arrived, I wanted to belong, just like this. To party with my brothers and our families just like this.
It's happening.
A smile spreads across my face. I’m home, back on the ranch where I was born and raised. The humid Texas air on my skin. I fish a beer from the cooler beside the bar and let this feeling sink in once again.
This place has been in my blood from the moment I was born, and now I’m back.
