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“What else?”
Quick movement at a window caught my eye, the curtain pulled to the side just a bit.
I looked out the back window of the truck, and my jaw dropped as I watched five of Gate’s brothers throttle down and coast to a stop on the street.
Back at the window, a small, tan face popped up and then disappeared.
I turned back to Gate, “Motorcycles.”
I opened the door and thanked the good Lord that Talon’s truck came equipped with automatic running boards.
My feet hit the ground, but Gate’s words stopped me.
“Take Deuce in with you.”
I looked back on a frown, “I can handle it, Gate. Just a mother and her son in there.”
Gate shook his head, one arm propped on the steering wheel, “Not what I mean. I know you can take care of yourself. But Deuce is….”
“Familiar with the situation,” Deuce said from just behind me.
I jumped and spun around, “Jeez, you’re too big not to make any noise when you move.”
Deuce shrugged, “Developed the skill at an early age.”
I gestured toward the house, “I appreciate the offer, Deuce, really, but you’re not exactly qualified to handle this kind of thing, and if it goes south, I’ll get my ass handed to me for breaking procedure.”
Deuce looked toward the house and watched the now-empty window.
“Let’s just go see what we see,” Deuce said and started for the porch.
I threw Gate a look, “Is he always like this?”
“Pretty much,” Gate said. “But he’ll be fine. Trust me.”
I closed the truck door and followed Deuce before he could get too far ahead, even though it took three of my steps to equal his one, and I turned over Gate’s words. There seemed to be a lot more meaning behind them than just trusting him to know Deuce could keep his head on straight.
But before I could put too much thought into it, Deuce stopped at the bottom of the steps, and a small face with big eyes peeked around his mom to get a better look.
*************************
Gate
Boots hitting pavement, Gate snicked the truck door closed behind him.
He watched his girl, dwarfed by Deuce, gesture while she introduced everyone on the front porch.
Then the crew, even Deuce, went inside, and Gate was left cooling his heels while he waited, so he walked over to where Talon propped on his Harley.
“Wanna explain how this happened?” Gate asked, taking in the brothers who sat on their Harleys either smoking, scrolling through their phones, or both.
“Well, you called Deuce, and Deuce called Brick. Brick called me,” Talon said, looking down the line of brothers, “and I think he picked up Nine and Tank on his way out.”
Gate shook his head and grinned.
This was exactly the difference he’d expected from his brothers, once they understood who Anna was to him.
The years between didn’t matter.
