After dinner, Banger leaned back and said, “Damn, woman, I love how you cook. You make the best lasagna.”
“I bet Belle makes a great lasagna. She told me she loves to cook and bake.”
Banger saw the “leave it the fuck alone” look Hawk gave Cara, and he chuckled under his breath. “I’d love to taste Belle’s lasagna. She makes a damn good beef stew. I stopped in yesterday to see her and I got me a bowl. Fuckin’ good.”
“You went to see Belle?” Cara gave Hawk a satisfied smirk, and Banger saw him shake his head. “How’s she doing?”
“Seemed okay. She told me she’s got her hands full right now with all the shit going on in her life.”
“She worries about her daughter. Emily got into some trouble. I can’t reveal the particulars about the case, but I can tell you that Belle is a wonderful mother who loves both her kids dearly. She’s had problems with her daughter since her husband died.”
“Yeah, that shit can mess with kids. Fuck, it messes with grown-ups. I’m glad Kylie fared as good as she did.”
“You were fuckin’ there for her one hundred percent. You blew all the brothers away by your dedication to Kylie,” Hawk said.
“Even with all the love you can give, kids can lose their way. Just glad my Kylie did okay.” Banger finished his glass of red wine.
“Are you going to see Belle again?” Cara asked.
Banger shrugged. “Maybe.” What the fuck am I saying? Damn right I’m gonna see her again.
“You should give her a chance. She’s a bit jittery about men right now. I’m not sure why, but you shouldn’t give up.” Cara gathered the dishes from the table.
Banger guffawed. “I’m not the type who gives up. When I see something I want, I go for it. Just haven’t made up my mind if I want her or not.” You lying sack of shit. You can’t wait to get your ass to the diner to see her again. Fuckin’ pathetic. Hawk’s right, you’re a pansy-ass. He laughed again as he poured himself some more wine.
Finishing their lemon cake on the couch in the family room, Banger stood up then swayed as the effects of too much alcohol overcame him. Hawk rushed over to steady his president.
“Whoa, man, you better crash in one of the spare rooms. You’re in no shape to ride home.”
“I think you’re right.” Banger glanced at Cara who smiled at him, nodding in agreement.
Hawk showed him to the guest room on the main floor. Banger had crashed many evenings at Hawk’s after Grace had died, but it’d been a while since he’d drunk too much to ride. Hawk made sure he was okay, then closed the door and left. The room was nicely decorated in southwest designs and colors. He shucked off his boots and clothes then slipped under the sheets, bringing the down comforter up under his chin. He was glad he stayed over. Something inside of him didn’t want to go back to his dark, quiet house. At least not that night.
He closed his eyes and let sleep set in.
Chapter Four
At nine o’clock in the morning, Belle sat at the kitchen table waiting for Holly to come by for their morning walk. Unless the weather was really bad, she tried to walk at least three times a week with Holly. Her friend lived only about a mile from Belle, and that made it convenient for whenever she needed Holly to stay with Ethan. Emily got along very well with her, and the two of them would often go shopping together. Belle was happy that at least Emily had one adult woman with whom she connected, especially since the two of them had been having a lot of problems.
After a brisk walk in the frigid air, Belle placed two cups on the table and filled them with steaming coffee as Holly sat down at the table.
“How are things going with you and Emily?” asked Holly.
“Not so good. We had a terrible fight last night.” Belle wrapped her fingers around her coffee cup. “She was so angry at me. She shoved me.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I can’t believe she did that.”
“You gotta be kidding.”
“I wish I were.” Belle’s voice hitched.
“Shit, that must be tough.”
She looked at Holly. “I gotta be honest here, I don’t know what I’m gonna do with Emily. If it were just the two of us, I would deal with it, but I have Ethan to think about. All the stress is making it terrible for him. I know if Harold were here, Emily wouldn’t be acting this way at all. It’s just so unfair to Ethan, that’s all.”
“Yeah, she was always close to her dad. Harold was actually good for something.”
“I wish he were here to tell me what to do. He had a way with Emily. It’s funny, because I have such mixed feelings about Harold. I hated him for cheating on me, but I loved him for being a good dad and supporting me in raising the kids.”