Rever held up his hands. “You know I wouldn’t do that. Hey, if you’re sure about this, then I’m happy for you, man. Ease off, Hammer.”
Hammer blew out a breath and willed his body to relax. “Sorry, I just get a little tense when it comes to Kali.”
“Ya think?”
For the next few minutes, Hammer gave Rever the rundown of his relationship with Kali from the first time he saw her to what he had been feeling when he got in the limo to leave Breakers. He had talked to his friend a few times on the phone while he had been dating Kali, so he knew the gist of their relationship, but he had never really vocalized his feelings about her.
“Christ, her family is as crazy as Nyght’s is.”
“I know, but you and I both know better than most that having fucked up parents doesn’t mean you have to end up as screwed up as they are.”
Like Hammer, Rever hadn’t had much in the way of a good childhood. His mother had taken off when he was five, and his father was a drunk who had ended up in prison when Rever was fifteen after he was arrested for beating a man half to death.
“It’s crazy, I know, but I feel like I’ve been waiting for her my whole life. There is something about her…no, it’s about who I am when I’m with her. Kali is special. Damn it, she’s got me tangled up in knots, but in a good way. She’s the best person I know, and I want to be a better man around her … for her.”
Rever studied him with serious eyes. “I can’t even imagine feeling like that about a woman, but I have to say, I can understand why you wouldn’t want to let that go.” Smiling, he cracked his knuckles. “Well, Hammer. Why don’t we go see about a ring.?”
Hammer finished his beer, then set the glass back down on the table. “Leanne wants to go with us.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly. Your job is to help control her while I pick out the perfect ring.”
Rever groaned. “Now I see why you really wanted me here now, you bastard.”
Hammer just grinned.
****
Kalista was nervous as she drove up to the Beaumont Rescue Center the morning of the adoption event. It was a beautiful day out, and she was glad that the weather had given them a reprieve from the unusual cold they had been getting slapped with lately. The sun was shining, and puffy, white clouds danced lazily in the sky as she pulled into the last stretch of road that would lead her to their final destination.
She had spent the previous two nights working on the creations that the bakery would be donating with Becca, Anna, Nate and all of her part-time staff. Last night they had even used her oven upstairs in her apartment when they had run out of room in the bakery.
Wednesday morning she had gotten a rough start, since she and her friends had been out late the night before drinking at The Fox Hole. They’d had a good time dancing and having a few drinks, but then they had started taking shots and things had started to get a little hazy.
They had been well protected while they had been at the bar. Dante and all of Jared’s other friends had seemed to show up, creating a protective circle around them as they’d had their fun. It had been almost comical to see some of the most notorious bad boys in town acting like bodyguards for a bunch of women. Nikita and Zoe had been irritated by it, but Kalista had just felt protected and cared for by the gesture.
The next morning her head had been pounding, and when she had shuffled into her kitchen she had let out a squeak as she’d found Zoe passed out on her couch. Becca had all but crawled out of the guest bedroom at the first scent of the coffee Kalista had started to brew when there had been a knock on the door. Bleary-eyed, Kalista had gone down the stairs and frowned at a very normal looking Nikita, who had grinned at her when she’d opened the door.
“I thought you could use this,” Nikita had said once they were back upstairs in Kalista’s apartment. She pulled out a large container of a dark, green sludge-like substance that had Kalista, Zoe and Becca eying it suspiciously.
“What the hell is that, and why in the world do you look so normal?” Zoe had asked as she’d frowned at Nikita.
“I have a cast-iron stomach,” Nikita had said cheerfully. “This is a secret remedy I learned from an old gypsy woman when I was in Russia.”
“When in the world were you in Russia? And that isn’t fair,” Becca grumbled. “We’re twins. How can you be okay when I have to suffer? I totally got shafted.”
“You almost did last night. Who knew my sister could dance on a bar. You have several guys panting after you,” Nikita had asked as she’d poured the three of them a tall glass of the green sludge. She ignored the question about her time spent in Russia, but that didn’t shock anyone. Nikita was very closed-mouthed about where she had spent those years away from Breakers.