King(68)

“Goodnight,” Evie said, going to the steps.

“Night.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay down here with you until you feel better?” Lily hesitated by her sister’s side.

“Go to bed, Lily.”

“I’m going.”

As both women went up the stairs together, Evie noticed Lily looked tense. “I’ll check on her in the middle of the night,” Evie said before going in her room.

“I will, too. I don’t sleep very well in storms.” The loud thunder at that second made both women jump.

“I don’t, either.” She went in her room after making sure Lily didn’t need anything, changing into her nightgown. The sound of the pouring rain was hitting the window when Evie climbed into bed, hoping the storm wouldn’t last long.

* * *

King lit his cigar while sitting in the boat. They had been out on the water for over an hour. Shade and Rider both had their fishing lines in the water.

“We could go back to shore and get you another pole,” Rider offered.

“No, thanks. I would probably lose that one, too,” King stated, biting down on his cigar in aggravation. He was never going to hear the end of it from Evie when she found out he had battled a fish and the fish had won, taking his fishing pole with him. He was contemplating the believability of telling her a lake monster was hidden in the depths of the small lake but didn’t believe she would buy it.

“Don’t feel bad. We’ve all lost poles. Of course, we were all drunk as shit at the time,” Rider joked.

King looked at a silent Shade, who sat staring into the lake. He was going to have to make the first move to repair the damage he had created.

“How’s Lily adapting to the new minister and his wife?” King decided to start the conversation with a neutral topic.

“She’s adjusting, but there’s not a connection with Merrick like Lucky.”

“Dean’s living at the clubhouse now?” King broached the subject he was most interested in.

“Yes.” Shade’s answer was short and told him nothing.

“How’s that working out?”

When Shade sighed, turning to look at him, Rider had a smile on his face as he listened. King was aware he was making an ass out of himself without the man making it obvious.

“If you want to know if he participates in the club’s activities, yes, he does. Not that it’s any business of yours. Lily and I have our own separate house. Neither of us want Lily to see him when he’s partying, so I text him when Lily’s in the house. Dean cares about Lily and has no desire to tarnish his image to her.”

“That’s a lot of work for you two to make sure Lily isn’t uncomfortable.”

“She’s worth the trouble.” Shade’s words brought a sharp pain to King’s chest. He had never gone to the trouble of making Lily happy one time while he had condemned Shade for being an unemotional bastard.

“Yes, she is. Now that I’m in town, I want to get to know her better.” King hesitated before adding, “Both of you. I don’t want to invade your lives, just become a small part of it. I want to be able to have a relationship with my grandchildren when you two have a child.” It was the closest he could come to telling Shade he was accepting their marriage, regardless of whether he gave a damn or not. The only opinion Shade cared about was Lily’s. King agreed his opinion didn’t count, but he didn’t want any hard feelings to linger over the years ahead of them.

The boat went silent; the only sound was the water lapping against the side.

“Got another cigar?” Shade eventually asked. It was the closest thing to an olive branch as King was going to get.

“Yes, I do.” King pulled his stash out of his tackle box, offering one to each man. As Shade and Rider each took one, going back to their fishing, King relaxed on his seat while the men talked, the atmosphere lightening. Shade actually spoke to him several times without him initiating the conversation. It wasn’t much, but it was the start to a new beginning.

Shade and Rider both managed to catch six fish before the sky darkened and they decided to go back to camp. They docked the boat, carrying their tackle boxes and poles as they walked to the cabin. The others had fished from shore and had already begun frying their catches.

“Where’s your pole?” Viper asked from the grill.

“He lost it,” Rider volunteered the information.

The Last Riders broke into laughter, making jokes at his expense. King took it good-naturedly but promised himself he would show no mercy if the shoe was ever on the other foot.

When Viper and Cash served up the fish, which was surprisingly good, King determined it was worth the ribbing he had taken. After dinner, they all pitched in to clean up outside then went inside to get away from the insects and play some cards.