Oh, swoon. The endearment spoken in his sexy voice transfixed Fee. Her pussy heated. Never mind her injuries. Or, maybe, because of them. She wanted Stretch in the most basic, life-affirming way. However, that had to wait a few days. At the moment, she’d settle for… “A ride.”
He dropped his gaze to her lips, making it hard for her to resist her desire to reach out and touch him. Run her fingers along his scar. Tangle her hands through his hair. “Is that so?”
“On your bike,” she clarified with mischief.
His grin revealed his dimples. “I can arrange that. As soon as you heal.”
“That’s a date. I’ll see you at the house,” she said happily, then nodded to Zoann to drive off.
“Wait!” Stretch called.
Fee lurched against her seatbelt as Zoann slammed on her brakes. The bikes behind the SUV revved in protest. Val and Johnnie circled like sharks.
“Are we telling Cash?” Stretch yelled over the din, glancing in Johnnie’s direction with unease.
“Sure, but only you and I are going. I’ll ride his…bike some other time.”
Tapping her door, he laughed, then waved Zoann through. Val and Johnnie swerved ahead, gunning onto the private access road. Fee thought maybe her sister would comment on Stretch’s behavior, but Zoann continued to Meggie’s house and stopped at the curb.
Instead of accompanying them inside, Val and Johnnie waved, then sped back toward the clubhouse.
At the gate, Zoann punched in the code, remaining at Fee’s side until they got inside.
“Surprise,” Zoann murmured, closing the door behind them.
In the foyer, Ryan and Rory held a sign that read Wlecame hom Ant F, each letter a different shade of crayon and in CJ’s handwriting.
Rebel rushed to her and held out a papered crown, colored pink, each end glued together. “I made this for you, Aunt Fee.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” she said, stooping to allow Rebel to “crown” her, touched by her legion of nieces and nephews who’d gone out of their way to make her feel special. It was another reminder that she needed to be thankful for what she had, instead of focusing on what she’d lost. She’d never forget her nieces who’d been murdered, but she had to tuck them away in a special place in her heart. It was time.
Harley ran to her and grinned. She held up a star created from construction paper that read ecame hom. “I couldn’t make the w and l fit, Aunt Fee,” she explained, holding the star out.
“I tell you to make a circle,” CJ complained, doing his best to stand still, but failing miserably, while Rory barely moved a muscle.
“You ran out of space for ee on the sign,” Harley told him.
As CJ and Harley argued, Rule held up a drawing, mostly scribble, but Fee picked out a flower and a heart. “Welcome home, Aunt Fee.”
“Did not!” CJ yelled.
“Did!” Harley said.
“All right, you two,” Meggie chastised from where she stood with Bunny, Kendall and Bailey behind the tribe of children. “That’s enough. You both did very well. Don’t ruin Aunt Fee’s homecoming with an argument.
Ryan and Devon also brought her drawings that Fee accepted before the women hugged her, one by one.
“If you’re up to eating, we have food in the dining room.” Meggie smiled, but the dark circles around her eyes and the sadness on her face revealed how hard her separation from Christopher was. “I cooked your favorites. Crabmeat Louis. Meatballs and spaghetti. Sour cream pecan pie.”
“We used Momma’s recipes for the crabmeat and the pie,” Bailey said softly, her tone indicating how much she missed her mother.
“We’ve been in the kitchen all morning,” Kendall added. “Just for you. Meggie’s on a hunger strike. She hasn’t eaten a thing today.”
Bailey scowled. “Please don’t start, Kendall.”
Zoann laid a hand at the small of Fee’s back. “Let’s get you seated and Meggie fed.”
“Oh, um, I’m not hungry,” Meggie said. “I’ll eat later.”
“Later never gets here, sweetie,” Bunny told her gently. “By the time Outlaw gets out, you’ll have disappeared.”
CJ abandoned the sign, allowing it to fall around Rory, and ran to Meggie. He dug in the pocket of his jeans. “I got apple for you,” he said, holding a piece of fruit out to her.
Ruffling his hair, Meggie took the brown slice from him and popped it into her mouth. “Yum,” she said between chews. “You saved it for me from a couple of hours ago?”
“Uh huh.”
She forced herself to swallow. “I’m all filled up, buddy.”