At the midway point, the hallway curved and she caught sight of Rebel’s blonde hair fluttering as she went into the bedroom.
Picking up his pace. Christopher pushed ahead of Meggie and Axel. “Whatthe fuck goin’ on?”
“Yeah, Dad,” CJ called, still behind Meggie. “I’m really curious myself.”
“You called Reb, Ax?” Diesel asked, also still bringing up the rear.
“Uh huh,” Axel responded. “To help with stirring Mom’s surprise.”
Walking into her bedroom, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. “What—?”
“Oh my God, you little fuckheads.” Rebel’s screech carried from the bathroom and cut off Meggie’s question. “This is what you needed my help with?”
Heart in her throat, Meggie dropped her hand from Axel’s and ran the rest of the way, skidding to a halt once she reached her destination.
She blinked, made a sound, and covered her mouth with a hand.
Fully clothed, Ryder stood in her whirlpool bathtub, using a shovel to stirwhateverruined the steaming water. Dirt smeared his hands and smudged his cheeks. Grass stains marred the white button down shirt he wore as part of his school uniform. The concoction in her bathtub immersed him up to his knees.
He threw her a wide smile. “Hey, Mom.”
Resting the shovel on the wall—and keeping it in the tub—he splashed to the rim and climbed out, dragging a huge amount of water and revealing his ruined Oxfords.
Meggie squeaked. Christopher gaped. They exchanged shocked expressions.
Ransom sloshed from her closet, his hair plastered to his head. Her long,expensivecashmere robe stretched impossibly because he’d stuffed himself into it. He wasn’t overweight, but he was taller and heavier than her. Pine needles stuck to one of his cheeks and his forehead. He carried another cashmere robe, a short winter one, misshapen, damp, and dirty.
“We’ll wait outside while you take your spa bath, Mom,” Ransom said. He threw the robe he held at her, but Christopher stretched out his hand and caught it. “We made the water hot enough to dissolve the mud and yogurt once we started stirring it hard enough.” He pointed to the bathtub. “What do you think?”
Axel tugged on her sleeve. Shell-shocked, she looked at him. He held up a bath towel, coated with…with…
A sound escaped her.
Rebel snapped her fingers in front of Meggie’s face. “Momma?”
“Baby, you okay?” Christopher asked.
“What do you think of the spa bath, Mom?” Axel demanded.
The water was cloudy, milky in some parts and mud brown in others. Amid that combination patches of oil separated the water. Strawberries, blades of grass, andstufffloated around.
Axel beamed at her. “We put yogurt, grass, pinecones, pine needles, mud, ground coffee, strawberries, and olive oil in it. All the stuffs you got at the spa.” He laid the towel over her shoulder. “We just spread the yogurt and the olive oil on your towel. I wanted to warm it with your blow dryer but Ran said it might catch fire. Since he fell in the water cuz he listened to me, I decided not to blow dry your towel.”
Meggie stared at the mess in her tub, blinked, and burst into tears.
The over-the-top smoke alarm, complete with a loud and intrusive mechanical horn suddenly blared, and the sprinklers opened.
Chapter Eleven
Mort didn’t have time to drag his brother to a field and beat his ass far from prying eyes. If he did it in the clubhouse, Prez would find out and demand answers. If Mort confessed his brother was a stupid, bitter motherfucker, then Outlaw would still fuck Digger up. He wouldn’t only break a few bones. He’d bury him, so Mort kept his peace and accepted Outlaw’s invitation to have a beer. Partly to calm his own nerves and partly to keep stupid motherfuckers alive.
Luckily, he’d invited Bailey out on a proper date, and she was supposed to meet him at the club. Otherwise, he would’ve been home, living his new normal on the sofa. Except he didn’twantthat to be his new normal.
Luckier still was the fact that Bailey was running late. When he headedto the club, Mort hadn’t anticipated walking in at the very moment Meggie girl punched the fuck out of Nyx and knocked her the fuck out. Nor had he expected to witness a motherfucker boldly flirting with her right the fuck in front of Prez’s face.
Now, Prez and his sons were gone. Johnnie hightailed it off not long after. Val didn’t stick around either. He’d learned his lesson during the conversation after Torie’s death.
Mort checked his phone, wondering if he’d missed a message or a phone call from Bailey. But nothing.
