Wild Like the Wind (Page 63)

She took a sip of wine from her flute, looking away for a beat, then she looked back at me.

And when she did, I held my breath at what I saw in her eyes.

“I think Tad would walk through gunfire for me,” she whispered. “He’ll never be in the position to do that but I honest to God think he would, Keely. And I’ve been thinking on it since our phone conversation and I think that’s why I said yes. I think I’m whacked because I started to fall in love with my fiancé after he proposed to me.”

“And I think I’m beside myself with glee that’s happening for you, babe,” I replied softly.

She shot me a grin.

I lifted my glass up between us.

“To the magic of edible glitter dust and budding love,” I toasted.

“To hot-as-fuck teddies working wonders and best friends forever,” she toasted back.

We grinned at each other like goofs.

Then we clinked and drank.

Before she put her glass down, she exclaimed, “Shit! I forgot the fancy little knives. Hang tight.”

She dashed to the counter.

I didn’t need a fancy knife to shove a sliver of prosciutto in my mouth and I proved it by doing that.

“Okay, I said I was out of it,” she started before she turned back with the baby cheese knives in her hand, “but old habits that aren’t exactly old, since I haven’t yet gone cold turkey, are hard to break. In other words, I’m talking Chaos gossip. So what gives with you dogging Hound at that old lady’s funeral? Everyone is gabbing about it.”

I nearly choked on prosciutto.

Bev slid back into her seat and shoved knives into cheese even as she looked at me. “You okay?”

I pounded my chest, grabbed my glass and pushed out, “Yes,” before I took a sip.

“The old ladies are pissed, Keely,” she shared. “Everyone knows Hound has a soft spot for you. You show at that funeral and take off without giving him a hug?” She grew cautious. “I mean, I know . . . well, I guess I figure it’s about cemeteries, and well, no one likes them but you have more reason not to.”

“Bev—”

“But Elvira saw and she got ticked and she’s winding up Tyra and Lanie and Tabby and even Carissa, who’s sweet as sugar.”

“Elvira?” I asked.

“She’s a Club adoptee. I don’t get it. She was the black lady sitting in the seats by the casket with that smokin’ hot black dude. They just got engaged. He’s a cop.”

Even though I only had thoughts (and eyes) for Hound and Jean at the funeral and didn’t see any black lady with her smokin’ hot guy, I did another one of Hound’s slow blinks on learning that anyone having anything to do with a cop was adopted by Chaos.

“She’s a long story,” she finished.

I asked another one-word question.

“Carissa?”

“Joker’s old lady.”

“Ah,” I mumbled.

“Millie defended you, according to Lanie, but they figure with the time in between,” she shrugged a shoulder uncomfortably, “you should have . . . well, I mean, it’s Hound. How many old Jewish women has he been lookin’ after? Everyone was floored she even existed. They thought you could suck it up and show him some love.”

I was showing him some love all right.

“Bev, honey—”

“Not to come down on you but I also thought it was kinda uncool,” she kept going hesitantly.

“Bev—”

“I don’t want you to think I’m a bitch but he’s always had your back.”

“Bev, let me speak.”

She shut up and stared at me.

“Okay, I need you to brace. I mean, hang on, sister. Seriously,” I warned.

She kept shutting up but now was staring at me intensely.

Shit.

Okay.

She would get it. She’d be on our side. She’d be for anything that made me happy.

Just do it, Keely!

“Hound and I are together,” I announced. “We’ve been together a few months. The boys know. My boys that is, Dutch and Jagger. We were having a rough patch when Jean died that was really rough. I think we’ll have a lot more rough before it’s done, just not that kind. He loves me and I love him and we’re committed to this. Like committed. He’s my future. I’m his. He makes me happy. He lost Jean and I’m not certain he’s dealing but we just got back together and made the decision to tell everyone, come out, so I’m letting us settle into that before I take his pulse on Jean. But we’re not telling the Club. Not yet. Just you. And the boys. They’re ecstatic. And, well . . . so am I.”

She just kept staring at me intensely.

“I really am, Beverly,” I whispered. “And it’s bad timing, I get that, after I wasn’t all that supportive of you making a decision in your love life I wasn’t sure about. But that was a lot about you bursting into tears and babbling about Boz for fifteen minutes after you told me you said yes to marrying another man. I’m all in with Hound. I’ve talked to Black. I don’t know if he’d understand but it doesn’t matter. I’m in love with Hound and he loves me fierce, babe. So fucking fierce. And that’s all I’m letting in right now.”

Like Hound was when I told him I loved him, my best friend sat there unmoving and unspeaking.

“Bev, I really need your support in this. The brothers are gonna—”

I didn’t get that all out.

I jumped in my seat when she let out a war whoop and burst out of her chair. Doing an arms and legs spread cheerleader leap in the middle of her kitchen, she then half-skipped, half pranced in a circle, almost like a Native American dance without the offensive slapping her hand to her mouth, but definitely making unintelligible sounds of sheer jubilation before she stopped suddenly.

She whirled to me and threw out an arm, finger pointed at me.

“I knew it!” she yelled. She raised her arm and hacked it down with finger pointed toward me again. “I love this!” She brought both hands in front of her and clapped repeatedly, fingers pointed straight up. “He has been so into you for so long. And he’s such a good guy. Okay, he’s a little bit loco. Maybe a lot loco. But he’s still such a good guy. This is so fucking AWESOME!”

She screamed the last.

I opened my mouth to say something, the smile on my face so big it hurt, when she rushed the table and the smile died fast when I jumped in my seat again after she slammed a fist violently on the table, making everything on it jolt and wobble. In fact, three olives rolled off her charcuterie board along with a pickle, such was the violence of her hit.

“If any of those motherfuckers does dick to make this hard on you two, I’m gonna lose my mind,” she shrieked. “One last thing I’ll give Boz is a striping if he even thinks of pulling any shit with Hound about this. I’ll even butt up against Tack!” she shouted.

Uh-oh.

Biker cheerleader Beverly going up against Kane “Tack” Allen, president of the Chaos MC who got his title by means of executing the last one?

Shit.

“Bev, babe—”

“They’re gonna make him stand the gauntlet, and you know it, girl.”

It was then, I froze.

“And if they go through with that shit,” she carried on, “I’m gonna burn down the Compound my damned self.”

I was thrilled with her excitement. Absolutely.