Page 87 of Vandal Unbound

Then it hits me that my first thought this morning wasn’t about wanting to get drunk or high.

It was Daisy and the way her back is pressed to my chest, her hair tickling my chin. Elsie is asleep facing her momma, one small hand curled beneath her cheek. And my arms, well, they feel fuller than I’m used to wrapped around the two of them, and I love it.

For a man who spent a lot of time telling himself he liked his own space, I’m having a hard time remembering why.

A second voice mutters, “Less talking, more edging.” Wait, that sounded a hell of a lot like Knox.

Carefully, I ease my arm from beneath Daisy.

She stirs, making a small sound, but eventually settles. I slide from the bed as quietly as a man of my size can, but then stand there for minute, looking at the two of them.

Yesterday, this room was mine. Now it’s ours.

Another scrape comes from outside, followed by Sunny loudly whispering, “You take one more chunk out of this border, and I’m gonna throw you in the canal over there.”

I cross to the window, lift the edge of the blinds with one finger, and peer out.

“Holy shit,” I mutter.

My yard is full of people.

There must be twenty of them moving around my lot. Rainbow and Ridge are pulling what look like paint cans from the back of the truck. Steffi and some of the girls are standing on the drive with mops and buckets and cleaning supplies. Someone has given Reaper a chainsaw and he’s pretending to saw off Havoc’s arm. And Sunny is crouched beneath the window, edging the border around a flower bed I vaguely remember thinking I’d plant at some point. Meanwhile, Lock is pulling plants out of the back of his van like a regular landscape architect.

I let the blinds fall back into place.

Quickly, I tug on the jeans I wore yesterday and a clean T-shirt from my drawer before jogging down the stairs. My phone tells me it’s eight o’clock, and I’m confused as hell as to what’s going on so early.

I yank the door open just as Havoc raises his fist to knock. “Morning, sunshine.”

I glance over the yard and then back to him. “What’s…this?”

“The last thing you said yesterday before you left the clubhouse was that your house was a mess, and if you’d known you were bringing Daisy and Elsie back here, you’d have made better provisions.”

“Yeah?” I say carefully. “And?”

Havoc shrugs. “So, I called in some reinforcements.”

“Havoc.”

“What?”

“Why does Reaper have a chainsaw?”

Havoc looks over his shoulder, then back to me. “In his defense, he took it from Sunny, which we all thought was a good idea.”

Behind Havoc, Sunny straightens. “I hate the way none of you trust me sometimes.”

Knox pats him on the shoulder. “Leave the big equipment to the men,” he says.

Sunny grins wryly then grabs his cock through his jeans. “I already have big equipment of my own.”

Reaper fires the chainsaw, and a burst of birds fly out of the tree close to him.

“Progress already,” Havoc says. “They won’t shit on my truck all day now.”

I stare at my best friend. I should say something funny or sarcastic. Something that keeps this easy. But my throat tightens.

My club all showed up for me.