Into the Storm (Signal Bend #3)(22)
The success of the wedding at the end of September had done a lot to settle Lilli’s confidence.
“If I’m prying, tell me to shut the hell up, but that guy—Keith—looked like more than a friend.
Someone special?”
She was prying a little, and Shannon almost told her it was private. But she was feeling like she needed to make more of an effort to have a real friend, somebody who knew her. That was the thing—no one in Tulsa had ever truly known her. Everyone she’d called a friend, or even a lover, had known the public Shannon, the one who liked to party and play. She’d never confided in anyone, and she adapted to everyone, showed them the Shannon they expected to see. Even Keith—the only reason he’d known about her past was that he’d noticed she was being followed.
“Not really. Not anymore. He’s an ex. We ended it when I moved.”
Lilli grinned. “That kiss didn’t seem very ‘ended’.”
Shannon wasn’t in the mood for this conversation, but she pressed on, forcing herself to smile. “I think it’s more ended for me than for him.”
“Is that because of Show?”
Shannon was shocked—she felt herself actually, visibly flinch. “What?”
“Just something I’ve picked up, pretty much from the day we met.” Lilli shrugged. “Look, it’s my way to keep out of people’s business. But I love Show, and he’s had a rough go the last year. I really like you, too, and, selfishly, I don’t want something to happen and end up losing you. I need you here. So I’m just going to say this: Show is a very good man, but he’s a very sad man. His story isn’t mine to tell, but I figure you probably know the broad strokes, because people talk around here. I don’t know if there’s an in with him, but if you get in, be careful—for both your sakes.”
Shannon shook her head. “There’s no in. I’d have found it by now. It’s probably better this way.”
“He deserves love. I’d love to see him find it. I just don’t know if he’s ready yet.”
Feeling like she’d cry if they kept this conversation going, and furious with herself for getting all emotional over a man she hardly knew, Shannon needed to change the subject. “Is that why you came in today? To offer romantic advice?”
Lilli made a face. “God, no! I just saw the epic goodbye kiss and—I don’t know. Started blabbing.
Being a mom is making me nosy, I guess. No, I came in because we need to start talking about Hollywood coming to town. Looks like the movie might happen. They want to write it, anyway, and we’ve got some people coming in. They’ll stay here, and they are going to need a lot of babysitting.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon strategizing the care and feeding of the first wave of Hollywood into Signal Bend. Her mind thus engaged in her work, Shannon had a few hours without a thought of Show, or Keith, or her many failings as a human being.
CHAPTER SEVEN
When Show came down the hall from the dorms, Badger’s patch party was well underway. He’d lingered in his room, taking his time in the tiny shower, not in the mood for the wild night that a patch party meant. But Show was fond of Badger and glad he’d made it, and he knew he needed to be part of these festivities. A man supported his brothers, new and old. So he’d shrugged his kutte over a clean flannel shirt, pulled on his beanie, and made his way into the loud, crowded Hall.
The goal was to get Badge as drunk as possible and laid as often as possible, and the rest of the Horde generally followed suit. Being patched was big. Being patched at the ripe old age of twenty-one was rare— reserved primarily for legacy members. But Badge deserved it.
He’d gotten his patch a week ago, but they’d put off the party so his big brother could make it back.
Jason had spent some time as a club hangaround his last year of high school, but he’d gotten a baseball scholarship to Mizzou and had made the most of it. Now, he was a civil engineer, working in Kansas City.
But he was still a Signal Bend kid, proud of his little brother for earning the Flaming Mane patch of the Night Horde MC. And he’d pulled up on a Harley.
When Show entered the Hall, Badger and Jason were leaning on the bar, laughing with Dom, the Prospect tending tonight. Show took a breath and stepped between the brothers, hooking his arms over their shoulders. Badger, though he was filling out and shaping up, had been a skinny, gangly, acne-tormented kid. His older brother, on the other hand, a lifelong athlete, was broad-chested and fit. Badge had long, reddish-brown hair. Jason kept his blond hair very short. The only physical attribute they shared was their eyes, and by those distinctive, pale green orbs, there was no doubt they were brothers. “What are you *s laughing about?”
Jason looked up at Show with a grin. “Just reminding the kid that I’m bigger, stronger, and better than him at everything, did everything first. Don’t want him all cocky and shit.”
Show squeezed his arm around Badger’s big brother’s neck. “Everything but wear a patch, you mean.
That one’s Badger’s.”
At that, Badge shot a jab across Show and into Jason’s gut. “Damn straight!”
Releasing Jason, Show put his hand down on Badger’s shoulder. “Don’t be an * tonight, boy.
Hold your liquor. Keep your feet. And keep your shit covered. You carrying?”