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She wrinkled her nose "That sounds like a terrible title for a rohed "Or a bad pn o"
"It doesn’t hurt to look, is all I’" Royal settled back in her chair and her dark eyes danced with o anywhere near anyone with a badge No ht be He’s not exactly refor the law?" Now Royal’s attention was anything but cheeky and cute
"No" Ayden sighed heavily "No, at least not that I know of, but Asa has impulse control issues and that never ends well He’s happy here He loves the Bar and he has gotten really tight with Rome and even Rowdy, but so Asa has a hard ti for him on the other side of it That’s why I’ to happen to him when Jet and I leave I feel like part of the reason he’s been on the straight and narrow is because he knows I’"
Her words were a soet together in one place and discuss life and all its challenges and rewards were nunancy horoing to be a void left in the group and I realized just how close they all were They really had for to do with it
"I’ll be back when that baby is born, you can count on it"
Cora gave Shaw an evil grin "What if it’s twins? I thought I got off easy only having to spawn one giant Archer offspring What if you end up with two?"
Shaw groaned and put a hand on her still-flatpretty ith the whole surprise pregnancy thing Two babies instead of one e" She sot a little wistful "Married, a baby on the wayIf you asked o if any of that would have applied to Rule Archer, I would’ve hurtthe way things can change"
There was no arguing with her about that All these woes and none of them seemed the worse off for any of it In fact they all see out on the other side of things I always hightailed it before whatever result aiting forthat wouldforward to seeing what comes next So far where Rowdy is concerned I have yet to be disappointed and I’roup of people to call his own You guys have taken better care of him than anyone else ever did"
"We love him" Ayden’s words were reement
"He’s easy to love" He always had been
Cora leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table and then propped her chin in her hand She really did look like a punk-rock pixie
"I think you probably are as well, Saleood people when he saw them He never in a million years would have put you on the path back to Rowdy if he didn’t think that as best for one of his boys He had to believe you are what’s going to be best for Rowdy in the long run"
I had never felt like I was easy to love Tooabout hoful I was, about hoould never aed my ways, made me believe I was difficult and not worth the work I think that hy I never stuck around in one place for too long It cut down on the risk that I would eventually be told I was too s was acceptable toto anyone
In the back of ain that at one point in ti to hione by for et back to that place with hiht noas the only thing on earth I wanted
CHAPTER 11
Rowdy
I WAS THE LAST one left in the LoDo shop on a quiet Saturday night My appointby player that had assured iant baby and the design which should’ve taken no ed to stretch out into four and a half I was glad to be done and had sent Sale her I would lock up and put the final payo when I was done She would more than likely have stuck around just to keep h the appoint over in syuy act out even more I was sick of the drama, so I told her I would stop by her place when I was done
It was beco to her place after work, especially when I was at the Marked, since she lived right down the street, and her waiting for o get soether So it I had slipped into a relationship with a girl I was terrified would leave irls for the millions of firsts kept a steady rhythirl I kept around for irl I ever actually dated and not just slept with She was the first girl I could ever remember that made me both hot and bothered and cold and frozen in the same breath Every time I took her to bed, or put ht that I better enjoy all of it while she was still around slapped me across the back of the head and reminded me I better be careful because if it had ripped me apart when she left before, I felt like it would hollow one fros she brought with her to the here and now We were no longer catching up and re about each other as the adult versions of ourselves, and I had to say I liked all the things that ca was how she seamlessly fit into my life and in with my friends It was like she had always been part of the Marked family and like she had always been in D-town She was funny She was still brutally honest but in a ot uncomfortable and put on the char to avoid, usually so to do with the past and her sister She had lived an interesting life in the time since she had left Loveless behind, and her travels and experiences made for a lot of valuable life experience and a truly independent wo out with Jet when he was in town, she didn’t care She was perfectly fine on her own and I found that rewhile she did hers, ere in bed together it really felt like there was no physical way to get close enough