As I near Tucker and Doll, I hear her say, “Shh . . . it’s okay. It’s just a scratch, see?”

Tucker, who’s as blond as his mama, sobs between sniffles. “Do you have a Band-Aid?” Sniff. “I willy need a Band-Aid.”

Doll spares me a glance when I stop beside her. She has her hand up shielding her eyes from the sun as she peers up at me. “The first aid kit’s in Dozer’s room,” she says. What she doesn’t say rings in the air around us. It’s in Dozer’s room because you attacked me, cut me, and I had to be patched up.

Not sure I’ve ever felt like more of an asshole than I do right now.

She moves to stand, but I wave her off too. “I’ll go get it. You stay. Try to calm him down.”

It doesn’t take me long to get the first aid kit and get back to her. By then Tucker has stopped crying. He’s eating a cookie and sniffling every few seconds.

Doll applies the Band-Aid while Tucker tells her with a mouth full of cookie that he has Batman and Hello Kitty Band-Aids, better Band-Aids at his house. She should come over so he can show them to her. But he makes sure to tell her he doesn’t let his mom put the Hello Kitty ones on him. Those are for girls. Doll listens intently. Laughs, and gives animated responses that have Tucker smiling again in no time.

He gets to his feet. As if he’s just noticed I’m standing here, he looks up at me. I hold out my knuckles for him to bump. “Gettin’ strong like your old man.”

Tucker beams. “It’s cuz we wift weights together.” He holds his arm up and flexes. “See.”

I squeeze his arm and widen my eyes. “Whoa. You better put those muscles away before all the girls see and try to kiss you.”

His arm instantly drops. He scrunches up his nose. “Ew. Gross.”

I look over at Doll. “‘Gross,’ he says.”

“He’s four,” she replies, like that answers everything.

Nick walks up beside me. “Everything all right?”

“Yeah, looks like Doll’s got it taken care of.”

Her lips twist with amusement, “Doll. I thought it was Pumpkin?”

Doll brushes off her knees and stands. “Whichever. I go by so many names I can’t keep them straight.” She reaches forward and offers her hand to Nick. “You must be Nick, Dozer’s mom. It’s good to meet you.”

“Aww and she’s polite. You can call me Nick, or Locks. I’ll answer to either.” Nick winks at me. I hold my breath waiting for it. The snarky bitch to come out, but I’m surprised when Nick reaches forward and shakes Doll’s hand. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Wait what? What is she doing?

“Thanks for the food. It was the last thing I wanted to worry about today. And I’m gettin’ sick of pizza.”

Doll nods. “Oh . . . yeah. Sure.” She says it as if she forgot all about baking for the army of people here today. “You’re welcome. Cooking’s kind of relaxing for me and I had a rough morning so I got a little carried away.”

Nick laughs. “Well, I doubt any of it will go to waste. And you can get carried away like that anytime. These guys won’t mind.” Nick slaps my stomach. “They’re pigs, if you haven’t already noticed.”

“Oh . . . I’ve noticed.”

“Hey now,” I say, but both women ignore me.

Doll tucks her hair behind her ear and glances at the box on the ground. She picks it up. “Well, I’m going to go put this away. It was nice meeting you.”

We both stare after her. I don’t know what Nick’s looking at but my eyes are locked on Doll’s ass and the sway of her hips. And her legs. She has the sexiest fucking legs. Eying them has me daydreaming about having them wrapped around me again and all the ways I could see how flexible she is.

“So she’s for Edge, huh?”

Denial surges through me. I want to dispute it. I meet her eyes quickly and then look away. My gaze immediately goes back to Doll. I nod. What the fuck else am I gonna say to Nick, the woman famous for spreading club gossip?

“She’s a rare breed, Mav.”

I know she is, but I’m curious about Nick’s take on her. “How do you mean?”

“She cooks for women she knows probably won’t like her. And is genuinely kind to kids that aren’t her own. Most women love their own children. But it’s because they’ve held them as perfect, adorable infants.” At her words, my own chest constricts like a python is coiling around it.

I never even got to do that. Hold my own child.

“That girl has the heart of a mother, though she’s not one yet. She reminds me of my grams. She was the salt of the earth and everyone knew my grandpa was the luckiest son of a bitch because women like that are hard as hell to find.”

Beats of silence spread between us. I see the truth of her words before my eyes.

“I hear you’re responsible for that bandage on her neck.”

Holy fuck! I’m going to find out who’s ratting to her and break their fucking neck, after I cut out their tongue. “Who told you that?”

She raises a brow. “I have my sources.”

I chuckle darkly. I’ve never doubted that she knows almost everything that goes down at the clubhouse. Cap must have too, because he kept Becca in an apartment across town. She wasn’t allowed to live at the clubhouse.

“You know, Edge won’t care who he fucks when he gets out. Star or Jade. Either clubpiece is just as good as the next. It would be a shame to turn that beautiful girl into something ugly when she’s so obviously somethin’ special.”

She pats my face roughly, right over the bruise her son gave me. “She’s old lady material, Mav. Anyone who can’t see that is a fool.” Then she hammers the last nail in the coffin. “Dozer’s smart, but I thought you were smarter.”

She looks over at her son pensively. “He made a good decision speakin’ up for her though, so maybe he’ll make another good decision and claim her before the party.”

Over. My. Dead. Fucking. Body.

I grind my teeth and my skin tightens all over. I grunt and cross my arms. Not only has she insulted my intelligence, but she’s also prodding at the jealous feelings that stir inside me every time I see Doll with Dozer. She’s right, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to tell her so.

“God knows I’m not always gonna be around to take care of you boys, especially if somethin’ happens to Cap. It would do my heart good, havin’ an old lady like her around.”

Fighting solves nothing . . . That’s bullshit. Fighting solves a whole hell of a lot.

MAVERICK

I push through the swinging door of the kitchen expecting to find Doll alone, but what I find instead is a leather cut, and the back of Dozer’s head.

“Septic’s gonna kill me. I was supposed to be at the hospital twenty minutes ago,” Dozer says hoarsely. “But I was hopin’ to get a minute alone with you. Maybe get a kiss to tide me over for the night.”

He’s standing against the counter, and on either side of his hips are feminine legs. Legs that he’s currently running his hands over. Legs that look a hell of a lot like the ones I was eye-fucking not ten minutes ago.

My pulse goes from a steady beat to a fast thump, thump, thump in an instant.

Dozer’s head bends forward. The airs discharges from my lungs. The need to haul him off her and rearrange the bone structure of his face grabs hold of me.

I’m about to do so when I hear Doll speak.

“Did you talk to Mav?”

Dozer groans and lifts his head. “No. Not yet. Haven’t gotten a chance to.”

Every cell in my body revolts. “Talk to me about what?”

Dozer spins around. His hands go up defensively. “Mav, it’s not—”

“Save it. Been standin’ here long enough to know what it is.” He was going to kiss her. Questions run rampant through my mind . . . Was she going to let him? Has he kissed her before? Have they done more than that? Fuck. All the times I walked past his door and heard them on the other side . . .