You can’t get close with these ladies, Mackenzie.
“All the guys have their own rooms here, but we generally stay at our houses,” Holly answers, pulling me out of my head.
“I haven’t taken anyone’s bed?” I ask Kadence, hoping I haven’t messed with anyone’s space.
“No, this room is for guests.”
“Oh, good.” I relax and drop my backpack into the chair that sits against the wall.
“Do you want to see the rest of the place, Mackenzie?” Kelly asks. I nod, not trusting my voice. I’d rather draw a bath and soak, but knowing where everything is around here is important too.
“Great.” She claps her hands and steps toward the door. Bell and Holly move next. I follow behind them and Kadence takes up the rear.
“These doors are club members’ rooms. Jesse’s, Brooks’ and Beau’s are here.” Kelly points to each door, naming off the owners. I pay extra attention to Beau’s door, but push it out of my head when I realize what I’m doing. I’m not here to get myself caught up with Beau. I’m here to make sure what happened in Ohio doesn’t come back to me.
“Laundry is in here.” Holly taps on another door. Laundry. I look down at my clothes and realize they could use a wash. Sooner rather than later I will need to go shopping for more clothes. I add it to my mental to-do list. I barely have any clothes; in fact, the only thing I have is my small escape bag.
“You can help yourself to anything, whenever you need.” Kadence lightly touches my shoulder, reassuring me. I nod, grateful these people are so welcoming.
We take the corner and walk back through the front room. I notice all the men have moved on.
“So this is our living area, pool table, and bar.” Kelly keeps up her tour, pointing as we pass through the room and around the bar.
“And in here we have the kitchen.” She stops at the door and lets me pass by her inside. It’s bigger than I expected. Kind of like one of those industrial kitchens. Stainless steel counters and appliances. A dark-oak eight-seater table sits to the left. An older man who I can only assume is Nix’s father sits at the table. He looks up as we walk in, and the similarity of facial features between the two is striking.
“Red, this is Mackenzie. Mackenzie, this is Red, my father-in-law,” Kadence introduces us. Red gives me a nod and then moves his attention back to the small baby girl sitting in his lap. A young boy who looks around thirteen sits to the side of him. There’s a baby in a highchair and a little girl is sitting in her own chair.
I don’t know what I expected when coming here, but seeing the family vibe happening tonight is the last thing I thought of.
“You looking after my boy, Z?” Holly steps forward and places a kiss on top of the baby’s head.
“Of course.” The young boy, Z, puffs his chest out like he has the most important job. It’s too cute really to see him so protective of the younger kids. “When are we having dinner, Mom?” Z shifts and turns to look to Kadence.
“I suppose I should get that started, huh” Kadence leans forward and scruffs his hair.
“Would you like something to drink? Coffee?” Bell asks as she moves to the coffee pot.
“Ahh, no thanks, I’m good.” The last thing I need is coffee right now. Not when I plan on crashing as soon as this little tour Kelly is giving is over. Bell smiles and nods. I watch as she reaches for her own coffee.
“This kitchen is huge.” I continue to look around, checking out my surroundings.
“It has to be with all the people around here.” Kelly shrugs, like the idea of anything smaller would be ridiculous. “Shall we keep going?” she steps toward the door.
“You guys go on ahead. We’ll start on dinner.” Kadence waves us off, leaving Kelly and I alone.
“Sure,” I reply and follow Kelly out towards a glass door that opens out to an outdoor area.
“The boys spend a lot of their time out here,” Kelly offers. I nod and look out. A large outdoor setting sits in the middle of the patio. Chairs, crates, and a few other makeshift seats fill the area. Past the patio, acres span around the clubhouse, closed in by full fencing.
“It’s amazing.” I shake my head at my choice of words. I guess when you’ve been living in a small one-bedroom matchbox unit, something as big as this is amazing. I turn back and follow Kelly inside. We step back to the kitchen bypassing a massive oak door that sits closed. I don’t ask what’s behind it because somehow I know it’s where Beau and the others are. Talking about me being here.
“Did you want something to eat?” Holly asks, pulling down some plates while holding her son.
“No, thank you. If it’s okay with you guys, I think I just want to crash. I’m so tired. I haven’t slept in over two days.” Holly’s eyes darken and I know she’s probably mad for me, some kind of woman-to-woman sympathy thing that happens when women hear about your past, but I can’t deal with anyone right now. I just need to sleep.
“You go on ahead. I’ll let Beau know you can find your way around the clubhouse, and now just need some shut eye.” Kadence lets me off the hook.
“Thanks so much, I wish I could stay and get to know you all more,” I offer the weak line. I know they probably want some sort of explanation about why I’m here, but if I hang around any longer, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my calm composure.