Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition by Elizabeth Knox (top 5 ebook reader txt) 📕

every moment after the dog ran in front of me and when I came to, I called the ambulance myself.

I was lucky and Care Flight got me to Reno. I didn’t think of calling anyone after the meds they gave me in my IV on the ride here. By the look on Blade’s face, he’ll be waiting for an explanation also, one I’m not ready to face it myself. I fell asleep and either the black dog in the road tried to wake me up or I was already dreaming it. Either way, I wrecked because I fell asleep behind the wheel, and I was a bit drunk.

10

Cowboy

Mom yells at me from across my small apartment. “Now I know why I was never invited here. This is not a home, Colton. It’s a bachelor’s crash pad. I guess your dad and I are going to have to buy a mattress because there’s not one in that tiny spare bedroom.”

I was released hours ago and the entire time she has not stopped complaining about my life choices. “I’m never here, Ma. Sometimes I just need a quiet place to rest and this is it. I never once called it my home.” She has a large spread with a house and animals. It won’t take her long to get me packed up and in the car, because she’s suffocating here. To give her credit, she is trying her best. I’m plotting how I’m going to convince her to let me stay here.

Dad is planted in front of the TV with his boots on the coffee table, watching football, with a beer in his hand. He’s mastered the art of blocking out her fits. He lets it ride and then acts like it didn’t even happen.

If I could get away with it, I would be downing a nice cold one myself. That won’t happen anytime soon, so I just count down the minutes to my next pain pill. A knock at the door has the three of us turning our heads and my dad gets up to answer it.

On the other side is all the Battle Born women. They flood the entryway. The smirk my dad gives me is comical. I go to correct him before my mom makes the same assumption, but when my eyes land on Angie, it changes the game for me.

“Hey there, lovely ladies, come on in.” Dad gestures his arm wide in an arch. One by one, they file in.

“Oh, so nice.” Mom holds up her hands to her chest. Vegas, Dana, Jenn, Kat, Tami, Jazz, and Angie have food in hand, either dishes made or groceries to fill my bare kitchen. My momma, being a very Christian woman, finds the gesture just right. “Thank you. I didn’t know how I was going to feed this boy with nothing in here. Now, this will save us a trip to the store. Please come in, I didn’t get a chance to properly introduce myself or Colton’s father at the hospital.”

Dana holds her hand out. “Nice to meet you. I’m married to Axl.”

Mom pulls her in for a hug and Dana takes it in stride. They all do, and Dad gives them a tilt of his head. “Hello, I’m Teri and this man is my John.” My momma hesitates when she gets to Angie. She has no poker face and is biting her lip. Momma is as good at reading people as she is at baking pies. “And you are, dear?”

“Angie, I’m a—” Interesting, she froze and it’s my cue to take advantage.

“Angie is my girlfriend. We’ve been seeing each other. I just moved her up here from Sacramento, but she refused to move in with me.” The megawatt smile on Mom’s face says she’s happy we aren’t living together. Angie’s glare tells a different story.

“Now, son,” my dad stops me, “I don’t believe it’s polite to put the little lady on the spot like that.” He allows the rest to die down, being I’ve never brought it up before. He can read the scene unfolding and is trying his best to help me, but I’m in for it, all of it. When I open my mouth, he does a short head shake and backs up, letting me dig my own grave.

“I was waiting for the right time to bring her home.” The girls have frozen and their eyes ping-pong between the three of us. With some effort, I walk over to Angie. She stands motionless and doesn’t breathe a word. I need a moment with my counterpart. “If you’ll excuse me, I need a minute with her alone. It seems she may be a bit upset. Excuse us.” I wrap my good arm around her and pray she doesn’t fight. I’m certain she could kick my ass with no effort.

She allows me to take the lead and we find ourselves behind the closed door to my room. She twists away from my side, points toward the main room, and whispers, “What in the fuck, Cowboy, was that?”

“That . . . was my plea for your help. My mom wants to stay and get me back to health. Or, she’s going to make me go back home and stay with her, which is worse and is coming. I need your help, Angie. Please, just go along with it. I’ll owe you one.”

“Your arm is broken.” Angie points out the obvious with my cast and my arm in a sling at my chest. “You need someone to help take care of you, like bathe you, feed you.”

Many thoughts sprout at that and none of them are taking care of me per se. “Then you can do it, and we’ll work out the details.”

“Oh my god, this is really happening right now?”

I stalk a little closer, and with each step, she backs up against the door until I’m centimeters from her. “Babe, there is no joking about this. We can make this work for a bit. Don’t say no. I