“Is it okay if Diablo comes with me?”
“Of course. He’s welcome anywhere in the clubhouse. Do you need help getting from here to there?”
“I’ll help her,” Dice said.
“Great! Make yourself comfortable wherever you like. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Dice helped me out to the common room where I got situated on the same couch I was using when my dad and Buck stopped by. Once I was propped up with a pillow and covered with a blanket, Diablo curled up at the end of the couch by my feet.
Ember walked over to stand beside me. “Everyone, this is Daphne and Diablo. Daphne, this is Reese, Annabelle, Harper, Keegan, Macy, Gabby, and Evie. Irene’s on her way.”
I smiled and raised my hand to wiggle my fingers. “It’s nice to meet you all. Thanks for letting me join you.”
“We’re happy to have you, though I wish it was under different circumstances,” Annabelle said.
I glanced between her and Ember, causing them both to smile. “She’s my mom,” Ember said.
“Oh, good. I thought something was wrong with my vision for a second.”
“My daughter and my sister look like us, too, but they’re not here tonight. The younger ones don’t think it’s cool to hang out with us.”
“Hey, now,” Gabby said in mock offense.
Ember waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, stop. You’ve always fallen into both groups.” She turned her attention back to me. “Gabby is Keegan’s sister. She’s the oldest of the younger bunch and the youngest of the older group.”
“I’m several years older than the oldest of the younger ones, so I tend to gravitate to this group,” Gabby said.
The front door opened, and Irene walked in carrying a large bag in each hand. She looked around the room until her eyes landed on me. “Oh, honey,” she said and placed the bags on a table before walking over to me. “I’m so sorry. How are you feeling?”
“I’m a little sore, but I’m okay right now. I’m sorry about the damage to your house.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. From what I was told, you did what you had to do to protect yourself, and did a damn fine job of it, too.” She smiled kindly and gently patted my arm. “Are you hungry? I brought burgers and fries.”
“I could eat,” I said and repositioned myself on the sofa. “I’ve been hearing about your food for years, but I had no idea it wasyourfood.”
Irene chuckled. “Yes, Byte told me you’re Walter’s daughter. I can’t believe none of us put that together before now.”
“Well, Dad’s not the best with details, and neither is Uncle Buck.”
Irene whirled around. “Hold on. Are they brothers?”
“Oh, no. Not biologically, but they might as well be. They’ve been best friends since before I was born.”
When she handed me a to-go box, I inhaled deeply and immediately regretted it when a pain shot through my torso. “Oh,” I groaned. “It smells delicious, but I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Are your ribs broken?” Gabby asked.
“They said they weren’t, but it sure feels like it.”
“If you’re still experiencing a lot of pain in a few days, give me a call, and we can get another X-ray to make sure they didn’t miss anything.”
“Gabby’s a nurse practitioner,” Irene explained. “She works at Patch’s office.”
“Patch is a club member and a physician,” Keegan added. “We know him as Patch, but he’s also Dr. Vaughn.”
“Oh, thank you,” I said sincerely. “I’ve never had an injury of this magnitude, so I’m not sure if the pain is normal.”
“The first few days can be rough,” Gabby said. “But things should start improving by the third or fourth day.”