“Are you good to drive? I can have someone drop your car by later.”
“No, I’m good,” I say as we pull up to the Trough. “What’s going on here?”
The lot is full of people, and they’re loading stuff onto a trailer.
Cole parks and sits back in his seat, looking around. He chuckles sadly. “God damn, this reminds me of home,” he says to himself. “The club is rallying.”
Two guys walk in front of us carrying a box with a picture of a toddler bed on the front.
“They’re making sure Rage and Mila have everything they need.”
My gaze wanders the lot as more and more people show up, each depositing something inside the trailer.
Cub jogs over to us. Cole rolls down his window to talk to him. “Hey, you got a key to Rage’s so I can drop this stuff off later?”
“Yeah, I’m taking Serenity over there now. I’ll wait until you get there and help you unload.”
Cub’s eyes slide my direction. “Heard you were the one that went in for Mila. That took some guts going in blind like that.”
“There was a kid inside. There was no other choice.”
He and Cole exchange a look and then smile at each other.
“I’ll see you out there, man,” Cub says, knocking on the side of the truck.
Cole hands me my keys. “You’ll follow?”
“I said I would, didn’t I?” I roll my eyes at him dramatically before getting out.
His laugh trails me as I drop into the seat of my car. I take a deep breath and let my eyes take in all of the people here to support Rage and his baby sister. It’s the craziest thing I’ve everseen. I mean, he hasn’t even had custody for a day and already they are supporting him.
My eyes fill with tears as I start my car. I swipe them away. Even though the past twenty-four hours have been complete chaos, it doesn’t feel crazy and out of control. It’s strange, and I don’t know if I trust it.
It takes about twenty minutes to get to Rage’s place.
I’m about to get out of my car when a giant dog comes running out from the back side of the house. “Holy shit,” I whisper under my breath.
Cole doesn’t seem worried, though. He gets out of his truck without hesitation. The dog slowly approaches him, but when he gets a whiff of the man, his tail starts wagging.
I slowly release the breath I was holding.
Both Cole and the dog head in my direction. Ain’t no way I’m getting out of the car with that beast walking around freely. I start shaking my head when Cole reaches for my door handle. I grab onto it from the inside, holding it closed.
“Come on,” he says, jerking it out of my hand. “He isn’t going to bite.”
“That’s what every dog owner says right before someone gets bit.”
“This motherfucker is the best trained dog I’ve ever seen,” Cole assures me. “Sit, Peanut,” he tells him.
The dog instantly sits, but he continues to sniff the air. He’s curious about me.
“This is Peanut?” I ask, my mouth falling open. “I thought it was going to be a little dog.”
Cole laughs, reaching in to pull me out. The dog doesn’t move, but his nose is working overtime.
“Come here, boy.”
“No …” I begin to say, trying to pull away.