“Asa’s story is one that takes place deep in a small Kentucky town, detours into juvie, drugs, girls, and general criminal pursuits and mayhem.” Ayden gulped and her hands curled into tight fists on the tabletop. “It almost ended with a brutal beatdown a little while ago because he decided to rip off a motorcycle club and they retaliated with baseball bats. He was in a coma and almost died. He’s never met a rule that applied to him or a law he didn’t want to break and it finally caught up with him.”

Shaw reached out and squeezed Ayden’s shoulder. When it was apparent the brunette was too full of emotion to go on, Cora picked up the rest of the tale.

“Ayden and Jet brought Asa back to Denver so that he could heal and get back on his feet. Much to everyone’s surprise Rome took an instant liking to him and put him to work in the bar. I think the Big Guy is keeping an eye on him because he’s worried Asa will fall back into his old ways but they have a really solid working relationship and Rome knows all about trying to rebuild a life from the ground up.”

It was clear she was proud of her gruff ex-solider for reaching out to Ayden’s troubled sibling.

Royal let out a dreamy sigh. “I could just stare at Asa all day.”

I had to agree. The Cross siblings were unbelievable to look at. I lifted an eyebrow at her and picked up my drink. “The cop and the criminal?”

She wrinkled her nose. “That sounds like a terrible title for a romance novel.”

Cora laughed. “Or a bad  p**n o.”

“It doesn’t hurt to look, is all I’m saying.” Royal settled back in her chair and her dark eyes danced with merriment.

Ayden told her, “He won’t go anywhere near anyone with a badge. No matter how pretty you might be. He’s not exactly reformed. I’m not sure he ever will be.”

“He’s still breaking the law?” Now Royal’s attention was anything but cheeky and cute.

“No.” Ayden sighed heavily. “No, at least not that I know of, but Asa has impulse control issues and that never ends well. He’s happy here. He loves the Bar and he has gotten really tight with Rome and even Rowdy, but sometimes when opportunity comes knocking Asa has a hard time leaving the door closed no matter what’s waiting for him on the other side of it. That’s why I’m worried about what’s going to happen to him when Jet and I leave. I feel like part of the reason he’s been on the straight and narrow is because he knows I’m here watching.”

Her words were a somber reminder that these nights where all of the girls could get together in one place and discuss life and all its challenges and rewards were numbered. Shaw actually teared up a little but blamed it on pregnancy hormones. When Ayden and Jet moved away there was definitely going to be a void left in the group and I realized just how close they all were. They really had formed their own family and blood relations had nothing to do with it.

“I’ll be back when that baby is born, you can count on it.”

Cora gave Shaw an evil grin. “What if it’s twins? I thought I got off easy only having to spawn one giant Archer offspring. What if you end up with two?”

Shaw groaned and put a hand on her still-flat midsection. “Rule is rolling pretty well with the whole surprise pregnancy thing. Two babies instead of one might just be enough to send him over the edge.” She smiled and her bright green gaze got a little wistful. “Married, a baby on the way . . . If you asked me a couple years ago if any of that would have applied to Rule Archer, I would’ve hurt myself laughing.” She looked directly at me. “It’s amazing the way things can change.”

There was no arguing with her about that. All these women had experienced some major life changes and none of them seemed the worse off for any of it. In fact they all seemed stronger and better for enduring those changes and coming out on the other side of things. I always hightailed it before whatever result was waiting for me, even if the result was something that would make my life better.

“Well, all I know is that I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. So far where Rowdy is concerned I have yet to be disappointed and I’m feeling really fortunate he found such a great group of people to call his own. You guys have taken better care of him than anyone else ever did.”

“We love him.” Ayden’s words were matter-of-fact as Cora and Shaw nodded in agreement.

“He’s easy to love.” He always had been.

Cora leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table and then propped her chin in her hand. She really did look like a punk-rock pixie.

“I think you probably are as well, Salem. Phil knew good people when he saw them. He never in a million years would have put you on the path back to Rowdy if he didn’t think that was what was best for one of his boys. He had to believe you are what’s going to be best for Rowdy in the long run.”

I had never felt like I was easy to love. Too many years spent hearing about how awful I was, about how I would never amount to anything unless I changed my ways, made me believe I was difficult and not worth the work. I think that was why I never stuck around in one place for too long. It cut down on the risk that I would eventually be told I was too much or that I wasn’t enough. Neither of those things was acceptable to me, so I just left and I was never anything to anyone.

In the back of my mind I heard Rowdy whispering to me over and over again that at one point in time I was everything to him. I silently wondered if too much time had gone by for me to get back to that place with him. I wanted to matter that much again. Right now it was the only thing on earth I wanted.

CHAPTER 11

Rowdy

I WAS THE LAST one left in the LoDo shop on a quiet Saturday night. My appointment ran late because the burly rugby player that had assured me he had a “high pain tolerance” had actually been a giant baby and the design which should’ve taken no more than two hours somehow managed to stretch out into four and a half. I was glad to be done and had sent Salem on her way after assuring her I would lock up and put the final payment where it was supposed to go when I was done. She would more than likely have stuck around just to keep me company while I struggled through the appointment, but I think having a pretty girl that kept looking over in sympathy was making the guy act out even more. I was sick of the drama, so I told her I would stop by her place when I was done.

It was becoming more and more common, me going to her place after work, especially when I was at the Marked, since she lived right down the street, and her waiting for me until I was done when I did my shift downtown so we could go get something to eat or grab a drink together. Somehow without noticing it I had slipped into a relationship with a girl I was terrified would leave me again. Asa’s words about there being a million different girls for the millions of firsts kept a steady rhythm in my head when it came to Salem.