His phone vibrated with her response. I’m leaving in a few minutes. How about you? Are you still out?

He thumbed out, Just got back to the clubhouse. Jumping in the shower. Come up when you get here.

Okay. See you soon. She added a heart emoji.

The damn emoji made him smile again. He hadn’t smiled this much since he was a kid. He tugged off his shirt and called Tiny on speaker as he sat down to take off his boots.

“D, my man. How’s it going?” At three hundred plus pounds, with his thick salt-and-pepper hair and scraggly beard, Tommy “Tiny” Whiskey might look doughy, but he was one of the toughest men Diesel knew, and like Biggs, one of the most generous, too.

“Pretty damn well. You?” He pulled off his boots and socks.

“Eh. Sasha and Cowboy finished expanding the paintball field, and Doc’s got himself another dog. Dare’s got a bug up his butt about running with the bulls in Spain, and Birdie’s on a mission to marry off Cowboy. Other than that, things are going fine.” Tiny and Wynnie’s three sons were Dark Knights and went by their road names—Doc, Dare, and Cowboy. Their oldest daughter, Sasha, an equine rehabilitation therapist, lived for those paintball battles as much as Birdie, the youngest, lived for her made-up missions.

Diesel chuckled. “Sounds like nothing’s changed.”

“Nope. But I heard things might be changin’ for you. Wyn talked to Red the other day. She says you’ve got yourself a sweet young thing. Put her on the back of your bike and everything. Sounds serious.”

Diesel headed into the bathroom to turn on the shower, his gaze moving over Tracey’s toothbrush beside his, her shampoo and body wash in the shower. Yeah, it’s serious. “That’s why I’m calling. I know you were expecting me after the holidays, but I’m sticking around for a while.” He’d already told Bullet there was no need to hire another bartender.

“Damn, son. You ain’t had a girl by your side since you were a teenager. What’s Biggs puttin’ in the beer out there?” Tiny laughed. “This sweetheart got a name?”

“Tracey. She’s as tough as she is sweet. But she’s had it rough, and I don’t know, Tiny… For the first time in my life, something’s speaking louder than the open road.”

“That’s good, D. Good for your soul. I’d love to meet the little gal who’s keepin’ your boots on the ground. But I’m not going to be the one to tell Birdie or my old lady that you’re not coming out after the holidays. That’s on you, boy.”

Diesel laughed. “Fair enough. I’ll take care of it. I gotta run.”

“Be safe, son.”

“You too.” Diesel ended the call, stripped off his jeans, and stepped into the shower.