Friday

June 9th

Gideon sat down under the shade of what was becoming his favorite tree at the Clarks. He picked up the cardboard box he’d retrieved from his auto and opened it. Cookies, cookies that smelled like chocolate, sugar and peanut butter. Cookies that Savannah had given to him this morning without a word of explanation but a sense of relief when he took them.

Across the yard, Frankie saw the box, and detached herself from Esme and Clara with a kiss on the baby’s forehead. She came over and stood over Gideon. “Are those Savvy cookies?” she asked.

Gideon looked up and his brow furrowed. “Savvy?” There was this mysterious Savvy again. He hadn’t heard it since one of Flint’s boys had said it.

“Savannah,” Frankie said. “I call her Savvy, but don’t you dare, Giddy.” She sat down.

He narrowed his eyes at her. He did not go by Giddy. He looked back at the box. “Yeah, Savannah gave them to me.” Savannah was the mysterious Savvy the boy had talked about.

“What did she do?”

“Huh?”

“Those are guilt cookies,” Frankie said. “Savannah doesn’t make chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter and chocolate kisses for anyone,” she said in a tone of voice that screamed ‘and I would know.’ “She’s feeling guilty about something and this is her way of apologizing. By accepting the cookies, you’ve implicitly accepted her apology and you two are okay now.”

Gideon’s tone turned droll. “In her opinion.”

Frankie thought about that. “In her opinion.” She nodded. She turned her head to the side. “What did she do?”

“It’s between me and Savannah,” Gideon muttered.

“Uh uh. She apologized. You accepted but you didn’t realize it was an acceptance.” Frankie reached over and stole a cookie. “What did she do?”

Gideon looked at her and then looked around. Was there no getting away from Frankie? He sighed. She would probably push and push until she got her way, like his little sister. Frankie knew Savannah better than he did, maybe she could help him. “She yelled at me.”

Frankie turned the cookie around and nibbled one edge, thinking about that. Savannah didn’t yell usually without good reason. “Okay, what did you do?” she asked.

“I asked for information about what we were doing, and she made an assumption about me being over protective and not letting her do her job.” Gideon sighed. He’d been angry at the time and he might have been reacting off of her anger a bit too, until she started yelling nonsense at him.

“And she yelled at you.”

“I want to know who the idiot is that wasn’t letting her do her job in the first place.”

Frankie snorted. “Pick a name. As long as it is male, you’re probably close.”

Gideon stared at the cookies. The implication of that was rather cringe-worthy. He winced. No wonder she’d gotten upset about it. “I don’t know what her job is,” he said. “But if she wants me to be her back up, and that is the way she was acting though not what she was saying, I need the information to be an effective one.”

Frankie pried the chocolate kiss off the top of the cookie, stuck it in her mouth and sucked on it. She moved it into her cheek. “You’ve got a copy of the bylaws, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Savannah’s job is in there.”

Gideon sighed. He must have skimmed that section. “Right. It still doesn’t answer the question of what we were doing yesterday.”

“I heard members of the Rebels gang came into town and Savannah politely asked them to leave.” Frankie paused. “Polite for Savannah, usually this involves threats of bodily harm if not downright mayhem and murder.” Frankie shrugged a shoulder. “They know most of our vehicles on sight, but you’re new.”

Gideon raised an eyebrow. Is that what Brand and Savannah had been discussing at the table last night? “Should you be telling me this?” These Rebels were a gang? He’d been helping tail gang members?

“She apologized, if you asked her again, she’d more than likely tell you. If you’re polite about it,” Frankie said with another shrug and nibbled on the cookie. “Think of it this way, you got cookies.”

Gideon sighed and picked one up. “I suppose,” he said and tried not to sound glum. He put it back in the box.

Frankie decided to throw him another piece of information. “You’re her first prospect and she’s got a lot to live up to. Sometimes, she gets a little prickly.”

Prickly was a mild word for it in Gideon’s opinion. “She wasn’t mad at me, not really.” Gideon picked through the cookies and chose the largest one. “I don’t deserve these.”

“And she took it out on you when she shouldn’t have and she knows it,” Frankie said. “Thus, guilt cookies.” She paused. “If she felt really bad she might have baked you a cake.”

She knew Savannah cared. Sometimes, it was really hard for Savannah to show she cared or say the words. That’s when the kitchen light stayed on late and out of the oven or off the stove came food. The one sure fire way that Savannah knew that said ‘I care and I’m sorry.’ Not that people always understood it. Frankie hoped that Gideon never did anything that made Savannah whip out the cheesecake. Frankie inwardly winced.

Gideon half smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. The more effort, the bigger the guilt.”

Frankie grinned. “Are you going to share?”

Gideon wrapped an arm about the box. “My cookies!” he said. Savannah had made them for him and they were special!

Frankie laughed and stole another one before getting up and bouncing away.

---

Savannah lay face down on a padded table with her eyes closed. Kit picked up one of her arms and started rubbing the muscles. Savannah opened one eye and looked at the other girl. Kit had a more pointed face and her brunette hair had been expertly cut, styled, and highlighted. “You might ask, I know you’re dying to,” Savannah said.

Kit stopped and looked at Savannah. “Duh, we all want to know. Could he be hotter?” she said and then paused. “I don’t think so.”

Savannah shut her eyes again and tried to relax. “Breathe, Kit, breathe,” she reminded.

Kit snorted. “And Brier is preoccupied with the doing the nails of yet another dumb socialite.”

“You’re supposed to be her friend,” Savannah reminded Kit.

Kit rolled her eyes. “I am Brier’s friend and you know what gets said in here stays between us.” She continued to rub down Savannah’s arm. She knew Brier’s limitations and depth of loyalty as a friend. Kit considered a point of honor that she was the one person that Savannah let touch her hair or give her massages.

“I want to relax,” Savannah murmured.

“And you aren’t going to be able to until you say something. If you didn’t want to talk about it, you wouldn’t have brought it up.” Kit walked around the table and picked up Savannah’s other arm.

Savannah sighed. “You’re buzzing with anticipation.” She couldn’t relax when Kit’s muscles were all a quiver with the need to know the latest gossip about their newest member.

“I’m curious! We’re all curious. And if I can know the more information for once than Brier, I can hold it over her instead of the other way around.” Kit smirked.

Savannah rolled her eyes behind her eyelids. She never understood how gossip became tit for tat. And while Kit worked the salon and let Brier do her hair, because Kit did the massages she had to keep her nails short and thus couldn’t do her nails the way Brier wanted, the nails became a point of contention and put Kit lower on the pecking order than Brier’s other friends who did as she told them. Christie had longer nails than Kit did. Savannah didn’t get it.

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

Kit sighed. “Everything.”

“I don’t know everything.” Savannah opened her eyes and turned her head. “He hasn’t been talking about himself to me. Maybe to Eb and the guys, but not to me.” She really didn’t know anything personal about him, not his family, any former friends, his favorite color, what he liked to eat, nothing.

Kit reached over and put a hand on the back of Savannah’s neck. Savannah put her head back down. “You have to know something.”

“He’s ex-military. He wears his tags like a talisman. He’s got a tattoo on his butt and his nipple is pierced. His auto needs a more powerful engine. He’s got a smart mouth. He’s addicted to lollipops. Is a former smoker. And something about his eyes bothers me.”

Kit paused. “Really?”

“I don’t know what it is, they bother me. I don’t think it’s the color.”

Kit grinned. “And what color are they?”

“Brown, a honey brown,” Savannah said and flushed. “Damn it, Kit. I didn’t think I’d noticed.”

Kit giggled. “And you’ve seen him naked.”

“I didn’t mean to, I opened the door and there he was.”

“In all his glory,” Kit said and started to work on her feet and legs. “Maybe you should knock.”

“Then I wouldn’t know.” Savannah sighed. “I really don’t know much.”

“You know he has a tattoo on his butt,” Kit pointed out. “That’s something. And you’ll learn more. I think it’s great that you’re his sponsor. You can keep him busy enough to keep him away from the ‘new meat’ girls.” Kit wanted to shudder, poor prospect. No one deserved to have a pack of ravening females after them.

“Yeah, what if I’m one of them?”

Kit paused. “Really?”

“Oh. I can’t.” Savannah sounded sad. “He’s a prospect. I’m VP. If I wanted to, I couldn’t. Grandfather would have a fit and he’d be right.”

“It’s not up to them or you, anyways. It’s up to him.” Kit sniffed. “If he doesn’t like them or you, it isn’t going to matter how much they throw themselves at him. Ashley’s upset about it. Brier’s upset about it. And I can name a few other girls who want to make a jab at him and won’t because you’re in the way.”

“And you?”

“Oh, he’s hot.” Kit shrugged a shoulder. “But I’m not interested.”

“You say that, but that means you are,” Savannah said, but something inside her relaxed. “Besides, they’re ridiculous. If they want to date them, what say do I have in the matter?” she grumbled.

Kit rolled her eyes. “A lot more than you think, you being there will make them keep their distance, except Ashley.” Sensing that Savannah was relaxed enough, Kit came around and started working on her neck, rubbing along her jaw then down her neck column to her shoulders.

Savannah relaxed. “I can keep him away from her if I tried.”

“And she knows it, which is why she’s in here getting her hair curled and complaining to Brier about it.” Kit rolled her eyes. “It’s that silly competition that she’s put herself in with you. She’s jealous that he’s going to be paying attention to you and not her.”

“I’ll tell the prospect to stop being sexy,” Savannah said.

“That’ll work,” Kit said.

Savannah grinned. And really, the new prospect was mouthy. If Ashley knew that, she should be relieved that Savannah had taken him on. Ashley did not handle smart remarks well.

Kit continued to work on her neck and back and chattered about the things that she thought Savannah needed to know, who was dating who, who was contemplating getting married, who was pregnant or wanted to get pregnant, relationships among the children, who was thinking of moving. Savannah closed her eyes, listened, made commentary about things she could never keep track of and relaxed.

---

Savannah entered the club looking around for the prospect. She knew he had to be on the premises somewhere, she wasn’t sure where. It was Friday. School was almost out. And she was about to have another problem on her hands if she didn’t find the prospect.

She nodded at Eberron and Reese at the bar and kept her eyes open for the prospect.

She spotted him coming in the other door and angled her way over to him and stopped right in front of him. He halted and his brow furrowed. She looked up at him. “Prospect, I need you to make yourself scarce.”

His eyebrow rose. “What?”

“Just, go away for a little bit.” Savannah waved both hands at him in a shooing motion. “Disappear.”

Gideon blinked. “Um, why?” he asked.

Savannah was not about to explain. She crossed her arms. Oh no. That would be another problem.

The door to the club opened. “Savannah!” a young female voice said.

Savannah’s eyes closed, her chin jerked and she mouthed, ‘Slug Spit.’ She was too late. With a quick glare at the prospect, Savannah spun about on her toe and grinned. “Violet!”

Violet, from Gideon’s perspective, was a younger, gothier, slightly more punk version of Savannah. Savannah dressed in motorcycle wear and Violet dressed in all black street clothing. Violet’s long hair was longer but the same shade of black with a purple sheen, like they used the same bottle of hair dye. She had pale skin and green eyes. She was already taller than Savannah though.

Savannah took a few steps forward and the girls hugged. Savannah kissed Violet’s cheek. She reached up and tucked hair behind Violet’s ear. “Ready to go?” she asked.

Violet’s scent hit Gideon and he froze. Violet was human.

Violet let go of Savannah and looked Gideon up and down. “Who’s this?”

“A new prospect,” Savannah said.

Violet’s eyes widened. “Does he have a name?” She bounced on her toes.

Savannah grabbed Violet’s arm and started to tug her away. Oh no, she was not feeding Violet’s fourteen-year-old flights of fancy. “Not to you.”

Gideon gritted his teeth. He’d had enough of this. “Gideon,” he ground out.

Across the room, Eberron coughed and nudged Reese. Reese slumped. Damn it. Eberron had been right.

Savannah turned to him, her face full of exasperation. He was not helping.

Violet slipped Savannah’s hold. “Gideon!” She grinned. “I’m Violet.”

“And we were leaving,” Savannah said and grabbed her again.

Gideon narrowed his eyes at Savannah. She was being rude again. “Nice to meet you, Violet.”

Violet side stepped. “Are you Savannah’s prospect?”

“Violet,” Savannah said and flushed.

Gideon shifted on his feet. He grinned. “Apparently.”

Savannah glowered at him, grabbed Violet a third time and started dragging her towards the door. “If we don’t leave now, we won’t beat the rush,” she said.

Violet waved at him. “Bye Gideon! See you around.”

“No. You won’t,” Savannah said, shoved the door open.

“Oh my God, Savannah, he’s hot.”

“Don’t think—” Savannah warned. The door shut.

Eberron broke down into laughter. He had called it. He had. He had said that Savannah wouldn’t find out Gideon’s name until Violet showed up. No one had been willing to believe him.

Gideon stared after them. Okay. “What happened there?”

“Violet,” Eberron and Reese said at the same time.

Gideon came over, sat next to Reese, and put the base of his forearms against the edge of the bar. He waved away the prospect tending the bar. A name explained nothing. The girl was young. She was definitely human. She was close to Savannah and had walked into the Club without fear. “Are there humans in the Club?” he asked.

Eberron looked at him. “Nope.”

“Then…” He frowned and looked over his shoulder.

“She’s fourteen,” Reese supplied.

“She’s Violet,” Eberron said with a shrug. This was something Savannah needed to explain to him. Or Brand. Or someone with more experience in breaking hard subjects.

Gideon raised an eyebrow. “She thinks I’m hot.”

“She’s fourteen,” Reese and Eberron said together again.

Gideon grinned.

---

“Don’t think about it,” Savannah said to Violet and let her go.

Violet grinned at her. “He’s hot. You have noticed he’s hot, like mid-July, August hot.”

Savannah glowered at her. “I’ve noticed.”

“He’d be a perfect boyfriend.”

Savannah slapped a hand over her face. This was exactly why she hadn’t wanted Violet to meet Gideon. “Vi,” she whined.

“He would be! And you can go on dates and fall in love and get married and I can be a bridesmaid in the wedding and you can live happily ever after, so there!”

Savannah whimpered. “Now that my life has been planned out.”

Violet got on Savannah’s motorcycle and wiggled until she was on the back seat. “You have to be thinking about it.”

“No. I’m not.” Savannah got on the bike before her.

Violet poked her. “Liar. Liar.”

Savannah rolled her eyes and started the bike. Violet pouted as the engine roared out anything she would have to say. Savannah pulled out of the club and onto the road. Violet grinned and tilted her head back. She loved riding on the back of Savannah’s bike. She couldn’t wait until she was sixteen and was allowed to have one of her own based on various conditions and rules already set forth by her aunt and uncle.

Savannah took the long way around to the ice cream parlor. She enjoyed the rush of smells, the wind on her face. She pulled in and parked the motorcycle in front of the ice cream parlor and got off first, steadying the bike. Violet dismounted.

Violet hopped to the ground and hooked her arm around Savannah’s. “Anyways, he’s perfect.”

“And I can’t.”

“Oh phooey.” Violet pouted. “Says who?”

“Says this patch.” Savannah tapped her Vice President’s patch with a finger.

“You have to get your hooks into him before anyone else does.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. “I don’t think I have any hooks.”

Violet pouted. “It’s not fair. Why does Gideon have to be attached to you?”

“Because the other choice was Ashley,” Savannah said. At least, according to Ashley. She didn’t know if her Grandfather had actually had a different choice in mind. He didn’t always clue her into his thought processes.

Violet snapped her teeth. “No. Ew. Bad.”

“Right.” Savannah went up to the window and they ordered ice cream. They found a table and Violet flopped down with a sigh.

“I am glad school is almost over,” she groaned. Then she perked up and started bouncing. “Corey asked me to date him!” she squealed. She paused and felt she had to defend her choice. There were many hot guys in Savannah’s life that Violet didn’t want Savannah to think she had bad taste. “I know he’s a little nerdy.”

Savannah stared at her ice cream cone. She felt her eyes prickle with a tears. Even Violet had a boyfriend now. She forced back the forming tears and forced a smile. She’d be happy for her friend. “He’s not really nerdy. He’s going to be part of the Club,” she reminded Violet.

“I know, but he’s not really Club yet. He’s sweet. He’s been eyeing me for months, I know it. And he was nervous when he asked me like he was afraid I would say no. But why would I say no? He’s cute and smart and not at all shallow and muscle bound like half the boys in school. And those blue eyes, I could drown in those blue eyes,” Violet finished with a roll of her eyes. She took a lick of ice cream. “See, this is why you need to get with Gideon and then we can go on double dates.”

Savannah raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think Gideon would appreciate double dating with a pair of early teenagers.”

“But it would be fun.” Violet pouted. “You could double as our chaperones and we could go bowling or play miniature golf or something.”

“Or something?”

Violet shifted in her chair. “I’ve been practicing my pool game,” she admitted.

Savannah sighed. “He’s been part of the Club a week. I don’t know if he plays pool and this means nothing anyways, since Gideon and I aren’t dating.”

“But you could date, because he’s super-duper hot. You can’t let him get away Savannah!”

“He’s prospecting into the Club. He might not be Heathen material,” Savannah pointed out and licked her ice cream cone.

Violet pouted. “You don’t know that.”

“I don’t know either way.”

“When can I see his motorcycle?”

“He doesn’t have a motorcycle.”

“But how did he—” Violet frowned. “You have to have a motorcycle to be part of the Club.”

“He’s behind on that requirement. We’re getting him there,” Savannah said.

Violet bit her lip. “The really sweet classic auto is his.”

Savannah suddenly felt uneasy. “Yeah.”

“Do you think if I ask nicely, he’ll let me go in a ride in it?”

“It doesn’t have a big engine,” Savannah said. She could tell from listening to it.

“But it’s still a sweet looking auto. Have you ridden in it?”

“Yeah.”

“How fast does it go?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does Eb know?”

“I don’t know.”

Violet bounced. “Oh come on.”

“He’s been busy and next week, he’s learning to ride a motorcycle,” Savannah said.

“I could still ask.”

It was time to change the subject. Savannah wasn’t speaking for Gideon. And if Gideon wasn’t smart enough to make sure Violet got parental permission or to require a chaperone, she’d thump him about it later, preferably before Violet asked. “Where is Corey taking you on your big first date?”

Violet bit her lip. “He says he wants to take me someplace nice for dinner. But he’s got to earn the money first.”

“He can come mow my lawn,” Savannah said, totally disregarding the fact that she had a lawn service and they’d already mowed that week.

Violet giggled. “I’m cool with waiting though. He says he wants it to be special, not, you know, a mediocre dinner and a movie.”

“A nice dinner doesn’t have to be expensive,” Savannah said.

“I know, but so far he gets an A for effort.

Savannah bit her lip. She wanted to tell Violet to be careful, and didn’t want to spoil her friend’s happiness with what could be needless warnings. Besides, the two hadn’t been on a date yet. And Corey knew, or she hoped he knew, the terror that would reign down from his brothers and from her if anything happened to Violet.