Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
We came back.
We lived.
I got the call about my brother. I told Claudia about the call about our brother, and well, life went on.
It was a weird event.
We went to Texas for a while.
We went back to Indiana. When Aly called and asked if I could help make plans for sending her grandmother to California, I really got it. Aly was staying in Cali, and since she was there, and since I was kinda a nomad, that’s where Harper said he was going to settle down. Justin had family from California so it worked for them, but we helped get Aly’s grandma transferred out there.
And Shane asked me one night in bed, his arms around me, “Where do you want to be?”
I paused, my legs had been wound around his hips. “What?”
“Max is asking me. I still got stuff to handle in Cali, but if you don’t want to settle there, then we won’t. Where do you want to go?”
I told him instantly, no hesitation. California.
So here we were.
I called Rena when we arrived, knowing we’d be staying and I had a job at Fallen Crest not long after that. I didn’t know the specifics, but Shane was taking over the Frisco charter. But changes were happening. On my request, he was making a move to help rebuild the town. They moved their charter’s headquarters so it was more out of town, and put money into building whatever needed to be done.
The latest I heard was that the plans were approved to start rebuilding a school. A new development recently started too. The Red Demons had an investment into it, but it was happening. There were talks about setting up a small clinic too. Three other bars had popped up in and near town.
It was all good.
But we’d built our own house, a renovated horse barn. It was always my dream, and Shane had a whole shed for his bikes too on our land. Plus, that shed was added onto it so he was housing half of his new charter too.
I got it. I understood. I liked the guys.
They were family to me as well.
Harper didn’t quite understand. Neither did Aly, but they were supportive. Once Brandon got to know Shane, and he did that over many nights of rummy and drinking bourbon, but it happened. Brandon’s family was another thing. There was no gray meeting or compromise between his family and Shane or the club, but it was what it was. I didn’t care as long as I still got to have Aly, and she would’ve made sure that happened no matter what. After our night together, Aly was a changed woman with me or she’d just remembered who she was. I got it. I really did. There was real reason to be worried about the Red Demons, but I loved Shane. He was a Red.
That meant I was a Red.
Aly had a whole moment, but she said she loved me no matter what.
So in a way, that meant Aly was a Red.
I mean, not really, but we were still going with it.
It just meant I still had both of my best friends in my life, and I was Shane’s old lady, so I was happy. And now with my family being here, I was extra super happy.
Life was good. If you had people who loved you and were in your corner, life was damn good.
“You ready for tomorrow?”
I tipped my head back, feeling his arms around me, and I smiled up at him. “You mean when we get married?”
His smile deepened. “Yeah. That’s what I mean.”
I put my arms around him, raising up on my toes. “Yeah.” I moved so my head was right in front of his, a few inches separating us. I dropped my tone. “I am very ready.”
“Good.” He smiled at me.
I smiled back.
It was that night, after dancing and laughing for hours, when I was lying in his arms that I asked, “You told me you had a thing about masks.”
His arms tightened, just barely. “Yeah?”
I rolled so I was facing him more directly. “Why do you wear that hockey mask? I saw you.”
We were not conventional.
Our wedding tomorrow would not be conventional.
Because of that, or maybe despite all that, we were sleeping together the night before we got married.
Maybe I was having a moment where I wanted to know all the secrets. It’d been something on my mind because I hadn’t been able to get the image of him putting that mask on, wading into battle how he had both times. I wanted to understand the reason.
“It’s a symbol.”
I rolled to my back, looking at him. “A symbol for what?”
His face grew tight, but then he softened. “I’m their leader. In that moment, in that time, all the danger going on, it’s me. Every responsibility rides on my back. When we go into places where the guys wear masks for whatever reason, camouflage, gas masks, etc, my mask will stick out. Or that’s the hope. It’s twofold. It’s supposed to symbolize what we’re doing. Wreaking havoc. Justice. Fear. But mine should stick out the most. That’s the point. If someone is going to draw against us, I want them to point at me first. I’m the leader. I stand for my men, just as much as they stand for me. It’s me giving back to them. I protect them while they protect me. It’s a yin and yang balance. I’d be nothing without my men, whereas they would still be fine. They could get a new leader and they’d keep moving forward. So in a way it’s also my ode to them. I love them and I want to protect them, and it’s a way I might help them back as much as they’ve undoubtedly helped me already.”