Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
“You’re loved.”
“Yay, I love you too.” She put her fork down and reached over, kissing him. “Have I told you that recently?”
“Not enough.”
“Then I love you. I love you so much.”
“Once we do this, I want you to get dressed so we can head on over to Reaper’s. I need to talk to him about something.”
“Something? Is it bad?”
“It’s not great, but it’s not something you should worry too much about.”
“Worrying seems to be where I come from these days.” She felt a twist within her stomach. “Are you angry with me?” she asked.
“I’ve got no reason to be angry with you. Why would you even think that?”
“Bethany and Reaper. I can’t regret giving birth to her, even though it was in a car. Not exactly in a bed with Randall guiding me through it. It was a crazy time.”
Preacher took her hand. “We’re going to have more kids and I’m going to love Bethany as if she was my own. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know. I wanted to talk to you about Bishop actually,” she said, pushing some hair off her face.
“What about him?”
She smiled. “I expected you to be closed off and tell me you didn’t want to talk about your son.”
“Do you want me to growl at you a little, scream?”
She chuckled. “No, I think this is easier. I hope it’s easier.” She licked her lips. The pancakes held no appeal as her stomach tightened. “I’m not stupid. I know the rules of the club when it comes to traitors. My mom, a couple of the guys, Bishop’s mother. They all had to be taken care of.”
“I know.”
“But what if you made an exception for Bishop?”
“Robin, if I let Bishop live, I will look weak.”
“I … I’m angry at him. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over what he did or even why he did it, but I don’t want him to die.” She didn’t want to have his death on her conscience. “I shouldn’t ask you. I know. I bet the club has had enough of dealing with me.”
“They will always do as they’re told.”
“But that doesn’t exactly help my cause, does it?”
“Are we talking about your dad now?”
“My dad. The club. Everyone. I don’t want people to hate me.”
“They won’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“I don’t know that. I don’t know what the fuck is going on in my life half of the time. Look, Bishop will be dealt with as part of club business. He made his decision and there’s nothing I can do to change that.”
He stroked her cheek. “It’s time for you to stop worrying about everyone else. Bishop threw you under a bus, and you’ve been picking up the pieces ever since. Don’t let his mistakes be yours.”
“I’ve got plenty of my own.”
“Don’t do that.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Are you done with breakfast?”
“Yeah, I don’t think I can eat another thing.”
“Get dressed. I want to take you to Reaper’s. We’ll pick up Bethany and then go to the park or something. Would you like that?”
“If you can do that. Are you allowed to do that?”
“Baby, I can do whatever the hell I want. I don’t answer to anyone.”
She climbed out of bed, no longer caring about her nakedness, grabbed his face, and kissed him. “I love you.”
“Not as much as I love you.”
This was what she had hoped her. What she once prayed for.
Were all of her dreams finally being answered? She stepped into the bathroom and caught sight of her reflection. Her face was a little older. The ink on her body a constant reminder of what happened to her.
The ink crawling up the side of her body with the roses, that was all her, but the cuffs around her wrist and Reaper’s name… All of that had been part of his plan to hurt Preacher. Was Preacher hurt every time he saw them, or did he not care like last night when he took her?
Pushing all of her doubts aside, she instead focused on just getting ready. She took a quick shower and changed into some clothes. Preacher still had some of her old stuff in his closet and she pulled on a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting top.
She left her hair down, and she’d only dried it with a towel so there were damp spots.
Preacher had already taken her plate down and made the bed, and he was waiting for her at the main clubhouse. She didn’t allow herself to look in any direction. Anne was waiting for her at the door.
“Are you okay to drive?” Robin asked.
“I am. I just wanted to see you before I went. Last night was a total blast. I loved it, and thank you.” Anne pulled her in for a hug. “Preacher has already told me you’ve got some business to take care of. I’ll see you later, maybe? You think that will be fine?”