Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Lavender nodded, rising from the bed. “OK.”
Once Ada arrived, we headed out for food. The corridor outside felt expansive after the confines of the hospital room. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting everything in an unforgiving glare that deepened the shadows under Lavender’s eyes.
“You’re good with her,” Lavender said as we walked. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Just being myself. She’s too smart for bullshit.”
“She is that.” Pride colored her voice.
The cafeteria sprawled before us, mostly empty at this hour. Plastic tables gleamed under the overhead light, the smell of “hospital brew” coffee and reheated food hanging in the air. I guided Lavender to a corner table, far from the few other patrons.
“Black, right?” I asked, surprised by how certain I felt about this one detail from our past.
She nodded. “Some things don’t change.”
I returned minutes later with two steaming cups, setting one before her. We reached for the sugar simultaneously, our fingers brushing against each other. Electricity jolted through me, sharp and immediate. I froze, my hands hovering above the plastic holder with the little packets. Lavender’s breath caught audibly.
“Sorry,” she murmured, pulling back slightly.
“Nothing to be sorry for.” My voice came out rougher than intended.
She cleared her throat. “Um, what do you… I mean, you seem like you’re pretty tight with your club. I know Ada’s your sister and Jag’s her fiancé, but what about Knuckles and Hannah? I met them briefly and Ada tells me they’re trying to give us privacy from strangers but hanging out in case you need them.”
“Yeah. They’re a great bunch of guys.” I couldn’t help but smile. “Saved my ass more than once. Inside and out.” I realized what I said and sat up straight, meeting her gaze and holding it. “I’m not saying I never do anything against the law, but nothing I do for the club is for my benefit. I do background checks for the women in the shelter our club protects. We don’t hurt people, Lavender. And none of them would let me do anything that would land me in prison again.”
“Ada says most of the guys in Kiss of Death have been in prison at one time or other.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Ada’s man, Jag, pulled a really long stretch. Most of us owe pretty much everything to Knuckles.”
“And he came with you. Did you ask him to?”
I snorted. “No. I told him I was leaving. Next thing I know I’ve got guys blocking the exit to the compound and Knuckles had Tiny forcibly remove me from my bike and shove me into the passenger side of his Bronco. Hannah rode with Jag and Ada. She thought I might need some privacy, and Knuckles doesn’t count.”
“Doesn’t count? As privacy?”
“No. He’s always nosing in everyone’s business. Knows most of the time what we’re going to do before we do.”
“So… MC president equals daddy?”
I snorted coffee out my nose, barely managing to get a napkin over my face before the liquid went everywhere. “Oh, my God! You’ve got to ask Knuckles that same exact question.”
She smiled… And there she was. My Lavender. The years melted away and we were at a local McDonalds, dipping our fries in a chocolate milkshake. I had no hope of winning this battle I fought with myself. Lavender had always been the other half of my soul. I’d never been more sure of that fact than I was when looking at her now.
I cleared my throat, trying to snap myself out of the spell she’d cast over me. “You were finishing up your masters in education. Do you teach now?”
She shook her head. “I did. For a while.” Her smile was less relaxed now, sadder. “Between Brynn’s appointments and the cost of childcare…” She shrugged. “I miss being in the classroom, but it’s not something I can do again for a while. Not until Brynn’s in a more stable medical situation.”
“Are you able to work at all?” I asked. “You can’t have predictable time available.”
“I work for a company that designs and sells educational templates for teachers to create their own digital lessons. I help pull the information together for them to choose their lessons from.”
“You can work from home?”
“I can work from any Wi-Fi connection. Comes in handy when we’re in the hospital.”
The sacrifices she’d made burned in my throat. “That must have been hard. Giving up something you loved.”
“Some sacrifices are easier than others.” Her eyes flickered to mine, then away. The unspoken comparison to my own choices hung between us.
I leaned back slightly in my chair. A strand of hair had fallen across her cheek, and my fingers itched to brush it back, to feel the softness of her skin again.
“She’s really something, Lavender,” I said instead. “Smart as hell. Fierce. You did that. You raised her right.”
Color touched her cheeks. “She’s her father’s daughter too. I’m smart, but that brain of hers didn’t come from me.”