Her mom’s lips twitched.“Do you want me to?”
“I don’t know,” Ellie admitted.“Maybe?Part of me thought you’d remind me of all the reasons it didn’t work.That he chose the club.That he broke my heart.”
Her mom reached across the counter and covered her hand.“Honey, you’re not nineteen anymore.You’re a mother.A full-grown woman.I don’t need to tell you who to stay away from.”
Ellie stared at her, caught off guard.
“But I will say this,” her mom continued.“Whatever you decide, just remember Maddy.She’s your world now.You’re allowed to want love.You’re allowed to be scared.But don’t make decisions out of guilt or old wounds.Make them from where you are now.”
Ellie’s throat tightened.“I’d never do anything that put her at risk.”
“I know,” her mom said gently.“That’s why I trust you to figure this out.”
Ellie blinked back sudden tears and nodded, unable to speak.She gathered Maddy with a few promises about leftover pizza and a bedtime story, hugged her mom goodbye, and drove home with a too-full heart.
Home was a small two-bedroom rental on the east side of town.It was cozy and modest, but hers.Ellie clicked the door open with her hip while balancing Maddy on one arm and a backpack and grocery bag on the other.
Inside, the warmth hit her immediately.She set everything down, turned on the soft kitchen lights, and let out a breath.
“Go wash up, bug,” she called to Maddy.“Dinner in ten.”
Maddy ran off with her usual energy, singing something about reindeer and marshmallows as Ellie started pulling together a quick meal.Mac and cheese with broccoli and some chicken nuggets she tossed in the oven.
Her movements were automatic, but her mind wasn’t in the kitchen.It was still at Maple’s Café.Dasher’s voice, low and rough, echoed in her head.
“You walk into a room and I forget how to breathe.”
She bit her lip, dumping pasta into the pot, trying not to feel it.But it was there, the spark that hadn’t gone out, no matter how hard she’d tried to smother it.The way his eyes softened when he talked about the past.The way he hadn’t even blinked when she mentioned Maddy.
She stirred the pot with a little too much force.
What the hell was she doing?
She had a kid.A routine.A stable, quiet life.She didn’t have room for chaos, or danger, or whatever it meant to let Dasher back in, even for a minute.
And yet...
Her gaze drifted toward the small kitchen table which had just two chairs.One with a booster seat strapped to it.The other, always hers.
She pictured him there.Just for a second.Sitting with one arm thrown over the back of the chair, watching Maddy chatter about her day.His rough voice teasing, his laugh echoing through the tiny kitchen.For one foolish moment, the image didn’t feel dangerous.It felt warm.
She slammed the lid on the pasta and cursed under her breath.No.She couldn’t do this again.Dasher was part of the MC.That life came with risk.Guns, secrets, and danger.She’d seen enough to know how it could bleed into everything.Into family.She couldn’t let Maddy get caught in that crossfire.Couldn’t risk letting a man back into her life who might choose the club over them all over again.
The oven beeped, snapping her out of the thought.She moved quickly, plating the food and calling Maddy to the table.Her daughter bounced in, hair still damp from washing her hands, eyes shining.
“Mmm, my favorite!”Maddy grinned.
Ellie smiled, softening.“Only because I put extra cheese.”
They ate together, Maddy’s nonstop chatter filling the silence.Ellie listened, nodded, laughed in the right places, but her mind was still torn in two.
Later, after a bath and two picture books, Maddy was finally asleep in her bed, curled up with a stuffed reindeer nearly as big as she was.Ellie stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her breathe.
She wasn’t sure what tomorrow would bring.The toy drive was coming up.She’d have to work side by side with Dasher.Pretend the past wasn’t crawling back up her spine every time he looked at her.She could do it.She had to.Because falling for him again, letting him in, wasn’t an option.No matter how warm his smile made her feel.No matter how steady his presence felt in that café.
He was a biker.Her ex.Her biggest heartbreak.And she was a mother now.
Still, as she turned off the lights and padded into her empty bedroom, the cold side of the bed felt a little colder.
