“Thank you for the lift, and I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
Willow smiled at her.For some reason, it felt like it was a very conspiratorial smile.
****
Kelley’s mother wasdead.
It wasn’t exactly hard to kill her.When he arrived at the woman’s house, she had a line of men outside the door, and there was a sign for anything, with a fee.There were a lot of men, and he and the boys took care of that.
Crow didn’t even have to lift a finger.All he did was supply the goods, then watched as Kelley’s mother took the bait.In the last five years, the woman had blown through the money she made from selling Kelley, and gotten a heroin addiction.She looked terrible.
Crow didn’t feel anything.Kelley would have been mortified to see what her mother had become.He stopped it from becoming a problem.
That had been several days ago.Now as he looked around the clubhouse, everything seemed right.Willow had promised to go and collect Kelley, and he looked around at the guys, all of them drinking.Christmas songs were playing in the background.Alcohol was already being consumed, but the guys were on their best behavior.
“You’re sure you’re ready for this?”Rebel asked.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
There was no doubt in his mind.He was ready to settle down.He was more than ready to make Kelley his.He was done waiting around.Kelley was his woman, and he just knew she had to be pregnant by now.Time would tell on that, and he was going to keep trying until she was pregnant.
He was nervous.
“You’ve got this,” Rebel said, slapping him on the back.“Willow said they’re a few minutes out.”
Making his way outside the clubhouse, he looked up into the night sky as a few flecks of snow started to fall.
He had already set up his and Kelley’s room to stay at the clubhouse.He knew she wanted to make Christmas dinner, but everything would keep until the following day.Or, they would make it back when they could.He wasn’t going to worry about those plans.He was only focused on the now.
Crow had never felt nervous in his life.He’d faced death, but he wasn’t this nervous.He watched as Willow came in, the lights from the car illuminating the parking lot.There were a lot of bikes.This was his home now, his future.
Willow climbed out one side, Kelley the other.She gave him a thumbs-up and brushed past him as Kelley came toward him.
“Hey,” she said.“Sorry we’re a bit late.It was a little crazy as we were close to closing.”
“You’re all good?”he asked.
“Yeah, of course.I was just helping as many people as I could.”She offered him that smile.“Are you okay?”
He had thought about how he was going to do this.Crow was not a romantic.He didn’t beat around the bush.In his life, he took what he wanted and didn’t give a fuck about the consequences.
Kelley was real.She meant something to him, and just blurting shit out didn’t seem right.He’d not prepared a speech.
“I love you,” he said.
Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open just a bit.
“I have fallen in love with you, Kelley Rade, and I don’t want to go back on that road again.I don’t want to ...lose you.You’re mine.You proved that this year.You’re mine and I am yours.”He reached into his jacket.“And I want to marry you.I want to have a bunch of kids, and I want to be here to see you at fucking Halloween.I want to be here for everything with you.No more road.I don’t want it.I want you.I love you, and I want to marry you.Will you have me?”
As speeches went, it was not his finest.He didn’t talk a whole lot, but he held the velvet box open, and with each passing second, Kelley looked even more shocked.
“You love me.”
“Yeah, I do.”
And then, he got that smile.The one that made his heart set to burst.It lit up her whole face and she let out a little squeal, throwing herself at him, and he caught her as she threw her arms around the back of his neck.
“I love you too, and yes, I want to marry you, and yes, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”She pulled away and kissed him.“But only if you really want this.I know you love the open road, and I don’t want to take that from—”
