If time is limited, I don’t want to waste any more.
I want to live my life.
ASHER
Today has been a dream. I got to spend all day with Aspen. Sure, she would run off with the girls here and there, but she alwaysfound her way back to me. It is like I am her home beacon, and she cannot stay away for long.
Like now, she is cuddled in my lap around the fire. The sun has gone down, and all the families have left, leaving only the men and couples with no children behind. The party atmosphere has changed. Liquor is flowing more freely while the music is less country and more club. There are women dancing around, but I don’t notice them. All I see is her.
Yak has been yapping away next to me for the past hour, but Aspen doesn’t seem to mind. I like that she laughs at his stupid jokes. It makes me like the man more. It helps that he calls her mine every chance he gets. He likes to make her squirm a bit. Even though I have told her how I feel, I don’t think she believes it yet. Having him reiterate it only helps my case.
“Yak, can you run a plate down to the gate? Trout is pouting that he missed the best bits,” Panther asks.
“Of course. Be right back. Can’t have Trout getting hangry.”
As he leaves, Aspen turns to me. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. Yak seems to think he is your best friend. Is that true?”
I look over at the man doing some horrid dance moves as he moves around the makeshift dance floor to the food table.
“I haven’t known him that long, but yeah. I think so. He is a good man, even if he annoys me. Never tell him I said that, though. His ego would get inflated if he knew I considered him my best friend,” I admit.
She laughs. “Men are weird. I’m going to get a drink. Want anything?”
I shake my head. “You want me to go?”
“No way. I need to stretch my legs a bit.”
As she stands, I watch her stretch, my eyes falling to her ass. She is the definition of perfect, and she is all mine.
When she walks away, my eyes trace her steps until she has her drink and is with the group of girls once more.
“I talked to her earlier. She says she is still having nightmares,” Panther says now that it’s just the two of us.
“Yeah, when I’m not on the gate, I listen for her so I can calm her. She seems to be getting better, though. They don’t last as long as they used to,” I tell him.
He remembers those first few weeks. We both would camp outside of her room, hating that neither of us could help her. We tried waking her once, but she only got angry at us. Those were some dark days.
They are behind us now.
“I’m glad to hear it. She seems happy now. Healthy even,” he comments.
“I think so too. I’m doing my damndest to keep it that way. I only ever want to see a smile on her face,” I tell him.
“I know that. So do the rest of the guys. You’ve been a real asset. I know we all had concerns about your former badge-wearing days, but you have shown loyalty to the club so far. Keep it up, and we will have a place for you here permanently.”
The words make me feel a sense of pride I haven’t felt in a long time. I nod at him, appreciative of the gesture he is giving me.
He is basically saying don’t fuck up, and this place can be my home. I want that more than anything.
“You know that once I do, I am making her my old lady.”
He laughs. “Yeah. I am well aware that she is the driving force behind all of this, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you treat her and the club right.”
“I will. Always.”
“You know, I’m surprised your sister isn’t here today,” Panther says.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted her here. It’s no slight to the club, but I have always tried to keep her away from the more dangerousparts of my life. The club might do good, but there is still danger.”
