I move to her side, crouching down as I pull her into my arms.
“I’m so sorry, babe. I know that has to be hard.”
She nods as she sobs against me. Maggie moves to her other side, hugging her as well.
“We are here for you,” Maggie tells her.
“I don’t know how to live without him. He is my dad. The toughest man I know. When he’s gone, I will be all alone,” she admits.
Rain is a sassy girl. She never shows her emotions, so the fact that she is bawling right now means she is really hurting.
“You aren’t alone. You have us. You have the entire club. We will be here,” I tell her.
“Yes. We won’t let you go,” Maggie promises.
We sit there a moment, all hugging, before we hear footsteps.
I glance over and see Asher and Ridge approaching.
“What’s wrong?” Ridge asks, moving closer.
“Nothing.” Rain sniffles, wiping her eyes. “Nothing at all.”
“Come on, Rain. Let me be there for you,” Ridge mutters.
“Now that my dad is dying, you mean? You had your shot. It’s long gone. I don’t need a babysitter.”
He groans. “I’m not trying to be your babysitter. I only want to be there for you.”
“As you can see, I don’t need you. Maggie, let’s go do that thing you said we were doing. Aspen, enjoy your date.”
“I can stay. Asher will understand,” I tell her.
“Absolutely. We can go on a date another time,” Asher says, proving he is the man I know he is.
“No. You two go. Honestly, I want to hang with Mags here. I’ll see you later.”
Rain pulls Maggie away, leaving Ridge standing there looking so hurt.
“I don’t know how to help her,” he admits.
Asher steps forward. “You can’t right now. She is hurting. All you can do is show up over and over in case she needs you.”
He sighs. “I wish Mustang hadn’t decided to stop it all now. It is killing her. She doesn’t understand that he is in pain and wants to end it. He doesn’t want to leave her, but he knows it will only get worse.”
“She is going to lash out. I can speak from experience,” I tell him. “When we hurt, we hurt those around us, whether we want to or not. Let her process her feelings however she can while you stand there and take it. She will appreciate it after.” I reach out, grabbing Asher’s hand. “Trust me. I did.”
Ridge shakes his head. “I’m not trying to get with her. Her father trusts me to take care of her. That’s all I mean.”
I’m shocked by his words. I thought he had it bad for her. Maybe I read it all wrong.
“Whatever you are doing, man, just be there. That’s all she needs.”
He nods at Asher before stalking off.
“You think he will get through to her?” I ask.
“I think we should mind our business. He is obviously suppressing his own feelings, which is only going to cause more chaos. You be there for Rain. I will be there for Ridge, but we keep out of it. Let them figure their own lives out,” Asher tells me.
