“Wren,” Lucy says when I take the seat opposite her as Greer pulls out a stool. “How are you settling into the ranch house?”
“It’s perfect. I hope you don’t think I needed to get out of the bakery because of you.”
She smiles at Grudge, who has just entered the bar area from some corridor. “I don’t. But I know he might have played a part in it. He’s a good man. Just a little tightly wound right now.”
If I’m being sympathetic, I know that. Knowing he was incarcerated for something he didn’t do must be hugely painful, and now he has the pressure of becoming president of the club. “I understand. But really, I just needed some…freedom.”
Greer rolls her eyes. “I’m not sure these men understand the meaning of the word, sometimes. Butcher gets his panties in a knot whenever the medical center truck is approached by more than two people at once. The man has taught me to fire a gun, has given me some basic knife-fight lessons. And he vacillates between me locking the door or leaving the door unlocked when I treat someone inside.”
The music changes, as does the mood. Some old band singing about changes. It’s low and melodious, but the singer has the rasp of an old rocker.
“Hey, Luce, get your ass over here.” Grudge’s voice echoes through the clubhouse bar.
Some of the men start to whistle and clap and cheer.
Lucy looks up, a little stunned, at first, her mouth open, and then she finds the poise I saw from her for those few days at the bakery.
“Maybe you should get your ass over here, instead,” she shouts. Her smile is wide, and I actually admire the confidence she has when it comes to managing Grudge.
And I wonder what it would feel like to have that with someone. I can’t help glancing over to Catfish, who has his eyes on me. Because everyone is looking at Grudge and Lucy, Catfish winks, and it goes a long way to reassure the vibe in my stomach.
Grudge does exactly as Lucy says and begins a real lazy walk to our table. I nudge myself back out of the way, so Lucy is front and center. Whatever this is, I have no part in it.
“Oh shit,” Lucy whispers nervously. Guess she’s picking up on the intensity in Grudge’s eyes too and moves to stand in frontof our table. She smiles at him when he reaches us. “What are you up to, Zach?”
Zach.
Somehow the name humanizes him a little more.
When he drops to one knee in front of her, even I gasp. Then, cheers break out all around us. People are yelling. It’s hard to hear all of them.
“Let the man speak,” Taco yells. Catfish told me Taco helps with some of the club administrational tasks, but I haven’t spent a lot of time around him.
I see Lucy’s hands shake as Grudge takes hold of them. “Oh!” she gasps.
There’s momentary silence. Grudge looks at Lucy like the sun rises and sets with her, and for a second, I see the man behind the patch. If you ever wanted to hurt him, you’d hurt Lucy.
And when I look over to Catfish, I see it in him too. If you wanted to hurt him, hurt me.
“Bug,” he says proudly. “The first time I asked you to marry me, I thought I knew what love was. I thought the fire in my gut for you ensured we’d last forever. We were young and reckless, and the world took advantage of us both. It stole years from us in ways we were too young to know how to fight.”
He coughs gruffly to let the words settle, before swallowing deeply.
“But you…you never left my heart, Lucy De Bose. Even if you left my life. Not for a single goddamn day.”
Lucy’s eyes shine with tears, and I find myself fighting back the sting of them.
“When you walked back into my life, angry and fierce, I thought I could ignore you, but I lasted all of five minutes,” he says.
The bikers seem to find that funny.
I find myself wanting to know the story of their first relationship. I gathered snatches of it from our time in the bakery, but not all of it.
He reaches into his cut and pulls out the most stunning ring I’ve ever seen.
“Like last time, I’m asking you to get married quick. But, unlike last time, I want to marry you properly, in front of our friends, wherever you want. I love you for who you were. For who you are. And for the woman you’re still becoming. I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for the days we lost and getting the most out of the days we have left. So, will you marry me, Bug? Again?”
Lucy throws herself against him as she drops to her knees. But he catches her with a familiarity that says he’s caught her before, and he’ll catch her again.
