“Yeah, we can do that.”
He starts the engine, and we head back to Thunder Rock. I don’t know if I want to take on this adventure that Bullet has suddenly become interested in. I get it. Security is a big deal, and I was more than happy to do it at home, but all the way in Raleigh? I’m not sure I want to tackle that beast, but I can tell he is ready to wrestle it and pin it to the fucking ground.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CIDNEY
It’s been long enough nowthat I can go into the bakery with a thick layer of makeup on my face. I’m glad, because I can’t clean Lainey’s apartment any more. If I do, I’ll scrub the paint from the walls. There’s nothing else left, and it’s so spotless you could eat off the floor if you felt the desire to do so.
I’m not sure what I expected when I told Lainey that I wanted to come in with her today, but it wasn’t a party. When we walk into the bakery, Dakota, Posey, Zadie, and Briana are waiting for me… with muffins and smiles. Lainey walks around me to join them as they stand across from me.
“Welcome back,” they say in unison.
Tears well in my eyes and spill down my cheeks. I can’t believe this is real, that I have women like this in my life. I’ve kept my distance from most of them since everything happened. I know they came to the hospital, but past that, I’ve spent time with myself, and Lainey mostly.
I realize now that that may have been a mistake. I think I need them. When they move toward me, it’s almost as if they’re walking as a single unit. But when they wrap their arms around me in the biggest group hug of my life, the tears that started spilling roll down my cheeks in big, fat drops.
I hug my friends back, pinching my eyes closed as I beg for this moment to never end. This is the healing I needed. Sure, having Goose watch me from across the street, keeping his protective gaze on the window, is a sense of security that I need, but this is different.
This is friendship and love.
This is my family.
Once we break the long hug, I wipe the tears away as we gather around the table to start eating the muffins. The door is locked, the curtains drawn. This is our private moment to just be together.
“We missed you, Cidney,” Dakota says. She reaches out, taking my hand in hers, squeezing it gently before she releases it. “And we are all so happy that you’re okay.”
“I think I am,” I say softly. “It’s going to take a long time, I think, but I feel a little more like myself every day.”
She smiles, but it’s Posey who speaks next. “You can be any version of yourself you want to be, Cidney. There is no right or wrong way to heal.”
“I’m forever changed,” I confess. “But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I feel stronger.”
“I know you do. Justin told me that you guys had a talk.”
And that is how the breakfast conversation goes. I tell them all about my conversation with my cousin and how I stood up to him in my own way. I demanded to be able to make some of my own decisions, and he’s good with it.
Now I just wonder if I can actually make those decisions. I’m not so sure. I feel uneasy, scared to even ask Goose about thefuture. He’s been here for weeks, so I assume he’s staying, but I’m terrified to actually ask.
Lainey eventually has to open up the bakery for the day, and Briana and Dakota move behind the counter and start doing their thing, too. Dakota announces that she’s got some decorating orders to get handled, leaving Zadie and me alone at the table.
“Please tell me that you’re going to get back with Trent and keep him here in Thunder Rock.”
My brows lift. I’m not sure why she’s asking me this, but when she presses her lips together, lifting her gaze to meet mine, I see something just behind the surface of her gaze: sadness. I start to ask her if she’s okay, but she doesn’t give me the chance before she continues to speak.
“Maverick really misses Trent. Like, really misses him. It’s been a hard adjustment for him, and I know he would love to have his brother home.”
My lips curve up into a small smile. “I love Trent,” I confess, though I don’t say it loud enough for anyone else to hear. “It wasn’t me. It was Justin who told him it couldn't happen between us. But like I said, I talked to him, and after everything, he’s okay with it now, but only barely.”
“Sometimes, I seriously hate the club,” Zadie grumbles.
“Me too. I never really wanted to be involved with it. It just happened.”
“Yeah,” she whispers. “I get that.”
And I know she does. She wasn’t even allowed inside her father’s club. But she snuck in, had a one-night stand with Maverick, and then came here to tell him she was pregnant and never left. They fell in love. It’s a sweet story, but it was also a bumpy ride.
Though, as I look around at all the women in this bakery, I realize they’ve all had some sort of bumpy ride with their men. Every single one of them.
