“That’s normal,” she replied.“Your body’s catching up.”
I hesitated, then said quietly, “Thank you.For… everything.”
Her eyes softened.“You don’t owe us anything.”
“I know,” I said.“But it still means a lot.”
She reached across the table and squeezed my hand.“You’re one of us now.Whether you like it or not.”
Across the room, Cole laughed at something Alice said, shaking his head like he’d heard it all before.Seeing him like this made my heart do something strange.
“I was glad to see you were both sleeping when we got here this morning.I know you’re the one who was in the hospital, but I know Cole had been running on empty, keeping an eye on you.”
“That’s… crazy.”The only person I ever had in my life who cared about me was my mom.I was not at all used to someone like Cole and the club.
“That’s just Cole, sweetie.He reminds me so much of his dad when we met.”Karmen shook her head.“He’s going to be a good man.”
I watched him take a bite of cake and felt butterflies in my stomach.“Um, yeah,” I whispered.
Karmen watched me with a small smile on her lips.“Yeah, indeed.”
I leaned back in my chair and felt a type of happiness I didn’t know.I also felt tired.Whoa, boy.
Cole noticed immediately.He always did.
“Time for a break,” he said gently.
Alice pouted.“I didn’t even get to eat half of my cake.”
“You’ll survive,” he replied.“You can eat it on the way home.”
As they gathered their things, Clove leaned in and hugged me tight.“Get better,” she said.“You’re gonna have to build up your stamina if you’re gonna hang with the Girl Gang.”
Alice pumped her fist in the air.“Yeah, Girl Gang!”
“Do I even want to know?”I laughed.
Karmen patted me on the shoulder.“It’s probably just best to go along with it.”She gave me a hug and headed out the door, Nikki by her side.“Be good,” she called to Cole.
Cole tipped his head to her.
“I’m just going to leave the rest of this,” Carnie said as she put the lid on the cake.“Make sure Mac gets a slice.”
“Uh, are you sure?”We all had a slice, but the cake was so huge that there was still half of it left.
“Yup,” Carnie said with a smile.“I have a whole other one for dinner at the clubhouse tonight.”
Carnie, Alice, and Clove made quick work of cleaning up the kitchen, and they were gone before I could finish my slice.
Cole sat at the table across from me and sighed.He cupped his hand to his ear.“You hear that?”he asked.
I listened but didn’t hear anything.“I don’t hear anything.”
Cole smiled.“Exactly.Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and the club, but there is just something about silence.”
I chuckled and shook my head.“I can see how they could be a little overwhelming.”
“Understatement of the century there, babe.”Cole looked up at me.“You okay?”
