“She did, didn’t she?” I smile and lower him to his feet. “Put on your shoes and let’s see if we can find her.”
“’Kay.” He runs to his room to find his shoes.
I wait until he’s out of the room before turning to Copper. “I hate leaving him. It hurts my heart.”
Copper cups my uninjured cheek, tilting my head towards him. He rests his forehead against mine. “I know, Spice. I’m not thrilled either. But at least we know he’ll be okay with our folks.”
“And Jeanie.” I grin.
He chuckles. “Yeah, and Jeanie. Seems our boy has a bit of a crush. I’ll have to warn Bolt that he’s got competition.”
Laughing, I lift my mouth and touch it to his. Copper doesn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss. We break apart when we hear small feet running back to us.
“Ready,” Noah declares.
“Welcome to parenthood,” Copper murmurs, his eyes twinkling as he holds out his hand to me.
I link my fingers with his, holding back a groan when my ribs protest at the movement as he helps me to stand. I’m moving much better, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still hurting.
“Come on. The walk will do me good.” Taking my jacket off the hook by the door, I hand Noah’s to Copper.
It’s cold out, and our walk to the clubhouse takes longer than it should considering the distance, but my muscles are much looser, and I’m feeling pretty good when we get there. The surrounding car park is full of motorcycles, some I recognise as the Cursed Skulls and others I don’t. I see my mum’s vehicle, so I know they’re already here. Looks like a full Church today. I wonder how that will work. I know this MC isn’t like the one I grew up in, where women joined them for Church. I’ll take my cue from Copper.
“Hey,” Copper stops by the double doors and crouches in front of Noah. I wait, wondering what’s wrong, as I scan the grounds looking for anything out of the ordinary, but I don’t see anything. “There will be lots of big men in there. Do you want to ride on my shoulders?”
Oh, this man! If I didn’t already love him, I’d have fallen hard and fast at this moment.
I don’t say anything, waiting for the two of them—one big and dark, the other small and blond.
Finally, Noah nods. “I go your shoulders.”
“Okay, bud. I want you to remember that no one in this building will hurt you. I promise. And if they do, you tell Bee or me or Aunt Jeanie, and we’ll beat their butts.”
Noah giggles. It’s the first time he’s laughed since I met him. It warms my heart when he falls against Copper, wraps his arms around his neck, and hugs him. “Okay. I go up now.”
“Sure thing,” Copper says, standing and lifting Noah onto his shoulders. He laughs when the little boy squeals.
“I really high.”
I grin at the two of them. Happiness floods through me. It takes me a minute to realise what that feeling is. While I’ve been happy the last few months with Copper, we’ve always felt like we were living on borrowed time, but now… now we have all the time in the world. Or we will have once I get rid of that fucking nurse and Lloyd Eade.
I needed to find out the nurse’s name.
“You ready, Spice?”
I’m pulled from my thoughts to find Copper looking quizzically at me. “I love you, Copper.”
The words burst out of me as if I can’t contain them.
Copper’s face softens. “I love you, too, Bee. Let’s get this job finished so we can enjoy the rest of our lives and build on that love.”
“Sounds like a sound plan, Mr Tin,” I say, taking the hand he holds out to me.
“Make sure you duck your head, Noah,” I warn as we walk through the door into the loud common room of the clubhouse.
I’m immediately enfolded in Ramzi’s arms before being passed around the Cursed Skulls. I’m happy to see them, too. It’s loud and chaotic, and I’m worried about Noah, but he seems perfectly happy on Copper’s shoulders, his fingers threaded in his long, curly hair.
Even though this isn’t the club I grew up in, the vibe is the same. When Coal calls Church, I wait, surprised when Thea follows Coal and Jeanie goes with Bolt.
