“I don’t make him better,” I continue. “I just... remind him who he already is. The guy who coached your peewee soccer team and cried at your first recital—yeah, he told me about that—he’salways been in there. He just needed someone to pull him out of president mode once in a while.”
“He cried at my recital?” Her voice is smaller now.
“Apparently he was very proud. Said it was rather undignified for an MC president.”
She laughs, but it’s watery. “He never told me that.”
“He’s not great at the emotional stuff. But love was never the problem, Emma. The showing it was.” I reach over and squeeze her hand. “He’s trying, but it’s not because of me—it’s because of you. Because he doesn’t want to miss any more of your life.”
Emma swipes at her eyes. “Okay. Fine. That was... annoyingly insightful.” She draws in a breath, shaking off her melancholy. “And now for the big bad step-kid warning,” she adds, recovering her composure, “I will make your life a living hell if you hurt him. I have a lot of dancer friends, and we’re surprisingly vicious.”
I hide a smile. “Noted.”
She hugs me—quick and fierce—and then she’s gone, disappearing into the crowd before I can respond.
Stone catches my eye across the yard. He raises an eyebrow.You okay?
I smile at him.More than okay.His kids just gave me their blessings. That’s huge.
Ginger finds me next. Of course she does. The woman has a sixth sense for emotional moments.
She settles beside me on the picnic bench, two fresh beers in hand, passing one over without asking.
“Honey, I’ve been an old lady for twenty years. I know the look.” She takes a sip. “You’re wondering if you can do this.”
I cock an eyebrow. “Is that what I’m thinking? I thought I was tossing up between a burger or dog for dinner.”
The smell of the barbecue is making my mouth water.
She shakes her head. “No, you’re wondering if you can deal with the late nights, the unexplained disappearances, the blood stains that you’ll have to somehow get out of their clothes.”
I wince. “Well I wasn’t but I am now.”
“Look, I’ve been there. I get it. Tank’s been gone three days without a word more times than I can count. I’ve held dinner, canceled plans, lied to my mother about why I couldn’t make Christmas.” She shrugs. “And I’d do it all again.”
“Why?”
“Because the club isn’t competition, Josie. It’s part of who he is. I didn’t fall in love with some watered-down version of Tank who punches a clock and comes home at five. I fell in love with the whole man—the one who’d ride through hell for his brothers, who’d take a bullet for this family without thinking twice.” She looks at me. “Stone’s the same. You either want the whole package, or you don’t.”
I watch Stone across the yard. He’s laughing at something Hawk said, his whole face transformed by it. This fierce, protective, complicated man who’s let me see the soft parts he hides from everyone else.
“I want the whole man,” I say quietly.
“I know.” Ginger smiles. “That’s why I’m talking to you instead of warning you off.”
“Does it get easier? The worry?”
“Never.” She’s honest about it. “But you learn to live with it. And the good parts—the family, the loyalty, knowing you’re loved by someone who’d burn the world down for you—that makes the worry worth it.”
I think about what she’s saying. About the choice I’m making, and the life I’m stepping into.
“I might get annoyed sometimes,” I admit. “When he disappears at 2am or Church runs three hours long.”
“Of course you will. That’s normal.”
“But it’s not like my life is so different, especially when I’m working a case.” I shrug. “So yeah, I’m sure I’ll get annoyed sometimes. But I get it. And this—him, all of you—it’s worth the occasional inconvenience.”
Ginger’s smile is warm and approving. “That’s my girl. Now, tell me about the sex. Was it good?”
