BROOKE
All the club members and some of their old ladies are here. My eyes start to well up with tears as everyone smiles at me. In the main room, there is a banner that says ‘Welcome Home,’ and the place is decorated. Gears, Ink, Pres, and Whiskey are all next to each other with big smiles on their faces.
I lift my hand and wave. Gears’s smile gets wider and Ink shies away. I need to make sure that I tell Ink it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know that Jared was going to kidnap me. None of them knew who Jared was.
I grip Bear’s hand, giving it a slight squeeze, and look up at him. He gives me a big smile and kisses my forehead.
“I told you everyone loves you. They all wanted to welcome you home, even though I thought it would be too much for you.” Bear rubs my back as he speaks.
I give him a small smile and a thumbs-up. It’s so sweet that he thinks about little things like me being tired or overwhelmed. It puts butterflies in my stomach when he says.
“I am so glad you are okay! I was so worried about you. I wanted to visit you, but the only time anyone could was whenBear was on a run,” Gears says, interrupting my moment with Bear.
I give Bear a glare. The only time other people could visit me was when he was gone?
“I’m sorry. I am protective of you, and I didn’t want anyone near you besides me,” he says, raising his hands.
“Did he just say sorry?” Gears looks over at Whiskey.
“Yes, he did. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Bear say sorry to anyone. We’ll have to write this down and date it,” Whiskey says, walking off.
“Don’t you dare!” Bear says, racing after him.
Whiskey starts to jog, but Bear stops. I look confused as he turns around. He quickly comes over to me and kisses me on the forehead.
“Stay with Gears. I am going to find Whiskey. I’ll be back in a couple minutes,” Bear says, jogging off.
I look over at Gears, who is standing in front of me. I give him a smile before I hug him. He stiffens before he brings his arms around me and hugs me back.
“Oh, girlie, you are something else,” he whispers in my ear.
I give him a confused look. What does he mean by that?
“You have changed Bear to become a better person. He is starting to think before he acts. He puts you before himself and makes sure that you are well taken care of. He didn’t do that before. He would only think about himself and the brothers,” Gears says, stepping back.
I had never noticed that. I didn’t know Bear long before we started talking. I didn’t get to observe him, like I did all the others. Bear wanted to get to know me from the moment he stepped into the clubhouse.
“It’s not a bad thing. It is a side of Bear that people didn’t think he had. He has gone such a long time without talking to a girl that we were all surprised when he talked to you. Heck, hewalked you home the first night he was here. He missed his own welcome home party. Someone he hadn’t even met yet. He knew that he wanted you when he saw you.” Gears laughs.
I give Gears a smile. I guess Bear knew what he wanted in the beginning, and he got it eventually. Though Bear and I haven’t made it official, and he hasn’t asked, we are already living together.
I look over at Gears and wave to get his attention. He looks at me and gives me a questioning look. I point to one of his tattoos and then toward the crowd.
“Are you looking for someone?” he asks.
I nod and point toward one of his tattoos. He looks at where I am pointing and then back at me.
“Ink?” he questions.
I nod and look around for him.
“Are you looking for Ink?” He looks at me.
I give him a thumbs-up. I really need to talk to Ink before anyone else comesover. I don’t want to forget to say that it wasn’t his fault.
“I don’t know where he is, but let me call him,” Gears says, calling Ink.
While I wait for a response, I look around at all the people watching me. I hide behind Gears, trying to get away from their stares.
