“So, you’re good with it?”
“Yes. I told her I was.”
A broad smile breaks across my face.
We stroll through the park, sipping our drinks, and then I pull her toward a ride. “How about riding the Ferris wheel?”
“Yes! It’s my favorite.”
Once we’re loaded into a car and it starts moving, she points out at the ocean. “Oh, look how blue it is.”
“Yeah, beautiful,” I whisper, but my eyes are not on the ocean; they’re on her. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. When she turns her smile on me, it hits me. “Do you know how happy I am whenever I’m around you? Doesn’t matter what we’re doing. Just being around you is enough.”
Her face softens. “I feel the same way.”
Neither of us seems to want to name the emotion, but I think we both feel it.
I dated in high school, even had a serious girl, but never something that made me feel the way Heather does. It’s like when I stare into her eyes, I’ve found my soul mate—the person I was meant to be with. It’s a powerful feeling. One I can’t and don’t want to ignore.
But I’m in an MC, and the last biker she had anything to do with terrified her.
A nagging question burrows into my brain. Is she only with me for protection? Am I seeing this clearly for what it is, or just seeing what I want to see?
“This right here…” I nod to the bunch of our crew that are gathered near the roller coaster and more over at the log ride. “This is everything to me. The club is my life, my family. I know you’ve had a bad experience with that asshole from the Death Heads, but that doesn’t mean we’re all like him. You get that, don’t you?”
“You’re nothing like him. You’d never treat me like he did.”
“Can I ask you something, Heather?”
She notes the seriousness of my expression, her eyes searching mine. “Sure.”
“You think you could find happiness in this life? I guess what I’m asking is if you could see a future with me. The club will always be a part of me, you get that, right?”
“I do.” She glances at the men and women of the Evil Dead family. “You know, I never thought of an MC like a big family,but you’ve shown that side of it to me. Having so many people who are there for you when you need them? That’s an amazing thing. It must be wonderful to be a part of that. Even the small part I’ve been included in has shown me that.”
“So, is that a yes?”
“Yes, Cody. It’s not the club that would stand in our way. But…”
My smile fades. “But what?”
“You don’t like my profession.”
I blow out a breath. “True.”
“You were Ryan’s best friend. At least for the last years of his life. Will his ghost forever be between us?”
“I guess that’s only something you can answer. You have to decide when you can let him go and only you can answer if you can move on.”
“I’m trying.”
The ride ends, and we step off.
We spend several more hours riding rides with Tucker and the rest of the crew, and I can see the love in Heather’s eyes as she watches the joy on Tucker’s face.
I see what she means about her son. He is a little mini-me of his father. Ryan will always be a part of our lives, and if we have a future, both of us have to be all right with the fact that I was his friend.
Her words come back to me, and I know I’ll have to talk to her about it when we’re alone.
