“Minus the garland or happy endings.” I shrug. “But I guess it wasn’t all bad. At least, not on the outside.”
“But on the inside?” Aimee meets my gaze, and I sense something in her eyes that feels familiar. Like she understands.
“Things are complicated in that world. It’s not uncommon for families to marry over land or to protect each other at all costs. Kincaid was supposed to take over his family ranch someday, and I was supposed to take over mine. Everyone assumed we would merge them eventually, and the simplest way to do that was through me and him.”
“Why not Dean? He was the oldest,” Tempe asks.
“My father wasn’t Dean’s biggest fan. He was a bit of a troublemaker.”
“So not much has changed?” Aimee laughs.
“Exactly. He was always up to something. He loved his grandfather and the ranch, but he was too restless for a town that small. When it came down to it, we all knew Dean was never going to stick around Lanceleaf after high school. Especially after his mom…” I trail off, not able to finish that sentence. My throat tightens just thinking about the mess from that time in our lives. “Dean was always destined for bigger things than Lanceleaf or the ranch. It was for the best that he left. He asked me to go with him, but my family needed me there. He could run from his problems. I couldn’t.”
“So you chose his brother?”
“Yeah.” My gaze falls to my drink.
“Do you regret it?” Luna asks, and I meether gaze.
There’s a slight breeze, but it’s not chilly. The sky is lit with stars, casting a glow over the desert.
“No, I don’t regret it,” I say. “And not because I loved Kincaid but because I did what was right for both of us. Dean needed to get out, but more than that, he needed to cut ties from the memories he had back in Texas. I gave him the reason to do it, and now he has everything he ever wanted.”
A club he cares about.
Friends.
Endless attention from women.
Dean’s life might be rough around the edges, but I can’t picture anything different for him. He always wanted it all, and now he has it.
“Sounds like you two have quite a history,” Tempe says with a tight smile. “Maybe now you can clear the air. Start over.”
I nod, wishing it were that simple.
Tempe smiles, likely sensing my doubt. “Either way, I’m glad it brought you to Vegas. To our wild little family.”
My gaze follows hers to the window that looks into the club, where the party is getting wilder by the moment. The bar is packed with people. Clothes are coming off. One biker has a girl bent over the couch as he fucks her. The people standing around him barely notice.
“This must be quite an adjustment for you.” Reagan laughs, seeing what I’m staring at. “Club life isn’t really like anything else out there.”
I shrug. “The club’s not that different from the ranch in a lot of ways. People coming from all over. Livingtogether. Tending to the land and the animals together. Letting loose when shit gets stressful. Forming their own kind of family that people on the outside never really understand. I get it. They look different, but it’s the same idea.”
“Guess you’re right.” A smile ghosts Tempe’s cheeks. “Well, you’re welcome here anytime you like, Willa. Either as Chaos’s friend or mine.”
“Same,” Luna says, holding her glass up.
I tap mine against it, and the girls all cheers—Tempe and Reagan with their waters.
For the first time since arriving in Vegas, I feel welcome. Whether Dean wants me here or not, this group of girls doesn’t seem to mind my presence.
I take a sip of my drink, slowly letting the stress melt from my shoulders.
The conversation turns to other things, and I’m grateful. The girls talk about all sorts of things. Decorating baby rooms, painting the clubhouse, Soul’s most recent pranks. After a couple more drinks, I can’t stop laughing. My cheeks burn from smiling.
It feels good to laugh.
To think about something other than me and Dean.
