The question sounds casual, but there's something underneath it. Concern, maybe? Or just curiosity?
"Club meeting," I say. "Ran late. We were discussing some business."
"What kind of business?" Then she shakes her head quickly. "Sorry, that's probably not something you can talk about."
"It's not a secret. We were discussing legitimate business. King and Luna are expanding our medical supply company. Plus planning some charity rides." I leave out the part where King grilled me about the incident with her family. "Nothing exciting."
"You're really working to become a full member? That's a big deal?"
"Biggest deal of my life." The words come out intense. "I've been a prospect for eight months. I did everything they asked and more. Helped take down a rival club two months ago. After that, I thought for sure I'd get my patch, but..."
"But?"
"King doesn't rush things. He wants to make sure prospects are ready, that they understand what it means to be a brother." I kick at a rock on the sidewalk. "I get it. I respect it. But the waiting is killing me."
"Why is it so important to you?" Ruby asks. "The club, I mean."
No one's ever asked me that before. The brothers just understand. Most of them came from similar places, needed the same thing I needed when I walked into that clubhouse for the first time.
But Ruby's looking at me with genuine curiosity, and I find myself wanting to answer honestly.
"Because they're family," I say. "The family I chose instead of the one I was born into. They've got my back no matter what. Theydon't see me as weak or broken or a burden. They see me as a man who can handle his shit."
"Your real family... they saw you as weak?"
"They saw me as a problem. I was sick a lot as a kid. Really sick. In and out of hospitals until we couldn't afford it anymore. After that, my parents just tried to manage it at home."
"That must have been scary."
"It was. But what was scarier was listening to them fight about me. My dad would yell about the medical bills, about how much I was costing them. My mom would cry and say it wasn't my fault, but you could tell she was exhausted from taking care of me. They blamed each other. They blamed me. And eventually, they just... gave up trying."
Ruby's steps slow. "That's horrible."
I shrug, uncomfortable with the sympathy in her voice. "It made me stronger. When I turned eighteen, I left. My dad tried to stop me, said I'd never survive on my own. We fought. Physically fought. I won, walked out, and never looked back."
"How long has it been since you've seen them?"
"Six years." And I don't regret it for a second. "They made their choice. I made mine."
We walk another block in silence. Liam has fallen asleep against Ruby's shoulder, his little mouth open, completely trusting that his mom will keep him safe.
"I understand that," Ruby says finally. "Making your own family. My parents stopped being family the day they kicked me out for keeping Liam. My ex stopped being anything to me the second he walked away."
"Their loss." I mean it. "You're doing a hell of a job with the kid. Anyone can see that."
She looks down at Liam, her expression so full of love it makes my chest hurt. "He's everything to me. Everything I do is for him."
"That's how it should be." Unlike my parents, who made me feel like an obligation they couldn't escape.
"Your turn to answer a question," I say, wanting to shift the focus off the heavy shit. "How was your first day? The flower shop treating you right?"
Her whole face lights up. "It was wonderful. Mrs. Henderson is so kind, and the work is peaceful. She let me set up a playpen for Liam in the back room, and he was so good all day. And she—" Ruby's voice gets thick. "She shared her lunch with me. Just gave me half her sandwich like it was nothing."
The fact that someone sharing a sandwich makes her emotional tells me everything about how rough she's had it.
"She sounds like good people."
"She is. This whole town seems... different. Kinder than where we've been."
