I moved to answer the door, finding Ada and Hannah standing there, arms loaded with welcome gifts.Hannah carried a plate of cookies covered in plastic wrap, while Ada held a potted plant and what looked like a handmade quilt.
“We come bearing gifts,” Ada announced, her smile warm as she stepped inside.“Oh good, you’re settling in.”
Hannah followed, her quiet presence filling the room differently to Ada’s cheerful energy.“Cookies,” she said, cheerfully holding out the plate.“No nuts or dairy, and low sodium for Brynn’s diet.”
Lavender accepted the plate with a hesitant smile.“Thank you.That’s very thoughtful.”
Hannah shrugged, but her expression softened slightly.“Listen, I know how overwhelming this can be,” she said, her voice low enough that Brynn, who had emerged from her room but hung back in the hallway, couldn’t hear.“This place is different from the MC I grew up in, but they’re both good clubs.Testosterone gets a little high for my taste sometimes.When it does, we threaten to cut them off if they don’t straighten up, if you know what I mean.”
The candor of her statement caught Lavender off guard.She laughed.A genuine sound that lit her whole face and sent warmth spreading through my chest.Just like that, she was my Lavender again.I remembered seeing that same delighted look on her face the day before my world went to shit.
That day had been a day of perfect peace.I’d made love to Lavender under a big oak in the neighbor’s hay field.I’d been planning on asking her to marry me, but a surprise storm had come and we’d made love in the summer rain instead.
“Does that work?”Lavender asked, still smiling.
“Like a fucking charm,” Hannah replied, her own lips curving upward.“Men are simple creatures.Especially bikers.”
I feigned offense.“I’m standing right here.”
“And?”Hannah raised an eyebrow, the challenge in her voice playful rather than hostile.
Ada had moved to Brynn, showing her something on her phone that captured the girl’s attention.They bent their heads together, as they spoke in low voices.
For the first time since finding that email about Brynn, I allowed myself to imagine a future where all the parts of my life might fit together.A future where the family I’d built and the family I’d found could become something whole.
* * *
I stood outside their apartment door at a quarter past nine, hand raised to knock, feeling like a goddamn teenager.My knuckles hovered inches from the wood as I listened for sounds inside.The compound had settled into its nighttime rhythm.Distant engine revs from guys returning home, muffled music from the clubhouse and the occasional burst of laughter provided the soundtrack for life in the compound.
I’d changed clothes three times before coming over, finally settling on a clean black T-shirt and jeans, like it fucking mattered what I wore to check if they needed anything before they went to bed.I’d never been this nervous on ops that could’ve gotten me killed.Finally, I forced myself to knock, three short taps against the door.
Footsteps approached from the other side, soft and hesitant.The light came on at the security camera outside her door, and I knew someone could see me, deciding whether to open up.The lock clicked, and the door swung inward, revealing Lavender in soft gray sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, her hair pulled up in a messy bun with curls escaping around her face.She looked exhausted but somehow more relaxed than I’d seen her since the hospital.
“Hey,” she said softly, stepping back to let me in.“Everything OK?”
I nodded, suddenly tongue-tied at the sight of her in such casual clothes, so domestic and vulnerable.“Just wanted to check how you’re settling in.If you need anything.”
“We’re good,” she said, closing the door behind me.“Brynn fell asleep about an hour ago.The bed actually got her excited.Said it was like ‘sleeping on a cloud’ compared to the hospital.”A small smile played at the corners of her mouth.“I think the books and computer might have won her over a little.”
“Good,” I said, relief washing through me.“That’s… That’s good.”
The apartment was dimly lit, just a single lamp burning in the living room.Everything was neat, no trace of the unpacking chaos I’d expected.But then, they hadn’t had much to unpack.I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, not sure if I should sit or leave.
Lavender solved my dilemma by tilting her head toward the glass door on the far side of the living room.“I was just getting some air on the balcony since the weather warmed up a bit tonight.Want to join me?”
I followed her across the room.The balcony held two chairs and a small table for setting a drink and a snack.The view of the compound below showed the entirety of the courtyard below.
Lavender leaned against the railing, her arms crossed over her chest.I kept a careful distance, not wanting to crowd her, though every cell in my body hummed with awareness of her closeness.
From this height, the compound looked almost beautiful at night.Security lights cast pools of amber across the concrete, while the camouflage netting created strange, shifting shadows.The women had hung a trail of fairy lights inside the netting giving the place an almost romantic glow, if you could believe it.
“Surprises me you have lights strung through the netting.”She smiled as her gaze roamed the edges of the courtyard to the paths between the buildings.We’d all grumbled about the lights cutting down on the whole point of the netting, but it made us happy that the women were happy.
“I never imagined living among bikers,” Lavender said quietly, her voice carrying in the night air.“These people aren’t what I expected.In the best way possible.”
I shifted slightly closer, my forearms resting on the railing beside hers.“They saved me.During and after prison.Gave me purpose.A family.”I winced as I realized what I’d said.
“I can see that,” she replied, glancing sideways at me.Not in a judging way, but in a way that said she was happy for me.“The way they look at you… They respect you.”Her gaze returned to the compound below.“Hannah gave me the rundown on club dynamics.Who to go to for what.Which couples have kids Brynn’s age.She even offered to show me how to shoot a gun.”
