I dip my toes in the hot water, the steam rising from the tub. I smile to myself. Drifter remembered not to put any bubbles in the bath so as to not aggravate my wound, and it makes merealise just how much he’s taken in, even when I didn’t think he was listening.
Once I get out of the bath, I make my way into the bedroom to find Drifter asleep on the bed, Daisy lying beside him in the ‘next to you’ crib. His hand rests on her as his gentle snores fill the room.
I lower myself onto the bed, lifting his arm to lie against him. He stirs slightly, opening his eyes and kissing me on the head before pulling me in closer. His other hand is still firmly resting on Daisy, almost as if he’s monitoring her breathing.
“I love you,” he whispers sleepily.
I lean up and kiss him. It’s the first time I’ve initiated it. I rest my hand on his heart and feel it beating heavily through his kutte. I take a moment to deepen the kiss, my tongue darting out. When we break away panting, his forehead rests against mine.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispers breathlessly.
My lips are swollen from our kiss. “I love you, Drifter. Don’t ever let me go.”
“I’ll kill myself before I ever break your heart or trust again.”
EPILOGUE
ROCHELLE
It has been six months since Daisy’s birth, and I watch her sleep soundly in the pushchair. Drifter has thrown a party, a chance for all the brothers to relax, now club life had started to settle down.
I watch as the kids play on the bouncy castle, Clay throwing Noah repeatedly in the air and catching him just before he drops.
“You look happy again, Hell,” Red says.
I glance down at Daisy, and my heart swells with love. “I am. It’s not been easy, has it?” I laugh.
“Understatement of the century,” she says. “But you’re genuinely happy, yes?” I hear the concern in her voice.
“Counselling was one of the best things we could have done.” I stare across the courtyard at Drifter. “We had a lot to unpack, including some things I actually needed to work on by myself, too. It’s made us better parents, better people.”
“Can you truly trust him again?” Bella asks.
I think for a beat. “I mean, do I have doubts? Of course. But if I chose to try again, I can’t continue to throw it in his face, else I should have just walked away and never looked back. But I couldn’t, because he was the first boy I loved, the one I had spent my life with. If I gave up, I would always regret not trying. He’s given me no reason to doubt him again. But I’d be lying if I wasn’t scared that one day he’ll break my heart. I’m sure that’s normal. And with time, it will get easier.”
Bella and Red smile warmly.
“Well, you know where I am if you ever need an alibi,” Red jokes.
I stare across the courtyard, watching Drifter tentatively. It really had been a rollercoaster; counselling had opened a lot of raw emotion. Learning that he had confided in Siren when he was struggling was a hard pill for me to swallow; he’d admitted that he only slept with her once. He knew how much he had fucked up, he didn’t use drink as an excuse but it was a major factor in his actions that night, he’d explained that he was blind drunk and although he went down there to tell her to back off he was in such a haze with his own emotions he didnt truly understand what he was doing till I walked in. One of the biggest changes has been leaving the bottle alone, and that, for me, is a huge relief. I needed to understand why we’d got to that point in the first place. We needed to work on our relationship to make sure that, in the future, we were both open with each other and that we listened. During counselling, Drifter had told me that Siren had attempted to kiss him and when he tried to tell me, I’d shut him down. It made me realise that I’d closed him off, meaning that he couldn’t confide in me. Listening to everything was painful, but a necessary evil in order for us to move forward.
Drifter approaches us, holding out his hand. I take it, and he pulls me to my feet.
“I’ve got a surprise for you.”
He leads me into the building and takes me to the doors that led to almost ruining my life. He reads my expression and immediately takes both my hands. “Having that memory in your head must be hard, so I wanted to change that. Over the last few months, I’ve been working hard to erase those memories and what I left behind.” He pushes open the door and holds it for me as I enter.
I gasp, scanning the room. It’s completely different, redecorated in bright colours. In the corner is a soft play area. In the opposite corner is a reading nook with oversized beanbags and books scattered on the shelves.
I walk further into the room and see game consoles set up for the older kids, and where the pool table once was is a large table set up for the children to do their homework.
I turn to look at him. “But how?”
“You’ve been busy with Daisy. I thought we needed a place for all the kids now. The club is growing, and they need a place to hang out. Hopefully, we can grow our family one day. This club should always be about family, be that blood or not, and we are protectors of our family. It was never supposed to be about club girls and broken loyalty. I want to change it.”
I look around in awe. This is so much more than I could have wished for, and he really is taking the club in a different direction than his father.
Tears collect in my eyes.
