Esme lets go of me slowly before climbing off. She pulls her helmet free and shakes her hair out, her cheeks flushed from the ride, her eyes a little brighter than they were when we left Hart.
She’s been like that more and more.
After the confrontation with James, it’s like she’s finding her footing again instead of bracing for the next hit. I know their relationship was over long before his final betrayal, but some things linger.
I hadn’t wanted to press charges, but after the cops saw that my parents had cameras, they made a formal request for the footage, and it was pretty damning. Esme and I both gave statements and tried to explain that it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, that he wasn’t thinking straight. Part of me would love him to go to jail and have them throw away the key, but I know it would hurt my parents, and I don’t want me and Esme starting our life together with that hanging over us.
He’s been charged with Assault 2, but there’s talk it could be pled down to something like reckless endangerment, withprobation and mandatory counseling instead of jailtime. I guess we just have to see how it plays out.
“How are you doing?” I ask, stepping in close and brushing a strand of hair back from her face.
She leans into my hand without hesitation. “I’m okay.” She glances at the cabin, then back at me and smiles. “I’m always okay with you.”
I set our bags down by the door while Esme moves ahead of me, opening the windows to let the air in. It’s in regular use over the summer so it doesn’t need much airing out. The place brightens almost immediately, light spilling across the floorboards, shifting the space from something closed and quiet to something lived in.
We unpack a little. On the way we stopped at a grocery store and got enough supplies to feed an army. Crow and Tarynn are riding up next weekend, so I wanted to make sure that the cupboards are well stocked. When we’re done unpacking, she nudges my shoulder with hers.
“Want to go for a walk, or do you need to get to work?”
I grin at her. “Tyrant doesn’t live up to his name. I’m mainly here for pleasure, sorting out the tech is a side quest.”
The trail behind the cabin is narrow, worn down from years of use. Before it belonged to the club it was a hunting lodge. It was also the place where Tyrant’s father held him and tortured him for days. It might seem weird that it’s now the place where we all go to escape from daily life, but Tyrant wanted it to be repurposed. And after years of brothers and their women riding out here, any bad memories have been exorcized.
As we walk, the ground is soft underfoot, scattered with pine needles and leaves. The air’s cooler under the trees, carrying that clean, sharp scent that only really exists out here.
Esme breathes in deep beside me, her shoulders lifting and then dropping as she lets it out slowly.
“I forgot this part,” she says.
“What part?”
“The way everything just slows down.” She glances at me. “You don’t feel like you have to keep up with anything. You can just live in the moment.”
We walk a little farther before settling on a fallen log near the edge of a small clearing. She sits first, and I drop down beside her, our shoulders brushing. After a second, she leans into me, and I wrap an arm around her without thinking about it.
It’s easy.
Everything with her is easy in a way that doesn’t feel fragile. I loved her for so many years from a distance. Maybe part of me was scared about what would happen if we made it real, but it’s all surprisingly easy. Like the universe had a plan.
Which I guess is cheesy as hell, but I like to think someone is looking out for us. Maybe Grandpa.
“How are your parents?” she asks after a minute.
I let out a slow breath. After the way they supported James and refused to believe their golden child could do no wrong, I told myself that I’d walk away. But that’s not me. I don’t know if we’ll ever play happy families, but we’re trying to rebuild something. “They’re… trying.”
“That’s a start.”
“Yeah.” I stare out at the trees. “Mom’s been quieter. Dad too. It’s like they don’t know what to say now that they can’t pretend everything’s fine. James could never do any wrong, and now they’ve had their eyes opened, they don’t know what to do with it.”
She nods slowly. “That might take time.”
“Yeah.” I pause. “If it happens at all.”
Her hand finds mine where it rests on her thigh, her fingers threading through mine. “It’s not your job to fix them.”
“I know.”
“You don’t have to carry that.”
