“I’d do it for her,” Yak adds.
I glare at him. “No. It has to be me. I was named specifically. Stay away from her.”
“Oh, touchy. Got it.” Yak winks at me. “If she won’t marry you, though, doesn’t that mean she loses her family home?”
I sigh. “Yes. She loses everything. I can’t make her change her mind, though. I won’t force her.”
“Have you even tried? I mean, have you laid it out for her like it would be a business arrangement rather than a love match? She is angry—understandably so, because this is fucked—but maybe with a clearer head, she could see this as a positive. She marries you for a few years, gets her inheritance, then she can divorce you, and you both move on. Has anyone said those words to her?” Yak asks.
I look down at my hands. “I don’t know. She doesn’t really want to see me.”
“Do you blame her? I mean, you knew about this and didn’t tell her,” Wolf reminds me.
“I should have told her. I really did think he would change his mind. We talked about it a lot, and I thought I had him convinced. Still, I should have warned her, but I was scared. Scared that she would go to him and say things she didn’t mean. I was worried that her anger would kill him faster. It was selfish, I know. I don’t blame her if she doesn’t forgive me,” I admit.
“Ridge, buddy, you can’t blame yourself. Sure, maybe you should have said something, but he should have told her himself. He was obviously keeping secrets, but the man was a good person. Everything he ever did, he had a reason. I bet he had his reasons for this too.” Yak’s positive tone both pisses me off and makes me grateful to have him as a brother.
“He was worried she would leave town. He was right to worry. That is what she plans to do. He didn’t want her leaving this club, her family.”
Yak smiles at me. “Then maybe you need to try to talk to her one last time. I mean, if she is already planning to leave, and she already hates your guts, what do you have to lose?”
He’s not wrong. I have nothing left to lose. Mustang is already gone, and Rain isn’t far behind him in her own way.
I rub the back of my neck.
“I don’t know.”
“You won’t know until you try,” Wolf adds. “If I had given up the first time Aspen wanted me to go, I wouldn’t be here right now. I know my life would be worse because of it. Isn’t it worth fighting for?”
Is Rain worth fighting for? Fuck yes.
I want to respect her decision, but they are right. I need to try to get her to see reason. She might hate me now, but I hope one day she will see that everything I did was for her. To protect her. To give her what she deserves.
“All right. I’ll talk to her. I just need to go talk to the lawyer first. Figure out some of the fine print and see if there is anything I can save should she still say no,” I tell them, standing.
“Thatta boy. She’s with Aspen right now, so you do what you got to do, then go see your girl. Everything will work out.” Wolf stands, patting me on the shoulder.
“Group hug?” Yak asks, holding his arms out.
Both Wolf and I push his shoulder, laughing as I head out the door and they head back to whatever they were doing before they interrupted my day.
This has to work, because if not, I don’t know how I will be able to live with the guilt.
CHAPTER
FIVE
Rain
Sittingin my childhood living room, I stare blankly at the wall. The TV plays quietly, but I have no idea what’s on the screen. The sound of the clock ticking is like a countdown on a bomb, reminding me that at any minute, my life is going to implode.
I should have gone into work, but my boss insisted that I take time off to “settle affairs and grieve,” but what work doesn’t know is that there’s nothing to settle. Dad did it all. My grief? It’s currently being smothered by anger. Red hot anger.
I’m just so goddamn mad that he put me in this position.
Why?
I’ve thought it over a million times, and I still can’t see why he thought me marrying Ridge was a good idea.
