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My heart constricts and I know that the man I once called a cute disaster is far from that. He’s my everything. My lips quirk as I smile up at him. “Are you still my old man if you’re younger than me?”
He chuckles. “I’m your old man, period, baby. Long as you’re in my arms, you can call me anything you like.”
“I’ll remember you said that.”
“Countin’ on it.”
I pull him down and our lips lock once more.
I once never believed in love. But now I know I was just guarding my heart.
That heart now belongs to him.
27
ESTELLE
Four weeks later
“How was it?” I smile as Tilly walks into the kitchen. She’s been seeing a therapist and she’s started doing yoga classes with Bella, Priest’s ol’ lady, at her studio.
While Tilly has made progress, she has been having night terrors and flashbacks. Her memory is slowly coming back, and I’ve often feared she’s blocking some of the events from coming to the surface.
I never want her to feel pain ever again. I never want her to suffer.
“It was really good.” She sits down next to me on the stool at Nevada’s kitchen bench. We’ve been spending a lot of time here, though I’ve offered Tilly my apartment to stay in because her living arrangements changed while she was kidnapped.
A few of her friends have been over, but I know what a strain it is on her to have to relive the questions all over again. She’s been through enough. The women of the MC don’t ask those questions. They’re a sisterhood and they seem to understand that some topics are off limits.
Luna, Summer, Stella, Jas, Payden and Manny have all been super supportive, even Deanna and Crystal who are busy with their babies. Everyone wants to help and it feels like a family. More of a family than either of us have ever known.
“I’m glad.”
“Luna and Payden are going to the movies later tonight, they asked me to come,” she says.
I try not to show the anxiety in my face, but my palms instantly tingle. I’ve been this way ever since she came back. I worry about her more than ever.
“Are you going to go?” I ask casually.
“Maybe.”
“I can drive you.”
She glances at me. “You don’t have to baby me.”
“I’m not doing that. You’ve been through a lot, and you’re still dealing with what happened to you. I’m just trying to be a good sister.”
She places her hands over mine. “I’m okay, sis. I may have a long way to go, but I’m doing good. Some days are better than others. But you don’t have to worry.” She looks down at our hands. “Do you miss her?”
I frown. “Who?”
“Our mother?”
I suck in a long, silent breath. “I miss what we could’ve had, every day.”
“Do you think she was just doing her best?”
I think I gave up that thought a long time ago. Neglect is a big thing, and Tilly’s needs were not being met, which is why I stepped in when I did. Though, I don’t want to upset her or remind her of any of that. “I believe she knew what she knew. She fought a lot of demons in her life.”
