Page 31 of Outlawed

“Yes, really. Your mom was a special woman, Hannah, and all these people wanted you to know how much they cared about her.”

Hannah turns in my arms, looking out at everyone. She surprises the shit out of me when she tugs herself free and walks across the deck to the crowd, who watch her like she’s some kind of apparition. She takes herself down the steps, the crowd parting for a moment as if waiting with bated breath to see what she will do next.

When she starts walking down the line, saying thank you to each person she passes, I sob, unable to hold it back a second longer. Riggs pulls me up and holds onto me as he keeps his eye on Hannah, giving me a moment to get myself together.

It isn’t until Riggs lets out a frustrated sigh that I turn around to see what’s wrong and spot Austin walking through the gap the crowd has made. As soon as Hannah spots him, she runs to him. He scoops her up as she wraps her arms and legs around him, burying her face in his neck.

“That kid makes it hard for me to hate him,” Riggs admits.

Hannah loves each of my guys. And she missed the hell out of Austin. She doesn’t care about the fractured dynamics between us. All she cares about is how they treat her, and there is no denying that they all treat her like a princess. Lord help the boy who wants to date her when she has three uncles ready to start a war to keep her safe.

Austin climbs the steps to stand next to me. “I heard something was going on up here. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I didn’t expect this.”

“None of us did. It’s beautiful, though.”

Hannah turns her head to look at me. “Mommy loved candles.”

“Yeah? You think she’d have liked this?”

She nods.

“Me too, sweetheart. Me too.”

“Want me to take her back inside?” Austin offers.

“I’ll do it,” Riggs jumps in. His trust in Austin is iffy at best.

Austin doesn’t argue. He presses a kiss to Hannah’s head before easing her into Riggs’s arms.

“I’ll be right back,” Riggs tells me, though it doubles as a warning for Austin.

“Okay.” I lean forward and kiss Hannah. “Night, Cookie.”

She smiles at me as her eyes drift closed. I watch her and Riggs until they disappear inside, then face the crowd once more.

“Thank you all for coming. I wasn’t expecting it. This is truly beautiful, and I think it’s something Hannah will remember forever.”

I don’t have anything else to say that hasn’t already been said, and I think people realize that. They come up to offer their condolences before leaving and heading home for the night. And just like Hannah, I show them grace by thanking each of them, even those I know still don’t particularly like me. This isn’t about me. It’s about Dawn and, by extension, Hannah.

Riggs is back out before the last of the stragglers leave, so I stand sandwiched between him and Austin as the last of the taillights disappear from view.

“Guess there is still some humanity left in this place after all,” Austin says.

Riggs grunts, but he doesn’t argue, which I guess is a win. “Let’s get you inside. It’s been a long day.”

I nod at him before turning to Austin. I know he wants me to invite him in, but I don’t have the brain capacity to deal with our bullshit. Not tonight. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

He stares at me for a long moment without saying anything before he nods and jogs down the steps. I blow out a rough breath, exhaustion catching up to me.

Riggs doesn’t miss a beat. “Go upstairs and get ready for bed. I’ll make sure everything is locked up before I join you.”

I nod and do what he says, dragging myself upstairs where I strip out of my clothes and toss them in the hamper before crawling into bed naked. I tug the blanket up over me and feel myself drifting off before Riggs even makes it upstairs. I feel him climb into bed beside me, neither of us caring about the potential night tremors anymore, knowing that if he does have an episode, I can handle him. He yanks me to him, wrapping his arm around me and sliding his leg over mine, effectively pinning me in place before he buries his face in my hair.

“I love you, Opie.”

“Love you too.”

The house stirs, making my eyes blink open. I lie still, getting my bearings, as the bedroom door opens. I recognize the gait of Shepard’s walk as he approaches the bed. I roll over and flip on the side lamp.