Chapter Twenty-Eight
Harley
“ Y ou got this,” Ryker murmurs, pressing his lips against my forehead. “It’ll be okay.”
I nod, my throat closing as I stare at my dad’s, now Colton’s, office door. Squeezing Ryker’s hand once more, I let go and step forward. After knocking on the door, I wait for him to respond before pushing it open.
Waking up this morning with Ryker was a dream. I love sleeping in the same bed with all my guys, but getting one on one time with them is also my favorite. And Ryker woke me up by climbing between my legs and making me scream before we showered, and I returned the favor.
Afterwards, our bubble burst as Cade and Grayson came in and let us know we’re going for a ride today so I would need to talk to Colton beforehand.
No more waiting or putting it off.
“Hey, darlin’.” He grins at me.
“Hey, can we talk?” I close the door behind me when he nods and take a seat across from him at the desk. Shoving my hands in between my thighs to hide the shaking, I glance around the room and notice he hasn’t touched anything. It is all the same.
“It doesn’t really feel like my office,” he tells me.
I smile sadly. “I get it. It will feel like it eventually.”
“What did ya want to talk about?” he asks.
Blowing out a breath, I say, “I love you and I love this club, but I have so much shit to work through, and honestly, Jacksonville is like the heart of almost every bad thing I have faced over the years.”
Tears well in my eyes as his smile fades. “You want to leave?”
I clear my throat. “We are leaving. Ryker, Grayson, Cade, and I. I’m not sure where yet. They have an idea, I guess, but I just–I love you. I don’t want to leave you and everyone here because you all have shown me what a family is and after losing my dad I know the four of us leaving is another hit, but I just want to heal myself.”
Colton slumps in the chair, his arms resting on the desk as he glances around the room, blinking heavily, his eyes glassy. “I don’t want ya to go, but I want you to be happy and find joy in your life. I want you to get everything you deserve, and if you can’t do that here, I understand. I’m proud of you for knowin’ what you need and not being afraid to go for it.”
I chuckle through the tears. “Oh, I’m terrified. I’m so scared the guys are going to realize they don’t want to be away from here, that leaving won’t do what I think it will, that I’ll regret it instantly. Everything about this is absolutely terrifying.”
“Being terrified means you have things to lose, people to lose, people you love, and that is worth the fear, Harley. And you have a home here. Forever. We will not go anywhere,” he tells me as a stray tear escapes and rolls down his cheek. Standing, I round the desk as he stands, and I wrap my arms around his waist holding onto him. “You are going to do amazing things, and this won’t ever be a goodbye. We are always goin’ see you or y’all will come see us.”
“I love you,” I choke out and hold him tighter.
“I love you more, darlin’,” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head.
Someone knocks on the door, and we pull away as Noah steps into the room. Based on the look on his face, he knows.
“I’ll give you a moment,” Colton says as he leaves the room.
Noah approaches me and rests his hands on my shoulders. “You take care of those boys, okay?”
“I always will,” I tell him fiercely.
“Fuck. Are you sure about this?” he rasps, his blue eyes glossing over as he stares me down with pinched brows.
“Yes,” I whisper, holding his eyes.
He nods once and takes a deep breath before he wraps his arms around me. “I’m not going to get fucking emotional.”
“Okay,” I laugh, wiping my tears away as we pull apart.
“I did the best I could with them,” he tells me.
“You gave them a safe place to land when their own homes weren’t good enough, but now it’s time for you to give yourself a chance to just live for you.”
“If only I knew how to do that.” He chuckles, glancing away.
“I don’t think any of us know what we’re doing. But I think as long as we’re happy, that’s all that matters.”
“Ready?” Ryker grins at me from his bike.
I strap my helmet on. “I would be if I knew where we were going.” The guys are being quiet about where exactly we’re going. Now that it has been announced that we’re leaving soon, they wanted to take a ride but won’t tell me where to.
“You’ll find out soon enough, baby girl,” Cade says.
Starting up my dad’s Harley, the guys start their bikes up as well, and we all take off, with Grayson and Cayden in the front and Ryker and me behind.
Letting go and trusting my men, I enjoy the ride as we take the curvy back roads with beautiful scenery. Large trees line the sides of the roads, and every so often, you get a small gap between them where you can see the coast. The sun is bright, and the wind feels perfect against me as we go from North Carolina to Virginia.
A while later, we enter Virginia Beach and pull into the driveway of Brielle’s beautiful white, two story beach house. The front has minimal windows, which works because the backside, which faces the beach, has floor to ceiling ones. Plants line either side of the driveway, and as we park in front of the two car garage, I glance around at the neighboring houses. It seems quiet and peaceful. Even when I was here, you didn’t hear much. There’s no one across the street, it’s just trees, and each house on the side with the beach is spread out enough that you can’t hear your neighbors. Shutting our bikes off, I take my helmet off and glance at the guys. “What are we doing here?” I furrow my brows.
“This is our home—if you want it to be,” Grayson says.
“What?” I ask, confused as we all get off our bikes and head up to the door. Grayson pulls out a set of keys and opens the door. I’ve always loved Brielle’s house, but it’s not ours…
“I talked to Brielle, and she doesn’t want to sell this one, even though they are moving to Jacksonville. She said we could live here as long as we wanted, until we make a choice for what we want to do and where,” Grayson explains, taking my hand in his. “I know this is all scary, and you are still feeling weird about us leaving with you. This would give us a space of our own somewhere away from Jacksonville but still close enough to visit whenever we want.”
“Virginia Beach is a good place for us to settle if you want to, baby girl.”
“This is… It’s perfect,” I laugh, even as tears stream down my cheeks.
“Well then, welcome home. Soonish. We are going to have to help Brielle move out and then we’ll move in and all the other shit,” Ryker says.
After we spend a few hours at the house, walking on the beach and talking about what we might want to do at the house and around town, we decide to head back to the club so we can spend some time with everyone before the moving process begins.
My heart feels lighter than it ever has as we head back to Jacksonville. This is what I wanted and needed. Now, I can focus on finding myself and building relationships with each of my guys outside of constant shit happening to us.
When we get home and walk inside the club, we are met with silence. “Where is everyone?” Ryker asks as we walk into the kitchen and glance around.
“Outside?” Grayson questions.
The second we all step outside, everyone yells, “Surprise!”
My eyes widen as Colton steps forward. “One last family BBQ before you all move away.”
Tears well up in my eyes, but I blink them away and smile as Brielle comes up to me, giving me a big hug. “I can’t believe I’m moving here finally, and you are going to leave to go to my own home.” She chuckles, but her eyes become glossy.
“I know. I want to stay, but–”
She shakes her head. “Don’t, honey. You are taking care of you, and after the shit that has been nonstop thrown at you over the years, you deserve to do whatever you want and need.”
“Today is about having fun and enjoying each other's company. No tears,” Atlas says as he and Lincoln come over and pull us apart.
We chuckle, and everyone heads into the yard. Cade brings over beers for Ryker, Grayson, and I and we wander around the yard and visit with people until we somehow end up at the cornhole game just like we did the first time I was around for a family BBQ.
The guys all form teams: Ryker, Grayson, and Axe against Sugar, Noah, and Jayce. Because Jayce claimed he needed to kick his dad’s booty. So he chose to be on the team against his dad.
Cade wraps his arms around my shoulders, and I lean back against him as we watch the guys yell at each other and get super competitive over the game. Even little Jayce gets into it.
“You feeling okay staying out here with everyone?” I ask Cade.
His arms tighten. “They are family.”
I nod and smile softly, completely understanding what he means.
This is our family. This will always be our family.
No matter where we go or end up. No matter if we stay in Virginia forever or come back after a few months or years. This being our family doesn’t change.
As I glance up at the sky, a single tear rolls down my cheek. I imagine my mom and dad getting to live their happily ever after, just like I am right now.
I may have a long journey ahead of me as I learn to free my soul from the chains binding it.
But there is one thing I know for sure: I survived with the most beautiful souls surrounding me.