CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Cody—
Leading Heather into Kyle’s restaurant, we find it packed with everyone from the clubhouse.
We make our way through the empty tables to the ones that are all pushed together to form one long one.
Tucker runs over and hugs his mom’s legs. “Mommy, Cody’s mom said I could ride with them to the amusement park. Can I?”
Heather looks at me with a frown, but I don’t have a clue what he’s talking about and shrug.
My mother comes over and puts a hand on Tucker’s shoulder.
“Sweetie, we have to see if it’s okay first.” Then she looks at both of us.
“Everyone’s been talking about riding to Santa Cruz.
With the kids being cooped up in the clubhouse and all, we thought it’d be a treat to take them to the amusement park there at the boardwalk.
” She meets Heather’s eyes. “You don’t have to work, do you? ”
“You guys have to go, Cody. It’ll be a blast, and all the kids are going.” This from Sara, Green’s ol’ lady, who’s oldest boy is Tucker’s age. She’s got her youngest girl on her hip.
“Peez, uncle Cody,” her daughter asks. “I wike Tucker.”
I stroke her cheek with a finger. “How can I say no to a cutie-pie like you.” I glance at Heather. “What do you say?”
She shrugs. “If you want to. I’ve never been to Santa Cruz.”
“We’re all getting rooms at the Dreamers Motel on the beach,” Cole says from where he sits at the head of the table. “Angel’s booking them right now. You in?”
Angel lifts her gaze from her phone. “Too late. I already booked you a room. You’re going.”
I chuckle. “Guess we’re goin’ to the beach, Heather.”
My mother pats Tucker’s shoulder. “Most of the crew are riding. Me and Sara are going to drive the kids in her minivan. There’s room for Tucker if that’s okay with you, Heather.”
“Sure.”
“Are you going to ride with Cody on his bike?” she asks.
I put a hand on Heather’s waist and pull her against me. “Yeah, she’ll ride with me.”
“Good. Then it’s settled.”
“Yay!” Tucker throws his hands in the air and runs off with Green’s son to an old pinball machine against the back wall.
I pull out a chair for Heather and take the one next to her. At the end of the table, Angel puts her phone down. “We’re booked. Fifteen rooms. We’re taking up the entire third floor. Check in is at three.”
“It’s only about a forty-five-minute ride over the mountain, so we’ve got time,” Cole says.
Sutton carries over a platter of pancakes and another with bacon.
Kyle follows with scrambled eggs and sausage, setting them on the table. “Eat up, folks.”
They take a seat, and soon dishes are being passed around the table.
I notice the light in Heather’s eyes as she looks up and down its length and squeeze her knee.
“This is nice,” she says.
“One great big family, and you and Tucker are a part of it. You need anything, you’ve got a lot of people who’ll have your back, and that’s a great feeling.”
“It is.” She leans her head on my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For bringing me into the fold.”
We eat a nice breakfast.
“Where’s Cajun?” I ask.
“He’s staying at the clubhouse with Skeeter and the prospects,” my father replies.
When we finish, Heather and I swing by the clubhouse, grab a bag, and then meet the rest of the club at the restaurant. By then, the kids are all loaded into the van, and the guys are all just waiting on us.
I idle the bike, and that’s when it hits me. This is the first club ride where I’m not the odd man out. Since my brothers all got their ol’ ladies, I’ve been the only one still riding solo at these things. But not today. I grin and squeeze Heather’s thigh. It’s gonna be a great day.
We roll out and make it there in just under an hour.
It’s not quite check-in time, but Angel, Crystal, Mary, and Shannon head to the office to see if we can get our rooms early.
I wait by the van with Heather, my mom, and Sara. My father and Green stand off by the bikes talking with the others. Gigi, Harley Jean, and Fiona are at the back, changing diapers on their babies.
A few minutes later, the ladies come out with pass keys and hand them out. I grab one for Heather, Tucker, and me, and we go inside to check out the room.
We’re on the top floor, and the view of the pier and boardwalk is amazing.
Tucker points down the beach at the amusement park. “Look, there it is. Can we go?”
I ruffle his hair. “Sure, kiddo.”
We decide to just walk there, since it's so close.
Tucker is holding Heather’s hand and practically jumping up and down with excitement.
“Has he ever been to an amusement park?” I ask, my fingers laced with hers.
“Just the local carnival that came to town last year, but it was nothing like this.”
The arched sign we walk under reads, The Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Making Memories Since 1907.
“This place has been around a long time, huh?” Heather asks.
“Yeah.” I pay for the three of us and then follow everyone else. We stop and look around. “What do you want to go on first, Tucker?”
There’s a roller coaster, carousel, tilt-a-whirl, Ferris wheel, and a million other rides.
He points at the bumper cars. “That one!”
We stand in line until it's our turn, then I get in one car and Heather and Tucker get in another. She lets him do the steering, and he aims right for me, giggling. My car flies back on impact, and he drives off. I turn my wheel and chase after them at two miles an hour.
“Come back here, you little terror.”
He shrieks with excitement and drives faster, trying to elude me.
“I’ll catch you yet. Just wait.” I ram him, and he laughs.
We ride a half a dozen more rides, and then Green and Sara take him off with their kids to ride the carousel.
I tug Heather toward a food vendor, and we both get fresh-squeezed lemonade.
“He’s having fun, huh?” I ask.
“He’s having the time of his life. He’s not going to want to leave.”
“Well, he’s got the rest of the night. We can stay until close if you want to.”
“Maybe.”
“How’d you like the ride over the mountains?”
“It was exhilarating and beautiful. The wind whipping around me… It was awesome.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Do you feel safe on the bike with me?”
“I do. Completely.”
I grin, liking her answer. “Good.”
“When I woke up this morning, I never thought I’d be staying at a motel on the beach tonight.”
“Get used to it. With this bunch, there are always surprises waiting around the next corner.” I tug her against me. “I’m glad I get to spend the day with you.”
“Me, too.”
“I hope Tucker is a good sleeper tonight,” I tease.
She bites her lip. “Your mother told me she’s going to see if Tucker wants to stay in their room. I guess she wants to give us time alone.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I mean, I love having Tucker around me all the time, but it would be nice to have some privacy.”
“So, you’re good with it?”
“Yes. I told her I was.”
A broad smile breaks across my face.
We stroll through the park, sipping our drinks, and then I pull her toward a ride. “How about riding the Ferris wheel?”
“Yes! It’s my favorite.”
Once we’re loaded into a car and it starts moving, she points out at the ocean. “Oh, look how blue it is.”
“Yeah, beautiful,” I whisper, but my eyes are not on the ocean; they’re on her. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. When she turns her smile on me, it hits me. “Do you know how happy I am whenever I’m around you? Doesn’t matter what we’re doing. Just being around you is enough.”
Her face softens. “I feel the same way.”
Neither of us seems to want to name the emotion, but I think we both feel it.
I dated in high school, even had a serious girl, but never something that made me feel the way Heather does. It’s like when I stare into her eyes, I’ve found my soul mate—the person I was meant to be with. It’s a powerful feeling. One I can’t and don’t want to ignore.
But I’m in an MC, and the last biker she had anything to do with terrified her.
A nagging question burrows into my brain. Is she only with me for protection? Am I seeing this clearly for what it is, or just seeing what I want to see?
“This right here…” I nod to the bunch of our crew that are gathered near the roller coaster and more over at the log ride.
“This is everything to me. The club is my life, my family. I know you’ve had a bad experience with that asshole from the Death Heads, but that doesn’t mean we’re all like him. You get that, don’t you?”
“You’re nothing like him. You’d never treat me like he did.”
“Can I ask you something, Heather?”
She notes the seriousness of my expression, her eyes searching mine. “Sure.”
“You think you could find happiness in this life? I guess what I’m asking is if you could see a future with me. The club will always be a part of me, you get that, right?”
“I do.” She glances at the men and women of the Evil Dead family.
“You know, I never thought of an MC like a big family, but you’ve shown that side of it to me.
Having so many people who are there for you when you need them?
That’s an amazing thing. It must be wonderful to be a part of that.
Even the small part I’ve been included in has shown me that. ”
“So, is that a yes?”
“Yes, Cody. It’s not the club that would stand in our way. But…”
My smile fades. “But what?”
“You don’t like my profession.”
I blow out a breath. “True.”
“You were Ryan’s best friend. At least for the last years of his life. Will his ghost forever be between us?”
“I guess that’s only something you can answer. You have to decide when you can let him go and only you can answer if you can move on.”
“I’m trying.”
The ride ends, and we step off.
We spend several more hours riding rides with Tucker and the rest of the crew, and I can see the love in Heather’s eyes as she watches the joy on Tucker’s face.
I see what she means about her son. He is a little mini-me of his father. Ryan will always be a part of our lives, and if we have a future, both of us have to be all right with the fact that I was his friend.
Her words come back to me, and I know I’ll have to talk to her about it when we’re alone.
*****
Heather—
After filling up on amusement park food, Tucker is exhausted, and Cody carries him over his shoulder as we step off the hotel elevator with Cody’s mother and father.
“You’re sure you want to take him for the night?” I ask Layla.
“Of course. He’ll be fine. Besides, you said he sleeps like a log. Tomorrow, we’ll meet you in the restaurant, then maybe take him out on the beach to play with the other kids.”
“Okay, then. If you’re sure. If he needs me, just call.”
“He’ll be fine,” Jake says.
Cody carries him into their room and lies him on the second bed. I bend and tuck my son in, then kiss his forehead.
“Sleep well, my angel.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Cody says to Layla, then takes my hand and tugs me out of the room.
Our room is three doors down.
When we walk in, I go straight to the balcony and watch the glittering lights on the pier.
“Look, how pretty it is,” I whisper, and Cody moves in behind me, cuddling my back with his chest, his body heat surrounding me.
“It is,” he murmurs, nuzzling my ear. “Got something I want to ask you.”
I turn in his arms and look at him. “What is it?”
“You said something earlier about Ryan, and it got me thinking.”
“Yes?”
He tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear, and the breeze immediately blows it away again. “Every time you look at me, do you see Ryan? Is he always going to be between us?”
I shake my head. “No, Cody. I don’t see Ryan when I look at you. He’ll always be a part of me, and he’ll always be in my heart, but you’re right, he’s gone now, and I have to go on living.”
“You have a lot of years of living left, Heather. An entire lifetime.”
“I do, and I don’t want to spend it alone grieving for a man I can’t have anymore. I loved Ryan. With all my heart, but you’re right, I have to let him go.”
“You can’t feel guilty for being happy again, or for finding love again.”
I nod. “I know that.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think Tucker is ready to share his mom with a man you’ve let into your life?”
“I do. He’s seemed happier since you came into his life. He loves spending time with you. He was so happy when you gave him that baseball mitt and taught him to throw the ball.”
“I like spending time with him. He’s a good kid, and my mom sure has taken to him. As a matter of fact, if this thing between you and me doesn’t work out, I think it’s going to break her heart.”
“I don’t want to think about it not working, Cody.”
“Good. That’s what I want to hear. I don’t want there to be any roadblocks for us.”
“You’d be taking on a woman who has a child, Cody. That’s a lot. You sure that’s what you want?”
“As sure as I’ve ever been about anything in my life.” He cups my face. “I get that this is all moving fast, but when it's right, you know it. I feel it in my bones. This is it. You’re it for me. You and Tucker. I don’t ever want to lose you.”
Tears spill down my cheeks. “I think I love you, Cody.”
“Only think? Try again.”
“I love you, Cody.”
“That’s better. I love you, Heather. Down to my soul. Never been surer of anything.”
I laugh with happiness and relief, and he kisses me, then looks into my eyes and smiles. “Room 321. Where the most beautiful girl in the world stood on the balcony and told me she loved me, and everything changed. I won’t forget that number.”
I giggle. “Are you a romantic, Cody?”
“I guess I am, sweetheart. A sappy, romantic fool, just for you. And you’re stuck with me.”
“It’s a burden, but I think I can handle it.”
His laughter melts my heart. “Smartass.”
Then he throws me over his shoulder and carries me to bed.