Chapter 21
Annalese
I n the two weeks since I’d gotten rescued, I finally started to be able to relax. I no longer have to hide anything about my past, scared that my stepbrother or my asshole ex will be hot on my tail. Greg is still in the lockup at the Savage Legion clubhouse. They’re gonna turn him in to the cops eventually but want to make sure that all the legal paperwork regarding the insurance payout is finalized first, in case he tries one last time to mess my life up.
I honestly didn’t care about the money, my only concern had been to ensure that my mom’s care could be paid for as long as she needed it, but Haze had reassured me, that if the worst came to the worst, he and his club brothers would make sure she was okay. Thankfully, I got an email this morning from my attorney saying that I’ll be getting the settlement, and it turned out that my dad had paid for my mom’s care upfront for the next six months—that was a revelation. I still hated what he’d done to us, but he wasn’t a monster.
It was with a smile on my face and a song in my heart that I climbed on the back of Haze’s bike this morning. We’re heading towards Oak Ridge, but this time I’m not feeling trepidation. Instead, it’s excitement that’s thrumming through my veins as we pull into the parking lot of the Rialto Physical Rehabilitation Center, I’m finally gonna see my mom after almost four months.
“Anna,” she calls to me before I’ve even gotten off Haze’s motorcycle.
My mom wheels closer, she can use a wheelchair now which is awesome as it means she has her freedom back. The rehab center isn’t like a prison, but while her injury was unstable and she was having seizures, she couldn’t leave the facility. Also while I was on the run from Greg and Trevor I couldn’t come and visit, I’ve missed her so much. “Mom,” I say before dissolving in tears as I hug her slender frame. She’s lost so much weight since the accident, but even in the few short months I’ve not seen her, I can see that she’s put on a few pounds.
She pushes me back gently to take a better look at me, “Sweetheart, you just keep getting more beautiful,” she says with a smile.
“Ain’t that the truth, Mrs. Ryan,” Haze says with a grin.
“Are you going to introduce me to your young man?” my mom asks, her eyes appraising Haze and looking happy with what she’s seeing.
“Mom this is Steven, though he likes to be called Haze. Haze this is my mom, Charlotte.”
“Charlie,” my mom interrupts. “Lovely to meet you Haze, so what’s the plan?”
I see a glint in my man’s eyes, I hope my mom is ready for his jokes, “Well, I reckon we can get a rope for you to hold onto and we’ll take a trip out to the coast. You up for some highway freewheelin’?”
I gasp, hoping my mom isn’t offended.
My mom laughs easily, “I like me some adventure, but I think we might have to save that for another day.”
Haze smiles, “Obviously I was joking, but one of my club brothers builds trikes, three wheeled motorcycles. It started as a one-off for a friend of one of our members who was injured in Afghanistan, but now he’s built a few. Anna was telling me how much you loved horse riding before your accident. Might not be the same, but if you ever want to feel the wind in your hair then it could be an option?”
My mom nods thoughtfully, “Maybe, I’ll have to think it over. I’m not allowed to drive at the moment anyway, but once I’m six months seizure-free then I can get my license back.”
I’m standing there stunned at the change in her. When I last saw her, she’d been depressed and had problems with her memory because of the meds she was on, but now she’s sharp as a tack and I can see my old mom coming to the surface. We don’t know if she’ll ever walk more than a few steps unaided, but now she’s gotten the wheelchair she can get around far easier.
“Anna and I are going to the nature reserve later on today, but I was thinking next weekend we can hire an adaptable vehicle and do something fun? Whatever you want, LA maybe? Take in the city lights,” Haze and I had talked about this already, my mom had told me that hopefully they were finally going to discharge her in a couple of months. She confessed that she was a bit scared after being in hospital for so long, so after chatting with Fran, who’d had experience in rehabilitating veterans, she’d suggested plenty of day trips. Start to involve her in everyday life so it isn’t so overwhelming for her when she gets out.
“That sounds like a marvelous idea,” my mom says as she wheels closer to Haze. “Anna, could you go and have a chat with Dr. Estevez, I think she wanted to discuss a few things with you regarding the discharge paperwork.”
I look from her to Haze, wondering what was going on. It’s not like I had my mom’s power of attorney, and she was involved in all her care decisions.
“I’ll be fine here with your boyfriend, we can visit a bit while you deal with that. Come on Haze, let me show you around, I think you’d like to meet Reggie. He’s a new patient here, he was injured in a terrible crash, but he loves motorcycles.”
With that my mom and Haze disappear down the driveway, leaving me wondering what they are up to.
***
I spent a lovely morning with my mom and now we’re back in Las Salinas at the nature reserve. One of the club brothers has a cabin nearby and we’re going to a party later on tonight. Haze has been acting really cagy recently, I’m not sure what he’s up to. At first, I wondered if what Bella and Candy had said was true—that he liked to play boyfriend for a while, but he always got tired and went back to Brittany and the other club girls. But last week he gave me a property cut, so I guess that means we’re official. I feel like a queen in my butter-soft, black leather vest with ‘Savage Legion MC’ at the top, and ‘Property of Haze’ at the bottom. We’d stopped off at the clubhouse before coming here and he’d collected a cooler from Harvey, one of the prospects. Mel was there with Tracker and the baby—not working, for once they were enjoying a day off, while Jamus and Vapor looked after the bar. I stopped to say hello and visit with Elodie for a while, she had to be the cutest baby ever, and Mel handed me a carrier bag, saying it was a dress for later.
I was wearing a swimming costume under my jeans and t-shirt, but I wished Haze had told me there was a party before I’d got ready this morning, I’d have packed suitable underwear, I love him to bits, but he never thinks of stuff like that.
“Do you need a hand?” I ask as Haze heaves out the cooler.
“I’m good, sweetheart,” he says as he lifts it to rest on his shoulder. “Follow me.”
I follow him through the trees, pushing overhanging branches out of my way as I try to keep up with him because his legs are a lot longer than mine. I can hear the river, so I know we’re getting closer, and all of a sudden, we break out of the trees and there it is. Moored to the riverbank I can see a large, inflatable two-person raft.
Haze grins, “It’s not as good as my boat, but Talon let me borrow it.”
I narrow my eyes, I wasn’t sure how seaworthy—or riverworthy—this was. Picking up on my unease, Haze takes my hand, “Come on, take a look.”
I follow him to the waterside, he seems so eager it’s infectious. Then suddenly I stop in my tracks and turn to him, my mouth open wide in surprise.
The bank is scattered with rose petals, and there are even rose petals decorating the floor of the raft. Beside it, a small table has been set up, and there’s a silver champagne bucket, with a bottle of Dom Perignon, cooling in it.
“What—” I start.
Haze takes my hand, “Annalese Ryan, I know we haven’t officially been dating for long, but we’ve known each other for a few months. Since I first saw you, that night at the clubhouse when you looked like you wished you were anywhere but there, I think I knew you were the one for me.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, navy-blue velvet box, “Anna, will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, of course!” I squeal, throwing my arms around him.
“Don’t you want to check the ring out first?” he asks.
“You could propose with a pull tab from a soda can for all I care,” I say, I can feel myself tearing up. It’s like my heart is going to burst, suddenly the sneaking around makes sense. I open the box, the engagement ring is a simple gold band with a marquise-cut amethyst surrounded by tiny seed pearls, “Oh my God, it’s like my grandmother’s ring, how—”
Haze chuckles, “It took some detective work on my behalf, and your mom doing the drawings. When I knew I wanted to marry you, I asked her what sort of ring you’d like as you don’t wear much jewelry, so I had nothing to go on. She told me you’d always loved your grandmother’s ring, but it had gotten lost when she and your father got divorced. She gave it her seal of approval this morning.”
“Haze,” I say, as I throw my arms around his neck. I don’t know what I did to deserve this man in my life, but I never want to let him go. However I can’t resist teasing him, “So what was the plan if I said no?”
He wiggles his eyebrows at me, “I knew you couldn’t resist my wit, charm, and Talon’s inflatable raft.”
With that he takes my hand and I follow him to the glorified dinghy, where we can sail off into the sunset together.