Chapter Seven #2
The relief that flooded through me was so intense it left me dizzy. “I don’t either,” I whispered. “Want it to end, I mean. I didn’t answer before because I wanted to think about my answer. I don’t want to be clinging to you because I’m on the rebound. But I can’t seem to help myself.”
He smiled, a slow spread of his lips that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Then we don’t let it end yet. We figure it out.”
“We’re pretty different,” I pointed out, voicing the obvious.
“Ja.” He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch lingering against my cheek.
“You’re this brilliant, ambitious woman with her whole future planned out.
I’m a biker with a record.” He paused. “But when you look at me like you’re looking at me right now, I don’t feel like any of that matters. ”
“I suppose it’s all in how you look at it.
If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” I smiled up at him.
“And I really don’t mind at all, Oktober.
You’re a kind man. And it seems to me like you’ve surrounded yourself with kind people.
” I caressed his cheek and the damned man leaned into my touch like he needed the contact to survive.
“Considering what happened yesterday, I’ll take you and your criminal friends over Eric and Jade and their friends any day. ”
“And your job?”
“You let me worry about my job. I’ll deal with anything they throw at me.”
We stayed in bed for another hour, talking and touching, learning each other in the quiet of the morning. By the time we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, the morning had turned to midday, and the light through the windows had shifted from golden to harsh and bright.
“It’s about time you two came out for food.” Hannah shoved two plates with eggs, bacon, toast, and jelly at us. “We’re leaving in thirty minutes,” Hannah said with a grin. “Eat up. We’ve already packed snacks and drinks so we’re waiting on you two slowpokes.”
I laughed when Oktober gave her a wide-eyed look of confusion. “I -- uh, huh?”
“We’re hiking. Remember?”
Oktober set the plates down on the table and indicated I should sit. “No,” he said, confusion evident in his gaze as he poured us each a glass of milk and orange juice.
“Yep. Hiking. Not going is not an option.”
“Well.” I grinned at Oktober. “I guess we’re going hiking.”
“We’ll meet you at the hiking trail by the pond.” She shook a finger at Oktober. “Do not take that girl back to bed.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Once breakfast was done we started down the hiking trail, following the well-worn path behind the cabins. It wound through dense pine forest that seemed to muffle sound and swallow the outside world.
We met everyone else in the clearing just below the cabins.
Hannah stood with Violet, their arms linked as they examined something on the trail map.
Jag and Riot were engaged in what appeared to be a competition to see who could balance longest on a narrow section of fallen log.
Tiny and Penny waited on a bench. Penny had her arms around the big man’s bicep, her head leaned against his shoulder.
She had such a soft, contented smile that I envied her.
And then there was Knight, standing slightly apart from the group, his attention fixed on his phone with a furrowed brow that made his tattooed face look even more forbidding than usual.
Lavender, his wife, stood with Ada. Lavender kept trying to look at Knight while Ada kept distracting her.
“We ready?” Knuckles entered the clearing.
“We are,” Ada said with a cheerful smile. “Knight. Get off the phone.”
Knight gave his sister an irritated look. “I was just checking in.”
Ada opened her mouth, but Knuckles spoke first. “Uh-huh. That must be why Brynn texted me and told me to revoke your phone privileges.”
“She what?” Knight’s eyes went comically wide before narrowing in irritation. “That little shit.” Everyone laughed.
“She’s fine.” Knuckles clapped Knight on the shoulder. Then plucked his phone from his hand at the same time Ada took Lavender’s. “And no matter how good your intentions are, you’re smothering her.”
“You know she’s fine,” Ada said gently. She put an arm around Lavender to comfort the other woman. “Besides, Tillie says she’s a natural with kids. Margot has started looking for Brynn the second she wakes up.”
Lavender let out a shaky laugh. “You tell Tillie if her daughter learns Brynn’s sarcasm, it’s her own fault.”
“Come on.” Ada looped her arm through Lavender’s and urged the woman forward. “Let’s go enjoy the fuck out of nature.”
The hike was moderate in difficulty, but the elevation gain was steady.
My legs reminded me that yesterday’s activities had used muscles I normally forgot existed.
But the physical exertion felt good, purposeful, and I found myself falling into the rhythm of the walk. And the sex had been fantastic.
As we climbed, I observed the group. They behaved like family.
Teased each other. Picked on each other.
Helped each other. And they’d come to my defense with Eric and Jade.
Sure, they likely came to support Oktober, but I got the feeling none of these people would have let a woman be bullied in front of them without intervening.
No matter what their background, they were decent human beings.
“How much farther?” one of the guys called from the back of the group.
“About twenty minutes to go,” Ada responded from somewhere ahead. “The overlook is just around this ridge.”
The final push up was steep enough that conversation became hard. We climbed in focused silence, our breath coming harder, legs burning with the effort. Then the trees opened up, and we emerged onto a clearing so stunning that I actually gasped.
The vista spread out before us was breathtaking.
The lake lay far below, a mirror of blue and green reflecting the sky.
Dense forest covered the surrounding hills in shades of green that seemed to extend infinitely in every direction.
The waterfall we’d been climbing toward was visible now, a thin silver thread plunging down the far cliff face.
The overlook itself was formed by a series of large, flat boulders that created natural seating.
“Is that our waterfall?” I looked up to smile at Oktober. The tender look he gave me stole my breath yet again.
“Ja, K?tzchen. It’s our waterfall.”
“I’m taking a break,” Ada announced, already settling onto one of the larger rocks. “Y’all’er crazy.” Some of them laughed. Most of them groaned in agreement.
“Everything OK with Knight and Lavender?” I asked Ada quietly, accepting the water bottle she offered me.
“Knight found out six months ago that he had a daughter,” Ada said softly, her eyes on the landscape before us. “She was sick. Really sick. From kidney failure after a strep infection.”
My stomach tightened. “Oh no.”
“He finally got matched for donation,” Ada continued, her voice barely audible over the breeze rustling through the surrounding pines.
“Two months ago, he gave her one of his kidneys. The transplant took, and she’s recovering well.
But he worries about her constantly and she’s starting to push back. Knight can’t help it, though.”
“Does she live with him?”
“Her and Lavender both do. They’re trying to figure out what family looks like now.” Ada took a long drink of water. “They had some issues of Knight’s making, but he and Lavender have worked things out. Brynn keeps Knight in line.”
“That’s…” I trailed off, unable to find adequate words. “That’s actually incredibly moving.”
That’s when I noticed Lavender approaching. She had a slight build and short, curly blonde hair and an expression that suggested she’d overheard at least some of our conversation. She lowered herself onto a rock beside Ada with a self-deprecating snort.
“Which is how we all ended up out here in the first Goddamned place,” Lavender said, her voice carrying a musical lilt beneath the dry humor. She glanced at me. “You’re the kayak girl, right? Oktober’s been insufferable about you.”
I felt heat climb my neck. “He has?”
“Constantly,” Lavender continued with a knowing grin. “Talking about your hair, your laugh, how brave you are.” She affected Oktober’s German accent. “‘She’s different, Lavender. She’s not like other women’.” She dropped the accent and shook her head. “I almost threw a shoe at him.”
The group erupted in laughter. Real, genuine, warm laughter that seemed to clear away some of the tension that had been shadowing Knight. Even he cracked a smile.
“Verdammte Holle,” Oktober called out, his accent thick with embarrassment. “Lavender, you’re a menace.”
“I know,” Lavender agreed cheerfully. “It’s my best quality.” She turned to me, her expression becoming more earnest. “But seriously, thank you. He needed the distraction. We all did.”
I found myself smiling at her honesty, at the way she could say something so vulnerable wrapped in humor. “I’m glad I could help, though I’m not really sure what I did other than amuse everyone. Which I’m more than happy to do, of course.”
“These guys aren’t bad,” Ada said softly.
“Sure, they all did time, but there’s not a one of them who were violent for no reason, and they all accepted the consequences of their actions to a man.
” She glanced up at Oktober, whose attention had been snagged by Knuckles.
The two men laughed at something and I wanted to sigh.
When Oktober had that carefree, happy expression on his face, there was no defense against his charm.
“We’re glad he’s found someone he can be happy with. Even if it’s only the weekend.”