Chapter 30
Alexis
Two weeks have passed since Russel tried to ruin me, and even if the bruises aren’t visible anymore, the scars he left on my soul are still healing. Quieter now, less sharp at the edges, but still there.
I’m going to therapy. Penny helped me find a trauma specialist who works with abuse, and slowly, piece by piece, I’m finding my way back to myself. To something that feels like me again.
After they arrested Russel, Mason, Dex, and I went to visit my mother.
She wasn’t in a good place, but after a long talk we managed to convince her to start rehab.
We took her to a facility last week, and if all goes well, we’ll be able to visit her in a few weeks.
She’s not out of that tunnel yet, not even close, but the fact that she’s trying is enough for now.
“Ready for karaoke night?” Penny smiles, already glowing in that effortless way that makes it impossible not to smile back.
Cas, Penny, Summer, and Ethan are here for their usual Thursday ritual. Karaoke, beer, and fun Thursday, something Penny apparently named years ago that stuck, just like everything else she touches.
“I’m ready to hear you girls rock,” I grin as I set their drinks down, my eyes drifting to her belly, small but showing now beneath the T-shirt that made all of us laugh when we first saw it.
This cowboy got me pregnant. The arrow points straight at Cas, who looks far too proud of himself as his hand keeps finding its way to her belly like it belongs there.
The DJ kicks things off, and the bar shifts into something alive, loud and warm, people not just singing but committing, the whole place joining in no matter who’s holding the mic.
Even Stephen.
Even Cas.
Even me.
Gabe appears with a spoon every so often like he’s part of the band, and I catch Mike at the door doing a full dance routine when he thinks no one’s watching. And for a moment, it all feels easy.
Normal.
Safe.
I’m smiling to myself as I mix another drink when suddenly warm, strong, tattooed arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me back into something even steadier.
“Hello, Tinker.”
I turn into him without thinking, like it’s instinct now, like my body knows him before my mind catches up, and the butterflies are there instantly, wild and familiar in my stomach, something I never thought I’d feel again.
This light.
This safe.
This happy.
“What are you singing for me tonight?” he murmurs against my ear, his voice low enough to send a shiver down my spine.
I shrug, trying to keep it casual even if nothing about him ever feels casual. “You’ll see.”
His lips curve as his nose brushes mine, soft and grounding, and when Stephen calls out, “Get a room, will you!” the laughter around us barely registers because Dex doesn’t look away from me as he flips him off, his mouth finding mine in a quick kiss that still manages to undo me completely.
“Let’s give it up for Dex Hawthorne!” the DJ calls, and I blink, my head snapping toward the stage.
“You’re singing?”
He just smiles like this was always coming, like he’s been waiting for this moment, and walks away before I can say anything else.
And then his eyes find mine.
Across the room.
And don’t let go.
He takes the mic, but the crowd might as well not exist, because the way he looks at me makes everything else fade into background noise.
“I wanna dedicate this one to my Tinker,” he says, his voice steady and easy, and the bar erupts in whistles and cheers, but I barely hear them because my chest is already tightening. “Because I don’t ever want to imagine a life without her by my side.”
Something inside me shifts.
“I never thought I could quiet the chaos in my head… then you walked into my life and it all made sense. No more noise. No more confusion. I know what I want now… and it’s you . Just you.”
The room quiets without being told to, like people feel it, feel that this isn’t just another song.
“And though I’m not perfect, and I know you probably want to strangle me at least three times a day…”
A ripple of laughter moves through the crowd, but it fades quickly, because he doesn’t look away from me, not even for a second.
“Tinker…” His voice softens just enough to land deeper. “I never believed my father when he said Hawthorne men fall hard, fast, and never look back when they find their one…”
My breath catches.
“But damn it… he was right.”
He smiles and I melt.
“I’m addicted to you… in the best way.”
The music starts, and the second I recognize it, something inside me cracks open so suddenly it almost hurts.
Cover Me Up.
His voice is rough at first, like the words cost him something, like he’s not used to laying himself out like this, but then it steadies, deepening, grounding, raw but beautiful. Every note feels like it’s meant for me, like it’s not a performance but something pulled straight out of him.
The bar fades.
The noise fades.
Everything fades.
Until it’s just him.
Just us.
And when he reaches that line, know you’re enough , it hits somewhere deep, somewhere I didn’t even know was still raw, because that’s the part of me that never healed, the part that still whispers I’m too damaged, or not enough, or broken in ways that can’t be undone.
But the way he looks at me, steady, certain, like there’s no question in his mind, it settles something fragile inside my chest, something that’s been shaking loose since that night.
Like maybe I can believe it.
Just a little.
A tear slips free before I can stop it, and I don’t even try to hide it.
He sees it.
Of course he does.
And when he reaches his hand out, I don’t hesitate.
I go.
Like there was never another choice.
He pulls me into him the second I step onto the stage, his arm wrapping around me, his hand tightening at my waist, grounding, like he needs to feel me there, like this is how he knows I’m okay.
His voice changes when I’m close, steadier, deeper, like this, me, is what anchors him, and I feel it in the way his chest moves under my cheek, in the way the sound of him travels through me instead of around me.
Somewhere in the background, Penny and Cas sway together, Summer wiping at her eyes while Ethan sings along beside her, but it all feels distant, blurred at the edges.
Because when I look up at Dex…
it’s just him.
We move together slowly, like the music lives inside us now, my hands finding him like they belong there, like they always have, and for the first time since everything happened, I don’t feel broken or fragile or like I might shatter if I breathe too deep.
I feel whole.
Seen.
Chosen.
Enough.
The last note lingers, stretching out into something quiet and full, and for a second the entire bar holds its breath before it erupts.
Cheers, whistles, applause crashing over us, loud and overwhelming, but it barely reaches me, because his eyes are still on mine, intense, unwavering, like nothing else matters.
And then his mouth is on mine.
Not soft this time.
A kiss that feels like everything he just gave me wrapped into something I can feel, something real, something I can hold onto, and I give it right back, my fingers curling into his shirt as the noise around us explodes even louder.
The crowd goes wild.
But it’s nothing compared to what’s happening right here.
Between us.
And as he pulls me closer, like letting go isn’t an option anymore, like he’s already decided this is it…
I know.
There’s no going back from this.
Not for either of us.
? ? ?
Dexter
Lexy lets go of me and turns to leave the stage, but I catch her hand and shake my head.
I see the question in her eyes as I bring the mic back to my lips.
“I’ve got one more surprise for my Tinker tonight.”
The crowd goes wild. Lexy’s eyes widen, questions filling them.
I nod to the DJ. “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give it up for Lily Rhodes!”
The place erupts as the country singer Lexy loves so much walks onto the stage.
I step behind Lexy and pull her back flush against my chest, needing her close, as Lily adjusts her mic and her band takes their places.
“So a few months ago,” Lily begins, smiling out at the crowd, “my manager received a video of a beautiful young woman singing her own song…”
Lexy’s eyes snap to mine.
I just smile.
“And when I heard it,” Lily continues, “I knew I had to make it mine. I lost someone close to me not so long ago and… this song went straight to my heart.”
The first notes start to play.
Lexy’s song.
I recorded her that night in the apartment, when she thought it was just us. Sent it off the next day through an old contact who knew Lily’s manager. Didn’t think anything would come of it.
Until it did.
“So here’s We’ll Never Let Go ,” Lily says, her smile softening, “by Lexy Vale.”
Lexy’s mouth falls open as tears spill down her cheeks.
The bar goes quiet.
She sang this for her father. Played it for me when we were snowed in.
“Is this okay?” I murmur against her hair. “Are you mad?”
For a second, fear hits me that I went too far.
That I took something that was hers.
But she turns in my arms, looking up at me with those blue eyes shining.
“Are you kidding?” she breathes. “This is my dream.”
Relief hits hard.
I lower my head and kiss her.
“Why don’t we sing this part together, Lexy?” Lily calls gently.
Lexy steps forward, moving beside her.
And they sing.
Like they’ve been doing it forever.
Like the song was always meant to be heard like this.
By the time the last note fades, the entire bar erupts.
“Give it up for this amazing songwriter!” Lily calls out.
The applause is deafening.
For her.
For my girl.
I step forward and take the mic. “Let’s hear it one more time for Lily Rhodes!”
The crowd roars again.
Lily sticks around for a couple more songs before making her way back to us, smiling wide.
“So, Lexy,” she says, “ready to sign some papers and be my songwriter?”
Lexy looks like she can barely breathe, her smile lighting up the whole room as she nods.
She signs.
Just like that.
And Lily promises she’ll be in touch before heading out.
Lexy turns to me, tears still in her eyes.
“You did this for me?” she whispers. “When did you send it?”
I smile. “The day after you sang it. During the snowstorm.”
Her eyes widen. “But you hated me back then.”
I shake my head.
“I never hated you. Not for a second.”
I kiss her, soft and slow.
“I was just fighting myself… because the minute you walked in here looking for a job, I knew there was no going back.”
She pulls me into a hug, holding on tight.
“I love you, Pan.”
I lean down, my lips brushing her ear.
“I love you, Tinker… till the day I die. You’re it for me.”
We stay like that for a while.
In each others arms.
And for once…
everything feels exactly the way it’s supposed to.