Chapter 12
TRISH
My hands shake as I clutch Rose to my chest, her little heartbeat thundering against mine.
“It’s okay.” I rub her back, but I’m not sure if I’m soothing her or myself.
The relief at seeing Ian go makes my legs weak, and I cling to Joseph.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
It takes me a moment to answer. I think about Ian turning up, surprising us, and the fear that sliced through me when he took Rose. Then the relief when Joseph turned up.
I wasn’t sorry to see Ian getting a beating, but I’m glad that it’s over. He’s a coward, and with the MC here he won’t be back. Finally, I’ve got him out of my life.
“Do you need anything?”
I look up to the kindly face of one of the MC guys. I’m so relieved they turned up.
“We’re fine. But do you want some coffee? Please, stay for breakfast.”
I glance at Joseph, just realizing that I’ve offered his food up for everyone. I’ve gotten so comfortable here that it feels like my own home.
Joseph just smiles at me. “Yup,” he says. “Least we can do is get you some breakfast.”
I carry Rose inside and put her in the sling. She’s wide awake, but I want to keep her close to me.
There’s a carton of eggs in the cupboard and bacon in the fridge, and I get to work making breakfast for the men who showed up to help a stranger.
Joseph introduces me to his MC friends. They’ve all got two names. Travis has the road name Hops and works with Barrels, whose real name is Quentin.
Arlo’s road name is Prince, as in Prince Charming.
I can see why. He’s younger than the others with a cheeky smile that he gives freely.
He takes Rose off me, and she giggles as the big man throws her up in the air, charming my little girl.
Colter introduces himself as the husband of Danni.
He invites us over anytime we like for a play date.
There isn’t enough room inside, so we take our breakfasts onto the porch and eat on the stairs.
Joseph takes Rose on his knee, and he puts a bit of runny egg on his finger. Her face screws up when she licks it, making the men laugh.
Everyone talks easily, and as I listen to the chatter of the men, my heart lifts. I feel safe here. It’s a real family, and they’ve welcomed me with open arms.
A little while later, we wave off the last of the MC.
Rose is exhausted, and I give her a bottle and put her down for a nap.
When I come out of the bedroom, Joseph’s on the porch, and I join him. We sit in companionable silence on the two rocking chairs, looking out at the forest and listening to the bird song.
He reaches across the chair and takes my hand.
“I meant everything I said, Trish. I want you here with the baby. I want to have our own babies with you. But it’s got to be your decision.”
It’s not a hard decision. It’s peaceful here, it’s safe, and I’ve fallen for the quiet recluse with the kind heart. There’s just one thing that’s niggling at me.
“If you hadn’t have found me on Hailey’s doorstep, I don’t know what I would have done.”
He squeezes my hand. “There’s no point thinking about that. That’s not how it happened.”
But he misunderstands what I’m getting at.
“I was lucky, Joseph. I had somewhere I could go. I had Hailey. But there are a lot of women with nowhere to go. Nowhere to run to.”
An idea has been percolating in my mind for the last few days, but I don’t know how to make it a reality.
“What if there was somewhere in the mountains, a refuge for woman and their children. Somewhere they knew they could escape to, no questions asked.”
I’d hate for a woman to be in my situation and not be able to leave because she didn’t know where to go.
Joseph looks at me thoughtfully. “Aren’t there places like that already?”
“Yes. But not here.”
I look out to the depths of the forest, the light that breaks through the clearing. “There’s something healing about the mountains. They make you think. They connect you with nature and remind you there’s a better life.”
Joseph sits back in his chair and pulls on his beard. “The club’s got some spare land near the compound. I could talk to the guys.”
My heart leaps. I can’t believe he’s taking me seriously.
“It’s all well and good, having a refuge in the mountains, but if it was run by a gang of burly ex-military bikers, you wouldn’t get many assholes turning up looking for trouble.”
My mouth drops open. I never thought about getting the MC involved, but he’s right. What better protection than the Wild Riders MC?
My heart lifts with something I haven’t felt in a long time, and it takes me a while to recognize it as hope. Hope for myself and hope for Rose, but also hope for other women in a bad situation that there might be something I could do to help.
“I love you.”
The words slip out, and I clap my hand over my mouth. Joseph’s eyes sparkle, and a rare smile spreads across his face.
“I love you too, honey.”
He kisses me then, long and deep. I let out a sigh as our lips meet, and heat spreads through me.
Joseph pulls me out of my chair and onto his lap.
The baby's asleep, and we’re outside. There’s no one else here, just the forest, the birds and the breeze, the fresh air against my cheeks.
I wiggle my butt against him, feeling him harden under me. The heat between us is scorching as he kisses me hard.
Just then, my phone rings. I try to ignore it until I remember Hailey.
Jumping off Joseph, I grab my phone from inside.
“I just got your message. My god Trish, I’m so sorry.”
She’s frantic, and it takes me a while to calm her down and make her believe everything’s all right.
I fill her in quickly about what happened, and she’s horrified that she missed me until I tell her I’ve been staying with Joseph.
It’s awkward talking about him when he’s right there, but I don’t need to say much.
My sister knows. She squeals with delight, and we make a promise to visit this afternoon.
I love my sister, but it’s a relief to hang up the phone. Joseph’s waiting for me with hungry eyes.
“Where were we?”
He sidles off the chair and sits on the porch steps and pulls me onto his lap, and this time I straddle him.
“I was about to make you my woman.”