Chapter 23 #2
“I appreciate you saving that for later.”
Shaw chuckled.
The night Jeremiah had held Scarlett and Presley hostage, I hadn’t understood why Shaw insisted on entering that house. I did now. When the love of your life and your future was in danger, you didn’t stand on the sidelines and hope for the best.
You pulled out all the stops to save her life.
A stream of people came into the room. Dash and Bryce led the way with Emmett and Leo close behind.
Bryce had a smile on her pretty face as she let go of Dash’s hand and went to the bed and sat beside Scarlett. “I’m Bryce, Dash’s wife.” She lifted a bouquet of sunflowers. “These are for you.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Scarlett took the bundle, then blinked at the tall figures all looming at the foot of her bed.
“I’ll take those.” Presley grabbed the flowers and set them on the end table, then took up the free space at Scarlett’s side.
“Genevieve and Isaiah couldn’t come. They’re babysitting our boys,” Bryce said. “But they’re excited to meet you when we get home. Genevieve is already baking cookies.”
“They’re the ones who live down the street,” I reminded her.
“Ah.” She nodded, then a look of dread crossed her face. “Cass. Where is she?”
“Home,” Maria answered, stepping in between Leo and Emmett. “We took her home.”
Scarlett relaxed. “Good. Then we’ll see her when we get there.”
“Sorry, you misunderstand.” Maria shook her head. “She wanted to go home to Missoula. Where she lives. One of our agents drove her there last night.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s tough,” Maria said. “Like someone else I know.”
Tough as nails, my Scarlett. She was as tough as they came.
“I’ve got to get going.” Maria nodded to Scarlett, then to me. “Take care, Luke.”
“I’ll miss your daily visits.”
She winked. “Liar.”
“Stay in touch.”
With a wave, she walked out of the hospital room, her heels clicking down the hall as she disappeared.
“Who else has the feeling that we haven’t seen the last of the FBI?” Dash asked under his breath.
“Me,” Emmett and Leo muttered in unison.
Me.
“One would think that when a motorcycle club disbands, the trouble stops.” Bryce shook her head.
“You guys weren’t this much trouble when you were a club,” Presley muttered.
“We’re the gift that keeps on giving,” Leo teased.
The entire room erupted in laughter.
None of us blamed Dash or Emmett or Leo. They were as sick of looking over their shoulders as the rest of us.
I only wished we could walk out of this room and never look back.
But until time passed, until we could guarantee everyone was safe from the Warriors, we’d be vigilant. The Warriors might be broken, but they weren’t gone yet. Not all of them would face long-term prison sentences. And when they got out . . .
That worry was for another day.
“Knock, kno—oh.” Scarlett’s doctor’s eyes widened as she took in the crowd that had gathered in the room. “Visiting hours haven’t started yet.”
The doc was met with blank stares.
“I’d really like to go home,” Scarlett said. “I promise to take them with me.”
“Then let’s get you checked out and discharged.” The doctor pointed down the hallway. “The waiting room is that way.”
The men grumbled but trudged into the hallway. The women lingered and when it was clear that Presley wasn’t leaving Scarlett’s side, Bryce decided to stay too. Both of them stood by the window while I hovered over the doctor’s shoulder as she checked Scarlett out.
“All clear.” She squeezed Scarlett’s foot and looped her stethoscope around her neck. “I’ll have the nurse come in with discharge papers. Then you’re free to go.”
Two hours later, Scarlett showered and dressed in the sweats that Presley had brought along, then we were in my truck.
I’d hoped to have the three-hour trip home alone but Presley wasn’t having it. “I missed my sister,” she declared, climbing into the sterile and stiff backseat of my rig.
She scrunched up her nose but otherwise didn’t complain about the uncomfortable ride. She just leaned forward nearly the entire way and talked to Scarlett.
Presley described the house she and Shaw were building. She told stories about the garage and life in Clifton Forge. I’d thought she was just making idle chatter, but as I pulled off the highway, it dawned on me.
This was Presley’s pitch.
She wanted Scarlett to stay in Montana.
The minute we turned down my street, Scarlett sat straighter. She looked to me and smiled. There were circles under her eyes again and she’d yawned a dozen times on the drive here. What she needed was a long night’s rest, something I’d ensure she got.
After we ironed a few things out.
“It feels nice not to hide,” she said as I pulled into the driveway. Before I could help her out, she popped open her door, then opened Presley’s.
Without waiting for her sister to climb out, Scarlett walked out of the garage and into the sunlight. She tipped her face to the sky, her hair now mostly dry and dangling down her back in waves.
I hurried to join her as Shaw’s Escalade parked on the street.
In Ashton, Dash and Bryce had been in their truck, Emmett and Leo on their bikes.
Now that we were home, I looked down the street to see the Slaters parked at Genevieve and Isaiah’s house to pick up their boys.
There was no sign of Emmett and Leo. They’d probably gone to The Betsy for a much-needed beer, even if it was before noon.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Scarlett asked as I put my arm around her shoulders, pulling me into her side. Her gaze was aimed across the street where Cassandra’s car was still parked in the driveway.
“We’ll find out from her parents as soon as they get home.” I hoped they’d been camping in a place with cell service.
Two houses down, one of the neighbors was mowing the lawn. When he spotted me, he raised a hand to wave.
I waved back.
So did Scarlett.
“You can always stay at our place if you’re sick of this guy,” Presley said as she joined us in the driveway.
Scarlett lifted her chin to meet my gaze. “Maybe he’s sick of me.”
“Never.” I dropped a kiss to her lips. It was short. Too short. But we had time.
Presley might be lobbying for Scarlett to stay in Clifton Forge. I was simply going to insist upon it.
I doubted I’d be met with much resistance.
“It looks like you’re in good hands.” Presley pulled Scarlett out of my arms for another hug.
“The best.”
“I’ll come by tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Scarlett and I stood outside until Presley and Shaw were out of sight. Then she turned to the house, studying the exterior.
She didn’t seem to be in a rush to go inside, so I put my arm around her again and pulled her close.
“I want to go camping on the river again.”
“We can leave tomorrow.” Nothing would make me happier than escaping the world for a week.
Or two. We’d go somewhere new and I’d introduce her to my favorite places around Montana.
Maria might have some qualms about us ditching town, but she had enough work to do with paperwork and lawyers, any questions she had for us could wait.
“Maybe we can pick a place close to Missoula. Stop by and see Cass. And I can introduce you to my dad.”
“I’d like that.” A smile tugged at her mouth. “But we have to do a few things first.”
“Okay. Let’s hear it.”
“First, I want to open all the shades in the house, and unless we’re going at it on the living room couch, I don’t want them closed ever again.”
I chuckled and kissed the top of her hair. “Done deal.”
“I want to turn the dining room into a library where I can read and drink my coffee every morning.”
“Just show me where you want me to build the bookshelves.”
“I want to take that bush out there and move it there.” She pointed to the shrub closest to the front door, then to the corner of the house. “Maybe add a couple of flowerpots to frame the front stoop.”
“Better flow, right?”
“Now you’re catching on.” She wound her arms around my waist, holding tight. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” It was a rush to hear those words. To say them aloud. I hoped in the next fifty years that thrill would never fade. “Any other demands?”
Scarlett smiled. “Just one more.”