Chapter 32
AIDEN
I pulled onto a patch of dying grass between Bailey’s flashy red Camaro and Holden’s sleek GTO outside the Forrester house a few hundred yards from their auto shop and junkyard. These guys liked their classic cars, but that was probably to be expected from a bunch of mechanics.
Knight threw open his door and stepped out. He wore his usual faded blue jeans and muscle tank that exposed flashes of his flanks, but the bowl of broccoli salad in his hand gave him an oddly domestic vibe. My stomach fluttered at the sight.
This was my man, holding my contribution to a cookout with family and friends. When did this become my life?
He caught me staring at him. “What?”
“Nothing. Just happy we’re here together this time.”
He extended his left hand wordlessly, and I laced our fingers together. He tugged me close enough to kiss my cheek. “We’re always together, from here on out.”
One deep woof, followed by several excited yips, drew our attention to the corner of the house. A whole canine welcoming committee raced to greet us.
Sugar was in the lead, soulful eyes sizing us up to determine whether we were friend or foe.
She was an intimidating dog, so large and muscular, but I’d never known her to be anything but sweet.
The little Chihuahua, Taz, was at her heels, lips pulled back in a fairly intimidating snarl despite his small size.
There was a third dog I didn’t recognize, a gray-and-white Boston terrier with perky ears and a happy-go-lucky face.
There were at least three more dogs, I was pretty sure, but they must have stayed with their people in the backyard.
Or possibly they just wanted to stick close to the food.
Knight handed me the broccoli salad and bent to give each dog a scratch behind the ears. They all sat down, tongues lolling out, happy to receive loving.
“Sugar! Taz!” Axel bellowed as he came around the house. “Where the fu—oh. I see you have them eating out of the palm of your hand. Disloyal mutts.”
He was grinning as he said it, so I didn’t think he minded too much.
“Who’s the new guy?” I asked, nodding to the terrier.
“Oh, I’m just keeping him until I find a foster home,” he said. “He’s been a little tough to rehome. He chews on everything.”
Knight straightened up, and we exchanged a look.
“What?” Axel said. “You know someone?”
“We might,” I said.
“That would be great.” He fell into step with us as we headed for the backyard, where the scent of grilling meat was already wafting through the air and making my mouth water. “I’ve got my hands full with Sugar, Taz, Oreo, and Loki.”
I laughed. “Yeah, you’ve got a full house already.”
Axel led us through the gate, which had been open, and carefully latched it behind us. “Now maybe you monsters will stay put,” he admonished the dogs.
Flynn hopped up from his place at the crowded picnic table and came to greet us. “Hey, guys! It’ll be a tight squeeze, but we’ll make space for you.”
“Maybe we can eat in shifts,” Gray joked.
“We need to get more furniture out here,” Bailey mused.
“We should just create an outdoor cooking space,” Dalton said. “Full patio. Larger grill. Better table. Maybe some built-in benches…”
His eyes went distant as he imagined it. Axel shook his head. “How did I end up with a guy who wants a fancy outdoor kitchen?”
“Guess you’re not as edgy as you look,” I teased.
He sent me a narrow-eyed stare like he had something to say to that. His gaze drifted to Knight, and he smirked. “Well, it’s hard to compete with your man here. You’re looking pretty good for a guy who got jumped by a whole biker gang.”
“That’s not exactly what happened,” Knight said.
“Close enough, though,” I muttered. “I’m glad that’s over.”
Emory emerged from the back door, Gray right behind him, both with the kind of smiles that suggested they were being naughty.
Emory’s eyes lit up when he saw us. “Hey, guys!” He and Gray approached us. “Ooh, is that the broccoli salad you were talking about yesterday? That looks great.” He took it from Knight. “I’ll put it inside with the other food. We’re going to dish up in there because there’s not enough space.”
“See?” Dalton said, raising his beer as Emory headed back inside. “Project Outdoor Kitchen. Who’s with me?”
“Build it onto your house,” Holden said from his place by the grill. He waved his spatula in the direction of a house under construction, his fluffy white dog Banshee following the movement with hopeful eyes, as if meat might suddenly rain down on her. “You can add anything you want over there.”
Axel rolled his eyes. “Don’t give him ideas!”
Despite his protests, he walked straight into Dalton’s arms and kissed him. The German shepherd, Loki, jumped against their side, disrupting the kiss.
“Such a jealous boy,” Dalton said as he nudged the dog down and ruffled his fur.
“You guys are building another house out here?” I asked.
“Yep. We’re selling Dalton’s cabin,” Axel said. “It’s going to be so fucking nice, but we’re already over budget.” He wagged a finger at Dalton. “Outdoor kitchens don’t come cheap.”
Dalton bit the tip of his index finger with a growl. “It’ll be worth it.”
“Maybe we could all chip in,” Bailey suggested. “We eat over here enough.”
Holden had a few choice words about that. I tuned out the bickering of the brothers as Gray leaned in toward Knight, admiring his new tattoo. “Nice ink.”
“Thanks, Emory designed a lot of it.”
Gray beamed. “He’s so fucking talented.”
Knight nodded. “Cyrus did the needle work. It was a coverup job, so it was a little tricky.”
“He did nice work with it. You can’t even tell something else used to be there.”
Flynn looked too. “Tattooing my brother’s nickname on your arm, huh? Are you two finally going to admit this is serious?”
I glanced at Knight, spotted the humor in his eyes, and said, “Nah. Just a phase. Right, Will?”
He nodded. “As long as the phase lasts the rest of my life.”
“Aw, so cute,” Bailey called, then pantomimed gagging.
“As if you have any room to say something!” I called. “You two are hopeless!”
A round of laughter said the rest of the guys agreed.
Gray excused himself to join Dalton, Axel, and Emory over at the picnic table.
“I’ll get us some drinks,” Knight offered, brushing a kiss to my cheek before heading toward the house. Halfway there, he got diverted by the new dog, bending down to give him a thorough petting.
“Careful, or you might be taking home a stray,” Flynn said with a chuckle.
“Oh, that’s a given. Knight was bummed when we had to return Waffles. He got pretty attached to him, especially when Waffles gave him all that loving and cuddles after his fight.”
“How is he doing with all that?” Flynn asked.
“He’s doing good. He was a little torn up that night. He hated revisiting his old life like that.”
Flynn nodded. “I know what that’s like. When Snake showed up and tried to drag me into shit, it was scary. I didn’t want anything to ruin what I’d found here.”
Snake was a former prison inmate who’d tried to manipulate my brother into helping him rob the junkyard. Thankfully, everything had worked out okay in the end.
“You don’t want to go to prison ever again,” I said softly. “That’s understandable. You lost so much time.”
I didn’t say for me, but it hung there between us anyway, unsaid but understood.
Flynn slung an arm around my shoulders. “It wasn’t really about that.
I’d go to prison again for any of the guys here.
” His gaze bounced from Bailey—playing with the rambunctious border collie, Oreo—to Holden and Shiloh by the grill to the other brothers at the picnic table, and finally to Knight, who was coming back out the door with two Solo cups in his hands.
Flynn smiled. “I’d fight for any of them, you know? I love them. They love me. That’s what family is.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah.”
I understood a little better after Knight’s fight. The way the Redemption Road guys all stepped up to have his back despite the risk to them. The way I hadn’t been able to bear the idea of sending him off and waiting at home where it was safe.
I’d have fought for him myself if I had the ability.
“But, Aids, the way you guilt yourself over what happened? I want you to stop. We were dealt a shit hand, you and me. Your dad was not a good man.”
I bit my lower lip, nodding. “That just makes it worse, though. He wasn’t your dad.”
He squeezed me. “Only dad I ever knew, though. And besides, we don’t choose our parents, do we?”
“Guess not.”
“I owe you an apology,” Flynn said softly. “For leaving you there. I thought his violence was only for me, but—” He stopped and shook his head. “I should have checked in more.”
“You were young,” I said. “Mom told you to go. You were just doing your best in a shitty situation. We both were.”
He looked me in the eye. “Exactly. You did your best, too. Hell, you took his abuse the longest and while alone after Mom took off. It was unfair, Aiden. I don’t know how the fuck you turned out so amazing.”
“I had you,” I said softly. “You fought for me. I wanted to be worth that.”
“You always were,” Flynn said. “You always will be.”
“I second that,” Knight said, rejoining us and handing me a drink. “You’re worth everything, Angel.”
I scoffed. “You two would say that. You guys love me.”
Knight and Flynn exchanged a look.
“Yes, we do,” Knight said, lips quirking. “So, I guess you must be good enough, huh?”
“I must be,” I agreed with a smile.
Wasn’t that what I’d been learning ever since I got here? That none of us was perfect. That to love my whole self, I had to love my flaws too. That I had to stop trying to earn love and just receive it.
“I know Mom bailed on you, but I want you to know I never will,” Flynn added.
“I know,” I said sincerely. “And I know my plans called for me to move all over the country. I never really thought of it as bailing on you—”
“Not the same,” Flynn said. “Don’t you worry about that.”
I smiled. “But it looks like my future will be here after all. It’s official. Dr. Meadows got funding to start a traveling doctor program, and he wants me as a resident next year.”
He broke into a big grin. “That’s amazing, Aiden! You’ll be helping people around here, then?”
I nodded. “In a three-county spread, yeah. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Best news ever,” Flynn said, thumping my back. “So proud of you for stepping up to help people who really need it.”
Flynn would never hold me back, but all that time I’d believed I had to be a prestigious surgeon to show him he’d made a worthwhile sacrifice seemed silly now. He was so damn happy to have me here. So excited for my future.
“Guys!” he called. “Aiden is going to stay here and work as a traveling doctor helping rural folks who can’t get out of their houses. Isn’t that awesome?”
“Fucking cool as hell,” Axel said.
“I’m really glad you’re staying,” Shiloh said with a sweet smile.
“Me too,” Emory said.
The guys all chimed in as we joined them at the picnic table, lifting their beers and congratulating me on my future, telling me how glad they were I’d be staying close. The pressure to always prove myself, to always do just the right thing, receded under the wave of their warmth.
It was like a giant group hug, all of them happy for me simply because I was happy.
I lifted my cup to take a sip of beer but tasted a tart lime instead. Knight had made me a margarita because he was thoughtful like that.
I sipped at my drink, letting the well-wishes shower down on me, and leaned in against Knight’s side.
“You okay?” he asked as the conversation began to move on to other topics.
“Never better,” I said a smile in my voice. “I’m finally home.”
His eyes met mine, far too much understanding in them. “Yeah, Angel. You and me both.”