Chapter 6
LEXI
The biggest challenge over the next couple of weeks was finding time alone.
Leo was always around if he wasn’t at school. Brax still had things to do as a Skulls nomad, even though I wasn’t quite sure why he was a nomad. He didn’t seem to spend much time on the road. Mostly it was with me on the back of his bike.
Davey was often around.
And the Skulls were definitely always around.
Somehow we managed.
A stolen hour here.
A ride together there.
The occasional night when Leo wanted to hang out with the other kids overnight at the clubhouse.
Funny how life works.
For years I'd worried about food, money and somewhere safe to sleep.
Now I was worrying about finding enough time to spend with the man I loved.
Another Monday morning arrived before I knew it.
The three of us piled into the Skulls van while Davey climbed into the back beside Leo.
The boys spent the entire trip talking about monster trucks, dirt bikes and things they planned to do when they were older.
Apparently none of those things involved homework.
When we pulled into the school parking lot my stomach tied itself into knots.
Leo looked up at me.
"You okay, Mom?"
I nodded.
"Of course."
I was lying.
Brax squeezed my hand.
"He's got this."
I knew he did.
That wasn't the problem.
The problem was that this was the first normal thing we'd done in years.
A real school.
A real home.
A real future.
The bell rang.
The boys jumped out of the van and started toward the school building.
Halfway there Leo turned around and waved.
I waved back.
Then he disappeared through the doors.
A tear rolled down my cheek.
Brax wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"You okay, Darling?"
I laughed through the tears.
"I don't know why I'm crying."
"Yeah, you do."
I looked up at him.
"Why?"
His eyes softened.
"Because you don't have to run anymore."
That one broke me.
I buried my face against his chest and cried for a minute while he held me.
Not sad tears.
Happy ones.
The kind I'd forgotten existed.
When I finally pulled myself together, Brax wiped my cheeks with his thumbs.
"There she is."
I laughed.
"Shut up."
He grinned.
"I've got an idea."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It usually is."
I narrowed my eyes.
"What kind of idea?"
"Let's go for a ride."
"Where?"
"No idea."
"You don't have a plan?"
"Got one."
"What's that?"
A slow smile spread across his face.
"Get lost with my old lady."
After years of being homeless, it turned out home was never a place.
It was a person and his people.