Page 60
“That’s very sweet, Camden. I really appreciate the offer—”
“No strings, Keels,” he says, interrupting me.
I laugh softly, unable to stop the smile from playing on my lips. So damn sweet of him. I didn’t know my brother was this guy. Maybe moving away from our parents opened him up to a compassion and softness that he didn’t dare have at home.
“That’s sweet,” I whisper. “But I love Brock.”
Saying those words out loud for the first time fills my stomach with butterflies. I do love him, though. I mean, I don’t know him that well, but I love him nonetheless. He gave me Thea, and he makes me feel special and beautiful and wanted. It could be lust, but even beneath that lust there is love, if for nothing else, then because he gave me Thea.
“You do? Biker gang and all?” he asks, but there is no judgment in his tone.
“Do you think he’s scary and dangerous?” I ask. “Mom and Dad want nothing to do with me if I’m with him. Mom was watching Thea drunk, too. A huge fight ensued.”
Silence.
If anyone knows the drinking habits of our mother, it’s Camden. She showed up to a school event trashed more than once. Then again, so did Dad. I didn’t have many events for them to attend, but Camden did. He suffered the brunt of that situation.
“I don’t blame you for packing your shit and walking away,” Camden murmurs. “And if you love him, he’s probably amazing.”
“Cam,” I exhale.
“I’m serious. You know how they can be.”
I almost laugh, because not only is the perfect golden child bitching about them, he’s also on my side. If they knew, they’d probably throw a fit. Smiling, I think about said fit, because I’m sure it’s a sight to behold.
Fuck ’em.
As Two-Pump would say.
“I do know exactly how they can be,” I say. “They hate Brock, but it doesn’t matter. He’s Thea’s father. He makes me happy. I need to see this through, to know if this can be forever.”
“Then that’s what you’ll do, but I want you to know that you always, always have the option of coming here. I hope to see you soon. It’s been too long.”
We talk some more shit about our parents before catching up on one another’s lives. He tells me that he’s met a woman and he’s sure she’s the one, but he doesn’t want to make a mistake, so he’s holding her a bit at arm’s length.
I end the conversation telling him not to be a dumbass and to take the leap. “That’s what I did, and look at me now,” I say. “I’m living in a biker gang clubhouse with a three-month-old.”
“So you are,” he chuckles.
“And I’ve never been happier, at least so far.”
We end the call, and I place my phone on the charging pad, smiling as I snuggle down in the bed and close my eyes. Falling asleep has never felt so damn good. My brother and I have begun communicating. I love this man who I’m starting a life with, and I’m free.
I’ve never felt more protected and freer in my entire life.
Free from my parents.
Free from my friends' judgment.
Just plain free.
And happy. So damn happy.
CHAPTER
FORTY-SIX
HOUND
