up.”
River laughed, his entire chest rumbling. “Good to see not much changes around here. Has Emerson taken Bash back yet?”
“How did you know?”
“Oh, come on. Emmy and Bash are a given. Almost as much as you dancing around Knox and praying he and your brother don’t notice.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Ugh. You’ve been in town for all of a day.” Then she looked over at me, a small smile playing over her lips. “You and I are going to be great friends. I need someone on my team against this one.”
I nodded. “I think we can manage that.” I liked her openness, the way she didn’t beat around the bush, and I loved the way she didn’t flirt with River. Then again, I’d seen how hot Knox was, and if River was right, and that’s the way her world tilted, then I couldn’t blame her.
“Tell Knox we’ll take this one,” River said. “Do you think we have the numbers for this meeting tomorrow?”
Her smile faded. “We’ll have them, one way or another.”
The determination on her face was the same I’d seen on River’s over the years, the same Knox had shown when he’d led us on the tour of the clubhouse. There was a steel in this generation, a tenacity that I felt simply by looking at them.
I pitied anyone who stood in the way of them getting their crew back.
9
River
I traced the letters on her headstone, grief wrapping around my heart, uncaring that it had been eight years since we lost her.
“Man, I miss you,” I told her before looking up to where Avery stood, flowers in her arms. “She would have loved you.”
“I’m a hot mess.”
“You’re my hot mess,” I corrected her. After the handful of times I’d taken her in the last twelve hours I was pretty sure she’d have a hard time arguing that she wasn’t mine.
She placed the flowers on Mom’s grave as I stood, then stepped into my arms as I held them out to her. The cemetery was quiet, peaceful.
“I’m sorry you lost them both.”
“I’m glad they went close to each other. Losing Dad in the fire, that was brutal, but when cancer took her a couple years later…” He shook his head. “For a long time I wondered if I was cursed. If I wasn’t supposed to have anything good.”
“You deserve the best,” she said, her voice soft.
“It all changed when I saw you. Frustrated, ponytail a mess, fighting with the tire iron and rusted lug nuts.”
“Ugh. I’d been on the side of the road for a half hour.”
I brushed her hair back from her face, loving that it was down and free. “You were beautiful, and I fell in love with you in that moment.”
Her lips parted. “Because I couldn’t change a tire?” she whispered.
“Because you hadn’t given up. There was zero chance you could have gotten those bolts off, but you weren’t giving up. When I realized that you were raising Addy, caring for your dad...there wasn’t a force in this world that could have stopped me from loving you.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“You weren’t ready and I was terrified. I’d lost everyone I loved except for Bishop. When the wildfire came, when Dad died, there was a part of me that shriveled, that started to expect heartache. I couldn’t show it, of course. The whole town was in mourning, and there were sixteen of us left behind without fathers. Indigo was left without a mom. In our collective grief, we weren’t allowed to break down, not when there were so many eyes on us.”
“River…” she whispered, holding me tighter in her support.
“Then the rebuilding began, and Mom got sick. She died the summer of my junior year, and we had the new high school open by my senior year.”
“Then you and Bishop came up to Alaska.”
I rested my chin on the top of her head, loving how well she fit me. “And you know the rest.”
“I wish I knew how it ended.”
My heart sank, knowing as much as she loved pretending, she hadn’t really decided. Because as fierce as my love of this crew and my family
River laughed, his entire chest rumbling. “Good to see not much changes around here. Has Emerson taken Bash back yet?”
“How did you know?”
“Oh, come on. Emmy and Bash are a given. Almost as much as you dancing around Knox and praying he and your brother don’t notice.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Ugh. You’ve been in town for all of a day.” Then she looked over at me, a small smile playing over her lips. “You and I are going to be great friends. I need someone on my team against this one.”
I nodded. “I think we can manage that.” I liked her openness, the way she didn’t beat around the bush, and I loved the way she didn’t flirt with River. Then again, I’d seen how hot Knox was, and if River was right, and that’s the way her world tilted, then I couldn’t blame her.
“Tell Knox we’ll take this one,” River said. “Do you think we have the numbers for this meeting tomorrow?”
Her smile faded. “We’ll have them, one way or another.”
The determination on her face was the same I’d seen on River’s over the years, the same Knox had shown when he’d led us on the tour of the clubhouse. There was a steel in this generation, a tenacity that I felt simply by looking at them.
I pitied anyone who stood in the way of them getting their crew back.
9
River
I traced the letters on her headstone, grief wrapping around my heart, uncaring that it had been eight years since we lost her.
“Man, I miss you,” I told her before looking up to where Avery stood, flowers in her arms. “She would have loved you.”
“I’m a hot mess.”
“You’re my hot mess,” I corrected her. After the handful of times I’d taken her in the last twelve hours I was pretty sure she’d have a hard time arguing that she wasn’t mine.
She placed the flowers on Mom’s grave as I stood, then stepped into my arms as I held them out to her. The cemetery was quiet, peaceful.
“I’m sorry you lost them both.”
“I’m glad they went close to each other. Losing Dad in the fire, that was brutal, but when cancer took her a couple years later…” He shook his head. “For a long time I wondered if I was cursed. If I wasn’t supposed to have anything good.”
“You deserve the best,” she said, her voice soft.
“It all changed when I saw you. Frustrated, ponytail a mess, fighting with the tire iron and rusted lug nuts.”
“Ugh. I’d been on the side of the road for a half hour.”
I brushed her hair back from her face, loving that it was down and free. “You were beautiful, and I fell in love with you in that moment.”
Her lips parted. “Because I couldn’t change a tire?” she whispered.
“Because you hadn’t given up. There was zero chance you could have gotten those bolts off, but you weren’t giving up. When I realized that you were raising Addy, caring for your dad...there wasn’t a force in this world that could have stopped me from loving you.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“You weren’t ready and I was terrified. I’d lost everyone I loved except for Bishop. When the wildfire came, when Dad died, there was a part of me that shriveled, that started to expect heartache. I couldn’t show it, of course. The whole town was in mourning, and there were sixteen of us left behind without fathers. Indigo was left without a mom. In our collective grief, we weren’t allowed to break down, not when there were so many eyes on us.”
“River…” she whispered, holding me tighter in her support.
“Then the rebuilding began, and Mom got sick. She died the summer of my junior year, and we had the new high school open by my senior year.”
“Then you and Bishop came up to Alaska.”
I rested my chin on the top of her head, loving how well she fit me. “And you know the rest.”
“I wish I knew how it ended.”
My heart sank, knowing as much as she loved pretending, she hadn’t really decided. Because as fierce as my love of this crew and my family
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