I gulp. "Yeah, that's exactly it."
She lifts the baby up into her arms to burp him. "I don't know. It helps that I know he won't take chances. He loves us, and I know he'll do whatever he can to come back to me." There's a sense of longing that goes through me. I would love to have the kind of security that she does. We spend the day playing with the baby, and he keeps us entertained. Finally, the phone rings, and Brandy picks it up with a huge smile on her face. "It's him," she says.
I smile as I hold my breath, wishing I could talk to Kane. Brandy is telling Diesel she loves him, and I look at her when she says, "Yeah, Allison's right here." Then she holds her phone out to me. "Here you go. Pres wants to talk to you."
I'm surprised, but I reach for the phone immediately, not even trying to hide my excitement. "Hey," I say.
"Hey, honey. It's over, you're safe."
I let out a breath that I didn't know was weighing on me. "What about you? Is everything okay with you?"
He sounds different. I expected him to maybe sound happy, but he doesn't. "Yeah, we're good. I just wanted you to know that Nash is on his way to get you. He's going to bring you home."
Instantly I'm floored. This is not how I had expected it to go down. I thought for sure that he would come home, and I would at least have one more night with him. I had hoped that maybe we’d talk about the future or something. But instead of saying all that, all I say is "Okay." "Okay," he says and then hangs up.
I look at the phone in surprise, and when Brandy sees my face, her smile drops. "What's wrong?"
I force a smile onto my face. All of these people have been so good to me. They've dealt with all of my drama and all the crap I've been giving them. I don't need to keep loading onto it. "Nothing's wrong. Nash is coming to get me to take me home."
I try to say it lightheartedly, as if it's not breaking my heart in two, but it doesn't fool Brandy. "Stupid man," she says. "He's so stupid if he lets you go. It's plain to everyone that he loves you, Allison."
I shrug. A part of me had hoped that maybe he felt something for me, something to continue our relationship. "We just met," I tell her, trying to make excuses.
"That doesn't matter," she insists. When I don't answer her, she leans toward me. "Fine, tell me that you don't love him."
I open my mouth to say it, but the words won’t come out. "I can't do that."
She slaps her hand on the table. "Then don't let him walk away, honey. He's been through a lot, and I know it's going to take him a minute to catch up, but you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you just let him walk away from you."
I stand up and then lean over to hug her and the baby. "I need to go put my stuff together, I think Nash will be here soon. Thank you for coming and sitting with me today. I hope—well, I hope we can stay in touch."
"We will," she says.
I walk away slowly. I go back to Kane's bedroom and look around, taking it all in, wanting to keep the image in my mind forever. I put on a pair of shoes, reminding myself I need to thank Violet for everything she's done. I'll definitely pay her for the clothes when I get back into town. I can't help but wonder if Kane will be there when I get home or if I'll even see him again.
Chapter18
Pres
The police have all left. The guys are all on their way back to the clubhouse, and that's where I should be too. But I used the excuse that I was going to clean up around here a little bit for when Allison gets here. There's so much that I want to say to her, but the more that I walk around this house, I know I don't stand a chance. Nash brings Allison and walks her in.
He looks at me. “The house secure?”
I nod. “Yeah, it’s secure. I checked it myself.”
Allison is carrying her purse, and that's it. She must have decided to leave her bag of clothes at the clubhouse, and I can't say I blame her. Nash is standing at the front door, obviously ready to go. "You need a ride back to Whiskey Run?"
I shake my head. "No, one of the guys brought my bike to me."
"Good, good. I’m going to head back."
Allison thanks him, and when he leaves, she turns to me standing awkwardly with her hands locked together in front of her. This is the same woman that was convulsing under me just this morning.
I nod toward the house. "Are you going to be okay here by yourself?"
She shakes her head. "I'm not staying here. I'll probably pack up and go to a hotel."
"A hotel?" I ask her, surprised.