Page 39 of Where We Promise

He smirked. Or I thought he did. His beard covered it.

“How about I call you Penny?”

I smiled. “That’s perfect…”

Turning back toward my car, I paused when he spoke again?—

“Penny, it’s an honor to watch over you.” I spun around, giving him my attention. “I—well, I was watching Callie for a bit, until Wes took over. I had sort of gotten used to protection detail. I never had kids, but I see you and Callie, even Laura and Natty and I think of you all like daughters in a way. Just in the sense that I can watch out for you. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, thank you for letting me.”

It was the hormones that made me tear up.

And definitely the reason I walked over and wrapped my arms around him.

“Thank you, Harris. I haven’t ever had anyone look out for me. I’m honored that it’s you.”

His eyes seemed to glisten but I didn’t stick around to watch. For the first time in forever, I finally felt like maybe, just maybe, this place would be a way of healing after all.

I pressed the stamp into the corner of the envelope and then licked the seam and closed it. Natty, Callie and Laura were all getting ready to leave for the Hollow, but I had asked if I could drop this letter in the mail first.

Of course, they didn’t mind, but the walk would take a good minute or two because of how long the driveway was to the main gate. The cold air helped clear my head as I walked, and by the time I pulled the metal handle on the mailbox down, I felt like I was breathing easier as I slid the envelope in.

Jamie would probably frown on me doing this, mainly because Miles had technically stayed behind, but I knew he stayed not out of loyalty to Luke, but merely the location. Miles had a good house in Richland, and was getting older, his disability was all that kept him afloat these days, and while a good portion came in from the military, there was no way he could up and leave. Some men merely wanted a place to connect; it was why these clubs had begun in the first place. Most men didn’t give two shits about the politics of the club; they just wanted a few drinking buddies, or a friend to ride with.

So, I felt justified sending him an update on my life. Maybe it was the interaction with Harris that had me feeling sentimental. I hadn’t lied when I had said no one else had watched out for me. Miles was a decent man, but he’d never stepped into the line of fire for me, or gone out of his way to help me, outside of letting me live under his roof. The second my mom passed, any lingering affection for me seemed to as well.

But, part of me wouldn’t accept it. Mom had finally found a club that worked. She had no idea she was living out the last few years of her life when we arrived on Miles’ stoop. He let us stay, and we had made a home. It was odd, awkward at times and unconventional, but I’d been with him for five years, and more than that once I had moved back. He had to want some sort of connection with me.

Which is what prompted this letter. Miles hated talking on the phone and had no clue how to text. A written letter would do the trick, and maybe he needed some reassurances that I was okay, that my son was okay.

Hopefully Jamie would understand.

Hopefully Miles would respond and be thankful I had reached out.

It would be a wildflower pressed into my journal as soon as I found a fresh field.

ELEVEN

JAMESON

AGE EIGHTEEN

Graduation had come and gone.

The usual bullshit Luke and I agreed to stir up had waned our last year in school. There were less and less opportunistic ventures for us to create. No one seemed to give a shit about who won the football games. Our club especially seemed distracted by grief, or the impending sorrow that hung over our clubhouse like a soaked cloud.

Dad was sick, barely walking these days, and his acting VP, Tuck, had just been arrested for setting his girlfriend’s house on fire. It wasn’t club sanctioned, so he received no protections from us, which created division in the club. Several members arguing that he’s club, so anything he did extended to the protection of the club. Others agreeing with my pops that Tuck had gone too far and actually endangered the club by acting how he had.

Luke stopped speaking to me, not that he had a ton previously, but it added to our growing silence the last year of high school.

It was fine, I kept my head down and chose to keep my grades up, while also finishing my first two years of college. No one knew I’d done that outside of my parents, but no one needed to. I wanted a business degree, but now that I was officially done with high school, it left a gap in my life.

Time that seemed never ending, filled with painful reminders.

I glanced over at Miles’ house on my way back to the club, noticing Wanda’s car parked in front. She should have been at the graduation, same as Penny, but she’d opted for her GED and left school early at the start of the year.

I had no idea where she went.

Ryker was still here, and now dating someone else. Luke never talked about shit with me, so I had no idea if they were in touch.

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