Page 37 of April 5

His lips settled on her ear. "I will do whatever I can to stay here and love you until I'm old, Kat. Whatever happens, know I never gave up fighting for us."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, unable to breathe. "If I hadn't loved you—"

"Don't." He growled. "Don't ever be sorry. You're the most beautiful thing I've had in my life."

Her body stiffened underneath him. "I don't know what to do."

"Love me. No matter what happens," he whispered, linking his hands with hers. "You'd make a damn good ol' lady, Kat."

She nodded, afraid to speak. He deserved all her support, even when she was falling apart.

Chapter Sixteen

CORA AND WIRE STOOD in the driveway. Katrina pulled the van to a stop and glanced in the side mirror to make sure Jagger was still behind her. He'd followed on his Harley, wanting to go with her when she returned the van.

Shutting off the engine, she looked around the interior, double-checking to see if she missed anything. She'd taken all her belongings and cleaned the whole van before returning it.

Outside, the Harley shut off. She slid her phone into her back pocket and greeted her aunt.

Cora hurried to her, engulfing her in a hug. "I'm so sorry about your loss."

She glanced at Jagger, wondering how much her aunt knew about their situation. The last week had been a whirlwind of heartbreaks, ending with the explosion at the clubhouse between Jagger and her dad.

"Thanks." She let go of Cora.

Mama Sue was hers. She felt possessive of the woman who'd raised her and was the only constant parental figure in her life. Sharing her life with Cora felt artificial. Her aunt was always too friendly. It was unnatural.

"Wire mentioned you were going to stay with Jagger." Cora chewed the corner of her lip. "Does that mean my brother will stay in Seaglass Cove, too?"

She wondered why Cora wanted to get close to her dad when he'd done nothing to give her the idea that he was close to anyone. Now that her dad was gunning for Jagger, she wasn't even sure she ever wanted to see her dad again.

"He took off." She shrugged. "I don't know where he is."

Cora frowned as the soft sound of disappointment escaped her lips. "I hadn't heard."

"Yeah, well, that's the way he is. He doesn't answer anyone." She looked over her shoulder. "Thanks for letting us use the van."

"Any time." Cora walked with her to join the men. "I'm glad I got to see you before work."

Wire reached for Cora the second she was within touching distance. Katrina stood off to the side. Others knew that she and Jagger were together, but they had never shown that relationship to others. She felt more disconnected now than when their love for each other was a secret.

Jagger clasped Wire's hand and then put his hand on her back and led her to the Harley. Getting on the back of his motorcycle was a familiar action. He handed her the extra helmet strapped to the bar. She climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She ignored her aunt and her husband watching them. All she wanted to do was get out of there.

Instead of going downtown, Jagger cruised one of the residential streets and parked outside a duplex. She slid off the motorcycle when he toed the kickstand.

"Take off your shoes." He swung his leg off the bike and removed his helmet. "You can leave them by the Harley."

"Why are we here?"

"It's Bane and Daisy's place." He took her helmet and set it on the handlebar, then gathered her hand in his, leading her to the side of the house.

Once off the driveway, her feet hit the sand. She dug her toes in as she walked, trying to keep up with Jagger's longer strides. He hadn't taken off his boots and seemed to have no trouble walking.

Past the house, they walked over a dune. She gazed straight ahead, unable to take her sight off the Pacific Ocean. It was just like she'd imagined. The water went as far as her eyes could see, meeting the sky in the distance.

A haze hung in the air. Mist landed on her face but was quickly dried by the constant wind. She squeezed Jagger's hand. He'd held up his promise of taking her to the beach.

He pointed to the water. She nodded, following him. What she hadn't imagined was the sheer volume of the noise from the waves and the overwhelming sense of how big the world was going by the size of the ocean. And to think this was a small fraction of the water on earth.

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