Page 48 of Wrath

“A handsome young man like you should have them lining up at the door.” She laughs to herself.

“Yeah, well, there's only one I want,” I admit, perhaps some conversation might make the journey go a little faster.

“So, there is a young lady?” Anita looks intrigued.

“Her name’s Eden but she’s been through some shi…She’s been hurt.” I mind my language and grip the steering wheel tight.

“Then you must treat her very preciously, I’m sure you can help her heal.” Anita has only known me a few hours and already sounds like she’s got a whole lotta faith in me.

“What if I was the one who did the hurtin’?” I glance across at her again.

“Well, then you must show her that you’ve learned from your mistakes.” She turns her attention back out the window and continues to enjoy her journey.

Isit on my deck and watch Peyton lying in the sun with my sister. They’re just a few yards in front of me so I know they’re safe, and they look so happy. Despite what being back here must be dragging up for her, Eden keeps breaking into hysterical fits of laughter. It gives me hope that she can move on from what happened, I wanna believe that we all can.

It’s been over twenty-four hours since I heard anything from Wrath. I know it’s a long drive but he must have got to the place by now, even if he didn’t spend a night at our Colorado charter.

“I’m heading back to my place for a shower,” Eden announces as she steps back toward the chair beside me and lifts up her bag.

“You comin’ back for dinner, later?” I ask.

“No, you can’t have me here every night of the week playing the third wheel.” She smiles as Peyton joins us. My girl’s wearing that blue bikini with the frills on that drives me wild, and I can’t help tilting my head and looking for any notable changes in her figure.

“Well, you know you're always welcome,” she reminds Eden, who places a kiss on both our cheeks and heads back off toward the clubhouse.

“It’s good to hear her laughing,” I admit as Peyton sits in the chair beside me and lifts her head up toward the sun. It’s bugging the fuck outta me that she still hasn’t told me she’s pregnant, it also makes me certain that she’s feeling unsure about it.

“I thought maybe we could eat out tonight, there's that new steak house that's opened a few miles away on the front” She suggests, sliding her sunshades down from her hair to cover her eyes.

“You feelin’ like you could eat a steak?” I question her. I’ve been questioning everything she’s said or done these past two days.

“Is that a crime?” She slides her shades down her nose as she turns her head toward me.

“No, just me tryin’ to give you what ya need. You know that’s what I’m always gonna do, right?” I take the opportunity to assure her,stillwaiting for her to mention the fact she’s carrying my goddamn child.

“Yeah, and it’s real sweet.” She smiles cutely before getting back to enjoying the sun. It infuriates me so much I have to get up and go inside.

“Where are you going?” She asks five minutes later when I step back out on the deck wearing my jeans and sliding into my cut.

“I got shit to do.” I shake my head, taking a seat so I can lace up my boots.

“Raze, you said you were taking today off.” She suddenly looks upset and I swear, if she wasn't in such a delicate condition, I’d shake the girl by her shoulders and try and make some sense out of what’s going on here.

“Yeah, well, somethin’ came up. I can’t be takin’ days off while there's so much goin’ on around here.” I stand back up and step onto the sand.

“There's always gonna be something going on around here.” Peyton gets up too, “It’s not good for you to stress about the club all the time, you need to unwind.” I can feel myself getting more and more frustrated. I don’t know what hurts more, the fact she could be doubting that our relationship could handle us having a kid or the fact she might not want it. When I asked her to marry me last week she was so happy, what the fuck is holding her back from telling me she’s pregnant?

“Raze, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been off with me since we got back from New Mexico. I know your dad hur–”

“When were you gonna tell me?” I interrupt, unable to keep it in a second longer.

“Tell you about what?” She stares at me like she’s the one who’s fuckin’ confused.

“About the baby, we're havin’.” I stare back at her, trying my best not to explode.

“The baby we’re having?” The little giggle she makes does nothing to calm me down and when I take the test out my cut and hold it up in front of her, her expression suddenly changes.

“Oh.” She bites her lip, looking real fuckin’ guilty, and so she fuckin’ should, she knows how I feel about secrets, and ones that involve babies that are mine arebigfuckin’ secrets. “Raze, I think you’ve got the wrong idea.” She takes the stick from my hand and places it down on the chair. “That test isn’t mine,” she assures me.

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