Page 81 of Utah

“For giving me a real family.”

The resonance of his words filled my heart, and I suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion.

“I don’t think it’s possible for me to love you more than I do right now,” I gushed.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Challenge accepted.”

EPILOGUE

“Fuck!” I shouted as the tile slipped through my fingers and smashed against the tub. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing because my mind was all over the place. From being thankful Will never pressed charges against me to worrying about Ria at this stage of her pregnancy. “You said a bad word,” a young voice said, startling me.

“Goddammit, you scared me.”

“That’s another one,” Colton said, grinning as he stood in the doorway of the bathroom, sipping on a juice box. “Dad doesn’t let me curse.”

I swore this kid looked more like Renner every time I saw him.

“Of course not. You’re a kid.”

“I’m gonna be ten in a few months.”

“Ooooo,” I teased. “A grown man.” He wrinkled his nose at me as I pointed toward the sink. “Hand me a tile from that box right there. What are you doing home from school already?”

Spreading a thin layer of mortar on the back of the new tile, I pressed it into place on the shower wall, completing the look. Renner was great at working on cars but usually muddled through a renovation, which was why I agreed to help him out. For a fee, of course. I did have a little one on the way any day now.

“It’s three thirty. I come home this time every day.”

I’d been so wrapped up in trying to finish Renner’s bathroom so as not to leave him with a half-done project in case Ria went into labor that I completely lost track of time. Good thing the only task I had left to do was grout over the tile, but I had to give it close to forty-eight hours for everything to set first.

“You been practicing your game?” I stood up, slowly stretching my muscles because I’d been crouched for too long.

“Why do I have to practice? I beat you all the time.” He laughed.

The grin he wore was too damn cute, but he was right. The boy knew how to play pool well for someone his age.

“I let you win.”

“Uh-huh.” The way he rolled his eyes made me want to challenge him to a game right now, but I didn’t have time.

Renner used to bring Colton by the clubhouse a lot before he met Emmy, and we’d keep him occupied by playing pool while his dad worked in the garage. At first, we’d let him win, but the better the kid got, the more we tried to beat him and failed. Not all the time, though. Then the shit with the cartel went down, and Renner didn’t want his son at the club. He’d only just started coming around again a few months ago.

“Do you see my phone?” I asked, looking around the bathroom. I wanted to check on Ria. As of this morning, she was two days past her due date and as miserable as could be. I didn’t blame her, though. She waddled everywhere, peed all the time, and struggled to get comfortable in bed. All hertossing and turning kept me awake, but I never uttered a complaint. I wasn’t stupid.

“No. Where did you leave it?”

“If I knew that, it wouldn’t be lost.”

He shrugged. “That’s what my dad asks me whenever I lose something.”

“You’re no help.”

“There you are,” Emmy said, poking her head into the bathroom. She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear as she focused on Colton. “Did you still want spaghetti for dinner?”

I remembered the day she came by the clubhouse to drop Colton off because his mother forgot to pick him up. It was the first time Renner had officially met her. As soon as he came into Chambers, we started teasing him about her. And once he warned all of us to stay away from her, we knew he was into her.

“Yes, please.”

She ruffled his ash-blond hair. “You got it. Let’s hope your dad remembers to stop for garlic bread this time.”

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