Page 146 of Forgiving Fate

Lainey skips over to Noah, who lifts his shirt to show her his fresh tattoo. Noah looks in my direction, smiles, and says, “Al! Come see my new ink!”

Reluctantly, I rid my mind of everything going on with Landon and walk over to a now shirtless Noah.

Quickly, we are all gathered around him as he and Gray tell the story of why Noah now has a shark stretching up his ribs.

Landon steps closer to me and brushes his pinky against mine. I turn to look up at him and see he is no longer hiding.

Something is definitely wrong.

“Alright. We are heading out. This one promised me a hike tomorrow and if she doesn’t get enough sleep, her and the fluff ball will be cranky the entire time.” Grayson says, still running a hand down Lo’s back.

Logan shrugs and starts walking towards her Jeep parked in front of The Needle. She doesn’t get very far before Gray is tossing her over his shoulder and placing her in the passenger side of the car.

“Let me go check on Leo and then I will bring you girls home. Lan. I assume you will take care of this one.” Noah says, wiggling his finger at me and sticking his tongue out.

Without looking up, I can see Landon roll his eyes before saying, “Yes, dumbass. Text me when you get home. I really don’t want to hear from Lachlan that he can’t find Lainey.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Love ya too.”

We watch as they all walk back into The Handle and as soon as the doors shut, I turn to face Landon.

I stare up at him and try to search for what’s wrong. He smiles, but it doesn’t meet his eyes and his hand brushes against my arm.

Taking matters into my own hands, I guide his arms to wrap around me and send him a questioning look.

What is going on in my beautifully broken man’s head?

The longer he stands here, not saying anything, I can’t help but run through all the worst-case scenarios.

“Hey. Stop.”

My eyes snap up to his. I didn’t even realize they had drifted to stare off into the distance.

I go to speak, but he stops me. “Stop. I can hear the wheels turning in your head.”

Sighing, I lean against him. “What’s wrong?”

His chest rises as he takes a deep breath. “Want to take a walk with me?”

Taking a step back, I search his face.

Why won’t he tell me? What is going on?

Landon locks his pinky with mine, pulling me back to his chest. “Don’t go there. We are okay. I’m not going anywhere.Nothing happened. I just want to take a walk with my best friend. It was a…” He stops to scrub his hand down his face, his pinky still latched in mine.

He tries to continue, but he can’t seem to find the words.

I remind myself of the reassurances he just gave me and rid all the anxiety and voices telling me to panic.

Taking a step back, I watch as his eyebrows hit his forehead and his grip tightens, refusing to let me go. He glances down at our hands and back up at me.

“Lead the way Storm. I will be here every step of the way.”

His shoulders sink in relief, and he tugs me back against his side.

Together, we walk side by side. Him leading the way and me following silently right beside him.

Just like he promised to always be by my side and be my constant in this world of chaos, I made the same promise to him. And this is my moment to prove that my commitment rings true to my beautiful storm.

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