Page 61 of Bloom: Part 2

“Yes, what did you think? I was leading on Bloom? What I said inside? I meant every word, and I am going to marry him with or without your blessing.” I softened my tone. “But I’d rather have your blessing. I know how much Bloom values you and the rest of his brothers.”

“And if I don’t give it, do you still think he’ll fucking marry you?”

“Yes, without a doubt. I know you’re used to Bloom following you around and doing your bidding, but he’s not a puppy to pull on a leash. He can make his own decisions.”

“I don’t trust his decision-making skills, and I can’t help but think you’re taking advantage of that. Why do you want to marry Bloom anyway? You’ve barely been together!”

“Why do two people marry?”

“Ah, fuck no, I need you to do better than that. Why the hell are you marrying him?”

I dropped my arms and leaned on the support column, gazing into the night. “Because he completes me.” I laughed softly. “Do you remember how much I pushed him away when he started courting me? Over and over again. But he refused to give up, even when my rejection hurt him. I want to make up for all those times. I want to spend the rest of my life showing him that I care about him more than you, he, or anyone else could possibly understand. Everyone thinks his feelings for me are too big, too extreme, but no one knows how much I’d do for that boy to make him happy. God, I fucking love him.”

It was one thing knowing how I felt about Bloom and another to talk about it. My feelings suddenly felt even more real, uncontainable, as if they would burst out of me. And with it, a tangible fear of losing that one person I cared about more than anyone else in the world.

“Fuck you. I’m his brother, so you could have mentioned it to me first instead of letting me find out this way.”

I could respect that. “I hadn’t planned it. Then there was the incident at the clubhouse when I found out he’d gotten hurt. I wasn’t in the mood to explain myself to anyone then. You all pissed me off.”

“Gunner and I had a fight about that. Just so you know, I didn’t sanction that whole thing. I would never have sent him to do something so reckless when he was recuperating.”

Deep down, I’d known that. Crowe was such a pain in the ass when it came to Bloom only because he cared. “That’s good to know. If something should happen to me…I know you’ll take care of him, not let him do reckless things to risk his life.”

“Don’t think that’s something I can stop. It’s Bloom. He thrives on the adrenaline and the danger. Do you think he’ll be comfortable living a peaceful life somewhere like a normal person? You can try, but I’m gonna tell you right now, it ain’t gonna make him happy. He’s not the picket fence and two-point-five kids kind. He’s the guy riding down the freeway going way too fast without a helmet. He’s the guy ready to pull a knife if someone offends the people he cares about.”

He was wrong. He had to be wrong. I needed him to be wrong.

“Crowe.” I slowly turned to him. Shit, his face was so pale. He was really worried about Bloom, looked panicked even. “I am grateful for everything you did for Bloom, for raising him into the person he is today. It couldn’t have been easy taking in such a peculiar boy. And for that, I can forgive you for anything that doesn’t stand in the way of us being together. But it’s time foryouto let go. You can’t keep him caged in, or he’s no better than being kept confined like a dog the way his parents did him. Every time we clash like this, it’s tearing him apart, and I’d rather have you on my side when he gets out of hand.”

Crowe’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. His laugh was low and sounded pained. “He’s a handful, ain’t he?”

“That he can be. But I also see how sweet and needy he is. He needs to be loved and told he’s beautiful, and that’s what I want to do for him for the rest of his life.”

Crowe puffed out a breath, raking his fingers through his hair. “I just want the best for him. I worry he’ll make mistakes he’ll regret. People think he’s cruel and heartless, but the truth is…”

“He feels more than most.”

“Exactly.” Crowe dug into the back of his pants and took out a booklet, small enough to fit into the palm of his hands. “Look, I believe you’ll be decent to him. For one, if you ever hurt him, we’ll string you up and make you wish you never met him. But I see the way you take care of him and even spoil him. The little shit’s actually happy, which I guess is what I want. Here.”

I took the booklet he offered me. “What is this?”

“Since you confronted me about not giving Bloom a name, I figured I owed him, so the times I’ve gone back to Riverton, it was to collect information.”

“About Bloom?” I skipped the sheets, but only the first pages were filled in.

“Yeah. It’s not much, but I talked to a few people who were around at the time he would have been born. Got his mother’s and father’s real names, their birth dates, but I couldn’t find anything about either of their families. Bloom’s birthday isn’t exactly concrete. It’s a guess, and it’s about fifty percent accurate, but it’s something.”

“When?”

“Either the eleventh or the twelfth of February. I couldn’t get it narrowed down more than that. You choose, or he can.”

“That’s fine. We can celebrate both days. If anyone deserves it, he does.”

Crowe nodded. “You’ll be good for him,” he said, but it sounded more like a reassurance to himself. “Don’t let me regret accepting you into our brotherhood. You’re now one of us, so we’ll protect you, but if you betray us, you’ll regret it.”

Wow. I stared at him wordlessly. In my mind, I was marrying just Bloom, but in reality, I was also inheriting a whole biker gang. Exchanging one crime family for another. How laughable and sanctimonious I’d been in the past.

He turned to go back in.

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