Page 55 of Through The Woods

She arched an eyebrow. “Hey, yourself. I ran into Ali the other night. She was asking about you.”

PD suddenly found the contents of the shopping cart very interesting. “Whatcha got in there, Neve?”

Smooth. He was just going to skip right over that.

“Just things that were on the list,” I pushed the cart up toward the front, while forcing thoughts of coke back down into the darkness. “Do we have time to shop for clothes? Oh, and Amber and I were thinking of doing something too—if we have time.”

He nodded. “We’ve got time to shop…see a movie…you name it. What’d you have in mind, Amber?”

She grinned wickedly. “Are you coming with?”

His smile faded. “Why? What are you planning?”

Amber latched onto the front of the cart, pulling us toward the checkout, while gleefully calling over her shoulder, “I take it you can’t let Neve out of your sight, so I hope you like yoga.”

PD groaned. “Anywhere but there. Shit, I’ll take you to every clothing store in town if you want.”

I caught Amber’s eye and she winked. “Guess who owns the yoga studio.”

Ah. That made a lot more sense. We paid for the groceries, but arranged to pick them up on our way back to the lodge. PD was quiet on the drive over to yoga, while Amber peppered me with questions about my knowledge of yoga and meditation.

A half hour later, we were cobra and tree posing our way to a restful state—well, some of us. Others were standing near the front door, looking as out of place as a hooker on Rodeo Drive. Ali, to her credit, remained unfazed and carried on as if there wasn’t a massive biker standing in the corner, scowling at everyone.

That glower had certainly disappeared when she demonstrated firefly pose for the class. His look didn’t convey anger—quite the opposite really. The more I was around the bikers, the more confused I became. PD was obviously into Ali, yet acted as if she meant nothing. Charm was hung up on Rae, but no one dared mention her name.

How did eight men—ten, if you counted Axel and Joseph—live like monks?

And why?

The class ended, but I remained sitting on my mat; pleased that I’d still been able to master almost every pose, especially since I hadn’t practiced in over four years. My side was almost completely healed, minus the occasional twinge from scar tissue forming. For the first time since I arrived in Kasselhessen, I took the time to appreciate how far I’d come.

I had been sober for eight weeks and one day.

I’d learned how to cook.

I had found a job that left me feeling exhausted, but productive at the end of every day.

I’d fallen in love and, while not the healthiest of choices, it proved that Clint hadn’t damaged me beyond repair.

I was still here.

And the cravings that had seemed so overwhelming an hour ago, faded until I was in control again.

Before I could get lost in my positive affirmations, strong arms lifted me up and toward the door.

“Time’s up. We need to get you some clothes,” PD hissed as he stalked toward the door, with Amber rushing to keep up.

“Goodbye. It was great to meet you, Neve. Say hello to Charm for me,” Ali called.

I extended my hands toward her. “Namaste, Ali. I’ll be back, I promise.”

Once we were safely back out on the street, PD turned to me and Amber. “You two ready for shopping now? Let’s do all the shopping—fuck.” He gave me a pointed look. “Don’t say a word, Neve. Not today.”

I quickly realized two things. One—Ali was more than just some fling. She’d gotten under his skin and I was going to make it my mission to get to the bottom of it—that’s what she said.

I was completely hopeless sometimes.

Okay, time to be serious.

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