Page 117 of Finding Hope

“My head’s sitting on a clifftop, B. Right next to my heart.”

“You love her?”

Nodding, I turn to meet his eyes. “Yeah. I love her.”

His eyes dance with giddiness. “Does she know? Did you tell her?”

“Not yet.”

“Whenwill you tell her?”

I give a shy shrug. “Maybe after she tells me first.”

Giddiness washes away to disgust. “Don’t be a pussy, Jack. Don’t be scared of her not saying it back.Youof all people should know not to waste time with the what ifs and shit. Just jump, brother, live every damn day.”

I nod, because I know he’s right. “I’ve gotta talk to Scotch and Alex, first.”

He cocks his head to the side. “Huh? Why do you have to talk to them? You know they’re always trying to arrest us, right? We’re being forced to live like sharks. Keep moving, or die. If we slow down and let Turner catch us, he tickets us for something.”

I laugh. “Fuck, Bobby. I haven’t even told you the best bit yet.”

“What’s the best bit?”

“Britt… she’s Scotch and Alex’s baby sister.”

“No fucking way!” He smacks a heavy fist onto my shoulder. “You’re doing Deputy Alex’s baby sister?”

Biting my lip, I nod and slow to turn a corner. “And it gets so much worse. Ages ago, the first time me and Britt…ya know.I fucking said hey to Scotch! I waved at him three seconds before...ya know.”

“Jesus,” he hoots. “I always said you were a ballsy prick. Seriously, since the day I met you, I both loved and hated you for your fuckin’ arrogance.”

“I didn’t know she was his sister at the time! But fuck, now that I know, I realize it might’ve been the best moment of my entire life.”

Laughing, he swipes a hand under his eye as I pull up at the estate gates. Leaning out the window and entering the code, I slowly nudge the Mustang through like the three seconds the gate takes is too long.

“Umm…”

I look up and pause at the scene ahead of us. “Yeah. Um…”

Everyone’s in the street. Aiden and Jim, Tina, Iz, Kit, Tink, and all the kids. Then Bambie. Bambie’s in the middle of it all… and,wow.

That’s no schoolmarm. Not Miss T.

That’smyBambie in full rocker clothing.

Leather shorts that show off muscular thighs. High top DC’s on her feet, and six million bracelets on her wrists. Sexy long hair, and a hair band giving her the‘I just had sex’look that I adore so much – and plan to make good on in about three and a half minutes. Even her makeup is done, dark to match the approaching twilight hour as the sun moves toward the horizon.

She’s like the flame, and my entire family are the moths. They’re drawn to her, because she’s so fucking beautiful. She’s mesmerizing.

Captivating.

But me; I’m the moth already dead and fried beneath her. I’ve got no chance.

My eyes – no, my whole head – follows her swift movements; left, right, up, up, dangerously high up, then down so fucking fast my stomach drops.

Someone’s built a halfpipe in my driveway. A real-life, full-sized, timber framed halfpipe, where the top platform sits at least nineteen or twenty feet in the air, and the entire structure takes up my driveway and part of the street.

“I mean, shit…” Bobby muses. “We’ve only been gone ten hours.”

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