Page 78 of Better as It

I turn my head. “What?”

He kisses my knuckles.

“You gave me two reasons not to give up.”

He touches my heart.

“And then our son.”

I smile through the tears.

“I don’t deserve either of you,” he adds.

“Yes, you do.”

“Then I’ll spend every day earning it.”

I fall asleep with his hand on my belly, his breath in my hair.

And for once, I let myself believe in a future that doesn’t end in loss.

There is a new road in front of us. The one behind us was a rough ride, but we are better for it. And this new ride is one I can’t wait to embrace.

EPILOGUE

DIA

One Year Later

All I’ve ever wanted isthis.

The wind in my hair. My hands on his waist. My knees hugging the curves of a bike as the road unfolds like a promise in front of us. The sound of a hundred engines roaring like thunder behind and ahead of me. Not just a ride, but the ride of a lifetime.

The Tail of the Dragon.

Three hundred and eighteen curves in eleven miles, slicing through the Smoky Mountains like a legend carved into asphalt. A road made for the brave, the bold, the stubborn. The ones who need to feel alive to remember they are alive.

It’s not just a road. It’s a rite of passage.

And today, it’s mine.

I’ve dreamed of this moment for years. But dreams shift. Roads change.

Back then, I pictured riding behind Benji—Clutch. We didn’t make it here before I lost him. I imagined us flying around thosebends, him laughing, me clinging to his back like the girl I used to be, untested and still whole.

But that girl’s gone.

And in her place stands someone I had to become.

Today, I ride as an ol’ lady in the Hellions MC.

But more than that—I ride with him as one.

My mom is the one who gives me the nudge. She walks into the room, her hair braided tight. Her eyes take me in, my tight jeans, the faded tank top that used to be Benji’s, and the boots I’ve ridden in with my dad since I was sixteen and my mom bought them for me.

“You look like you’re about to throw up,” she says, deadpan.

“I’m nervous,” I admit, brushing imaginary lint off my jeans. “This ride?—”

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