Page 37 of Devil's Damnation

I chuckle, shaking my head. Allison's never been one for subtlety, but her no-nonsense approach might be exactly what Dani needs right now.

"Sounds like you're being summoned," I tell her, giving her ass a playful swat as she heads for the door.

She actually laughs – the first real laugh I've heard from her in weeks – and the sound goes straight to my heart.

Within an hour, the clubhouse's alive with activity. Morris showed up with a cooler full of potato salad and a grin that could power the whole town. Thunder and Bull are arguing over the best way to season the steaks, while Storm sets up the sound system with more care than he's ever shown his own bike.

But it's Dani I'm watching. She and Allison claimed the pool area almost immediately, spreading out towels and settling in with bottles of water, small plastic glasses of margaritas and what looks like every magazine Allison could find at the grocery store. Dani's wearing a red bikini that makes my mouth go dry, and for once, she actually looks relaxed.

"She looks good," Dime says, appearing at my elbow with two beers. He hands me one and nods toward the pool. "Better than she has in weeks."

He's right. Dani's actually smiling as Allison tells some story that involves wild hand gestures and what sounds like dramatic voice changes. The haunted look that's been living in her eyes is still there, but it's not as evident now.

"Yeah, she does." I take a long pull from my beer, letting myself hope that maybe we're turning a corner. "Allison's good for her."

"They're good for each other. Allison's been worrying herself sick, and Dani's been drowning in her own head. Sometimes you need your best friend to remind you who you are."

We watch as Dani slides into the pool, her movements careful but more natural than they've been. She gets in, swims a few laps, and then gets out to lay down on her towel. As she's wringing her hair out, she and Allison laugh at whatever it is they're talking about.

"Food's ready!" Bull calls out, and I watch as Morris immediately heads toward the pool to collect his daughter. The man's been walking on eggshells around her too, unsure how to help his little girl heal from something he can't fix with his hands.

Lunch is loud and chaotic in the best possible way. Thunder tells increasingly outrageous stories about his younger days that may or may not be true, while Bull pretends to be offended by everyone's critiques of his grilling technique. Storm keeps the music at just the right level.

And Dani... Dani participates. She doesn't say much, but she smiles at the right moments, laughs when Thunder gets particularly ridiculous, and even teases Bull about burning the edges of the corn. It's not quite the animated, vibrant woman I fell in love with, but it's closer than we've been in weeks.

"This is nice," she says quietly, settling next to me on one of the picnic benches Bull dragged out from storage. "I forgot how much I missed this."

"Missed what?"

"Just... being normal. Feeling like part of something good instead of..." She trails off, but I know what she means. Instead of feeling like the victim, the one who brought danger to the family, the weak link that needed protecting.

"You are part of something good, baby. You're the best part." I drop a kiss on her head.

She leans against my shoulder, and I wrap my arm around her, pulling her closer. Across the table, Morris catches my eye and nods, his expression saying everything words can't. We're all walking this road together, helping her find her way back to herself.

The afternoon stretches on, lazy and comfortable. Dani and Allison return to the pool while the rest of us clean up and start preparing for the evening. Bull's already got the fire pit ready for s'mores later, and Thunder's made sure we have enough marshmallows to feed a small army.

As the sun starts to set, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange, everyone gathers around the fire pit. Morris has claimed one of the camp chairs and is sharing stories about Dani's childhood, much to her embarrassment and everyone else's entertainment.

"Dad, you don't have to tell them about the time I tried to build a motorcycle out of bicycle parts," Dani protests, but she's laughing as she says it.

"Oh, but I do," Morris grins. "Especially the part where you convinced the neighbor boy to help you and nearly got both of you killed."

"I was eight!"

"And already showing signs of your questionable taste in men," Allison chimes in, earning herself a splash of water from the pool where Dani's sitting with her feet dangling in.

The easy banter continues as we roast marshmallows and assemble s'mores with the seriousness of mechanics needing to make sure everything fits perfectly. Dani makes three before declaring herself done, then curls up next to me on the wide outdoor couch Bull dragged over from the clubhouse.

"Thank you," she whispers, her voice so soft I almost miss it over the crackling of the fire.

"For what?"

"For this. For knowing what I needed even when I didn't." She tilts her head up to look at me, and in the firelight, I can see tears gathering in her eyes. But they're not the tears of pain and fear I've seen too much of lately. These are different.

"You don't have to thank me for loving you, Dani."

"I know. But I'm going to anyway."

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