Page 26 of Ghost's Revenge
A man who might, against all odds, deserve a second chance at something like happiness.
A month and a half later
I can barely remember what life was like before Debbie and Tyler. Can't recall how I filled my days or what I thought about before falling asleep at night. It's like they've always been there, filling spaces I didn't even know were empty.
The Vultures MC are gone. The details don't matter now. What matters is that it's over, and for the first time in months, Pine Haven can breathe again.
Which means it's time for the next chapter.
"Are you sure you're blindfolded?" I ask, glancing in the rearview mirror at Tyler bouncing excitedly in his car seat. "No peeking?"
"I'm not peeking!" Tyler protests, his small hands pressed firmly over the bandana covering his eyes. "But are we there yet?"
Debbie laughs from the passenger seat, her own blindfold slightly askew but still covering her eyes. "You've asked that five times in the last ten minutes, baby."
"Because it feels like we've been driving forever!"
It's been seventeen minutes, but to a four-year-old, that might as well be an eternity. I can't help but smile as I turn onto the quiet street lined with oak trees, the afternoon sun filtering through the leaves and casting dappled shadows on the road.
"Almost there," I promise, catching sight of Ace's truck already parked in the driveway of the small blue house at the end of the cul-de-sac. Viper's bike is there too, propped against the garage door.
I asked them to help with the move. Ace, the reformed club's resident ladies' man and one of the most loyal brothers I've ever known, and Viper, whose genius-level intelligence is hidden behind a wall of silence that rivals Blade's. Although… Both are starting to change now that they have their own girlfriends.
Blade himself is laid up with his girlfriend on what he insists is "just a cold" but is probably the psychological aftermath from our final confrontation with the Vultures MC.
Meanwhile, Reaper and Wilder took their women on a well-deserved vacation, celebrating both our victory and their unexpected romances. Still makes me laugh to think about how Wilder ended up with Reaper's daughter Emma—talk about playing with fire—but they seem to be making it work. The club's changing, and all of us are finding pieces of ourselves we thought were lost; somehow, it's making us stronger instead of weaker.
I pull into the driveway and kill the engine, taking a moment to just look at the house that's about to become our home. Three bedrooms, two baths, with a fenced backyard and a front porch wide enough for a swing. Compared to the shelter, compared to the tiny apartment where I've been living for the past five years, it's a palace.
"Can we take them off now?" Tyler asks, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Not yet. Let me help you both out of the car first."
I circle around to get Tyler, unbuckling him from his car seat and lifting him into my arms with ease. It still amazes me how naturally this came to me. The protective instinct, the constant awareness of where he is and what he needs. Even more amazing is how quickly he accepted me into his life, like he'd been waiting for someone to fill the father-shaped hole David left behind.
We almost managed to keep our relationship secret for two weeks before Tyler caught us kissing in the kitchen at the shelter. The questions that followed were both innocent and devastating. "Are you my new daddy?" "Does this mean the bad man won't come back?" "Can Derek teach me to play baseball every day now?"
Answering him honestly was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. Watching his small face light up when we explained that yes, I was going to be around for a long time, and yes, I would play baseball with him whenever he wanted… It was worth every moment of uncertainty.
I carry Tyler to the front porch, then go back for Debbie, taking her hand and guiding her up the steps. Ace and Viper walk up to us, both trying to look nonchalant but failing miserably. They've spent the past three days helping me get this place ready: painting walls, assembling furniture, arguing about where the TV should go, and their pride in the finished product is obvious.
"Ready?" I ask, positioning Debbie and Tyler in front of the door.
"Yes!" Tyler shouts, while Debbie just nods, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"Okay, take off the blindfolds."
They do, blinking in the afternoon sunlight as they take in the house for the first time. Tyler's reaction is immediate and explosive. Jumping up and down, pointing at the porch swing, the flower boxes, the basketball hoop mounted over the garage.
"Is this our house? Really ours? Can I see my room? Do I have a room? Is it blue? I want it to be blue!"
Debbie's reaction is quieter but no less powerful. Her hand comes up to cover her mouth, her eyes filling with tears as she takes in the American dream she probably thought she'd never have again. A house with a white picket fence, a safe neighborhood, a fresh start.
"Derek," she whispers, turning to me with those eyes that see straight through to my soul. "It's perfect."
"Wait until you see the inside," Ace says, looking more pleased with himself than I've ever seen him. "Ghost here had us reorganize the furniture like fifteen times until it was just right."
"Fourteen times," Viper corrects automatically. "And most of those were because you kept putting things in the wrong place."
