Page 57 of Hard Ride

Then she’d tickled him until he’d gone hysterical with it despite the fact that his hair had remained spiky on one side.

“You guys, and the Hot Rides, and everyone else who keeps telling me shit I don’t listen to are right.”Ollie put the leather cord around his neck and covered the photo with his hand, trapping it close to his heart.He refused to dishonor his mother’s spirit by letting his fear of losing things keep him from living his best life.

Which was good, because right then he needed to be extra bold and extra brave.

Ollie took an enormous breath, and stared into Kyra’s eyes.He said simply, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Ollie.”She kissed him then, with so much tenderness that he knew it had been the exact right thing to do.And when they broke apart, grinning at each other, he realized Van had retreated a foot or two away.

Ollie nudged Kyra, who glanced over at her other lover, held out her hand to draw him near again, and said, “I love you too, Van.”

“I love you,” he promised Kyra before crushing her, and Ollie with her, in one hell of a hug.

Ollie spoke straight from his heart.“Whatever happens after tonight, I want you two to know that this has been the best day of my life and I hope to keep breaking that record with you both, often.”

As if he agreed, Mr.Prickles chose right then to bite the bars of his cage, rattling them until the three of them looked over at Ollie’s pet.

“Yep, I think that’s a terrific plan, too, Mr.Prickles,” Kyra told the hedgehog before sticking her fingers into the cage to pet him.The animal leaned into her gentle caresses.Ollie could relate.

When the three of them finally curled up together under his fluffy duvet, he slept more soundly than he had since before the fire that had nearly burned his life to the ground.

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