Page 26 of A New Era

He nods and stands, heading back to Zara who now has her gaze on me. The sight of her disappears as Holly blocks the view and I take her hand and pull her down onto my lap. She lands with a thump and giggles. She leans in and whispers, “Just so you know I’ve stopped taking the pill.”

Pressing my cheek against hers, her news has me growing in my pants. With less than a few weeks till the wedding, I intend to start growing our family tonight.

“Hey, stop right now, Ray-Ray!” Holly shrieks, jumping up from my lap.

Rayna skids to a stop and Holly leans over and plucks the lollipop from her mouth.

“What have I told you about these things?” Holly asks her, tossing the candy into an empty beer bottle.

“Not to run with them while in my mouth.”

“Yes, and why?”

“Because I could choke and need to go to the hospital.”

“Yes, that’s right. If you want the candy, then you sit with it. Don’t forget again, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy.”

A gasp from behind us has me turning in my chair and Kristen is standing there. A painful smile on her face and a tear in her eye. Dragging my eyes from her, I check on Holly and I can tell she’s waiting for Kristen to speak.

“Rayna, why don’t you show Grandma Kris how the roses Auntie Victoria planted with you have flowered,” I suggest.

“Do you want to see the roses, Grandma?”

“I’d love to, darling.”

Rayna takes Kris’s hand. As they pass Holly, Kristen squeezes her shoulder and offers her a warm smile. Thank fuck that didn’t turn into a shit show.

I pull Holly back down onto my lap and as the evening passes, the conversation turns into laughter and I sit happily playing with Holly’s hair, counting down the minutes until I’m next inside her.

Zach joins us, and tells me, “It will take too long to get Sebastian a passport. I’ve made arrangements for him to stay with my parents and me and Nina will go alone. Our flights are booked. We fly out tomorrow night so we’re leaving tonight. We’ll be back in eight days.”

“Good. I’m sending the twins out in the morning to do the same for the sister and her kids.”

My phone pings with a text and it’s from Harper.

Rayna’s with me. She wants a sleepover with me and Gunner, so you don’t have to rush home with Holly tonight.

I shoot her a reply letting her know it’s all good and slide the phone into my pocket. With the night to ourselves and the brothers on their way to drunkenness, Holly doesn’t need convincing to sneak away and climb on the back of my bike.

Her perfume envelopes me as she clings to me as we ride out of town, and I hold on to the thought that my soul is healed and all because of the woman on the back of my bike. Without a particular destination in mind, I ride until we reach the lakes. I kill the engine and say, “I haven’t been out here since I was in high school.”

Her laughter fills the air. “I can imagine why you would come out here.”

We sit by the water and as the moon rises and shines down over the water, I ask her, “How are the wedding plans coming along?”

“Between me, your mom, and sister, it’s pretty much done. It’s just the nerves I’ve got to get under control.”

Frowning, I ask, “What are you nervous about?”

“The amount of people your mom has invited for a start.”

“I agree it’s a lot, but you’ll be fine. You have nothing to be nervous about.”

“Do you personally know them all?” she asks.

“Most of them. A few I’m sure will be newly patched-in members but they’re brothers all the same. You’ve gotta remember, I grew up in the club, I forget most people didn’t.” Kissing her temple, I ask, “What’s worrying you the most?”

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