AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey, brother. You good?” I stop beside him.
He shifts, turning to face me. “Grace okay?”
“Yeah. She’s asleep.” I hand him my beer. “Take it. I’ll get another.”
“Thanks,” he says before taking a swig. “I should have been the one to put that bastard in the ground.”
I shake my head. “No. He’s your father. That shit would have messed with your head. Fucked you up worse than you already are. It was right to let Crow take care of it.”
“I’m fucked up because I’ve got his blood in me.” He takes another drink. “Ruined me before I was born.”
“That’s not true. You are nothing like him—never have been.”
We turn to find Grace walking through the grass, my T-shirt hanging around her knees. She doesn’t stop until her arms are wrapped around Bear.
“You are a good man,” she whispers against his chest. “A damn better man than our father. We both have his blood, but that doesn’t make us the same. Our mama’s blood is stronger than that rat poison.”
Bear chuckles. It’s the first time I’ve heard him laugh in years.
“I mean it. You’re my hero—always have been. None of it was your fault.” She rises to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, the starlight reflecting off the tears in his eyes.
I turn away from them, walking back to the house to give them time and privacy. They need each other more than they need me.
This is a new chapter for all of us, but for the first time in my life, I have everything—and everyone—I need.
Epilogue
Three Years Later
Grace
“Why don’t you get out of here? Go home. I’ll close up the shop.”
I give Piper, Ink’s sister, a grateful look. I’m starving, and my feet are killing me. “I am not going to argue. I told Ink to stop at the store for some ice cream and potato chips. I feel a snack coming on.”
Piper rolls her eyes. “Please tell me you aren’t still mixing mint ice cream and barbeque potato chips together.”
I grin. “You’re missing out. It’s amazing.”
“No. Thank you.” She takes my place behind the computer. “Ink figured it out yet?”
“Figured out what?’
She turns to face me. “You can’t be serious.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I rack my brain, but I’ve got nothing.
“Honey, you have so much to learn.” Grabbing her purse off the hook by the door, she takes my hand and leads me to the tiny bathroom at the far side of the shop. After a few moments of scrummaging, she hands me a long white stick. “Pee on it. Ten bucks says you're pregnant.”
No way. I count back the days since my last period. I’ve never been regular, so I don’t usually pay attention, but I’m late—really, really late.
“I can’t.” I shove it back at her, heart racing. “There’s no way. The doctors told me I can’t have kids, something about too much damage from getting the shit beat out of me.”
Piper flinches, and I curse. Being nonchalant about my past is my coping mechanism. Sometimes, I forget it can be a bit much.
“Fine.” I grab it from her hand and step inside the bathroom. I stare at the damn thing for a disproportionate amount of time, knowing I need to do it, but not wanting to get my hopes up.
“You’re being stupid,” I say out loud. “Just pee on the damn stick. What’s the worst that could happen?”
