"With Maya."
"With Maya." I look over at my daughter, still contentedly petting the dog. "She's the only good thing I've ever done. The only thing I'm sure about."
Alice is quiet for a long moment. Then: "You saved me last night. That was good too."
"That was just—"
"Heroic," she interrupts firmly. "That was heroic, Carter. Whether you want to believe it or not."
I don't know what to say to that, so I don't say anything.
"For what it's worth," Alice continues, "this town is good. The Savage Riders are good. I know they're intimidating, and I know trusting people is hard when you've been burned that badly, but they really do protect this place. They keep us safe."
"You sound like you know them pretty well."
"I know of them. Everyone does. But I met Torch last night for the first time, actually." She smiles slightly. "He was very gentle. Checked my whole house to make sure I was safe, gave me his number in case I needed anything. That's not nothing."
No, it's not. It's the kind of thing the MC I left would have mocked as weakness. The kind of thing that tells me King meant what he said about protecting the town.
Maya finally climbs back into the booth, Biscuit trying to follow before realizing he doesn't quite fit under the table. He settles for putting his head on Alice's lap instead, looking up at her with pure adoration.
"I love him," Maya announces. "Can we get a dog, Daddy? Please? I promise I'll take care of it and walk it and feed it and everything."
"We'll see, baby." The same answer I've been giving for months. Can't have a dog when you're living out of motel rooms and riding from town to town.
But if we stayed...
"Ms. Alice has a dog," Maya says to me, as if I haven't noticed the seventy-pound animal currently drooling on Alice's jeans. "He's the best dog in the whole world."
"I can see that." I look at Alice. "Does he always make friends this fast?"
"Only with good people," she says.
I know what's happening here. Know what it means that she came looking for me, that I invited her to sit, that we're talking like this is normal instead of completely insane.
I know what it means that Maya is already attached to her dog, that Alice teaches at the school my daughter could attend, that everything about this feels like it's sliding into place despite my best efforts to keep moving.
I know what it means, and I'm not ready for it.
But Maya is laughing at something Alice said, and Biscuit is wagging his tail hard enough to knock over the salt shaker, and Alice is smiling at my daughter like she's already a little bit in love with her.
And I think maybe, just maybe, I'm willing to take the risk.
"The clubhouse has pancakes in the morning," I hear myself say. "Steel makes them. With chocolate chips."
Alice's smile falters slightly. "I've actually never been to the clubhouse. I'm not sure the Savage Riders would be okay with that. I mean, it's their space, and I'm just..." She trails off, then adds more quietly, "Also, this is a small town. If someone sees me going into the clubhouse, the rumors would be all over Blackwater Falls by lunchtime."
Right. Of course. I wasn't thinking, too caught up in the moment, in Maya's laughter and the warmth in Alice's eyes. The clubhouse is MC territory, and she's a civilian. A teacher.Someone with a reputation to protect in a town where everyone knows everyone.
"There's a coffee shop," Alice says, saving me from my own stupid invitation. "Opened about two months ago on Pine Street. The Grind, I think it's called. They have amazing pancakes. And it's public, so..." She gives me a small smile. "No rumors. Just breakfast."
"The Grind," I repeat. "With pancakes."
"With chocolate chips, if Maya wants them."
Maya perks up at her name. "Did someone say chocolate chips?"
"Pancakes tomorrow morning," I tell her. "At a coffee shop. With Alice and Biscuit. You interested?"
