His biker friends brought over drinks and food but gave them space.
She saw more than one of them looking over to check on their brother. She learned over those hours how closely bonded the men were, and she quickly came to appreciate them all for their deep care for Ryan.
Over more hours, he came back to himself.
“I love you,” he said, running a thumb over her lower lip.
She leaned in and kissed him this time, repeating the sentiment.
It would be love that got Ryan through these dark days ahead. It would never be easy for him to digest the truth, to know his life would always be connected to Vince’s, but Lisa silently vowed she would fill Ryan up with extra love. The swoony love, the obsessed love, the take care love, the can’t be away from you, love, the love that filled him to the surface and would make that hurt fade into the background of his life, eventually.
Love was a fantastic engine when used for the right reasons.
And Lisa, as she cuddled with her strong, brave man, knew love had brought them back together.
Fate and serendipity had worked in tandem to re-thread their lives together once more.
Only this time, she swore not one thread would ever fray around the edges again.
She was sticking with Ryan until the end of time, and even beyond.
Because as determined as Ryan had been to win her heart again, she was just as determined to keep him.
To keep him and make her sweet boy happy.
* * *
Lisa, still groggy, glanced at the clock. She groaned when she heard her phone ring, realizing it was 2 a.m. However, the moment her mind registered that it was Ryan calling, she answered right away.
“What’s up?”
“Sweetheart, it’s snowing. Meet me at the door.” He said, hanging up.
Her crazy, sweet man.
He was the only one who could call at two in the morning, after she’d been working her socks off until midnight, and tell her to come outside.
In an ankle-length granny-style nightie, she slipped on a pair of slippers, not caring that her hair was probably like a bird’s nest. Ryan liked how she looked, and yep, he was smiling when she opened the front door, though he had his own key.
She noticed him at first, of course; he was too gorgeous to ignore, but then she saw the fat snowflakes falling from the dark sky.
Outside her house was so still and white. Sheer perfection, and she stepped out but shivered, remembering what little she was wearing. But Ryan was already slipping out of his leather jacket, and he encouraged Lisa to put her arms in the holes. He zipped the coat to her chin; she giggled when it swamped her smaller frame.
“How do I look?”
“Fucking gorgeous.”
“Flatterer. You’re lucky it’s snowing because I’m so tired.”
“I knew you wouldn’t want to miss it,” he smirked, much more like her sweet boy.
It had been a somber three weeks, and now it was the first week of the new year.
They quietly celebrated Ryan’s birthday on Christmas Day.
He attempted to ignore it, and she’d said, “Hell no!” She wanted to celebrate the man he was, so she’d baked him a lemon-frosted cake, knowing how to win her sweet-toothed biker around. He’d almost eaten the entire thing in two days.
They’d talked so much over those weeks, helping Ryan to heal. He’d decided not to tell his mom what he’d learned, not wanting her to relive those dark days again. All Tammie knew was that Vince had moved away. Sure, she thought it was a little suss but ultimately accepted it. What came in the future, they’d deal with together.
