Page 31 of Finn's Future

Noah sat between us on a blanket propped up carefully with pillows while his teddy bear lit up and sang the alphabet.

Every time it started dancing, Noah clapped excitedly and laughed.

Finn sat on the other side of him with one arm resting across his knee watching us. Not tense the way he’d been at the motel but not completely relaxed, either. There was still something restless underneath him, part of him didn’t quite know what to do with the two of us. His gaze drifted sometimes like he was remembering the life he’d had before we arrived.

Maybe he missed it.

I reminded myself that Finn was helping us because Reaper told him to, not because he wanted us there. The thought left an ache low in my chest that I didn’t want to examine too closely.

Noah suddenly lunged for his toy fire truck too enthusiastically and tipped sideways with a startled little noise.

Finn reacted; one hand shot out automatically to steady him before Noah could fall. It was automatic, maybe instinctive, and a smile slipped onto my face before I could stop it.

Finn saw it, his brow pulling slightly. “What?”

“Nothing,” I replied softly.

But it wasn’t nothing, because no matter how restless Finn seemed sometimes, no matter how much he acted like we complicated his life, he was still there.

And maybe, just maybe, he didn’t hate that as much as he thought he did.

Chapter 13

Kate

That night, we were invited to the clubhouse for a BBQ.

The sound of laughter hit me before we even stepped out of the truck in the parking lot. Not the forced kind. It was real laughter that was warm and happy. Deep voices, music, the occasional shout drifting across the clubhouse yard while smoke curled into the evening sky.

I hesitated beside Finn’s truck, fingers tightening instinctively around Noah’s diaper bag.

The clubhouse looked different outside church meetings and tense conversations. Less dangerous, more alive and fun.

Brothers sprawled across picnic tables with beers in hand while music blasted from old speakers nailed beside the porch. Someone had dragged out folding chairs. Bikes lined the gravel lot in long black rows that caught the fading sunlight. Even the club girls were dressed . . . mostly.

Somehow, it all looked normal. Well, as normal as a biker clubhouse full of tattooed men wearing leather kuttes could look.

Finn came around the truck and automatically reached for Noah to get him out of his carrier.

“I’ve got him,” I said quickly.

Finn raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t say you didn’t.”

Still, his hand stayed there an extra second like he was making sure I had a proper hold before letting go.

The second we crossed into the yard, Lucy spotted us. “Oh, finally.” She stood from the picnic table she’d been sitting on and marched straight towards us. “Maria’s been threatening violence because apparently nobody knows how long to cook chicken like Finn.”

“I heard that,” Maria shouted from beside the grill.

“Good.” Lucy grinned before leaning over the carrier. “There’s my favourite boy.”

Noah kicked happily and reached out for her the second he saw her.

“Rude,” Finn muttered.

Lucy smirked. “You’re at least fourth in ranking.”

“Fourth?” Finn looked offended.