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A lifetime.
But she couldn’t think too much about the second one right now because she was still spotting and that might mean the pregnancy wouldn’t come to full-term.
If she even let it. She still hadn’t made that decision and wouldn’t until she talked to Carly first.
Until then, her main worry was Easy’s upcoming punishment.
Luckily, Trip vowed many times he’d never go back to prison. That fact alone made Tessa believe he wouldn’t strike Easy too hard. Make him hurt, yes. Killing or maiming him, no. Her brother wouldn’t risk going back behind bars, or leaving Stella and Rush alone, simply because he let his temper get the best of him.
She remembered how bad his lack of control had been as a teen. How he would rage at their mother. How he would rage at his stepfather, Tessa and Tucker’s father.
Many times, he’d punch holes in the walls in his room in frustration. Or he’d storm out of the house and not come back until he’d cooled off. Sometimes he’d be gone for days with no concern from Tammy about his disappearance.
But that last time…
The last time he left he never came home again. He ended up marrying that cheating bitch, then joining the Marines at twenty.
Witnessing his temper was one reason she hadn’t shown up on his porch until she ran out of other options. Her older brother had always been there for her, even during his bad moments, but the anger that ate him from the inside out had always scared her more than she liked to admit.
While it still lingered inside him to this day, it wasn’t as bad as she remembered. His years as a Marine and his time in prison most likely helped. Stella definitely did, too.
Now that her brother was in his late thirties, he had the maturity to recognize the issue his father passed onto him and willingly did what he could to work on that genetic defect, like using the heavy bag in the gym.
His goal was to be the best leader, husband and father he could be. Unlike Buck.
While Tammy had left unerasable marks on all three of her children, with Trip, the mark Buck left behind was so damn deep it reached her brother’s very core.
“We’ll talk soon. Don’t do anythin’ fuckin’ stupid in the meantime.” A stilted laugh filled her ear. “Promise me that, Tess. Let’s just ride this out for now. Hopefully things will work out in the end.”
Hopefully. But no guarantee since that would be asking for the impossible.
She nodded even though he couldn’t see it. “Okay. Don’t do anything stupid, either, E.”
“Gotta go.”
Before she could say goodbye, he was gone.
Tessa gnawed on her bottom lip as she stared at the dark screen on her phone for a few seconds. When she lifted her head, she glanced over at Saylor. While she was on the phone with Easy, her best friend had come out of the house with two cold cans of Diet Dr. Pepper. She was now settled on a cushioned chair across from Tessa, where they sat under the gazebo in Judge and Cassie’s backyard.
Saylor’s dark eyebrows were raised. “I assume that was Easy?”
Tessa nodded.
“You do know that means he just broke another rule.”
Tess nodded again with her cell phone still clutched tightly within her fingers, to the point they were beginning to cramp.
After one more glance at it, she put it face down on the seat next to her.
“You okay?” Saylor asked with her head tilted and her blue eyes sharp, not missing a damn thing.
No. “Yes.”
“I’ve been meaning to do this.” Saylor pulled a black Sharpie from her back pocket and held it up. “I finally remembered to bring it out this time.” With a sly grin, she reached across the space between them and pulled Tessa’s arm closer. Saylor tapped the Sharpie against her lip and turned her eyes upward. “What should I write? Failed stunt double? BBF?”
“Best bitch forever?”
“Well, you are my bestest bitch and you’re stuck with me forever. Oh wait! I know!” Saylor leaned over and her curtain of dark brown hair covered the area where she was writing. When she was finished, she threw her head back and yelled, “Perfect!” with a laugh.
Tessa was almost afraid to look. When she did, she groaned.
I’m a Ride or Die chick!
This cast is proof I almost did!
The block letters were large and easily readable from a distance.
“Thanks,” Tessa said dryly, rolling her eyes.
Saylor grinned. “C’mon. It’s funny. And the best part is you didn’t die!”
Tessa snagged her bottom lip between her teeth.
Her friend’s eyebrows pinned together. “Why aren’t you laughing? Did the crash kill your sense of humor?”
Tessa took a deep breath and after letting it out with excruciating slowness, she said, “Saylor, I need to tell you something.”
Rev’s younger sister sat back in her chair and shrugged. “Okay. No need to announce it first, just spill.”
