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“Hey, bruh,” Zach said and held out his arms.
Jay went in and took the hug. “Hey. What’re you doin’ here?”
“Mom said everybody was gonna be here today. I know this woman means something to you, so I’m here.”
Pushing back, Jay looked up at his brother. “Did you ride out here on your own? Is Lyra here? Mom and Pop knew you were coming?” They hadn’t said a word to him about it.
“No, no, and yeah. I hopped on a plane and took a fuckin’ Uber from the airport. I meant to be here in time for the funeral, but the flight got delayed. I talked to Mom about coming out, and I told her not to say anything to you, just in case I didn’t make it. And Ly stayed back. It was kind of a snap decision to get out here, and she’s got a show to get ready for. But she sends her love. Everybody in Nevada does.”
That sentiment’s impact on Jay was fairly minor. He didn’t know anybody in Laughlin very well, aside from Zach and Cooper. But he smiled and nodded. “Do you want to meet her?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” Zach answered with a smile.
Jay led his brother over to the cluster of chicks by the fireplace. Petra saw him coming and tilted her head a bit, curious. Then she stood and worked her way through her little crowd.
“Hi,” she said as they came together.
“Hi. You still okay?” Jay asked, leaning close with a hand at the small of her back. He kissed her cheek and felt her nod against his lips.
“I’m surprised at how okay I feel. It helps to have everybody here. I feel a lot of love.”
“You are loved a lot, babe.” Jay kissed her again. “I want you to meet my brother, Zach.”
Her eyes popped wide. “Zach? From Nevada?”
“That’s me,” Zach said with a grin and offered Petra his hand. “Hi, Petra.”
“Hi.” She took his hand and clutched it. “You came from Nevada? For this?”
“I’m here for family. And I’m sorry about your dad.”
Petra stared at Zach, her eyes still round with surprise. She was still gripping Zach’s hand. When it started to get awkward, Jay put his hand over theirs and took Petra’s into his own. “You okay?”
Her wide look shifted to him, and she finally blinked. “I’m okay.” She darted another glance at Zach, then focused on Jay again. “I’m just stunned. People who knew my father for decades didn’t bother to pay their respects. People he called friends. Some only sent a card or flowers. Most didn’t even do that. But an entire motorcycle club that never met him, or me, came. I can’t get my head around it.”
“We love Jay,” Zach said, “and he loves you. That makes you one of us. So we love you, too.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Zach assured her.
Right then—in that exact moment—Jay really felt it. The unconditional love. The deep belonging. It was his, too. And it always had been.
Even when he was getting shit, even when he fucked up. His family loved him. He’d felt so often like he didn’t measure up, he’d felt like a disappointment, and maybe that was true. Sure, it was true sometimes. He’d made it true. But he wasn’t an outcast. He belonged, and he was wanted.
When he’d said he was in love, not one brother, not one member of his family, had questioned it. When he’d said he had need, and she had need, they’d stepped up. Because they were family. They were his family, and now they were hers, too.
Everyone in this bar right now had Petra’s back.
“You’re not alone, babe,” Jay said and squeezed her hand.
She curled up tight against him, crushed his shirt in her fist, and let him hold her up.
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~oOo~
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