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Three Months Later
Gabs
Moving in with Silk had been the right decision. It had meant lots of time to catch up and chat about everything that had happened in both our lives. My left shoulder had healed up fast enough I could head into Silky Ink after just a few weeks, although the others didn’t let me do anything but the front counter and only if I sat while I did it.
“You ready to get free of that thing?”
I smiled over at Silk, who’d driven me to my doctor’s appointment. “So ready!”
Tears threatened as I took in my best friend. She was glowing, happy with her life. I can’t believe I nearly let it all fall away. Silk parked but I didn’t reach for the door right away. “Silk?”
She turned with one hand on her door handle, “Yeah, babe?”
“Thank you for not giving up on our friendship, even when I sorta did.”
Her expression softened as she sighed. “Gabs, we both let it slide. I had a crazy year being kidnapped by the mob, dealing with my dad’s seedy past, then hooking up with Eagle and getting pregnant. But that’s just it… we’ve been friends for so long, we can have quiet times but know I’ll always be here for you. No matter what is going on in my life, you can call on me, yeah?”
I smiled broadly at her. “Yeah, I get that now. Love you like a sister, Silk.”
“Right back at ya. Now let’s go get your arm free!”
With a chuckle, I slid out of the car and led the way to the doctor’s office.
Since both Silk and Boone, along with Donny and SeVen, had made sure I’d taken it extremely easy as I recovered, the doctor was happy with my scans and took the brace off me. He told me I’d still need to be careful about over-extending the joint, and recommended I start seeing a physiotherapist to rehab both my shoulders. Something I’d already planned on doing. I wanted to ride and work with horses and needed full mobility in my shoulders. I refused to allow Royce to take that from me.
Before long, I was back in Silk’s car, and we were heading out of Houston. After a stop at a Sonic to feed my addiction with a large Vanilla Coke. As we got closer to Bridgewater, Silk turned off the highway.
“Ah, Silk, whatcha’ up to?”
“Got a surprise for you. Just sit tight and you’ll find out soon enough.”
The further down the road we got, the more worried I became, because she was heading toward my old place. I hadn’t been back since the fire. I’d spoken to John on the phone when he’d called to apologize and confirm there was nothing left of my trailer to salvage. My car had been parked far enough away from the trailer that it had avoided getting burned, although I had no keys. Scout had fixed that one for me and my car was now sitting at the Charon MC clubhouse, safely locked away until I could drive it again.
“Silk, I don’t want to see it.”
Hearing the panic in my voice, she reached over and patted my leg. “We’re not going to your trailer. Promise.”
Then she turned up the main drive to the Emerson property. I stayed quiet but frowned as we passed the house and headed toward the barn. My heart hurt with how much I missed Whiskey, Cloud and Flint, but I could hardly drive myself out here and if I did get someone to bring me, I couldn’t go for a ride or work with them at all, so I hadn’t bothered.
“What have you two done now?”
Boone stood leaning against his truck that had a horse trailer attached to the back. John was beside him and they’d obviously been deep in conversation before we’d pulled up.
“It was John’s idea. We just suggested the timing. Go and say hi to the horses, I hear they’ve missed you.”
Fighting tears already, I slipped out of the car and cradling my right arm against my tummy, started toward the men. Boone straightened and came to meet me.
“You got the doc’s approval to lose the brace. That’s great.”
He gave me a quick peck on the lips but before I could ask him anything, he had me turned and heading toward John. The man had aged twenty years since I’d last seen him. As far as he knew, Royce was still missing, although he’d lived in Bridgewater long enough to know the Charons had handled him and his two friends. Despite what the nurses had said, Kate had woken from the coma, but she wasn’t the same woman. She was now living at an assisted living facility in Houston.
“Afternoon, Gabs. You’re looking better. I can’t apologize enough—”
I waved my left hand, cutting off his words. “You were more a victim than me, John. There’s no need to apologize. Although, I am curious why we’re all out here.”
“Well, I’m selling the place. With Kate in the city, I want to be closer to her, not out here chasing cattle. I’ve lined up a buyer for the ranch, but I didn’t sell him the horses. I wanted to gift them to you. I wasn’t sure you’d be able to take them until I spoke with Boone here, and he assured me he has the stalls available and you’re welcome there anytime you want.”
Shock had me silent for a minute as I processed what John was saying.
