AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Crazy.
In the best way.
And I was an Old Lady before I knew what was happening.
Being part of Defiance is the most amazing life.
And I have never looked back.
One of the best things that came out of it was becoming part of Hurricane and Bayou’s life, and I love those boys as if they are my own. Even though I was only in their life for a few years before their father, Reaper, passed from liver cancer, it made no difference to me. They were and always will be part of my life.
Reaper made me feel like the world was turning on its head, and I’ve never been able to capture that feeling since. In fact, when Reaper died, my world stopped. I’ve been coasting. Just getting by. Living each day for my kids and doing the best I can for each of them.
But now, at this moment, looking into the eyes of South, my world feels different. Like it’s spinning again, and I don’t mean a slight rotation. I mean, fricking out of control, giving me vertigo, about to collapse because I can’t hold on from the turmoil, kind of spinning.
That shaking feeling on the inside returns. The one reminding me that there’s so much at stake, and my eyes begin to well with tears I can’t control. I blink rapidly, pulling my attention from South, breaking whatever contact we shared just now.
I snap my head away, swiping at my face. “Shit! I’m not normally this emotional. I don’t know what’s gotten into me,” I mumble, still averting my eyes from his.
His strong hand slides under the table, gently resting it on my knee. But there’s no way it’s sexual. It is purely for comfort. “Ingrid, I’m here. I know you don’t know me well, but sometimes talking things over with a relative stranger is the best way to get shit off your chest?”
Slowly, I lift my eyes back to his. “Do you know why we came here today?”
“Not a damn clue, angel.”
I could lie.
Make something up.
Fabricate some bullshit or another.
I already know how I’ll handle and move forward from this, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have one person to confide in.
So I tell South the whole truth—no matter how terrifying.
“I had a routine mammogram. You know what that is?” I ask.
“Yeah, I do…” He nods with a weak smile. “But I have a feeling, with how long the appointment took and the fact you keep crying, that it’s anything but routine?”
Inhaling deeply, I shake my head. “No… not routine at all.”
South sits taller, his hand darting out, reaching for mine, and he squeezes. “Jesus! Okay, how bad we talking here?”
I go to speak, but the waitress interrupts with our coffee and a bowl of curly fries, placing them down. “Here you go. Enjoy. Let me know if I can get ya anything else?”
“Thanks so much,” I reply.
South doesn’t say anything, and instantly, Server Sally frowns with disappointment.
“Ingrid… how badare we talking?” he asks again, now she’s gone, his tone firmer. More demanding.
Typical biker!
I turn to face him and slump my shoulders. “When they did the first scan, they saw the shadow, so they did another mammogram and an ultrasound. They found a lump that appears to be about two centimeters in diameter. I have to come back tomorrow for a biopsy.”
South rubs his hand through his long hair. “Okay, so we don’t know the full extent of what this is, right? It could be a cyst or a fatty lump—”
“You saying I’m fat?” I joke, and he scowls at me.
