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“Thought you lot were supposed to know how to ride,” I tease.
She pulls back, grinning. “First tip, Rae. You want to survive around here; don’t insult the men’s dignity by implying they can’t ride.”
“Even if they fall off?” I smirk.
“Especiallyif they fall off.” She stands, crossing to the closet in two quick strides. “If you want to clear anything out, go ahead. Most of this shit was dumped in here and forgotten about.” Maddie studies a single, worn boot without an obvious mate. “Fuck’s sake.”
“Take it that I’m not stealing anyone’s space, then?” The room’s mostly bare, but there’s enough decoration for me to question the reason.
“Nope. We’ve got a few spare rooms for when we get visits from out-of-town members.” She sighs, seemingly annoyed she can’t find the boot’s partner. “You’ve got one of them.”
“There’s more of you around?” I frown, watching while she opens the bedroom door far enough to lob the stray boot down the hall.
“You thought we were the only ones?” She snorts a little laugh. “There are eight chapters of the Reapers, hon.”
“Butthisis Red River,” I say.
Mads nods, already back to the closet to pick through more of the heap on the floor. “Yeah. We’re the onlyRed RiverReapers. Each chapter takes on its location in their name.” She rights a jacket that had fallen off the hanger. “So, there’s the Blue Lake Reapers, the Charlesville Reapers, Iron Mountain Reapers… You get the idea.”
“Doesn’t really have the same ring, though, does it?”
She pokes her head out and grins. “Nope. It doesn’t.”
I flop back on the bed and spread my arms wide, toiletries falling off my legs to the floor.What the hell have I got myselfinto?Fourteen months ago, I packed a bag and bought a bus ticket for as far as I could go with the change in my pocket. I’d had enough, been beaten down for so long that I knew it was either get out or give up. I rode that goddamn bus for hours on end, dreaming of what a new life could look like, and I ended up here, in a pretty little town with a wide and sprawling river that fed through beautiful streets and parkland. I thought I’d found the jackpot.
I thought I’d found hope.
And yet, here I lie, the weight of an obsessed ex pitted low in my gut, and the itchy anxiety at being the odd one out in a club of people who live a vastly different life to me crawling across my skin.
Here I lie, hoping that this time next year, I’m still alive.
And most of all, I’m happy.
Because when I think about it, that was all I ever wanted. That was all I needed.
It just took a trip cross-country for me to realize that.
“Do you think this will ever go away?” I muse, still staring up at the ceiling.
Maddie’s weight dips the bed before she pops into my periphery. “Stop that.” She bops me on the nose.
“Stop what?” I roll my head toward her and smile.
“Thinkin’ the sky is falling.” She grins, flopping to lie beside me. “If my family taught me anything, Rae, it’s that nothing ever lasts. The good times and the bad.” She sighs, tilting her head to touch mine. “Give it time. Something’s bound to happen to make Terry—and Connor—lose interest in you.”
“Yeah.” I stare back up at the stippled ceiling. “I guess.”
“Until then.” She props herself up on one elbow. “Think of this like a giant sleepover.” Maddie's lips spread into a grin. “We’re gonna have fun. You get me?”
“Yeah. I get you.”
If only I knew what fun felt like.
10
TYKE
From where I sit,the door to her room is just visible, a sliver showing from around the end of the wall. The upstairs living quarters stretch from one side of the building to the other, yet half is bordered by a steel and glass balustrade, a landing that gives the residents a view of the downstairs communal area.
