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I reached out and hugged him.
At first, Diesel went to pull away, and then strong arms flexed, and he held me tightly.
“Knew you’d be my brave man,” I cooed. Triumphantly, I turned to Chance and cocked an eyebrow.
“Well?” I demanded.
Chance was still so wary that I could see the emotion in his eyes. My breakdown had done that. But I had a better understanding of PTSD now and could make amends. I would get us back to the easy, comfortable, supportive relationship we’d shared.
“Leg waxing? Nothing else?” Chance inquired.
“Yup.” I nodded happily.
“Fine, sign Hellfire up,” Chance said amid complaints from his brothers. Chance glowered when the complaints continued. “Who’s the pussy?” he demanded.
They all shut up.
“This will be amazing! The public are gonna love this!” I exclaimed.
“Wait, what? The public?” Diesel scoffed.
“Yeah, we’re going to be doing a fundraising event in the morning and then Thanksgiving dinner after! This is great!” I enthused.
I stubbornly ignored Chance and several others’ concerned expressions. Everyone needed to realise I felt better, and I was determined to make up for the breakdown. Not that I needed to. Nobody could predict how PTSD would affect someone, and no one had the right to judge my PTSD and how it manifested.
But I could make amends by fixing fractured bonds. And come hell or high water, I planned to do exactly that.
Chapter One.
Chance
There was nobody present to overhear his conversation, which was exactly what Chance wished. He approached Tati quietly, and she looked up, seeming to sense him. Chance saw the awareness on Tati’s face and knew she’d guessed what he was approaching her for.
“Had Clio said anything before this announcement?” Chance asked, sitting down.
“No, which makes me worry,” Tati admitted.
“Yeah, me too. After that… breakdown, Clio shut down. And only returned to life with Olivia and Isla’s arrival. Now she seems to be too bright, as if Clio’s forcing herself to be the way she was before everything happened.” Chance couldn’t hide the bitterness from his voice.
“That’s my thought too, Chance,” Tati replied, laying a hand on his thick thigh.
“She’ll break again,” Chance said, and Tati nodded. “What do I do?”
“Let me find out Clio’s plans and make sure they are viable. You watch for the first sign of Clio crashing,” Tati said. “The old ladies shouldn’t have been cut out of this event. It worries me that she has shut us out already. I’ll make sure Clio knows she has our support and ensure everything runs smoothly.”
“Thanks, honey,” Chance muttered, placing his fingers over hers.
Tati squeezed his hand tightly before releasing it.
Chance rose silently and walked off to find his wife, glad to have found a private moment to express his concerns for her.
Clio
“Ready?” I asked Diesel two days later.
He looked at me, confused. “For?” he quizzed.
“To shop for Thanksgiving. It’s in a week, and I don’t think I want to hang around much more. There’s a lot to do. You in or not?” I demanded. There was irritation in my voice, which I couldn’t hide. For the last few days, I’d had Tati up my ass wanting to help and then came along my sister and the other old ladies. I was fed up being mollycoddled and needed them to see I was strong again. That I could do it.
