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He looks stricken, and I hate that I put that look there, but it can’t be helped.
“My life is there,” he says.
I stare at him, my head spinning with so many thoughts and emotions. What had I gotten myself into? And Harrison? Oh, God. I’d allowed Harrison to get involved with TK too, and now he’s leaving.
How had I gone from being insulted by this man to being rescued by him? Then watching him nearly beat a man to death in my honor, to him making love to me with such tenderness?
“I shouldn’t have done this,” I say, reaching for my panties. “I knew I shouldn’t have done this with you, because I knew it would end like this.”
“Cora.” TK scrambles out of the bed as I rush around the room, finding my clothes and tugging them on as fast as I can.
“How did I ever think this was a good idea?” I ask, tugging my shirt down over my head and grabbing my purse off the table near the door. I’m trying so hard to keep myself together as my heart squeezes in my chest.
“Cora, listen.” He reaches out and pulls me against his naked body. “This can work. We just have to figure it out.”
But he’s wrong. There’s no way a long-distance relationship would ever work for either of us, especially living different lives.
Popping up on my toes, I press my lips to his stubbled jawline and inhale deeply, memorizing the way he smells. “Thank you for taking care of Big Dick, and for being so good to Harrison.”
“Cora.”
“Goodbye, TK.”
He releases me without a fight. Opening the door, I walk out of the room and down the hall without looking back, and it’s not until I get outside that I realize I don’t have a car here, and that my house is almost three miles away.
Fuck it, I’ll walk.
The roads are empty as I trudge along the sidewalk, thankful for the peace that comes in the middle of the night. As I walk, I replay every encounter I’ve ever had with TK over and over again in my mind.
If someone would’ve told me two weeks ago that I’d be walking home, broken-hearted over a biker, I would’ve laughed my fool ass off. But here I am, alone, sad, and doing just that at three o’clock in the morning.
It never would’ve worked. I couldn’t leave Mom and Dad, and Harrison would be devastated. I also have my job at the bar, and Carl needs me.
My reasons seem less and less plausible with every step I take. Mom and Dad would probably be thrilled to finally get us out of their house, and Harrison would probably just love the adventure.
And do you really want to work for Carl at the Moose Knuckle for the rest of your life?
Ridiculous reasons or not, Sturgis is my home. I mean, could I really give that up for TK, especially so soon? What if…
My head swirls with scenarios and arguments, and by the time I step inside of my parents’ home, I can barely keep my eyes open.
What I need is a good night’s sleep and a heart to heart with my mother. Not to mention a hug from my sweet boy.
When my head hits the pillow, I can still smell TK on my clothes and my skin. That smell is the only thing that allows my mind to relax and fall into a restless slumber.
TWATKNOT
We’re leavingSturgis without Cora and Harrison.
Loading the last of my stuff into my saddlebags, I lean against my bike and look down at my phone, at all the texts I’d sent to Cora last night and this morning. They went unanswered. She’d made her choice last night, and I had to respect that, even if it meant leaving her and Harrison behind. I fucking hate it.
The only consolation to the gaping hole in my heart is that I’m leaving with the threat to them gone. A bystander had found Big Dick after we’d left him there, and if the news was to be believed, he was airlifted out to Sioux Falls, hours away from here and from her. Safe at last.
At least I was able to keep the promise I’d made to protect her.
Priest comes sidling out of the motel’s back door with his pack slung over his shoulder, humming some obnoxious tune. He’s irritating me already, and we haven’t even left yet.
“You look like shit.”
