AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Eh? What’s that mean?”
“I don’t think they miss me.”
“I thought the club was like a family.”
“It was. It is. I’m just…I never really opened up to anyone in the club. They don’t actually know the real me.”
“Well, you’re a new member. Prospects aren’t treated the same as the guys with patches.”
“I know. It’s not that…”
“None of them know that you’re gay?”
“Nope. They have no idea.”
“You afraid they’ll kick you out?”
“Kicking me out would be the least painful option.”
“They wouldn’t hurt you for being honest with yourself and to them. If anything, I bet they’ll be upset that you hid this from them for so long.”
“I don’t think you know those guys as well as you think, Lyla.”
“True. But I know my…I know Isaac pretty well. Deep down, he’s a romantic with a big heart. He wouldn’t turn who someone loves into a weapon to hurt them.”
“You do know your dad,” I tell her, using the word she’s been reluctant to call him. “He loves you and Laurel more than anything, even the club. If he lied to you, he did it to protect you because he hates when you’re sad. Have you thought about it from his perspective? What would you tell your son or daughter about their father if they were conceived the same way?”
Lyla’s quiet for a moment before she sniffles. “Oh god. I don’t think I could tell them. It would be easier for them and for…and for the man who raises them if that person is left out of the equation.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” I tell her.
“Every time he looked at me…” she starts. “I can’t imagine how hard that must be for Isaac. How does he do it?”
“Something amazing came out of something tragic,” I point out. “You, Lyla. That’s how he does it. You’re a piece of your mother, and he was always going to love you regardless of the circumstances. I bet his name is on your birth certificate.”
“It is,” she says softly. “That’s why I never found out before.”
“He wanted you to be his daughter, and you were in every way that matters.”
“Thank you, Thane,” she says as she reaches over to squeeze the top of my hand resting on the gear shift. “So, will you come back with me?”
“Yeah, Ly, I’ll go back with you,” I agree. Because Isaac knows what it’s like to love someone unconditionally, even when it hurts. I owe it to him to be honest about myself and take whatever consequences come with it.
And who knows, maybe I’ll run into RJ when I’m in Rockland at his brother’s grand opening.
And maybe I can find out if he’s stopped hating me for the second time.
He may never want to come out of the closet, which means we will never have a real relationship.
There’s a huge chance he’ll hurt me, but it won’t feel as painful as being without him and wondering what could have been.
CHAPTERFORTY-THREE
RJ
After a long day in the shop, I’m tired, ready to go home, get a quick shower, and crash.
But I can’t tonight.
