I go to speak, but Ridge beats me to it.
“Of course. Wolf is at the clubhouse with Aspen right now. You go ahead, and we will meet you there. I will let them know you are on your way.”
As the man walks away, I turn to Ridge. “I don’t need you to speak for me.”
He nods. “I know you don’t, but you were about to rip into that guy, and all he is trying to do is his job. Let’s take the long way back to the clubhouse. By the time we get there, the brothers should already be there celebrating Mustang’s life. It will give us a bit more privacy that way.”
I sigh, letting him lead me to his bike. I glance over to where Maggie is waiting and angle my head toward Ridge. She nods before getting into her car.
When I turn to Ridge, I’m surprised to find him with the helmet that my father bought me. On the side, it still says, “Daddy’s Little Girl.” New tears well up in my eyes. Then he hands me my leather jacket and riding gloves. Finally, he pulls out a pair of jeans.
“When did you grab all of this?” I ask.
“When you were getting ready this morning. I wanted to be prepared in case you said yes.”
That was actually really thoughtful of him.
He holds out his own jacket to shield me as I pull the jeans up under my dress. Then he helps me put my jacket and helmet on before doing the same to himself. When he climbs on the bike, I hesitate.
That thought filters back in. The one that reminds me that this is likely my last ride.
Ridge holds out his hand, so I take it and climb onto the bike.
Fuck it. If this is my last ride, I am going to enjoy it.
Ridge
I not only take the long way to the clubhouse, but I go in circles for a bit. I know the lawyer is waiting, but he is not my concern. Rain is, and right now she feels more relaxed than she has since she found out her father had passed.
Her arms are wrapped around me, and her head is resting on my back. At first, she was tense, but the longer I drove, the more her body slowly released that tension and melted into me. Right now, we are one. Her body moves with mine through every turn. It’s like she was meant to be there.
That doesn’t really matter anymore, though. I know what is about to happen. When we finally pull up to the clubhouse, her whole world is going to change yet again, and this time, I am partly to blame because I agreed.
When I’ve held off as long as I possibly can, I make my way to the clubhouse. It doesn’t take us too long to get there, but I regret coming here the moment I feel her tense once more.
Shutting off the engine, I hold my hand out to help her off. She accepts it, setting her helmet on my bike as I do the same.
“Let’s get this over with,” she mumbles.
I want to wrap my arm around her, but she has her hackles up now. She would likely bite my arm off if I tried. Instead, I lead the way.
When we step inside, the celebration of life is in full swing. Many of the brothers are already well on their way to being drunk as they tell stories of Mustang. I smile seeing it. He would have loved this.
Panther catches my eye, nodding me over to the side.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Wolf let the lawyer in. I told him to put him in my office for now. Let me know if you need anything.”
I nod. “Thanks.”
When I make my way back over to Rain, she is being embraced by Aspen.
“Thank you. I’m okay. Really,” Rain reassures her.
“I know, but I’m here for you. Whatever you need,” Aspen tells her.
“Right now, we need to go see the lawyer, so let’s do that so we can eat,” I tell Rain.