Page 23 of Mac

“We have plenty of room here, Kate,” Meredith piped up.

I looked at her, my mouth agape. Was she really asking me to move in with them? I thought it was a generous offer, but it was too soon for me.

“Oh, wow. That’s nice…and unexpected. But I don’t think I can accept. All of this is so new. It’s just a little overwhelming.” The truth was, I didn’t want to do anything to disrupt how well things were going for me.

“That’s understandable,” Viking said, but I could tell he wasn’t going to let this rest. “So, I have another proposition for you. There’s a small, one-bedroom bungalow on the same property as the clubhouse, but it has its own entrance. You won’t even see the guys from the club. It’s nothing special, but you’d be doing me a favor if you stayed there.”

“I’d be doing you a favor?” I asked, since I wasn’t quite sure how that worked.

“Yeah, it needs a little bit of work. A good cleaning and some paint. If you could take care of that, I’d appreciate it.”

Meredith reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly before releasing it. “Honestly, sweetie, Viking and I would sleep better at night knowing you’re somewhere safe. Somewhere close by, in case you needed us.”

I could feel my eyes watering at their kindness, but I managed to keep it together. “I...well...how much is the rent?” I asked, needing to make sure I could afford it before I accepted, and I definitely wanted to accept.

“We can talk about that later,” he answered, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t be bringing it up again. “So, what do you say? You want the place?”

I beamed at both him and Meredith. “Absolutely.”

When I left that night, I had a true sense of home. I still needed to get to know my new family, and try to understand the club world, but I felt like it could and would happen. I was so happy I thought I’d burst. My life only seemed to get brighter, and as I looked up at the night sky, the billions of stars twinkling down at me, I gave a silent “thank you” to my mom. She’d promised in her last letter to me that she’d always look out for me. I was truly excited about my future. I just had to believe I deserved to be happy, and for the first time in my life, I felt anything was possible.

* * *

A few days later, as I did my hair and makeup, I thought about how moving to Vegas was the best thing I ever did. I was building a relationship with my father. His wife was super friendly and kind, and I’d enjoyed getting to know Finn and Gunnar.

I also loved my job at the diner. It was a grueling job with small pay, but working with Pam and Evelyn was fun. Pam had taken on a motherly role that I was so desperately missing, and Evelyn was turning out to be a great friend. She was even going out with me in a couple of weeks to celebrate my birthday.

Back in Apple Valley, everyone would always talk about going to Vegas to celebrate their twenty-first birthday. I’d always wanted to make plans to do that but figured with my limited funds, it wouldn’t happen. Now that I was living here, nothing was stopping me from having a fantastic birthday.

Viking, on the other hand, wasn’t a huge fan of the idea when I’d told him at another family dinner the other night. He was taking his role as a father seriously. While I wanted to remind him I was an adult and was capable of handling things on my own, I was grateful that he cared enough to worry about me.

I heard my cell phone ring and smiled when I saw Viking’s name.

“Hi there,” I answered. I was still hesitant about calling him Dad. It seemed like that was something sacred, and I hadn’t earned the right to do so yet.

“Hi, darlin’. Am I catching you at a bad time?”

“Nope, just getting ready for work,” I answered as I searched my room for my work apron.

“Well, I wanted to make sure you were able to get this weekend off, so we can get you moved into your new place like we planned.”

“I did, but I was hoping to come by today and see what all needs to be done.”

“I’m leaving the keys with Mac at the clubhouse, if you want to come by tomorrow and check it out.”

I hesitated, butterflies swarming in my stomach at the mention of Mac. The idea of seeing him again excited me. At the same time, I couldn’t be lusting after someone Viking was close to, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to get involved with a club member.

“Kate, honey, you there?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m here,” I said quickly. “That works. Thank you. I don’t have to be at work until three tomorrow afternoon. I’ll come by on my way in.”

“No problem. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Bye,” I responded, with a big, goofy smile on my face and looking forward to tomorrow for more than one reason.