Page 92 of Riding Free

I don’t know why she thinks I give a fuck. I haven’t reached out to her in months, and the whole situation with Briar and her, with their misplaced intervention, was all I needed to know about their so-called friendship.

She spins around and walks away. No, she marches away. Then my father shakes his head once. “I will be in contact.”

He places his hand on my mother’s back, and they follow behind Clare. I watch them for a moment, waiting for them to get in their car and drive away. Only then do I turn to go back into the house.

Alex doesn’t let me get too far inside before he wraps his arms around me. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“I will be. They just took me off guard.”

“Do I need to call Hound?”

Tipping my head back, I look up into his eyes. This is my family. This is my friend. I don’t need those people. I never really did. But now that I have the Iron Flame MC and all the men and women there, I realize it more than ever.

I don’t need anyone but them.

They are my family.

“Nope,” I say, popping my p. “I’m going to go to my class, then to the clubhouse. They will not ruin my day, my week, or my future.”

“Good girl,” Alex murmurs.

He curls his fingers around my biceps and flexes them there. His gaze is focused on mine, searching before he pats my arms and then takes a step backward.

“Okay,” he announces. “I have Thea time. We need to catch up on the weekly gossip.”

I smile at the sight of him. He grins down at me, then winks, before he walks past me and straight to Thea. I watch them for a moment. All the pain and heartache I felt with those visitors vanish.

This is everything.

The people in the club, the partners of the club, and my husband.

I’ve never known happiness as I do with them. With this life. And I wouldn’t want to change a single part of it. Not even an ounce. I have more support, kindness, and love than I’ve ever had in my entire life.

I love my husband. I love my daughter. I love our friends. And I love my life.

Every single up and down on the roller coaster that comes my way.

HOUND

LATER THAT DAY

“So we’re going to go to Cake with a conversation, and then we’re going to decide what to do?” I ask.

Dare dips his chin in a single nod. “A civil war is what we’ll be doing,” he mutters.

He’s right. That seems to be the future. Everything Hippie and I discover is another nail in the coffin. War is imminent at this point. Every new item we uncover is just more and more bullshit.

Alex walks through the door carrying Thea. The sunlight spills in, casting a halo around my daughter. She looks like a fucking angel, but she is just that, isn’t she? I close the distance between us. Reaching out for my baby, I slip her from his arms.

“You said she was okay when she left you?” I ask.

Alex hums. “I was there for most of it. But she stood up for herself, and I did, too. They walked away, and she told them they could meet again on her terms.”

My lips twitch as I think about my woman. Strong as fuck, that’s what she is. “Thanks, Alex. I appreciate it.”

He smirks, dipping his chin once, then walks away, no doubt going to see Fantasy. Holding Thea close, I watch him and smile. I like Alex, always have, and now I like him even more for standing up for my woman. For protecting her and protecting Thea.

I touch my mouth to the top of my daughter’s head as I make my way over to the sofa and sink down to wait for my woman. I don’t know how the fuck I ended up being this family man, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world.