Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“I didn’t expect you to be gone when I woke up. I thought you would be staying in bed, recovering from your night out.”
“Takes me more than a couple of drinks to make me stay in bed.”
“Then why did you ask for the time off?”
Jewell took his hand to pull him down to the couch. “I’m leaving, Rory.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know … I’m going to go see my mother.”
“Give me a few, and I’ll come with you.”
Jewell shook her head at him. “I have to face my parents on my own. Having you there would just make it worse.”
“I can stay in the car.”
“I’m going alone. Greer Porter’s wife is upstairs, waiting for her lesson, and you still have the lessons you owe Stud. I don’t know if I’ll be back before they’re finished.”
Rory stiffened. “Are you telling me we’re over?”
“What I’m telling you is, you need to make a choice while I’m away.” Jewell handed him the package she had taken out of the suitcase. “I won’t be back for Valentine’s Day.”
Rory took the present and opened it.
She carefully watched for his reaction, her stomach queasy.
“Press the hand.” Jewell ran her tongue over dry lips.
Rory pressed the hand of the teddy bear that wore a white T-shirt with lipstick kisses on it. “Deadly Kiss” by Paloma Faith could be heard coming out of the bear. Jewell pressed the hand of the bear to make the music stop.
“You had me at our first kiss,” she told him. “While I’m gone, I need you to do something for me.”
Rory raised his eyes up from the bear. “What?” he asked huskily.
“Leave.” Jewell stood up. “If you’re not going to stay with me forever, then I’m begging you to leave. If you leave before I come back, I’ll take it hard, but I’ll survive. The way we’re going, I’ll get my hopes up that you won’t leave. Then, when you do, it’ll break me again. I can’t live with the kind of pain of losing someone I love again. I just don’t have it in me anymore.”
Rory stood up, trying to take her in his arms.
“Don’t, please don’t. I’m begging you, Rory. Other than my son’s and my brothers’ lives, I’ve never begged for anything. I’m begging you now—leave.” Jewell clenched her jaw tightly, determined not to beg him to stay.
“You can’t just give me this ultimatum then take off … We need to talk this over.”
“There’s nothing to talk over. Either you stay and make a life here in Treepoint with me or go back to Queen City. It’s that simple.”
“I told you that I’m not going to be a Last Rider. I don’t want to live in a motorcycle club permanently. Shit like this is what we need to talk about.”
“Conversation’s not worth having if you don’t care enough about me about to stay.”
“There is another option. You could come with me to Queen City.”
“I’m part of The Last Riders whether you want to belong or not. Me leaving would cut that part of me out. I would miss out seeing all the kids growing up, riding their first motorcycle, falling in love. I’ll miss out on all of those firsts.”
“I have family, too.” Rory’s gaze grew gentle. “My mother lives in Queen City. She’s getting older and needs me more.”
She reached out to brush her hand down his cheek when he would have gone on. “I understand. You have your own life in Queen City. This is why I’m asking you to leave. We had a great time together, and I don’t want it to end or either of us regretting it happened.”
A glint of anger entered his eyes. “If you really feel this way, then why do I feel as if I’m being boxed into a corner?”
“You look at it as if I’m boxing you in a corner; I look at it as I’m giving you a way out.” Jewell placed a lingering kiss on his stubborn jaw. “Goodbye, Rory.”
Dodging the hands that tried to wrap around her, Jewell headed for the door.
“Wait.”
Jewell paused to see Rory move to the top drawer of the dresser to remove a small present.
Taking the present he held out, Jewell held her breath as she opened the small box that was the same size as a ring box. Inside was a metal key.
“It’s a key to my house. I’ll text you the address in case you change your mind. We can have a great life there if you would just give it a chance.”
Jewell snapped the box closed then left it sitting on the dresser. “I’m not willing to risk my heart on chances … They’ve never worked out for me. I took a chance that Michael’s father would step up to the plate and be a father to him. I took a chance that my parents would accept their grandson. I took a chance that my family would make it home when it was sleeting … Instead, I lost it all. I’m not willing to take a chance on something that means as much to me as you do. If the world were going to end tomorrow, I’d want to know who’s going to be standing next to me, ready to take anything coming. I don’t want to reach my hand out and find you’re gone. Arin has a man like that, Winter has Viper, Lily has Shade, Reaper has Ginny … that’s what I’ve been missing in my life, and I’m finally at the point in my life where I can’t accept any less. And truthfully, you shouldn’t, either.”