Road to Forever

by Piper Davenport

  She looked gorgeous... but I didn’t know a time when she didn’t. Her long, dark hair was pulled into an intricate braid that wrapped one side of her head and over the front of her right shoulder.

  “You’re fine,” I assured her. “We’re not starting for another ten minutes.”

  Digging in her bag, she pulled out her toe shoes and tugged them on. We were able to do a few stretches before Cassidy banged her cane on the floor, indicating it was time to begin.

  * * *

  “I’m dying,” Grace breathed out as she flopped on the floor by our bags. We’d just finished the toughest workout on the planet.

  I giggled, sitting down a little slower. “Right there with you, babe.”

  Poppy sat down beside Grace and tore off her shoes as though they were burning her feet. “Remind me again why I’m doing this...”

  “To stay limber for riding,” Grace and I answered in stereo.

  “Well, I’m an idiot,” Poppy complained.

  “Keep at it,” I encouraged. “You’ll get used to it again.”

  Motion at the double doors distracted me and then Poppy’s rare use of “Fuck” had me giving her a sympathetic smile. Devon was standing with Flea, watching us.

  “I can only assume Flea is the reason he’s here,” Poppy hissed.

  “If you didn’t call him, then probably,” I said.

  “He is still so, so hot,” Grace said, her voice breathy.

  “He is not hot,” Poppy snapped. “He’s a pain in the ass.”

  “He can’t be hot and a pain in the ass?” Grace challenged.

  “Suck it, Gracie.”

  Grace laughed, drawing attention from Poppy’s stalker. He raised an eyebrow in our general direction, and Poppy groaned. “Sid dropped me off, so it would appear he’s not picking me up. I’m going to have to drive home with the dumbass.”

  “You can ride with me,” I offered.

  “Yes, please,” she said immediately.

  “We could always go out,” Grace suggested. “Dinner and drinks?”

  “That sounds fun.” I grinned. “But maybe not the drinks. I’m driving.”

  Poppy grinned. “I’ll just go tell the stalker to head home.”

  “Good luck with that,” I said and grabbed my phone. I texted Maverick and let him know what we were doing, offering to bring him something home, food-wise. He was working for another hour, so I wasn’t sure I’d even hear from him for a while. I was surprised when my phone pinged, and he’d texted: Food would be appreciated, baby. Thanks. Take Flea with you.

  I shook my head. Like I’d have the choice not to take Flea with me.

  “Oh, this isn’t going well,” Grace whispered.

  I followed her gaze and instantly felt sorry for Poppy. Devon’s arms were crossed, and he was leaning close. His expression was blank, but his eyes said it all. He wasn’t happy about whatever Poppy was saying. Flea, on the other hand, appeared to be trying not to laugh.

  “Let’s go save her,” I said and rose to my feet.

  Grace scrambled up, and we headed into the fray.

  “So anyway,” Poppy said, “I don’t need you to take me home. Lily’s going to.”

  “No,” Devon said. Well, no, that was not right. It was more of a grunt.

  “We’re going to stop at Warehouse 23 for dinner,” Grace piped in. “We’ll be a while.”

  “I’m sure you have stuff to do, Dev,” Poppy said, her voice sweet. “I’ll be good with Lily and Grace.”

  “I’ll take you,” Devon said.

  “I’ve got her,” I countered, knowing full well I was poking the bear.

  He smirked. “Respect, Lil, but she’s coming with me.”

  “Respect, Dev,” I mimicked, “but she’s coming with me.” I grabbed Poppy’s hand and tugged her toward the car.

  As soon as I released her hand to hit the key fob and unlock my car, Devon was on her. He had his arm around her waist and moved her toward his truck before I could say anything.

  Reflexes like a cat, that one.

  But I was a ballerina, dammit, so I jumped in front of them. “Nice try.”

  Poppy giggled and tried to pull away from Devon, without success.

  “Lily,” Devon growled.

  “Yes, Devon?”

  “Poppy’s coming with me.”

  I sighed. “Buddy, I get that you’re protective, but if you haven’t noticed, we’re grown women and can quite safely get from point A to point B without a big strong man helping us do it. I understand the current climate with the Spiders, but Flea’s here; he’s following us, and he will hang out at the restaurant, so you’re off the hook. Go do something. Hang with your family. Whatever. I’ll drop Poppy home in a couple of hours.”

  “Give us a second, yeah?” Devon asked, and I nodded, stepping back to my car.

  It was then I saw it. He loved her. Why had I not noticed that before? Probably because I have always been so wrapped up in all things Maverick. But watching Devon and Poppy, I saw how he looked at her, his total devotion, his complete besotted-ness, and his warring emotions when it came to her. I’d imagine, when your uncle was the Sergeant at Arms for the same MC you’re trying to earn your patch through, it makes things a little awkward when you fall in love with his stepdaughter. Especially considering Hatch loved Poppy like his own.

  Devon gave Poppy a quick nod, and she turned and walked back to me. “Let’s go before he changes his mind.”

  I grinned, and we climbed in the car.

  * * *

  I dropped Poppy home and waited for her to walk through the door before turning into my driveway. Maverick came jogging up from the side yard and pulled open my door. “Have fun?”

  “Yes. Loads. I brought you a burger.”

  “Perfect.” He grabbed the food bags from me and then waited for me to climb out of the car before kissing me sweetly and closing my car door. “I’m just gonna talk to Flea real quick.”

  “I’ll go say hi to the parents and meet you downstairs, okay?”

  “Sounds good.”

  I walked in the front door and found Mom and Dad curled up on the sofa. Rex watched me with his head on Mom’s lap.

  “Hi, guys,” I said.

  Dad craned his head as he paused the television and grinned. “Hey, baby girl. Where you been?”

  “I took Cassidy’s dance class, then went to dinner with Poppy and Grace.”

  “I’m really glad you’re keeping up with that,” Mom said. “How’s Poppy?”

  “Dealing with Devon.”

  Mom chuckled. “Uh-oh.”

  “Is there a reason they couldn’t get together?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know, like bylaws or Hatch’s disapproval or something,” I clarified. “He’s totally in love with her, and I’m pretty sure she feels the same way, so I don’t know why they keep torturing themselves.”

  Mom glanced at Dad. “I think that’s a question for you, honey.”

  “I think it’s none of our business,” Dad said.

  “So no bylaws, then,” I mused. “Just something else going on that you’re being tight-lipped about.”

  “Again, baby girl. None of my business,” he said. “None of yours either.”

  “Message received, Daddy-O,” I retorted. “Obviously, us young’uns need to run with this.”

  “Lily,” he warned.

  “Love you guys. Gonna go hang out with my guy now.”

  “Leave it, baby girl,” Dad ordered.

  “What’s that? Sorry, can’t hear you. I’m all the way at the bottom of the stairs, and you guys did an amazing job of soundproofing.” I unlocked the basement door and stepped inside just as I heard my mother laugh.

  Maverick walked through the back door a few minutes later and grabbed a beer (after thoroughly kissing me, of course, because he had his priorities). He flopped onto the sofa and opened the box, plowing into the burger.

  I smiled, grabbing a wad of napkins and
setting them in front of him.

  “Thanks, baby doll.”

  “My pleasure, pookie bear.” I poured myself a glass of wine and sat beside him. “How was work?”

  “Busy. But good.”

  “Everything okay with Flea?”

  “Yeah. We just needed to coordinate schedules.”

  “Is yours changing?” I asked.

  “A little. But nothing that affects you ’cause it’s during your shifts.” He took another bite of his burger.

  “Should I be worried?”

  “No, baby. Seriously, it’s nothing.”

  “Did he tell you about Devon?”

  “What about him?”

  While Maverick continued to eat, I filled him in on the whole afternoon, and he shook his head.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Don’t poke the bear.”

  “Why not? It’s ridiculous that they’re totally in love with each other, but he’s being an ass, and she’s being shy. They’re wasting time.”

  “She’s still in school, Lil. Besides, it’s none of our business.”

  “Oh, that’s crap,” I snapped.

  “Baby.”

  “He’s bullying her.”

  “If he’s bullying her, why are you so hard-pressed to get them together?”

  He had a point, but I couldn’t really answer the question... mostly because I couldn’t really make sense of it either.

  “Which is it, baby?” he continued. “They’re wasting time, or he’s bullying her?”

  “Maybe they wouldn’t be wasting time if he wasn’t bullying her,” I retorted.

  “Pretty sure he’s not.”

  “He totally is. You know what Poppy’s like. She’s shy,” I argued.

  Maverick took a deep breath, and I rolled my eyes. This was his “I’m gonna explain shit to you” stance.

  “Have you ever actually listened to one of their conversations?” he asked.

  “No. That would be rude.” I raised an eyebrow. “Have you?”

  He smiled. “Yep.”

  “Seriously?” I was a little impressed, I must admit.

  “He doesn’t bully her.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Do I bully you?” he asked.

  “What? No. Why?”

  “He talks to Poppy the same way I talk to you.”

  “He does?”

  Maverick chuckled. “Yeah, baby, he does.”

  “He scowls at her an awful lot.”

  “He does not.”

  “Yes he does,” I argued.

  Maverick frowned. “Is Poppy afraid of him?”

  I shook my head. “No, he irritates her.”

  He took a swig of beer and nodded. “So just a thought, if he bullied her, do you think she’d have the guts to even verbalize that?”

  I wrinkled my nose but thought about what he said. She had never given any indication that he scared her. The opposite, actually. I sat back against the couch arm with a sigh.

  “You good?” he asked.

  Was I good? I mulled over everything he’d told me. Maverick was a pretty good judge of character, and he knew Devon probably better than anyone did. If he said Devon was sweet to Poppy, then he meant he was sweet to Poppy more often than not.

  I relaxed. “Yes, I’m good.”

  He grinned and gathered up his trash, heading to the kitchen. After dumping it, he washed his hands. He settled back on the sofa and pulled me across his body, kissing me gently. “Movie?”

  “Yeah, a movie would be awesome.”

  He grinned and grabbed the remote. The rest of the evening was spent discovering (again) that Darth Vader was Luke’s father and making out on the sofa.

  Lily

  One month later...

  IT WAS FOUR a.m., and I was three and a half hours away from crawling into my awesome, comfy, warm bed—I yawned just thinking about it—when frantic screams came from the ambulance bay, and I was wide awake once again.

  “Lily, you’re with me,” Doctor Walker bellowed.

  I nodded and donned gloves as I followed him outside.

  Maverick and I had had a blissful month. No threats, no one watching us (that we could see), and the wedding planning was going remarkably smooth. Our wedding date was in five weeks, and I couldn’t wait to make everything official. I also couldn’t wait to have babies. I was tempted to go off the Pill now, but we’d decided to wait two years before we tried for children.

  EMTs dragged a gurney from the back of an ambulance, pulling me from my thoughts. The victim was a mess... but when they rolled him, I saw the Dogs logo on the cut. My breath left my body, and I stared up at the doctor. “He’s... um... he’s family.”

  Doc frowned. “Who is he?”

  I leaned forward and glanced at his patch.

  No, no, no, no, no!

  “Lily?” Doc pressed.

  I bit back tears. “Billy,” I rasped. “Billy Jameson.”

  “Okay, get back to the desk and wait for the next one.”

  I nodded and rushed back inside, picking up the desk phone and calling my dad. “Hawk.”

  “Daddy,” I whispered.

  “Lil, what’s wrong?”

  “Flea. He’s been shot. He’s bad, Daddy.”

  “Okay, we’re on our way.”

  I hung up and fell into the chair next to me. Flea wasn’t “on” me tonight. Train was. Flea was supposed to be enjoying a rare night off. He’d met a woman, and they’d had plans tonight.

  Sarah, the shift manager, walked up to the desk and gave me a gentle smile. “I think you should take a break.”

  I nodded and made my way to the nurse’s area, grabbing my phone from my locker. I needed to talk to Maverick.

  I dialed his number, and he answered immediately. “You okay?”

  “Yes. But Flea’s...” I swallowed. “He’s bad, Möosh.”

  “Okay, baby. I’m on my way.”

  “Please be careful,” I begged. “I don’t know who shot him or where he was when he got shot.”

  “I’m good, Lil. Knight’s with me.”

  “What about Ace... or... anyone?”

  “No, baby. It’s just us. It’s okay. We’re coming from the clinic.”

  I bit back tears. “Be careful.”

  “We will. I’ll see you soon.”

  He hung up, and I headed to the emergency room waiting area where I knew the Dogs would come first. Train was pacing the room, but when he saw me, he opened his arms. I walked into them and bit back tears.

  “Okay, Lil. Flea’s a tough motherfucker. He’ll pull through,” he said.

  “He looked bad, buddy.”

  “Fuck,” he rasped and held me tighter.

  Train was six-foot-six and probably three-hundred pounds of pure muscle, which matched his name perfectly. Funnily enough, he’d gotten his nickname as a scrawny kid. He’d been tall and lanky and couldn’t keep weight on. But then he got into bodybuilding and bulked up.

  We stood there for a few minutes until another, much more familiar set of arms pulled me away. “Let’s go talk,” Maverick said, and I nodded.

  He led me down the hall to a more private waiting room. When he wrapped his arms around me, I felt free to burst into tears. He held me and stroked the back of my neck while I cried.

  “I think he’s going to die, Möosh.”

  “He’s not gonna die, baby. Flea’s tough.”

  I looked up at him. “I could not make out his face, Maverick. He’d been beaten beyond recognition and then shot. I had to identify him by his cut.”

  “Was he breathin’?”

  I nodded.

  “Then he’s gonna be fine,” Maverick avowed.

  I buried my face back in his chest. “He’d better be.”

  “Lily?” Dad called.

  “In here,” I called back.

  He rushed in and pulled me away from Maverick, hugging me tightly. “What happened?”

  I filled him in while stepping back into Maverick’s ar
ms.

  “Okay, baby girl.” Dad nodded. “He’s gonna be fine.”

  “You both keep saying that, but you didn’t see him,” I cried. “It’s bad.”

  Dad nodded. “Come with me. Mom’s in the other waiting room.”

  “Great, pass me off to the ‘women,’” I droned sarcastically.

  “I’m not goin’ anywhere, Lil,” Maverick promised.

  “Like I said...” I retorted, and Maverick chuckled.

  “Nice.”

  I sighed. “He’d be the first one to say something snarky.”

  “Yeah, he definitely would,” Dad agreed as we walked back down the hall.

  I had taken several deep breaths before we faced the group. Most of the Dogs (the ones not guarding one of the girls) were there, along with Mom, Cassidy, Kim, Cricket and Katie. Cricket wasn’t just Hatch’s sister, she was also Katie’s best friend, and she was with Katie who was currently at the nurse’s desk demanding answers about Flea’s injuries—information Sarah wouldn’t have.

  Despite Maverick’s arm wrapped around my waist, I rushed forward. “Kate,” I called.

  Both women turned to me, Katie’s eyes filled with tears. “What do you know?”

  “We don’t know anything yet. He just went back. He came in fifteen minutes ago...” I filled her in on everything I knew, giving Sarah a chance to escape to the back to see what she could find out. Since Katie was also a nurse, I was able to give her frank and honest answers, without having to filter too much.

  The doctor walked out a few minutes later, a reserved expression on his face.

  Shit. Flea didn’t make it. I fell against Maverick but forced myself not to cry.

  “Who’s the family of Billy Jameson?” Doc asked.

  “I’m his sister,” Katie said.

  “I’m sorry. He didn’t make it.”

  She cried out, and Train caught her before she hit the ground.

  The doctor reached out and squeezed her arm. “If you’d like to see him, I can take you back.”

  “I’ll go with you,” I offered, earning a growl of denial from Maverick. I glanced up at him. “I’m okay.”

  “I’ll go,” Cricket said.

  I nodded, and Maverick gave me a squeeze. I let him guide me back to where the rest of the Club was, and we waited for Katie to come back.

  Sarah approached and waved me to a private corner. “Go ahead and clock out, hon. Shift is over in less than an hour. We can take it from here.”