Kit squeezed Renee’s hand as they stared at the plot of earth where Mick was buried. The sky was clear, the first time in half a dozen days, and the sun shone down on them, as if this moment was perfectly collaborated between the spirit world, earth and this moment.
Renee opened a container of cookies she’d baked the night before. They were everything Mick hadn’t been allowed to eat, but she’d snuck the treat in to him. Kit hated how she hiccupped and the stony set of her face as she remained resolute in her attempt to not cry.
“You’re never going to hear ‘no’ again.” She placed the cookies on top of the grave and straightened. Her red dress was cheerful, sexy and certainly out of place in a cemetery, but then again, they weren’t exactly saying orthodox goodbyes.
Unlike Renee and Remy, Kit didn’t have a long history to draw on for this moment. He’d barely known Mick, but he still felt the loss acutely. He placed the gold crown he’d won on the show at the head of the grave, pressing it into the earth.
“Going to miss you, man,” he muttered.
Family was a concept he wasn’t well-versed in, but Mick had done his best.
Remy opened a bottle of whiskey and poured it out at the foot of the grave.
“You beat it,” was all he said as the last drops dribbled out.
They’d come here with the intent of a happier goodbye, but the loss still hurt.
“Can—can I get a moment?” Renee asked, her gaze locked on the plot.
“Sure, sis.” Remy gave her a quick squeeze and nodded toward the truck.
Kit followed Remy away from the grave, occasionally glancing over his shoulder. The sadness would pass in time, and they’d have the memories to cherish.
They leaned against the hood of the truck, both watching the woman who tied them together.
“How’s she doing?” Remy asked.
“Better than I thought.”
“Damn.” Remy sighed. “It sucks.”
“It does.”
They were silent a moment, watching Renee watching the grave.
“Still planning on sticking around?”
Kit glanced at Remy. “I am.”
“Just checking. Heard anything about that Brister guy?”
“He’s being charged with homicide, half a dozen rape charges and fuck knows what else.”
“I hope they nail his ass to the wall.”
Kit grunted. The DA was pretty confident their case was solid. After all, they had the culprit’s own brother turning him in.
“What if I asked your sister to marry me?”
Remy’s head snapped around. The man had taken a month to warm up to the idea of Kit being back in his sister’s life.
“Not now,” Kit added. “I mean, when it’s right.”
“Fuck. You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“Not funny.”
“It’s the truth.”
Remy spit and propped his foot on the bumper as Renee turned and started toward them.
“Yeah, I guess that’d make her happy.”
The uncertainty that had banded Kit’s chest loosened a bit.
Renee glanced up at them and smiled, her cheeks free from tears. She seemed lighter, as if her goodbyes were said and done. He breathed easier and smiled back at her. His future. His past. His everything.
“Don’t fuck this up. You make her unhappy I’ll find a deep, dark place to dump you,” Remy muttered under his breath.
Kit grinned at him. Remy might be the badass bounty hunter, but he was also family. This was what Mick had given him. In all of Kit’s fantasies of how his life would turn out, this wasn’t one of them—but it was the best possible outcome.
He pulled Renee in close as she joined them and kissed her. Her lips curled up, smiling against him.
She was better than any memory, any dream—and she was his.
About the Author
It can never be said that Sidney Bristol has had a ‘normal’ life. She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the US highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time between a job she loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.
http://sidneybristol.com/
Also from this Author
Bayou Bound series
Picture Her Bound
Duty Bound
Bound Memories
Bound & Tamed, part of the Taming the Alpha boxed set (December 2014)
Bound by Her (2015)
Drug of Desire series
Committed
Proposition (2015)
Table of Contents
Hot Ink
Forever Ink
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
A Note from Carrie Ann
About this Author
Also from this Author
Takedown
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
About the Author
Also From This Author
Bound Memories
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
About the Author
Also from this Author
Hot Ink Page 35
