“I’m fine, I swear,” Heidi says for the tenth time this morning.
Even though I’ve asked her ten times, there’s no exasperation in her voice. Nope. She wraps her arms around me, kissing my jaw.
“I haven’t spent enough time with you.” I lower my voice, my mouth hovering over hers. “I don’t want to spend a night away from you.” I squeeze her a little tighter against me.
She makes a sweet “aww” sound and presses her lips to mine.
“For fuck’s sake,” Z groans from a couple feet away. “We won’t even be gone for forty-eight hours, Murphy. You’ll survive.”
“Jealousy’s an ugly color on you, Uncle Z,” Heidi teases, making him smirk.
Z kisses Alexa’s cheek and adjusts her in his arms. “Your mom’s got a smart mouth on her, baby girl. You’re gonna be just like her, aren’t ya?”
Laughing, because that’s probably true, I let go of Heidi, but sling an arm over her shoulders. “Where’s prez?”
Z cocks his head to the side. “Where do you think? Having a goodbye slamfest, no doubt.”
Heidi slaps her hands over her ears. “Ew! Why would you say that in front of me?”
Z and I chuckle at her expense, and my reward is her hand slapping my chest.
She stomps over to Z with her arms out. “Give me my daughter back. I don’t want her first word to be slamfest.”
“Could be worse.” Z chuckles as he hands Alexa over.
Our attention’s pulled toward crunching leaves and snapping twigs in the woods. A few seconds later Rock and Hope come strolling out.
“About time,” Z grumbles.
“Sorry.” Hope giggles, not looking one bit sorry.
Behind us, the front door slams open. “Are we going or not?” Wrath bitches. Trinity laughs and nudges him down the front steps.
We circle around Rock. My hand’s tight around Heidi’s waist. I don’t want to let her go until the very last second. We discuss the route we’re taking and when we plan to return tomorrow.
Then, it’s time to go.
I take Alexa out of Heidi’s arms and cuddle her against me. “Be good, baby.”
“Da!” she yells, slapping my cheeks. A burst of high-pitched baby giggles spill out of her, and my reluctance to leave grows even stronger.
Rock kills the moment a few seconds later when he kicks his bike over. The rumble startles Alexa and she wails, tears sliding down her red cheeks. “Shh. It’s okay.” But Alexa’s not having it. I hand her back to Heidi. “Better take her inside.”
Heidi gives me one last quick kiss. “Love you. Be safe.”
“I’ll be thinking of you the entire time.”
She gives me a soft smile in return. “Me, too.”
I’m surprised at how calm I am as I watch the guys take off from inside the clubhouse.
Last night I meant it when I told Murphy I trust him. I don’t feel abandoned either.
Hope steps next to me. “They’ll be back before we know it.”
“I know.”
The back county roads we take down to Sway’s place instead of the Thruway are slow. For the first time in my life, I’m not enjoying the wind in my face.
Something’s missing and I know exactly what it is. Heidi at my back.
Wrath’s crankier than I am about the trip and has been giving Rock shit every chance he gets for forcing him to come along.
Z’s amused by all of it.
Rock signals for us to pull over about twenty minutes from Sway’s compound. “Are you two done sulking?” he asks, pointing at Wrath and then me.
“I’m cool, prez,” I answer.
Wrath just folds his arms over his chest.
“He’ll have church first thing tomorrow morning, and we’ll head home after.”
“I might stick around,” Z says.
Rock tosses him a look. “That’s fine.”
When we finally arrive, Sway’s place is quieter than usual. Only a few bikes in the front parking lot. “Where is everyone?” I ask Rock.
“On a run. Just supposed to be Sway, his VP and new SAA. Rest of the guys will be back for church in the morning.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Wrath grumbles.
Sway greets us right inside the clubhouse doors. “Hey, motherfuckers. Took ya long enough.”
He gives Wrath a hard handshake. “You haven’t been here in forever.”
“I know.”
Tawny sets us up in rooms, and Sway asks us to meet him in their chapel.
Surprisingly, he sweeps us for bugs before letting us into the room. That’s new.
“What’s going on?” Rock asks.
“Listen,” he says, his gaze straying to me. “I need to come clean with you.”
An unease spreads through my gut.
Sway focuses on me. “The case on Bull’s been closed. You’re fully clear.”
I hadn’t given that much thought in a few months. But, it’s good to know. Wrath sits forward and pins Sway with a hard stare. “What aren’t you saying, brother?”
Sway’s gaze flicks from Wrath to me to Rock. “Bull was a snitch.”
“Fuck me,” Z says letting out a low whistle.
“I’m sorry you got caught up in it,” Sway says to me. “From what we were able to tell, the morning after the fight, he went in to meet with his handler, so that’s how they knew about you.”
“It’s all good,” I answer. Because fuck, what the hell else am I going to say? Our club’s been airtight for years. Years. Bull had less time in the club than me, but he’d still been in long enough that finding out he was a rat is a huge blow.
I imagine it’s killing Sway to admit this.
“What can we do?” Rock asks.
One corner of Sway’s mouth lifts. “It’s handled. Your boy Loco helped us with Bull. We had one other brother who was compromised. That’s being taken care of tonight.”
Jesus Christ. Sway’s telling us he let one of Loco’s guys take Bull out? A snitch? Someone who betrayed the entire brotherhood? That shit’s usually handled by the club, not passed to an outsider.
This whole situation is pretty fucked up.
“Besides you four, only my VP and SAA know about Bull, so I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t need brothers turning on each other.”
“Yeah. Okay,” Rock says, sounding preoccupied.
Sway slaps his hand on the table. “Go. Enjoy yourselves.”
The four of us hit the bar and just stare at each other. Z mouths a “what the fuck?” at me and I shake my head.
“That is beyond fucked,” Wrath mumbles. “Bull was an asshole, but a snitch?”
Rock’s still quiet.
“What’s wrong, prez?”
He shakes his head. “Later.”
Sway slaps my back and pulls me in for a side-hug. “Serena’s supposed to be stopping by later.”
“Uh. Not interested. I’m with someone.”
“So?”
Z snorts into his glass.
Sway eyes Wrath, Rock, and me with a teasing look of disgust. “Seriously? Your gals make you wear like metal cages on your dicks or something?”
Wrath moves to unbuckle his belt. “Yeah, wanna see?”
It’s such a funny, unexpected thing for Wrath to do, it breaks all the tension of the night.
The front door slams open. A bunch of Sway’s guys and a small army of club girls spill inside.
The only thing I feel is how much I miss Heidi.
“Rock, you need me?” I ask.
“Nah. Go ahead.” He finishes his drink. “Actually, I’ll go with you,” he says, eyeing the growing crowd.
“I want to call Heidi before she goes to sleep,” I explain on the way down the hall.
Rock’s mouth turns up in a smile. “Figured.”
Wrath catches up to us, almost knocking me over. “Fuck this,” he grumbles. “I’m fuckin’ out of here after church.”
“Right behind you, brother.”
We have to do t
he whole breakfast thing the next morning before we can get down to business.
Sway wands everyone for bugs again as we enter the chapel.
“So, let’s start with the reason I dragged you guys down here,” Sway shouts after slamming his gavel down. “The whole barn arson thing from last time y’all were down here has been closed. Permanently.”
Rock sits forward. “How?”
“You really don’t want to know,” Sway answers. “Moving on. Remember the deal I told you we were working on with Stella?”
Sway’s guys make a bunch of lewd noises, but the four of us are blank.
“The porn star?” Sway prompts.
Rock nods and gives an exasperated, “Yeah.”
“She’s scheduling some film dates in your area next year. Would you or your guys be up for providing security?”
“Fuck yeah,” Z offers.
Rock glares at him.
“What? Dex and I will do it.”
“I need at least four guys on it,” Sway says.
“Four guys for one girl?” Rock asks not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice.
Sway shrugs. “Can’t be too careful.”
“We’ll work something out,” Rock says. “Just give me a head’s up.”
“No problem.”
They move on to club matters specific to their own charter that don’t have a lot to do with us.
Couple hours later, I’m back on the road, headed home to my girls.
The hardest roads lead to the most beautiful destinations.
“Guys are home!” Trinity yells.
When they’ve all parked and shut the bikes down, I grab Alexa and head outside. My eyes lock on Blake, and I can’t get to him fast enough. He meets me halfway, crushing us in a big hug. Alexa squeals and puts her hands on his chest, pushing him away.
“Uh oh. You mad at me, baby?” he asks her.
She ducks her head against my neck, hiding. Blake looks so upset. I shouldn’t laugh, but can’t help it. “Give her a minute.”
He leans down and gives me a quick kiss. “Missed you.”
“We missed you, too.”
“Did you miss me, baby?” he asks Alexa. A few belly tickles finally convince her to turn his way and giggle. She holds out her arms and he takes her.
“How was it?” I ask.
“Nothing exciting.”
With one arm carrying Alexa and the other around my shoulders, we follow everyone inside for dinner.
“How was your trip?” Hope asks after we’re all seated.
The guys give the predictable vague answers.
Wrath takes Trinity’s hand, whispering in her ear.
“You two ready for the wedding?” Z asks.
“Fuck yeah. Christ, it’s taken forever,” Wrath says with a grin. “First, we’re taking a pre-wedding trip.”
“Who the fuck goes on a pre-wedding vacation?” Teller asks.
“We do. Shut the fuck up,” Wrath answers. He closes his hand over Trinity’s. “She’s been doing a lot of planning and shit, and I want to take her away for a few days.” He lifts his chin at Blake. “I gave Dylan some extra hours so you’re not shorthanded at the gym. You should be all set.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Do you have a final guest list?” Hope asks.
Trinity whips out her ever-present pink wedding binder. “Lilly’s invite got returned. Do you have a current address for her?”
Z’s head snaps up. “You invited Lilly?”
Blake leans over. “Wanna go on a date tonight?”
The minute his shoulder brushes against mine, I lose track of the conversation going on around me. “Where?”
“You’ll see.”
“What about Alexa?”
“She’s invited, too.”
“Oh. Then, yes.”
He pushes his chair out. “Later. We’re headed out,” he announces.
Sparky grins at us and flashes Blake a thumbs up.
We say goodnight. Blake takes Alexa from me and carries her back to the house.
“You don’t want to hang out at the clubhouse a little longer?”
“Nope. Want to be alone with my girls,” he says, taking my hand.
We stop at Rock and Hope’s. I watch with a mix of curiosity and amusement as Blake packs a backpack for us and a bag for Alexa.
“What are you up to?” I ask.
“You’ll see.”
Outside, we pop Alexa in her stroller and Blake leads us into the woods.
We reach the building site for our house, and I gasp. “What is this?”
It takes me a second to take everything in. There’s a large tent, fire pit, chairs, a cooler, and sleeping bags set up outside.
“Oh my God. How did you…? You were away.”
Blake grins, clearly pleased that he managed to surprise me. “Sparky set it up for me.”
Intrigued, I unzip the tent and stick my head inside. “Roomy.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him and he laughs.
Later that night, after Alexa’s safely tucked into her little travel crib inside the tent, Heidi and I are lying back on the sleeping bags, staring up at the stars.
“This is so beautiful. Maybe we don’t even need to build a house,” Heidi whispers.
I tuck her against my side by wrapping my arm around her. “I’ll put skylights in the bedroom.”
“Okay.”
A buzz of adrenaline zips through me from what I’m about to do. I shift so I can see her better. She’s still stargazing. “Heidi?”
Her curious eyes meet mine. “Yes.”
“You gonna marry me?”
She sits up and stares at me. Between the light from the moon and the fire, I can make out all her beautiful features. “Are you asking for real?”
I can’t keep the grin off my face, and I shouldn’t tease her. I sit up and take her hand. “I’m asking for real.”
Slipping my hand inside my cut, I pull out the tiny box I’ve been hiding all night.
“Heidi, will you marry me? Will you and Alexa always be my girls?”
She doesn’t even look at the ring I slip on her finger. “Yes, yes, yes!” Her words come out in a rush and she knocks me backward, peppering my face with kisses.
After a few more kisses, she scrambles closer to the fire to look at the ring. “It’s so beautiful. When did you buy this?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I love you, Blake,” she says, returning to me. This time, I sit in one of the chairs and pull her into my lap.
“No more hard roads, beautiful. You and me. Together. I want to make you happy for the rest of our lives.”
Her mouth curves into a sweet smile, and she places her hand on the side of my face. “But, those hard roads take us to the most beautiful places. Isn’t that what you’ve always told me?”
Staring up at the stars, then back at her, I answer. “It’s true.”
Somewhere down the road…
“What’s wrong, beautiful?” Heidi’s been quiet all morning, but now she looks almost scared.
As her nervous brown eyes meet mine, her bottom lip trembles further setting off warning bells in my head.
“Nothing.”
“What’s behind your back?”
Slowly, she pulls her hand from behind her and waves a small white stick at me. “I’m pregnant,” she says softly.
“Holy shit! Really?” My heart thuds with excitement. “Oh my God, this is awesome!”
I yank her into my arms, hugging her so hard she gasps.
She ducks out of my hold. “I’m sorry. I know we weren’t—you’re happy, right?” Her fingers twist her wedding rings round and round. The worst is how she won’t meet my eyes.
I tuck my hand under her chin, lifting her face to look at me. “Heidi, I’m thrilled.”
Finally, she relaxes a bit and gives me a hint of a smile. “I still need to go to the doctor to be sure.”
“Okay. Tell me when so I can go with
you.”
“You’ll do that?”
“Of course I will. I can’t wait.”
The last bit of fear or tension seems to flow out of her and she wraps her arms around my middle, resting her cheek on my chest. “I love you, Blake.”
My hand runs up and down her back and I hug her tight to me. “Love you, too.”
Alexa toddles over, wrapping her little arms around my leg. “Up,” she demands.
With one final kiss on Heidi’s forehead, I let her go. Leaning over, I pick up Alexa, lifting her high in the air until she squeals and giggles. “You ready to be a big sister, baby?” I ask.
Her eyes light up and she claps her hands.
“She’s already a good big sister to Grace,” Heidi points out.
I tuck Alexa against my side and she twists and turns. “Gracie?”
“Not yet, baby. They’ll be over later.”
“I hope it’s a boy,” I say. Heidi rolls her eyes. “Poor Chance is already outnumbered as it is.”
“Please. He’ll be thrilled when he’s older.”
I groan. Alexa needs a brother to help me beat Chance, and any other boys, off her when she’s older. Please, let it be a boy.
“Can we keep it a secret?” Heidi asks. “Just until we know for sure?”
“Absolutely.” On second thought. “Make the appointment soon. I’m way too excited to keep my lips sealed for long.”
“Baby,” Alexa says.
“Uh-oh.” Heidi laughs and places a finger over her lips. “Shh. Secret.”
“Secret baby,” Alexa repeats in her sweet toddler lisp.
I doubt it will be a secret much longer.
Notes From the Author
Well, I hope you don’t hate me too much. More Than Miles was quite a journey. It wasn’t as painful or difficult an experience as I had with Tattered on My Sleeve, but I definitely stressed about how my readers would feel about certain things.
The story evolved over a long time. When I initially introduced Axel, in Corrupting Cinderella, I fully intended for Heidi to end up with him (I have two hundred #TeamAxel bracelets to back me up on this!) When I got to know her a little better in Three Kings, One Night, I thought she might want a life outside the club—I knew Axel would never patch in to the Lost Kings. Then through Strength From Loyalty and White Heat, I got to know her better, I realized how important the club and family was to her and knew taking her away from that would be the worst thing you could do to Heidi.