Chapter 21: Blood & Bones: Rev: Chapter 20

Rev tagged his jeans from the floor and yanked them up his legs as he moved toward the front door of Reilly’s studio apartment. He paused just long enough to slip a twenty from his wallet to give to the pizza delivery guy or girl.

He was fucking starving. His sexual appetite had been satisfied and now he needed some grub to sate his other hunger. And after that, he planned on sharing a bowl with Reilly before they both watched Netflix and chilled, then probably shared a container of Rocky Road once they both got the munchies.

He slid the chain free, twisted the deadbolt and yanked open the door.

The twenty fluttered to the floor as he slammed the door shut again, quickly flipping the deadbolt to relock it.

Total silence rang on both sides of the door for a few heart-thumping moments.

“Holy fuck,” he whispered. “Holy… fuck.”

“God, I’m starving!” Reilly came out of the bathroom only wearing his T-shirt and rubbing her eye. “Hey, I think you shot cum in my eye.”

Rev turned in slow-motion toward her.

She glanced up, blinking quickly, then her eyes—one watery and irritated, one normal—dropped to the twenty-dollar bill on the floor at his bare feet. Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Where’s the pizza? Don’t tell me they screwed up the order!”

She jumped when a pounding on the door loudly filled her tiny apartment.

“Open this fuckin’ door right fuckin’ now!”

Rev didn’t realize her eyes could get that big until that very moment. Her mouth formed an and her gaze slid to the door. All color fled from her face.

He was pretty damn sure he wore a similar ass-puckering look.

The knob turned freely back and forth, but the deadbolt kept the door secure.

“Open the goddamn door, Rev!” Deacon shouted through it, still pounding.

“Reilly!” Reese called.

Her eyes slid back to him. “Oh shit,” she breathed. “Oh shit. Oh shit.”

Three “oh shits” weren’t apparently enough since she continued to chant those words. He agreed.

He winced at the flashback of how Cage looked after his “blanket party.” Wait. Maybe that was actually his life flashing before his eyes.

Was touching one of the women on the “do not fuck” list even worse than knocking up an Amish chick? No, it couldn’t be as bad. Trip had been more pissed about Cage almost destroying the club’s relationship with the Amish. That was the reason, right? Not because he accidentally knocked up one of their virgins.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a second.

, at least Reilly wasn’t pregnant. So, there was that silver fucking lining.

“We ain’t leavin’ ’til you open the damn door,” Deacon warned loudly.

Reilly turned her ghost-white face from the door to him. “Do we open it?”

“Do you want me to die?”

“Open the goddamn door!” Deacon bellowed.

“Someone’s going to call the cops if we don’t open the door,” she warned. “I can’t have him out there bellowing like an annoyed bull moose. And I doubt they’re just going to go away.”

“No, we’re not leaving,” Reese confirmed through the door. “So, you might as well open it.”

“Shit,” Reilly whispered then chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t want you to die.”

“You ain’t the only one. But it ain’t the dyin’ part I’m worried about. It’s the part that happens before that.”

Reilly grimaced. “Open it.”

Rev sucked in a deep breath, then held it as he flipped the deadbolt and stepped back.

A split second later the door banged open and Deacon came into the apartment with Reese on his heels.

Once they were inside and the door slammed shut behind them, everyone stood frozen for what to Rev seemed like forever. The only thing that moved were their eyes as they took each other in.

Both Deacon and Reese focused on Rev’s bare chest and he knew exactly what they were noticing. It wasn’t his tattoos.

When Reese turned toward her sister, her brow suddenly dropped low and she rushed over to Reilly, grabbing her chin and turning her face toward the light. “Why are you crying? Did he hurt you?”

“What? No!” Reilly jerked her chin free and stepped back. “He… uh… I was chopping onions.”

Reese’s gaze swept the counters, which were onion-free.

“Earlier,” Reilly added weakly. “Why are you here?”

“One, you’re my sister and I wanted to see you. Two, we wanted to invite you to Dino’s with us for dinner. Three, to see if you needed our help unpacking the storage boxes.”

“Looks like Rev unpacked her box already,” Deacon mumbled.

“No! He just came over to… uh… fix… my plumbing. His clothes got wet from the leak. I threw them in the dryer.”

Reese shot Reilly a look that said loud and clear. “Let me point out a few holes in your story. One, you have a landlord who takes care of your repairs. Two, you don’t have a dryer. Three, you’re wearing his shirt and, I’m going to assume, nothing else.” Reese pushed past her sister and pointed toward her bed. “Four, you always make your bed and your sheets are…” Her words faded away and she grimaced as she spotted the damp circle in the middle of the bed.

Deacon wandered closer to the bed and sniffed. “Sure smells like someone was laying pipe. Just not under the sink. And that leak must be comin’ from the roof,” he glanced toward the ceiling and scratched the back of his neck, a feigned dumb-founded look on his face. “Better get that checked.”

Reese whacked him in the gut with the back of her hand and Deke laughed.

Rev wasn’t finding any of it funny.

First of all, his woman was only wearing his tee and nothing else, just like Reese said. Second, if they didn’t quickly do damage control, Rev might die before his time. Third, and most importantly… Reilly was only wearing his fucking T-shirt without anything else in front of Deacon.

Before he could tell her to go put something on, another knock came at the door.

No one moved.

He only hoped it was the actual pizza this time and not another surprise visit from more of his club brothers.

Deacon tilted his head toward the door. “Go on.”

Rev cautiously went over, hoping it wasn’t a trap, picked up the twenty off the floor, opened the door and exchanged the scratch for the hot pizza with the delivery guy.

When he shut the door with his foot and turned with the large pizza in his hand, Deacon said, “Just like you live here.” The club treasurer came over and plucked the box out of Rev’s hands and took it over to the counter. “Proves this ain’t the first time you’ve come over to fix her leaky plumbin’. Or whatever made that wet spot.” He flipped open the cardboard box and grabbed a slice. “Gonna let Reese handle this one. Normally, I’d eat popcorn while I watched entertainment like this, but the pizza will have to do.”

He went over, sat on the edge of her unmade bed and took a bite of the slice, wincing when the hot sauce and melted cheese hit his mouth.

Good. Rev hoped he burned the roof of his mouth.

Reese sighed. “This new? Or have you two been sneaking around for a while?”

Reilly’s green eyes slid to him in a silent plea. He could see she wasn’t sure how to answer that.

“Ain’t new,” Deacon answered for them, taking another bite of the pizza. “She’s wearin’ his shirt, he’s answerin’ her door, buyin’ her dinner—even though it’s cheap-ass pizza—his nips look like mine after you’re done crankin’ them and,” he hooked a thumb over his shoulder, “he’s makin’ her leave wet spots the size of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.”

Reese scrubbed her hands down her face and Rev braced, waiting for her to lose her shit.

“Please tell me you’re being safe,” Reese asked, way too calmly. Rev didn’t trust it, he still expected her to let loose and freak out.

“Of course. You know I’m on the pill—”

“What?” escaped from Rev before he could stop it.

Deacon snorted. “Yeah, they forget to tell you that, right? They don’t want you raw-doggin’ it ’til decide it’s time.”

Reese shot him an irritated look.

Deacon raised both palms. “Not the time. Got it.” He grinned, got up and snagged another slice of pizza out of the box. “Baby, you want a slice? It’s pretty damn good and I don’t think they’re gonna be enjoyin’ it any time soon.” He leaned back against the counter, tipped his head back and lifted the slice up above his face, then lowered the tip into his mouth to take a large bite.

“Glad you’re fuckin’ enjoyin’ it,” Rev grumbled.

Deacon turned and threw the partially-eaten slice back into the box. “Just like you’ve been enjoyin’ somethin’ you were told to not touch. It was a damn clear rule that you broke. And you know what the fuck happens when club rules are broken. You fuckin’ knew it ‘cause you saw the result and you still fuckin’ did it anyhow.”

“She ain’t just a fuck.”

“I sure hope to fuck not,” Deacon answered. “But you didn’t go about it the right way. Shoulda approached me and Reese before the first wet spot was even made or those barbells were ever twisted. You didn’t. ‘Stead, you went behind our backs and took the wrong path.”

“And I’m the wrong path,” Reilly said. “Isn’t that up to us to decide? We’re both adults and can decide who we…”

“Bang,” Deacon supplied helpfully.

“And who we don’t,” Reilly finished.

“He’s just a detour, ” Reese said. “Working at Dutch’s was the same way. A temporary detour before your life got back on track. I wanted better for you than what our mother wanted. I wanted to prove we could pull ourselves up from a bad situation and make a good life. Now Trip has given you a direction.”

“There’s nothing wrong with this life. I’m happy. Or I was until you busted in here. Now I’m not happy because Deacon will run to the committee and make Rev pay for something he shouldn’t. It isn’t fair and I’m calling bullshit.” When Reese opened her mouth, Reilly threw up an hand. “What you need to explain to me is… How is it okay for you to be with Deacon but not for me to be with Rev? Or whatever Fury member I want to be.”

He had a lot to say about the last thing she said, but before he got a chance, Reese said, “My life was already in order when I met Deacon—I only met him because of your mess, I might add—yours is not. Is it getting there? Yes, but—”

“Her life’s in order just fuckin’ fine. Just ‘cause it ain’t like yours don’t mean it’s not. Stop treatin’ her like a fuckin’ child. She hasn’t been one for a long fuckin’ time.” His pulse was now pounding in his ears and not for the reason it originally was. He was no longer worried, he was pissed.

“Brother,” Deacon warned.

Reese ignored both men. He could see she believed this was strictly between her and her sister. She was dead wrong. It involved Rev. Because he was who Reilly was with, not any of his Fury brothers.

He was staking his claim, not anyone else. So, yeah, he had things to say.

“And when he’s in your bed today and tomorrow a sweet butt is crawling into his, then what?” Reese asked.

“That what you think of me?” Rev asked, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head to lock a hard gaze with Reilly’s older sister.

But before Reese could answer, Reilly spun toward Deacon. “How many sweet butts did you fuck after meeting my sister?” She lifted a palm again. “How many sweet butts did you fuck after she you and went back to Mansfield without even talking to you first? Even though I pleaded with her to do so? You had every right to fuck each and every one of them. But you didn’t, did you?” She turned back to Reese. “I was here when you weren’t, Reese. Deke could’ve taken any of them to bed after you left him, but you know what? He didn’t. Not one. And it wasn’t like they didn’t make themselves easily available.”

“Our situation is different,” Reese said softly.

“Not thinkin’ it is,” Deacon answered her in a murmur while staring at Rev.

Rev faced his club brother and confirmed, “It ain’t.”

“Damn,” Deacon murmured. “Hear that, baby? He’s not tappin’ her ass because she’s available, he’s—”

“Yeah,” Rev just about shouted to shut Deke up.

Everyone stared at him and no one blinked.

Reilly suddenly snapped back into motion.

“Reese, I want what you and Deacon have. Let me have that.”

Reese was still staring at him, which made it worse when she asked, “With Rev?”

Why did she sound surprised? Did she believe he wasn’t good enough for her sister?

“I…” Reilly made a noise of frustration in her throat. “Does it matter with who?”

“Yeah, it does,” Rev answered Reilly’s question. “‘Cause you’re mine, so it really does fuckin’ matter.”

Reese turned wide green eyes to Rev. “This isn’t just a… a hookup?”

“Even if it is, stop trying to control my life. If I want to bang every Fury member, a different one every night, then I should be allowed to do so.”

“Yeah, that ain’t happenin’,” Rev growled.

Deacon snorted.

“You know what I mean.” She turned back to Reese. “Look, I appreciate everything you’ve ever done for me. All of the sacrifices you’ve made. But let… me… go. Be my sister and not my mother. Be happy for me when I’m happy. Be there to hold me when I’m not. And I’ll do the same for you. But let me have this and stop smothering me.”

“Reilly,” Reese started.

Reilly interrupted her with, “Trip said he was leaving it up to you.”

“Fuck that,” Rev muttered. It was time for him to take control of the situation. He’d heard more than enough. This was his life. Reilly’s life. Their potential life together. “You ain’t askin’ your sister’s permission for shit. You don’t have to. You ain’t a child. I appreciate everythin’ you did for Reilly, too, Reese, but you ain’t her mother and even if you were, I’d be sayin’ the same shit right now. She’s my woman, I’m takin’ care of this and got shit to say about it.”

“Oh, somebody’s gonna have shit to say about it,” Deacon warned. “You forgettin’ about the exec committee?”

“No. And that’s how I’m gonna handle it.”

Deacon whistled softly. “Yeah, you got it bad. Enough to stand in front of that table and admit you broke a club rule.”

“If that’s what I gotta do, that’s what I’m gonna do. Don’t need your ol’ lady’s permission to claim mine. Just need the exec committee’s permission for that.”

When he was done speaking, the apartment was completely silent. He took one breath, then a second and turned to Reese, expecting to see her fuming.

Her expression was actually surprisingly soft and her eyes oddly glistened. Was she going cry?

What the hell was wrong with her?

He frowned. “You okay?”

“Pregnancy hormones,” Deacon said as if that explained everything.

Reese was knocked up? Should he congratulate her? He wasn’t sure what to fucking do when it came to Deacon’s ol’ lady. She wasn’t like the rest of them.

Rev glanced back at Deacon for help. He only shrugged.

Reese wiped at her eyes. “Answer me one thing, Rev.”

He hoped he didn’t regret this… “Anything.”

“Do you love her? I’m assuming you do since you’re willing to do what you plan to do. We know what happened to Cage and I assume that bullshit will happen to you, too. You sound willing to go through that to have my sister. So, tell me, do you love her?”

Of fucking course Reese asked the one thing he wasn’t willing to tell her. No fucking way. Not when the only time he’d told Reilly was when he was blitzed.

“Ain’t tellin’ you that,” he answered Reese and moved to Reilly until their bare toes met. He cupped her face and tipped it up to him.

She was wearing his shirt and soon she’d be wearing his cut. Even if he had to take a beating to give it to her. “But I tell her.” He put his mouth to her ear and whispered, “How soon can we get them the fuck outta your place? This way I can show you how much I love you instead of only sayin’ the words.” He pulled back and she blinked her big green eyes up at him.

A huge smile crept over her face. Without breaking their eye contact, Reilly said, “He loves me, sis. Just as much as I do him.”

Reilly’s heart pumped a mile a minute, so much so, she could hardly hear through the wood door at the top of the rough-cut steps. She sat at the top, her ear to the door and tried to hold her breath so she could hear more clearly.

Tonight was the monthly meeting of the exec committee. Deacon and Reese had agreed to keep their mouths shut and let Rev handle informing the club’s officers of breaking one of their rules.

What Rev was now calling “The Big Sin.”

He’d been punished by his father in the past what his parents considered sins, even minor ones, and he said he was used to paying for them with physical pain. He was willing to stand and accept whatever punishment the officers decided to dole out.

But what he wouldn’t accept was them not allowing Rev to claim her and make Reilly his ol’ lady.

However, the committee hadn’t expected Rev to burst into the room shortly after they all settled in their seats.

Rev didn’t even know Reilly was there. She had shown up as support and was going to wait downstairs until he was done, but her nosiness got the better of her. She quietly climbed the steps to the second floor in the barn so she could eavesdrop.

She told herself she had every right to do so since what would be discussed involved her and also her future ol’ man.

That meant she’d be limited to riding on the back of Rev’s sled from then on out. Not a sacrifice on her part at all.

That was Rev survived and got to keep his colors.

Out of the risks involved—a blanket party, getting his colors stripped or losing Reilly—he told her that losing her would be the hardest to deal with. But he was determined to keep her, keep his colors and hope Judge didn’t strike too hard when he used “The Punisher,” the nickname for the wood club that hung downstairs in The Barn as a visual reminder.

Reilly heard a murmur of male voices through the door but couldn’t make out what they were saying until she heard Rev speak up.

“Came here ‘cause I got somethin’ to say. Somethin’ to confess.”

“This might be a fuckin’ church but it ain’t that kind of church,” Trip said. “You also didn’t approach any of us and ask to be heard, did you?”

“No. But it couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Must be important.” Judge’s deep voice was easy to decipher.

“Really fuckin’ important,” Rev confirmed.

“We givin’ this asshole the floor?” Trip asked.

Another murmur of voices rose.

“‘Kay,” Trip said next. “Got five minutes to spill your fuckin’ guts. Start talkin’.”

“Here to claim Reilly.”

A chorus of loud voices rose around the table and Reilly had no idea whose belonged to whom. None of it sounded friendly, though. It sounded more like an angry mob.

Someone—she assumed Trip—slammed the gavel on the wood table several times to quiet everyone down.

Once the room went silent, Rev continued, “I want her. I’m claimin’ her and if you need to beat my fuckin’ brains out so I can have her, willin’ to take it like a fuckin’ man.”

He had given her no indication he was going to say that. Not that it surprised her, but still…

That was a huge sacrifice to throw out there.

Reilly smashed her ear tighter against the door. Why was there so much silence?

She finally breathed again when Trip spoke next. “How ‘bout that? We were just discussin’ with Deke here the fact that Reese asked to have her cut from the list. She was lettin’ her free. But apparently, she ain’t free ‘cause she already belongs to you. That right?”

Reilly’s heart was now pounding in her throat as she waited for Rev’s answer. When it came, it was loud and confident. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Curious ‘bout when that happened? Since you don’t got a time machine to go into the future after she’s removed from the list or even to know she bein’ removed from the list. That means you two already had to be hookin’ up and hidin’ it. That also right?”

“Yeah.”

Reilly clenched her teeth together and pressed a hand to the door, wishing she could burst in there and make her demands. Rev had warned her to stay out of it and that he would handle it, but it was a damn struggle not to get involved.

This involved her future. Her relationship. Everything.

“Means you broke a club rule while it was still in place,” Judge grumbled.

“Yeah. And it was fuckin’ worth it. Whatever I gotta do to pay for breakin’ that rule, I’ll do it. What I won’t do is accept anyone not allowin’ me to claim her. The woman’s gonna wear my cut, whether you want it or not.”

Someone whistled low. Maybe Ozzy, she wasn’t sure.

“Damn.” That sounded like Deacon even though he already knew this was going to happen tonight. He was the only one sitting at that table already aware of the situation.

“You got some fuckin’ balls, brother,” Cage, the road captain, said.

“If you even a cut for her to wear after this,” Sig, the club VP, reminded him.

Trip took over again. “You weren’t fuckin’ lyin’ when you said you’ve been hookin’ up with a woman and spendin’ a lot of time at her place. Just forgot to mention who that woman was.” He didn’t sound happy. He actually sounded like he was getting more pissed by the minute. That wasn’t a good sign. Both Sig and Trip had really short fuses and it didn’t take much to ignite them.

She stared at the doorknob, tempted.

As she stood and began to reach for it, she jumped when she heard a footstep behind her.

She swung around and tried to put on her best innocent face. She almost bent over in relief when she saw it was Whip. She was afraid it might be Scar sneaking around. She could see that prospect grabbing her by the collar and dragging her inside the meeting room to tattle on her.

Being an ex-con he should know the code: Snitches get stitches!

Whip would never rat her out.

“You supposed to be here?” he whispered.

She put her finger to her lips and made a face.

“Ain’t smart.”

“Why are you up here?” She was getting anxious because talking to Whip meant she was missing out on the conversation happening inside that room.

“Why up here?”

She grimaced. At this point, there was no reason to lie to Whip. Especially since they worked together. “Because Rev and I are… And…”

Whip grinned. “No shit. Already knew that. Ain’t hard to see how you two look at each other ever since you both returned from your trips. Or should that be singular since you both left and returned at the same time?”

“Did we?” she whispered.

“Also hard to miss that every time you bend over at work, Rev’s watchin’ and then sportin’ wood afterward.”

“He is?”

Whip shot her a look that clearly said, “And you didn’t say a word?” She grabbed his face and planted a kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best, Whip.”

He grinned, then got serious. “Now, get the fuck off these stairs before your ass gets caught and it causes more headaches for your ol’ man.”

“Like I said… the best.”

As she reluctantly moved down the steps, she heard Whip open the door at the top of the stairway and go inside, closing it behind him.

She wondered briefly why he was being called in front of the executive committee but that wasn’t her business.

she reminded herself.

She finished descending the stairs and walked across the first floor of The Barn and directly to the bar.

Easy was casually leaning against it, smoking a hand-rolled cigarette and drinking a beer. He shot her a surprised look. “Why the fuck were you upstairs?”

“I wasn’t,” she answered, going behind the bar.

Easy’s eyes slid over from the stairway she just came down back to her. “I’m pretty fuckin’ sure those steps lead up to the second floor.”

Reilly shrugged. “They do, but I wasn’t up there.”

He blinked, then finally said, “Got it,” before taking a long pull from his beer.

She finished making herself a Jack and Coke and came around the bar to sit next to where he was leaning.

She sucked down a third of the super strong drink.

Easy jerked his chin at the cup in her hand. “That to celebrate, or drown your problems?”

“Guess I’ll know soon enough.”

“Jack’s good for either occasion,” Easy said, lifting his beer bottle. She tapped her plastic cup against it and they both took a drink.

Her phone vibrating had her putting down her cup and scrambling to yank it from her back pocket.

She read Rev’s text:

She quickly texted back:

She heard the heavy footsteps rushing down the thick, rough-cut wood stairs.

When he hit the bottom, it looked like it took everything he had not to sprint over to her.

But The Barn was full of the brothers who weren’t on the committee, some of the prospects and even a couple of sweet butts. Mostly playing pool, throwing darts, drinking and smoking.

The atmosphere was relaxed, unlike Reilly.

Even though he didn’t run to her, he power-walked and almost didn’t stop even when he practically knocked her off the chair. He grabbed a handful of her hair and used it to tip her head back before giving her a long, deep kiss.

He was claiming her right there. He’d done it at the table, now he was doing the same in front of everyone else. Whistles, hollers and hoots came from several directions.

When they both came up for air, he whispered, “Now you’re fuckin’ stuck with me.”

She wasn’t worried about that part. “And?”

“And hope you don’t regret it.”

She wasn’t worried about that, either. “No, the rest.”

Rev shrugged. “Don’t know. They’re gonna discuss it. Told me to get fuckin’ lost and they’d let me know.”

“What? My stomach is already in knots! And now we have to wait?”

“It is what it is, buttercup.” He grabbed the drink from her fingers and downed half of it. He blew out a breath when he was done and cocked an eyebrow at the cup. “Damn that’s probably fifty-fifty.”

“Something like that.”

“Don’t worry, long as they don’t strip my colors, we’re good.”

She tugged at his T-shirt under those colors. “We’re good even if they do.”

His bright blue eyes hit hers and held. “Need to fuck you right now.”

“Right now? Like right here?” Her lips twitched. “You want to claim me in front of your brothers, don’t you?”

“Yeah, no. Not right here. Got a better place.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not your gross room.”

“It’s got a bed.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“And a bathroom.”

She grimaced. She knew what the guys’ rooms looked like. Not too many of them cared enough to be neat. Or to clean. Most of the time they had to get one of the prospects or sweet butts to do the work for them. And that wasn’t often enough.

“I’m going to take a big ol’ pass on that. Especially since you probably haven’t changed the sheets since you last did a sweet butt in there.”

“Haven’t done a sweet butt in…” He rolled his eyes toward the ceiling in thought.

“Right. And how long ago have you changed your sheets?” She faked a gag.

“Not a conversation I wanna be havin’ with you, anyway.”

She nodded. “Ditto.”

He grinned. “Gonna burn those sheets.”

“All right,” she patted his gut, “but until you do, we can go check my apartment for a leaky roof.”

He abandoned her drink on the bar and snagged her hand, yanking her off the stool. “Think I got an idea where the leak’s comin’ from.”

Having listened to their whole conversation and not giving a shit they knew it, Easy asked, “Since when did you become a plumber?”

“Didn’t you know he’s a master plumber?” Reilly winked at E.

Rev snorted, gripped her hand even tighter and dragged her out of The Barn before Easy could respond. “You sayin’ I got skills, woman?”

“You have some master skills, yes. Some others you need to work on.”

“Practice ’til perfect.”

“Great minds…” she whispered.

Once he walked her to her car, he hooked her around the waist and turned her into him, dropping a quick kiss on her mouth. “Meet you at your place. Parkin’ out front tonight.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Might even park in the rear, too.”

As he pulled away, she grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Rev…”

He paused.

“Are you sure you’re okay with giving up your freedom?”

He grinned. “Ain’t givin’ up shit. Just takin’ you along for the ride. How ‘bout you?”

“Ain’t givin’ up shit,” she echoed. “Just taking that ride along with you.”

“It’s gonna be one helluva ride,” he said and walked away, heading toward the storage shed that held his sled. “Buckle up, buttercup!” he yelled into the dark.

“Buckle up,” Reilly whispered. She got into her Hyundai and went home.

The leaky roof was never fixed.

Funny how her roof happened to leak at her new place, too…

Had to be fate.