Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
She led us into the living room, and I caught glimpses of framed photos along the walls. My eyes widened when I realized one of them was from her wedding, and she was in her wheelchair at the altar.
Susan easily transferred to the couch, her balance so natural that it was as if her chair had never been anything but a part of her life. She looked comfortable and happy, but there was still an almost tortured look in Reid’s eyes as he watched her.
I reached for his hand, lacing my fingers with his. He didn’t let go. Not even when the front door opened behind us and a tall, handsome man stepped in, carrying a grocery bag.
“Babe, they were out of the herbal tea you love, so I got the next best one. Oh, I thought I’d beat you here.”
His smile was easy, but the moment his eyes landed on Susan, something shifted. The way he looked at her—like the sun rose and set with his wife—made something ache in my chest. He walked over and kissed her forehead before lowering a hand gently to her stomach.
I saw the way Susan flushed, her hand covering his, and I gasped.
Reid went still beside me.
“We were going to wait a little longer before telling anyone,” Susan admitted with a bashful grin. “But it seems so fitting that you’re the first to know.”
“You’re pregnant?” I asked, my voice catching on a thread of emotion.
She nodded, glowing now. “Yeah. Due right around Thanksgiving.”
I glanced at Reid, but he wasn’t smiling. Not yet. The guilt was still there, carved into every line of his face. As though seeing her happy somehow deepened his remorse.
“We have even more to be thankful for this year.” Her husband shot Reid a smile. “Because of you.”
Reid looked uncomfortable with his gratitude, shrugging it off.
Susan shot him an exasperated look before she asked, “Can I steal Peyton for a second?”
“Sure,” Reid replied.
She transferred back to her chair, then her husband dropped the bag onto her lap, and she motioned me to follow her as she rolled toward the kitchen.
When we stopped near the fridge, Susan took my hand.
“I know that look,” she said softly. “You’re worried about him.”
“I want him to stop hurting.” My voice cracked. “And not just because he saved me too.”
She shook her head with a deep sigh. “He doesn’t see it, but Reid gave me back a life that turned out even better than I ever dreamed.”
“I wish he saw it that way.”
She squeezed my fingers. “Now it’s your turn to save him, Peyton. You have to be the one to pull him out of the emotional rubble he buried himself in.”
My throat closed, but I nodded. “I will.”
After helping her put away the groceries and make a pot of herbal tea for us and coffee for the guys, I followed Susan back into the living room.
We chatted for a little while, mostly Susan sharing what had been going on in her life besides her big news. When her husband was in the kitchen, putting our mugs in the sink, her hand drifted to her stomach. “We decided that if it’s a boy, we’re naming him Reid.”
He froze, the impact of her words hitting someplace deep.
“Don’t argue with me,” Susan added with a smile. “It’s already decided. And not because you owe me anything, but because you don’t. You gave me this life, and I wouldn’t change a single part of it.”
Reid didn’t speak, but I saw the change in his expression. How the sharp edges softened, even if just for a moment. Getting to his feet, he leaned down and hugged her again, holding her tighter this time.
We said our goodbyes not long after, and the drive back to Old Bridge passed in quiet comfort. His hand found mine again, resting between us on the console like it belonged there. Because it did.
I kept thinking about Susan’s words and the way Reid had looked at her when she told him about the baby. There was so much pain still buried inside him, but I saw something else too—a flicker of peace. Maybe even hope.
The late afternoon sun dipped lower as we turned onto the familiar road leading to the Iron Rogues compound. Reid eased the truck past the gates, and I glanced over at him with a teasing smile.
“I guess Reid Jr. isn’t a possibility for us if Susan already claimed the name.”
His knuckles whitened around the wheel. “Us?”
“Hypothetically. Someday.” My cheeks filled with heat as I remembered how he’d taken me without anything between us. And how often he talked about filling me up with his come. “Maybe sooner than later, considering you haven’t used a single condom any of the times we’ve had sex.”
A low growl rumbled from his chest, and his hand slid from the console to my thigh, fingers gripping with unmistakable possession.