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24

TALLIE

“ I f it’s any consolation, I think your shop would’ve done amazing.” Jenna looked around the room with a smile. “Your stuff is incredible.”

“Thank you.” I ran my fingers over the rim of one of my favorite vases and traced the smooth ceramic as I let out a slow breath. “I’m hoping it will do well at the gallery.”

“Oh, you won’t have any problem there. People around here love anything handmade.”

I looked around at the half-empty shelves and sighed.

This was my dream. It was going to be my fresh start, and now, I was packing it all up. I couldn’t deny that it was hard—harder than I’d expected. Casey must’ve sensed the shift in my mood because she came over and placed her hand on my shoulder. “You sure about this?”

“Yep. I’m all good.”

“You say that, but you look like you’re on the brink of tears.”

“No, no crying today. I’m all good.”

“Mmhmm. We’ll see.”

I sighed and picked up another piece, wrapping it carefully before placing it in the box. “It’s just weird, you know? I spent so much time thinking about making this place mine, and now I’m just leaving it.”

“You’re not leaving it,” Casey corrected. “You’re taking it with you.”

“Exactly,” Jenna agreed. “And let’s be honest, you’d run yourself ragged if you tried to keep this place going.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Moving in with Holt had changed things. Not just for me but for Ford, too. He was starting a new school and making new friends, and I needed to be there to help out whenever I could. I couldn’t do that and run a pottery shop two hours away. It just didn’t make any sense.

So, I made the decision to do something different.

I’d turn the barn into my new workspace. I would make my pottery there and sell it at the local art gallery. Eventually, I would work toward online sales. I may have been a little sad to let go of a dream, but I knew I’d made the right choice.

Casey nudged my shoulder. “We should have girl’s wine night at the barn. You can show us what you’re making and even teach us a thing or two.”

“Oh, I’d love that!” Jenna gasped. “You could do pottery for kids, too! I know Luna would love that.”

“Toby would, too!” Casey's mouth dropped wide. “That’s a really good idea! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it.”

“Hey, hey. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have a lot of packing to do.”

“She’s right.” Jenna gave her a stern but playful look. “Let’s get to it.”

We spent hours boxing everything up and making trip after trip, loading everything into the trailer. We’d been at it for over an hour when I said, “Holt and I had an interesting talk last night.”

“Oh, yeah?” Casey stopped in her tracks. “What about?”

“Everything.” I continued wrapping one of my bowls as I told them, “We’d really never talked about the years we were apart, so we spent a lot of time talking about that. I told him all about my time in Paris and New York, and he told me about his time in the military.”

“That’s good.”

“It was. We both learned a lot about each other.”

“Hmmm.” Casey’s brows furrowed. “Why do I feel like there’s something you’re not telling us?”

“Well, there was a lot of talk about the club and all the rules.” Jenna glanced over at Casey, and they shared a knowing glance. “There’s a lot there, isn’t there?”

“Yes, but it isn’t too bad.” Casey shrugged. “The secrets can be tough at times, but you have to remember it’s for our benefit.”

“Yeah, that’s what he kept saying, but I wasn’t so sure I agreed.”

“It’s one of those things that takes time.”

“What about the hang arounds and all the strippers? Do they take time getting used to?”

“Actually, the girls are pretty cool,” Jenna admitted. “Once one of the guys is claimed, they keep their distance.”

“And they do a lot around the club house and help out any way they can.” Casey picked up a box as she said, “You met Bridgett. She’s a hang around, and she’s awesome.”

“Yeah, she really was.”

“Just give it time. If you still have concerns about something, talk to Seven about it, and he’ll get it sorted.”

“Thanks. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who’s gone through all this.”

“No. We’ve all been there, and I can honestly say, the good outweighs the bad ten-fold.”

“Good to know.”

We kept at it, and when we’d almost gotten everything done, I sent Casey and Jenna home. I wanted to wrap up the last of it myself so I could have a moment alone before I closed this chapter on my life.

Once I had my last few pieces boxed up, I wiped everything down, and I was about to hit the lights when I noticed a figure at the front door. It startled me, but then I saw that it was Marcus.

I never thought I’d look at him and feel anything other than love and loyalty. He had been my best friend since high school. He was the one person I could always count on and had never let me down.

Until now.

Now, I knew the truth, and the mere sight of him made my stomach twist into a knot. He must’ve seen the storm brewing in my eyes because his smile faded the second I started toward the door. His easy stance stiffened, and when I opened the door, his brows furrowed. “Tallie? What’s wrong?”

“You have some real nerve showing up here.”

His jaw clenched, but he didn’t interrupt.

I stopped just a foot away, close enough that I could see the flicker of guilt in his eyes when I asked, “How long did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That Holt was alive?”

He didn’t answer.

I took a step closer as I pushed, “ How long, Marcus? ”

Shame was written all over his face as he muttered, “A while.”

The words hit like a slap.

A while.

All those years I spent grieving. All those nights, I cried myself to sleep, thinking I’d lost the only man I’d ever loved. And he knew . He knew Holt was alive, and he let me drown in that grief anyway. “You were supposed to be my best friend.”

“I am your best friend! That’s never changed.”

“You lied to me!”

“I was trying to protect you.”

“Oh my God! Why does everyone keep saying that? It makes no sense! I didn’t need protecting. I needed Holt!” A bitter laugh escaped before I could stop it. “Do you have any idea what that did to me? Do you have any idea how much I needed to know the truth?”

He looked away, but I wasn’t done.

“I trusted you, Marcus. More than anyone. I told you everything . And you never said a word. You let me believe he was dead .”

“I didn’t know how to tell you. And when I did, it was too late.”

“You’re right. It is too late. You need to go, Marcus.”

“Tallie, please. Let me explain.”

“There’s nothing you can say.”

“Tallie…”

“No,” I cut him off. “We’re done, Marcus.”

His whole body went still.

I could see it in his face. He knew I meant it, and it wasn’t just anger talking. I was done .

“I’m sorry, Tallie.” When I didn’t respond, he lowered his head and said, “If you ever change your mind…”

“I won’t.”

With that, he gave me a nod and turned to leave. It was hard to close the door on a friendship that I’d had for so long, but deep down, I knew I had no other choice. He’d lied to me for years, and there was no coming back from that. I felt the same way about my mother.

She was my mother. Nothing could change that.

But I’d never look at her the same way again.

She let me believe Holt was dead. She watched me grieve and held me while I cried. I spent years drowning in that pain, and she just let me. She never once considered telling me the truth.

It was a hard pill to swallow.

She was the person I turned to when life got hard. She was someone I trusted. But that trust had been broken, and no matter how much I wanted things to go back to the way they were, I knew they never would.

I would never forget what she did, but in time, I would forgive her.

She would still be a big part of our lives. She was Holt’s grandmother, and she was all we had left of our family. And more than that, she was my mother, and I loved her dearly. I could never turn my back on her, so in time, we would figure things out and find our new normal.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, I was exhausted. Packing up the shop had taken more out of me than I’d expected. I was worn out and ready to call it a day until I got out of the car and spotted Holt and Ford in the backyard. Holt had a baseball glove on one hand and was tossing a ball to Ford with the other. Ford caught it and smiled proudly.

“There ya go,” Holt called out. “See? You’re getting it.”

Ford beamed and puffed out his chest like he’d just won the World Series. And my heart melted right there on the spot.

I glanced over and saw the smoke billowing from the grill. Holt had the picnic table set up with plates and several bags of chips. It was the perfect way to end a long day. I started over to Ford, and he smiled widely as he told me, “I’ve caught six in a row.”

“Oh, really.” I dropped my bag down on the porch. “That’s pretty impressive.”

“Hey, babe.” Holt gave me one his smiles that sent a tingle straight through me. “How’d it go?”

“About like I expected. But it’s done.”

He studied me for a second, then nodded like he knew exactly what that meant. He didn’t press. He just reached out, catching my hand and giving it a squeeze. Ford tossed the ball up in the air and caught it in his glove as he announced, “We’re making burgers and hot dogs.”

“I see that. It smells great.”

“Should be about ready.”

Ford started up the front steps as he shouted, “I’ll get the ketchup.”

I didn’t even think about it.

I walked straight over to Holt. He was at the grill, flipping the burgers when I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek into his back. I loved the feeling of his body next to mine. I loved how he always smelled of cologne mixed with leather. I loved how me made me feel safe.

I loved him.

I loved him so much it made my chest ache.

Holt stilled for half a second, then let out a low chuckle and turned to face me. “What’s this about?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head against his chest. “I just love you.”

His arms tightened around me instantly, pulling me in and holding me close. He pressed a slow, warm kiss to my neck, and I felt him smile against my skin. “And I love you, but I’ve got cooking to do here, woman.”

“Just one more second.”

Holt chuckled again, softer this time, before he pulled back just enough to look at me. “You good?”

I nodded. “I’m more than good.”

Holt’s lips curled into a knowing smile, and then he leaned down, brushing a kiss against my forehead. “Love ya.”

“And I love you.”

He gave me a wink, then went back to flipping the burgers.

As I stood there, looking at the love of my life, I knew things weren’t always going to be wonderful. I knew we would fall on hard times, and there would be days when I doubted everything. There would be days when I loved him more than I could stand, and there would be times when I wanted to wring his neck. But I loved him, and he loved me.

And as long as we had each other, we could get through anything.

I was finally where I was meant to be.