Page 34 of Acceptance
He pulls out his phone and calls Ashley.
“Hey.”
“I’m just leaving the station and on my way home.”
“Grayson—”
“I told them to go fuck themselves,” he says. “You were right, and you were right to call me out on my bullshit. Now, I want you naked in our bed by the time I get home because I need to show you just how sorry I am.”
A relieved sigh comes through the phone. “You’re sure you won’t regret this?”
“I talked to your dad. There were a few pieces of the puzzle I was missing, but now that I have them, I see the full picture. It’s the only option there is. Unless I want to disappoint everyone, including myself.”
“As long as you’re sure.”
She’s been crying. He hears it in her voice, and he hates it. As soon as she left, he knew she worried he wouldn’t pick her if it came down to it even though he will always choose her.
“I love you, Ash. You’re the only thing in this world I’m scared to lose, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure you stick around and deal with me.”
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Naked. Not a single piece of clothing on that sexy body.”
Her giggle eases the guilt of how he must’ve made her feel, and he hurries to his car. He meant what he said. This is the only option to make sure the one person who means everything to him is proud of him. He can’t lose that.
Chapter Twelve
Griffin’s Beach
Hailey
“Thank your family for me?” Lindsey asks.
“I will,” Hailey assures.
The not-so-innocent-anymore blonde hugs her tightly. “I’m going to miss you, but I don’t think I’ll be back.”
“Take care of yourself, Lindsey.”
She watches her former roommate leave with her parents. Her father didn’t understand why no charges were being pressed, but they seemed to accept the problem had been taken care of when they realized they picked their daughter up at a motorcycle club clubhouse.
Walking to her car, she’s thankful for her family, too. They’d gone to the dorm and collected everything for both her andLindsey. And they brought back Hailey’s car. She’s been able to shower and change into her own clothes after a real night’s sleep.
“Time to have the first tough conversation,” Hailey mutters to herself and drives to Lex and Colt’s house.
Hailey steps inside to find Lucas on the couch playing a video game. He looks up at her and sets the handheld game down. “Hey.”
“Hey. Where is everyone?”
“Colt’s in the garage working on his bike, I think. Lex just stepped outside with the kids after putting the rest of your stuff away in your room.”
“Colt’s home?”
Nodding, he sighs. “I think he wants to stick close to home right now. You should have seen him last night, Hailey. Both him and Lex were frantic. And Colt was ready to kill anyone who got in his way.”
She sits next to her brother and hates how she never saw just how much they cared before. “He did kill. The man who pulled us into this mess was trying to hurt Lindsey. Another guy tried to hurt me, and Colt saved us. I begged Colt to kill Gary, and he just… did. No hesitation.”
“Hails, about that last conversation we had… I didn’t mean—”
