What about Dyna? She was a part of that baby girl’s life as much as her parents. She was helping raise Cage and Jemma’s daughter as if she was her own.
Despite not having a common drop of blood, Tessa loved that little girl unconditionally and Dyna loved her back without any judgment. One day that most likely would change. Eventually Dyna would learn, like they all have, that reality could be ugly.
But right now Dyna was oblivious to any harsh realities. Hopefully, unlike Tessa growing up, she stayed in that bubble as long as possible.
One day she might discover that she hadn’t been wanted by her birth mother. That a young Amish woman abandoned her at Dutch’s Garage for her father to find her. A father who had not been prepared. One who had been overwhelmed but managed to muster through, anyway. Cage claimed that baby the second his gut told him she was his.
That was the way fathers should be. Giving their children, planned or unexpected, unconditional love no matter what the circumstances.
On the flip side, Tessa hoped Dyna would realize Jemma loved her enough to step in as her mother as if she gave birth to Cage’s daughter herself. Dyna was wanted, loved, appreciated and protected, unlike Tessa and Tucker had been. Maybe even Trip.
Unconditional love. Everybody wanted the real deal, it couldn’t only be her.
While love was just a word, it could be an empty one. Just because someone said it, didn’t always mean they meant it.
Sometimes it was said to pacify. Sometimes it was a complete lie.
Sometimes it was used as a weapon. Or to gaslight.
So, yes, Tessa wanted the real thing.
Coming to the farm and seeing true love between the Fury couples proved it did exist.
Just by the way Sig looked at Red. Like he couldn’t exist without her. Like the sun would never rise again and the VP would sink into eternal darkness if his ol’ lady, his soulmate, was no longer in his life.
The love between them was so damn intense it spilled over to the rest of the couples.
That was what she wanted. A man who looked at her like the sun rose and set with her. That she was his everything.
Was Easy “the one” for her? If he was, was she mentally blocking that out of fear?
She wished she had solid answers to a fluid situation.
Even so, she actually looked forward to these middle of the night rides. They didn’t have to talk and for the most part they simply rode. Simply spent that time together, connected physically and mentally… Even emotionally.
While straddling the back of his bike and being pressed against the patches that partially defined him, she could forget everything they left behind on the farm. Not only their responsibilities, but the looming deadline.
Barely a week left.
Only days.
Hours.
Minutes.
When she finally released the breath she held, it got whipped away by the wind.
She closed her eyes, pressed her cheek against the warm, worn leather covering his back and tightened her grip around his waist. His sled had a backrest for the passenger but she never used it. She preferred to hold onto him tightly.
That should be her sign.
And the fact that he kept one hand wrapped around her calf when he didn’t need to use it.
He held her. She held him. And they rode.
After the first night on his sled, she had looked forward to future rides as much as she did having sex with him. They were both satisfying and perfect to forget her troubles. Even if only for a short time.
His shouted, “Fuck!” had her eyes flashing open.
He swerved just in time to miss a deer darting out of the woods and across the road. Her heart became stuck in her throat and her fingers dug into his waist as he almost lost control. Like a pro, he quickly straightened it out and avoided dumping the bike on the pavement.
Where they were currently was not far from the mountain formerly known as Hillbilly Hill. Now free of any members of the Guardians of Freedom, it needed a new nickname.
While the Shirleys were no longer a threat, the deer still were.
“Jesus Christ, that was close!” he yelled over the loud exhaust. He had slowed down the Harley and his heart had to be racing as badly as hers. “That would suck if I wrecked my new sled.”
It would suck if they wrecked, period.
Neither of them wore helmets, but at least they both wore jeans and boots. And until the weather got any hotter, Tessa had been donning a leather jacket every time they rode. However, none of that would protect them from a crushed skull or a fucked-up face.
Now going slowly, Easy scanned the woods on both sides of the road, looking for the rest of the herd before twisting the throttle a little more but still remaining under the speed limit while in the heavily wooded area.