She made sure she was okay.
She never once looked back and thought of me.
“Even though I know you’re right...”
“Still fuckin’ hurts,” Lake finishes for me.
I take a sip of the cold beer and nod, trying to fight back tears.
“She was family, and when family shits all over you, it fuckin’ burns. You’re going to feel it for a while, but know this, Willa, you got us now and I promise you that we’ll never leave you behind.”
A tear rolls down my cheek, and I swipe it away before taking another sip.
Lake reaches over the table and uses his thumb to swipe the next one way.
“She doesn’t deserve what you have to give,” he murmurs.
“It’s just such a bitter pill to swallow. Knowing that she is sitting back in her fancy house, with her fancy husband, while I was laying in that cell wondering why she never came to visit...God, it kills.”
“She has her own demons, and I promise you those demons will follow her around for the rest of her life. You’ve moved past yours. You’ve put them to bed. In the long term, you’ll come out on top. Just because she has a fancy life doesn’t mean it ain’t a struggle to get out of bed each day.”
“Thank you for taking me, for being there. It really meant a lot to me that you were by my side.”
He shrugs, but his eyes are soft. “I want you to close those doors, because baby, I’ve got so many more for you to open right by my side.”
I smile, my chest swelling. “Does that line work on all the ladies?”
He grins. “You have no idea.”
“Come on,” I say, finishing my beer. “Let’s get out of here. I want to go order a pizza, a big chocolate sundae and I want to sit at the park with no restrictions and eat. Then, I want you to lay me down on that soft grass and fuck me until I can’t remember my own name.”
Lake brings the beer to his mouth, swallowing it down.
“You had me at pizza.”
Laughing, we both stand and leave the café before going to a local pizza place and ordering a large pepperoni and some sundaes. Then, we get some takeaway beers and Lake gets an old rug out of his truck before we find a spot at the local park, under a big shady tree, and roll it out. Sitting down, we stare out over the quiet night, and I take a moment to truly enjoy how this feels.
Then, Lake lays me down and he fucks me.
He fucks me slow.
Then he fucks me hard.
And I let him without a care in the world.
Because I’m free now, bitches.
Nothing is ever going to hold me down again.
“SERIOUSLY?” I SAY, eyes wide as I stare at Rhett.
It’s the next day and we’ve all been called to a big meeting where Rhett has just broken some pretty big news to us. Well, to Fallon, Ember and I. Marg and Betty both went home as soon as their freedom was in place, and I can’t say I blame them. Why wouldn’t you go home? They’ve been locked up a whole lot longer than any of us and they have families. As much as they probably love the retreat, they’re not going to waste a single second longer away from those people than they have to.
“I’m serious. It comes with a lot of perks, and I know you ladies have missed out on a lot of your lives, so I’ll be offering regular vacations. It won’t be easy out there for you to get a job, not with a criminal record, but I’m willing to give you everything you need.”
My eyes widen as I take in what he just said. What he just offered us.
He explained that while he loves the idea of the retreat, he and the guys just don’t have it in them to run it how it needs to be run. They want to keep it open, but they want to take a step back and hand it over to a group of trustworthy women so they can just go back to their life as ranchers. They’ll help with things like camping trips, or activities that require a man, but otherwise, they are putting Lei and June in charge of the whole thing, and they need more staff.
They want us.
They offered us all a job working the retreat, with accommodation, excellent pay, and a whole lot of vacation time.
It’s a dream come true, really.
Because Rhett is right, we’ll never be able to get a job easily out there and things are hard right now, finding a place to live and securing all those things could be very difficult. I had already made the choice to stay with Lake and see where our relationship takes us, but I don’t know what Fallon and Ember plan on doing. Judging by the looks on their faces, they’re shocked, confused, and overwhelmed.