Chapter 26
Harley
This time, I smile as I clean up the cuts on Bishop’s face.I’ve never been more proud of the man who sits on the chair in front of me.Standing up to his greatest fear and not backing down when things got tough.“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
It comes out all gruff because he can barely move his lips.Leaning forward, I gently kiss his lips.“I’m glad it didn’t fuck up this pretty face.”
“You’re the only one who thinks my face is pretty.”
I giggle.“That’s a lie.You know there are women who come into the shop wanting to talk to you and they do their best to get your attention.It happened last week.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“Of course you don’t.You only have eyes for me.”I give him a smart-ass answer.
“I do.”He smirks.
“I’m proud of you,” I whisper.“You confronted your fears.”
“Even the ones I didn’t know I had,” he admits, leaning a little further into my touch.
“Oh?I’m all ears if you’d like to talk about it?”
He sighs.“Normally I’d say no, but I want to be more open with you, to be the type of man you deserve.”
“You’re always the type of man I deserve.No doubt about that.”
“There have been a lot of times I debated on whether I’d be what you need.I mean, I’m not even a patched member yet.”He swallows, leaning in to kiss my temple.
“Doesn’t matter to me.”She shakes her head.“You could be doing nothing more than cleaning up the floor of Walker’s Wheels and I’d still love you.You’d be the person I’d still want to spend my days and nights with.Whether you become a patched member or not, I don’t care.All I care about is the way you make me feel.The way you love me and the way I know you’re going to love this baby.”
Reaching down, he puts his hands over my stomach.“I’m going to protect him in all the ways I was never protected.”
“You are and I’m going to show him the love you never had from the woman who was supposed to help raise you.”
“I don’t normally talk about her because she was abused as much as I was,” he starts.“But the more I’m with you and your family, the more I realize how failed my childhood was.There were things she could’ve done, but I don’t think she was strong enough,” he continues.“Leaving made me stronger.Although I didn’t realize it until recently.The longer she’s there, the more time they have to beat her down.At some point, she won’t be able to stand her ground.She’ll refuse to and I’m worried about that.She struggles with depression.If there was anyone I’d want to see again, it would be her, but I’m not sure whether I can open myself back up to that again.”
“These are your boundaries to set, but you have to decide if you’re willing to never see her again.”I talk to him softly, trying to be understanding.
“That’s what I’m trying to decide.”He rubs at his chin.“Will I be able to live with myself if something happens to her and I haven’t been able to get myself over this shit?At what point do my boundaries become stubborness?Am I willing to possibly miss a chance to have a relationship with her to save myself from getting hurt?”
“Only you can answer that.”I grab hold of his hand, stroking his palm.“Just know I’m going to support you no matter what you choose.”
“It’s a tough decision,” he says.“I have to figure out what I can live with.”
“You don’t have to make this decision now,” I remind him.
“I know, but I don’t want this hanging over our heads.The quicker I decide what I want to do, the quicker we can move on with our lives.”
I finish cleaning his face and sit back.“Well, now that I have you all cleaned up, you can go take a shower.”
“Care to join me?”He grins.
“Maybe I’ll wash your back.”I giggle as he picks me up, spinning me around.
“Maybe I’ll wash your front,” he flirts.
“Whatever you wanna do, I’ll take.”
Together, we get in the shower and, like always, all I need is his attention on me to make me feel like I’m the most important person in the world.