“I don’t believe you! The last six months, you’ve done nothing but nag at me to get you pregnant.”

Shocked, she released his arm. “I would never do this to you on purpose!”

“What made you decide to take matters into your own hands? Was it Sasha? Or Fat Louise getting pregnant?”

“I didn’t do it deliberately.” Tears poured down her cheeks. She had expected Viper to be upset, but his anger was much worse than she had imagined. He didn’t even look like he believed her.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I’ll make Rider watch the house.”

“Viper! Please don’t go. I swear I didn’t do it on purpose. Please, I’m begging you… Viper…” Winter followed Viper through the living room to the front door.

He slammed the door open then closed, leaving without a backward glance.

She sank down on the bottom step, crying, holding her belly as she sobbed.

“Winter? What happened? Did you and Viper have a fight?” Aunt Shay’s pale face stared down at her.

“I told him I’m pregnant. Aunt Shay, he doesn’t want it. I could tell from his face he doesn’t want his child.”

Her aunt lifted her to her feet, murmuring as she led her to the couch. Winter cried on her shoulder until she ran out of tears.

“I’m going to go make us a cup of tea.” Aunt Shay left her sitting on the couch, staring into space.

Viper’s reaction had broken her heart. However, when he had time to think, he would realize it was an accident. Even if he did, though, Winter didn’t think she could forgive him. She would never forget his voice or the look on his face as he had accused her of deliberately becoming pregnant.

Aunt Shay set a teacup down on the end table by her side. “Drink it. Viper will come to his senses. He’ll realize it is a blessing.”

Not wanting to hurt her aunt’s feelings, she sipped her tea. “He hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you. He loves you. That, I’m sure of. You’re just going through a rough patch. He will come by tomorrow and apologize.”

“Some things can’t be forgiven,” Winter said numbly.

“Nonsense. Do you think your uncle and I never had our arguments? We separated for a year, and it was the most miserable year of my life. Even worse than the year he died. At least when I buried him, I knew where he was. The year he was gone, he rode around the country on the motorcycle he bought.”

“Uncle Dennis had a motorcycle?” Winter thought back through the years before her uncle’s death, not remembering seeing him on a motorcycle once.

“I made him sell it when I took him back.” Aunt Shay had a smug smile on her face.

Winter couldn’t believe her aunt would have made the demand. She had catered to Uncle Dennis’s every want and need. Hell, he had been dead for twenty-two years before she would cut her hair, because she knew how much he liked it long.

“Why did you take him back?”

Her aunt sighed. “Because I had a baby who needed her father. When I married Dennis, I knew he didn’t love me. He married me for money. I let him squander and waste the fortune my parents had left me until it was gone. That’s when he bought the motorcycle with the last two thousand dollars we had in the bank, kissed our daughter on her cheek, and I didn’t hear from him again until he showed up at the door, begging me to take him back.”

“I would have slammed the door in his face.” Winter wished her uncle were still alive so she could kick his ass for her sweet aunt.

“If I had done that, then I wouldn’t have had a marriage that lasted twenty-six years.” She sighed. “When Dennis came back, he got a job, working day and night mining coal. It was only when he managed to buy this house back for me that I let him back in my bed. It took him a year.

He was an excellent father. He was there to help our daughter learn how to ride a bike, drive a car, and warn her about marrying Vincent. The years weren’t all good, but he was there to hold my hand through three miscarriages. He was by my side when the doctor told me I needed a hysterectomy, and he was there, holding me when we lost our daughter.

“To make a marriage last, you have to take the years one step at a time. One year, the path may be a clear walk. Another year, you might find yourself walking on gravel, thinking you’ll never get through it. But you do if you want to badly enough. That’s why some marriages don’t end up making it—couples get tired of the walk. Sometimes, you have to rest. Then there are times you stumble, and you have to take turns carrying each other.

“Viper and you have been coasting along, and you’ve come to a place that he stumbled on. You can let him take your hand and lean on you, or you can leave him behind and go back to finding another path on your own.”

Her aunt kissed her cheek. “Goodnight. I’m going to bed. It’s way past my bedtime.”

“Goodnight, Aunt Shay. I love you.”

“I know you do, dear. I love you. You’re my favorite niece.”

Despite her broken heart, she couldn’t help smiling at her attempt to lift her spirit. “I’m your only niece.”

“For now,” she said as she left.

Winter stared down at her flat belly, her hand resting on the child she and Viper had conceived. She had a choice to make. A few weeks ago, she had thought it was whether she and Viper would have a child. The choice had been taken out of their hands now, but she wasn’t going to let him run away from either her or the baby. His days of midnight runs were over.

14

“Rider…”

Winter gasped when Rider threw the cell phone he had been talking into and grabbed his gun that was sitting on his thigh, as she approached the truck from behind.

“What the fuck are you doing sneaking up on me?” Rider asked harshly, as he climbed out of the truck.

“I’m sorry. I thought you saw me when I came out of the house,” she apologized, now furious.

Rider was the most laid back of the Last Riders. She didn’t think she had ever seen him angry before.

“What are you doing out here? I thought you had gone to bed when the lights went out.”

“No, I just waited for my aunt to fall asleep. I want you to drive me to the clubhouse. If you had fixed my car, I wouldn’t have had to bother you.”

“I told you, it needs new tires. They come in this week.”

“Jo sells tires—”

“That’s who I ordered them from. They should be in by the end of the week. Go back in the house and go to sleep.” He climbed back in the truck, slamming the door closed.

Winter gritted her teeth. She was getting pretty damn tired of the men slamming doors in her face.

Going to the other side of the truck, she pulled the door open and got inside. When he started to say something, she cut him off.

“Either you drive me, or I’ll walk. It’s your choice.”

Rider stared back, his anger dissolving. He didn’t have the personality to remain mad long.

Giving an audible breath, he twisted sideways in his seat. “Tonight is not the night to go back to the clubhouse. Hennessy, Jackal, and Fade are there. Viper let them have his room to sleep in.”