Page 192 of Heartbeats & Highways

His hands clenched. He wanted to do something. Hit or fight back somehow. But that’s why he was in this position in the first place. Fighting when he shouldn’t have been—a brother dying because of him.

“I understand,” Savage said. “I understand why it had to be this way . . . but it’s going to tear me apart.”

“So what do we do?” I asked. “What happens now?”

“Will you go away with me? I can’t stay in town. I can’t be here while my life hangs in the balance . . .”

“Where will we go?”

“I don’t know. I need time away, and so do you. We both need time to heal.”

Would three months be enough time for that?

I didn’t ask.

How did you ask a question when you weren’t sure you wanted to hear the answer?

Chapter 50

“Have you ever been to Yellowstone?”Savage asked as he gripped the steering wheel.

“I haven’t been anywhere,” I said, pulling my eyes from the window as I watched the flat terrain glide by.

He reached over and took my hand. “I thought we could see some stuff on our way up to Idaho.”

“Sounds good.” I forced a smile, trying to remain cheerful despite the heaviness on my heart.

Two days after the funeral, we’d left Waco. We’d stopped at Willa and Duke’s on the way out of town, and they hadn’t tried to talk Savage into staying. His mind was made up. And because they loved him, they let him go.

When Willa hugged me goodbye, she said in my ear, “Check in once in a while.”

“I will,” I promised.

I would be their lifeline to Savage. No one expected him to remain plugged in.

He’d left his motorcycle at their house because it was still winter in Idaho, and it was dangerous to ride. But it was also tooclose to the club for Savage’s wounded heart, and it would hurt him too much to be reminded of a future he might not have.

“Want to stop for lunch soon?” Savage asked, shattering the silence.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

My phone pinged and I reached into my bag to grab it. It was the Jackson family group text.

Jazz

Come back.

Virgil

Agreed. Three Kings isn’t the same without you demanding I put money in the swear jar.

There was a whole slew of messages, and even though I wanted to reply, I turned my phone on silent and put it back in my purse.

“The Old Ladies?” Savage asked.

I shook my head. “The Jacksons.”

“Ah.”

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