Page 37 of Pound

“Before you go charging down there, there are things you need to know. She recognized your voice when Leone called us.” Granite had taken a breath to continue, but Pound couldn’t wait.

“She can tell me herself. I’m good, prez, really. I just need to settle things with her, so I can have the future I want and be the man Meri deserves and the veep the club does.”

Granite searched his eyes for what felt like forever. He must’ve seen what he needed to because he nodded and stepped to the side. “Do you need company?”

His first inclination was to say no, but the new Joe vowed to let people in more, so he nodded at both Granite and Thunder. The three men made their way toward medical. “By the way,” Granite spoke low. “When Morningstar said she was under his protection, he meant it.” When he looked to his prez, a raised eyebrow was all the answer he got to his unposed question.

Fuck, Morningstar had claimed his wife, dead wife, ex-wife, whatever the hell she was now. It was a weird thought and an even weirder situation. One he would’ve taken as a personal affront a month ago.

“Does she know?” Thunder asked before he had a chance to.

“Not a clue.” Granite clapped Pound on the shoulder as they opened the door. “Guess you and Morningstar are more alike than I realized.”

It was a small attempt to lighten a heavy mood.

Pound was grateful for Granite and Thunder at his back when he entered the room. If not for them, he’d have landed on his ass. It was like seeing a ghost. Hell, to him, it was exactly that. Except this ghost wasn’t a spectral being.

“Joe.” Her voice was the same. He saw her lips move from where she sat in a wheelchair. But his brain was two steps behind because he couldn’t process the fact that his dead ex-wife was right there.

“I’m so sorry for everything.”

“You?” Pound was stunned. While she was the same, she wasn’t. “It’s me who should apologize. I left you to that… that—”

“That’s not on you, Joe. None of it.” She pushed herself closer and Pound found himself squatting down to look into her beautiful face. She was older and more haunted than he remembered but still just as pretty. She reached out and cupped his cheek. He closed his eyes for just a second before he flinched away.

Lea dropped her hands and tears filled her eyes. “I’m especially sorry for that.” She didn’t need to specify, everyone in the room knew what she meant. “I won’t cheapen my apology with explanations or excuses. Just know that I was wrong. There was nothing you could’ve done differently to change it. It was never your fault, Joe.”

Pound didn’t remember the last time he’d cried, but he would remember this time.

“How?” Pound wasn’t sure exactly what he was asking, but Lea had an answer anyway.

“Therapy.” He gave her a puzzled look. “I spent two years in a facility recovering. My physical therapist’s sister was a therapist too, specializing in domestic trauma. She’d come see me during my PT sessions. Leone rarely came to the facility; it made him sad.” She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t until we moved here that I was cut off from the rest of the world.”

“Why didn’t you call me during those years?” Pound couldn’t understand how she could just forget about him. Of course, that’s what he’d done to her. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I didn’t exactly try to get to you in the hospital he’d moved you to, so why would you think I would help?”

“I was in a bad place, mentally. Leone said you walked out and while I knew that wasn’t who you were, I chose to believe it. It was easier on me that way. Then he showed me the divorce papers, and I knew you were better off.”

A tendril of hope reached up through him. “So, they’re legit?” He couldn’t keep the hope from his voice.

For the first time, Lea smiled. “Yes, and no. He forged my signature at the time, but they are filed and official, and I’m glad. Meri’s a good person, the kind you deserve. I’m sorry Leone took her.”

While her words brought some relief, they also ushered in sadness.

Pound nodded. “And I’m sorry I didn’t do more.” He shifted his gaze at the sound of a door opening behind her. Morningstar entered through the back and leaned against the wall. He lasted longer than Pound would’ve if it had been Meri’s ex in the room.

“Joe. Stop,” she gently scolded. “I don’t blame you. I pushed you from me long before the accident. I did it in the worst possible way too. I tried to make up for a little bit of it with Meri. As soon as I heard your voice, I knew what I had to do. I tried to get her back to you, Joe. She loves you like I never could. Like you deserve.”

He snapped his gaze to hers. “Don’t look so shocked. You’ve always been loveable. The fault was with me. I learned a fucked-up way to love. I pity the man who ever falls for me.”

Pound gave Morningstar a pointed look. The president of the Travelers just raised an eyebrow like, challenge accepted.

“But you? You’re one of the best men I’ve ever known, don’t let Meri get away. You’ve lived enough of your life with regret.”

There was so much more to say. So many questions left unanswered, but in that moment, he needed to get to Meri. “We’ll talk more soon, yeah?” Pound asked as he stood and reached for her hand.

Lea placed hers in his and nodded before releasing it. As he exited, she spoke again, but this time with a much lighter tone. “Joe, the beard suits you.”

Pound smiled. Not just at her comment but for the fact that his skin finally fit. He’d made peace with the past.

---