Page 82 of Renegade Ruin

So many great memories that will never be recreated with them again.

But even with nostalgia haunting me, there is also an inkling of something new, and dare I say, exciting. It started with the look on Carson’s face when he walked in and has only intensified with every moment since.

Is this what moving forward feels like?

This is how it’s supposed to be,Jackson whispers, and it cuts deep.

I know,I reply,but I still miss you.

We’ll always be right here.

“Bishop?” Carson says, and if I had to guess, it’s not the first time he’s tried to get my attention.

I turn to face him and watch as Lou disappears into the office behind the bar, leaving just the two of us.

Carson lifts his beer to his lips and takes a sip with a refreshing exhale. “Why’d you bring me here tonight?”

“It was time.” I shrug. He doesn’t need to know the gritty details that got me here.

“What changed? This is…” His gaze dances from photo to photo. “I know it couldn’t have been easy for you.”

“It’s not.” I run my hand from the back of my head and scrub it down my face. “But it’s what the team needs.”

Carson chuckles and raises a skeptical brow. “So, then why is it just me here instead of all the guys?”

“Because I can stand you for more than five minutes?”

“Come on.” Carson presses his lips together and tilts his head to the side like he’s waiting for me to correct myself. When I don’t, he smiles and huffs. “They really aren’t all that bad.”

I give him a resigned sigh. “No, they aren’t. But this is me trying.”

Carson nods and lifts his beer. “To baby steps.”

I clink my glass against his and hit it down on the bar top. “Something like that.”

“I can get behind it.” Carson sips his basically-water beer and smirks. “So, again, I’m going to ask. What changed? Because two weeks ago you weren’t ready to do this.”

I should have known he wasn’t going to let me off easy. Not when he’s been a constant pain in my ass, reminding me every chance he gets that I need to do better. But this isn’t him poking and prodding. There’s genuine concern in his eyes, and it’s that sentiment that has me answering honestly.

“Someone told me it wasn’t about replacing the team I lost—but welcoming the new guys into the family. As much as I hate it, it made a lot of sense.”

Carson wiggles his brows, lightening the heartfelt moment with his own brand of comic jackassery. “Would this someone happen to be a woman?”

I freeze. “Why would you think that?”

Fuck.

There’s no way he knows about Willow, right?

“No reason.” Carson shrugs and takes a sip of his beer. “But with a reaction like that now I’m certain it is.”

“How did you guess?”

“You aren’t that smart, but there’s also the lingering flowery scent that I’m pretty positive doesn’t belong to you.”

“Okay, yes, it was a woman,” I conceded. “No, I’m not telling you who.”

“Fair enough.” The implied “for now” goes unspoken, and I hate that I feel comfortable enough with this joker that I could see myself confiding in him.

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