Page 21 of Tracked By Hound

My heart cracks, at least what was left of it before Chelsea arrived. I feel those shards practically chip off, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.Chelsea is leaving, echoes over and over in my mind, but there’s still hope, and Saint’s next words give me that.

“You have the money then?” he asks.

I hold my breath, anticipating Ransom’s answer—fearing it. And when it comes, whatever’s left of my heart shatters into pieces.

“Yes.”

Chapter Nine

Chelsea

“What did you say these are called?”

I look up from the soil, lifting my hand to shield my eyes from the warm sun as I turn to Jade. She’s crouched next to the rosemary seedlings, holding a delicate fern ready to be transplanted into a terracotta pot. Unlike her clean hands, my fingers are stained with rich, dark soil—the kind that smells alive and promises to nourish the plants.

“It’s a fern,” I say with a smile. It still feels surreal, having a friend here. Well, multiple friends who are willing to not just keep me company but encourage my hobby. When I was introduced to Jade and Ingrid, I was a little nervous about fitting in. Unlike them, I wasn’t someone who had come here willingly. I wasn’t dating a Rebel. And yet, they made me feel welcome. They introduced me to Brooke and Scarlett, but the pair of best friends are both still in school and rarely at the clubhouse.

I could get used to this, I realize.

Friends, a place with a courtyard garden, and a man I have fallen hopelessly in love with. Hound and I have sex, lots and lots of sex, but neither of us have brought up that there is something else developing between us. A part of me wants to believe that a man like him would never make love to me the way he does if he didn’t have some kind of romantic feelings for me.

“What about that one?”

I follow Jade’s eyes to a small collection of spiky plants I’ve arranged in a sun-drenched corner of the garden. I chuckle when Ingrid touches one and hisses as she gets pricked. “Careful with those. They’re all succulents. They do well in the sun and don’t need much care,” I say, trying not to imagine what will happen to this garden when I’m gone. It was overgrown and wild when Jade showed me the little space that had been left unattended for who knows how long. It had taken the girls and me two days to pull out the weeds and get it ready for planting. “The aloe vera is my favorite.”

“Why?” Ingrid asks, the crescent moon birthmark under her cheek visible when she turns to me. I remembered when we first met and she always turned away to hide it. That she so willingly shows it to me now only adds to my feelings of belonging here.

“It reminds me of my mother.” I reach out and take one, running a finger gently over the fat leaves. “My mother tried keeping some in our home, but she was never very good with house plants and always overwatered them. These will have to be brought in when it starts to get cold.” I look up and smile at the girls. “Besides, it has healing properties. Might prove to be helpful around here.”

Jade chuckles. “With these adrenaline junkies, they’ll need it.”

We share a laugh and a few more jokes at the guys’ expense before falling into a comfortable silence, the only sounds the rustling of leaves from the single tree at the corner of the courtyard and the soft thud of soil as I work. This garden, as small as it is, has become one of my favorite places. A few more trips to a local nursery, and soon, the place will be bursting with life. I’ll have Bougainvillea spilling over the railing in vibrantmagenta, with basil and rosemary perfuming the breeze. I’ll add a few tomato plants for the girls’ homemade sauces.

“So, Chelsea,” Jade breaks the silence, her voice casual. “Hound… How’s that going?”

A warmth spreads through my chest, and I try to fight the flush that climbs up my neck. It’s still new, this feeling—the lightness that settles inside of me whenever I think of him. It’s like my body has been set aflame every time he touches me, but it’s not always physical. Although we never discuss our feelings, Hound is surprisingly easy to talk to. His humor is often dry and quick, and sometimes, I just want to hear the sound of his voice.

“Good,” I say, maybe a little too quickly for it to not sound suspicious. I pluck a stray weed from the soil so I have something to do with my fingers. “Really, good. He…um, takes care of me.”

Jade nods, her eyes twinkling. “Takes care, huh?”

I blush, ready to come up with some lame example that doesn’t include fucking like rabbits when a sudden flash of movement catches my eye. A figure appears in the courtyard, and I turn around to watch Scarlett approach.

“Hey, Scarlett, where’s your better half?” Jade teases as she approaches us.

Scarlett lifts a single, perfectly trimmed brow. “Do you mean Gray or Brooke?”

Jade smirks. “Both.”

“Gray is with Saint,” she says, stopping next to us and looking curiously at the plants. “As for Brooke, she left with Axel. My bet is they want a quiet weekend away from the chaos of the clubhouse.”

I sigh at the thought of going away somewhere with Hound. Maybe to a beach or a cabin deep in the mountains where we could spend the weekend making love and talking about our future, not as a woman and her sort-of keeper, but as two people in love with each other.

“Want to join us?” Ingrid’s words cut through my thoughts. “We’re helping Chelsea with gardening.”

I look up at Scarlett’s pale blue dress and six-inch stilettos. “I don’t think she’s dressed for it,” I say with a laugh. “You’ll need a change of clothes.”

She laughs, then sobers quickly. “Maybe another time. I actually came to get you, Chelsea,” she says, surprising me. “Your brother is here. In Saint’s office. He’s demanding to see you.”

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