When we take the final bend in the trail, it opens up to a beautiful scenic overlook that I love, despite the hard memories that come with it. I break away from the men and walk over to a small ledge of rocks, looking out at the vastness of the sky and the foothills.
Hey, Jared, I think. It’s been a little while. But I’m doing okay. Better than I was last time I was here.
Last time I was here, I was letting go. I took the hike when I was alone and fucked up in the head, spreading Jared’s ashes in this special place that he showed me one of the few days we got to spend together away from Brody’s house. It’s one of my best memories from that shitty time in my life.
My lip curls as I think of my foster father. The media attention that fell on me bled onto Brody a bit too, and he didn’t come off great in the press at all. His communications with Cliff discussing the possibility of framing me for his wife’s murder were leaked to a major newspaper in LA, and they had a fucking field day with it.
Serves the asshole right.
I grin as that thought enters my head. I swear I can almost hear Jared saying the words.
Fuck, I really do miss you, I tell him. But the craziest thing happened. I met these three great guys. They love me and take care of me, and they somehow manage to do it without ever making me feel coddled or stifled. I’m a badass bitch who can fight like a hyena, and they respect that. You’d like them, Jared. I know you would.
Somehow, I find myself able to smile. Thinking of my foster brother used to hurt like hell, and it still does, but there’s peace in my heart as I speak to him inside my mind.
He’s gone, and I hate that the system failed him. I hate that I lost him. But I’m still here, and the best thing I can do to honor his memory is to live my life well.
There’s so much in front of me that it hardly seems to matter anymore what’s behind me. That time in my life will never lose meaning, but it’s not who I am now.
This is who I am.
Gray comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. He lets his chin rest on my neck as we silently take in the beauty around us, the fresh air, the warm sun on our skin.
He knows what this place means to me. And he knows what it means that I brought them here.
He took me to visit Beth’s grave a few weeks ago, just me and him. It was a big thing for him, sharing it with me, just like sharing this place with them is a big thing for me. We’re both working toward healing, tending to old wounds on both the inside and outside—but we’re doing it together.
All four of us are, really.
My family.
I turn in his arms, our noses brushing as I wrap my arms around him and kiss him. Deeply, lovingly, slowly.
Declan and Elias come to stand on either side of me, their bodies leaning into ours as Gray and I rest our foreheads together.
And with all three of my Sinners surrounding me, everything feels right.
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Looking for another series to binge? If you liked Sophie, I think you’ll love Mercy! Turn the page to check out the cover and blurb for Fight Dirty, an enemies-to-lovers romance with a badass heroine and the three sexy alphaholes she goes up against.
In Fairview Heights, there’s one rule everyone knows. Don’t cross the Black Rose gang. Not if you want to live.
My father broke that rule.
Now he owes the notorious Black Roses a favor, and to make sure he pays up, they’re ta
king me as collateral. Until Dad completes whatever job they gave him, three gang members will be my keepers.
Sloan, Rory, and Levi.
The boss’s son.
The man with a secret.
The flame from my past.