The disbelief in her mother’s voice made her tread lightly. “Why wouldn’t it be mom?”
Her mother huffed. “Tell me, how’s Demon?”
The contempt in her mom’s voice made her sigh. “He’s good, Mom.” She couldn’t keep her lips from curling upward as she thought of the dark eyed man who turned her life upside down and worked his way into her heart.
“Uh huh, that’s what worries me. You don’t sound like someone being held against their will. You sound like someone besotted.”
“Really Mom? What is this the Victorian age?” Ardy scoffed. “I’m old enough to know my own mind.”
“Maybe. Many of the best love stories come from unlikely people thrust together in extreme situations. But so do horror stories.”
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“Whoa mom, no one said anything about love,” Ardy defended, trying to get her off the subject. She twisted a curl around her finger. The realization of love seemed too new and scary. Nothing she wanted to discuss with her mother.
“You didn’t have to. I’ve heard your voice change over the past few months. You talk about Demon more than you realize. I’ve held my tongue for long enough as it is. Do not confuse hero worship with love. Eventually, he’ll fall off that pedestal. No man on this earth is perfect and he has a lot of darkness in him. You’ve always been a child of the light. Are you willing to give that up for a man you barely know?”
Her heart raced as her mother’s words penetrated deep. Can I survive in this world and still maintain my own identity?
“Did we lose you, Ardy girl?”
“Mom, you can’t lose me. I’ll always be your baby. Haven’t you drilled that into me, my entire life?” She retorted, falling back on the quick wit she’d inherited from both her parents.
“Don’t be evasive with me. When a woman finds the man she wants to be with, things change. It’s not all about her family anymore. Hell, you stepped into a readymade family of your own, didn’t you?”
The waver in her mother’s voice made her heart ache. “Mum, don’t cry.” Her heart ached.
“It’s not every day you see your oldest come into her own. I know you think I’m being an overprotective mother. But we both know the situation you’re in isn’t normal. This isn’t the life I wanted for you though. It’s dangerous and unpredictable. I may not know this man personally, yet I know what he’s capable of. We’ve all heard the rumors. Are you sure this is right for you? Is he making you feel like you have to do this to pay for our debt, because it’s not worth it. He can have this damn bar.”
“What? Mom no. No, it’s nothing like that.” Ardy sighed. The time for misdirection had come to an end. “I know it seems odd, me falling for him. He’s nothing like the men I grew up with and the situation is less than ideal. But together, we make each other whole. We fill in the gaps.”
“Gaps, what are you talking about, Ardy?”
“The gaps that get left behind by life mom. Those blank, empty spaces that make you sad and leave you feeling alone and incomplete.”
“You’re twenty-three—”
“And I haven’t been happy in a long time. Not really, we both know it. I love you and our family, but I can’t spend the rest of my life living for you. I’ve paid my dues.” The words made her feel guilty, but they also lifted a weight off her shoulders.
Her mother gasped.
“I’m sorry Mum. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I just—I don’t’ have anything just for me. I never made a decision because I wanted to, with no thought to anyone else. I’m twenty-three. I still live around the corner from my parents, work in their bar and tend to my siblings. When is that going to end? What happens when they don’t need me anymore, they’re off living a fabulous life and I’m left behind bitter and lost?”
“So, this is the answer? You run away with some dangerous man because tall, dark and handsome makes you tingle?”
“No, don’t cheapen what I have with, Demon! You know nothing about him! He’s a good man. He takes care of his children and me. He accepts me for some god forsaken reason. I’m sure I wasn’t his ideal mate. This situation could’ve gone a lot differently and you know it. He’s honorable in his own way.”
“Oh, because he lives by some wild west code of ethics?” Her mother scoffed. “You deserve better.”
Her mother’s words pained her. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I have everything I need here.” It’d never been about money for her. She’d been waiting for a man to move her.
“Please just take your time with this, Ardy. That’s all I ask. Think about your future. What kind of life could you possibly have with a man like that? Constantly wondering if he’s being faithful while he’s out on the road, or if he’s going to come home at all?”
“Suddenly, you’re an expert on M.C. life? Any man can cheat. That’s not something limited to bikers or men on the road.”
“Come on, we’ve lived around them your entire life. Neither of us is blind. Their reality is harsh.”
“Maybe, but from the outside looking in, it’s also very beautiful and simplistic. These people are happy. Happier than most people I know who work nine to five and have the white picket fence.”