“A walk?”
He nodded.
She took Carlos’s hand, and he helped her out of the digger. The guy had been waiting in the wings, and he came back to take the digger. She thanked him and followed Carlos. His man was still in the car, but he started the ignition and drove close to them.
“Don’t you think you should tell him to wait?” Raven asked.
“Nah, Drago’s given him strict instructions that he’s not allowed to let me out of his sight.” Carlos chuckled.
Raven couldn’t help but smile.
She and Carlos had made it a game of sneaking away, much to Drago’s annoyance. She found it cute. It was a lot of fun.
They walked along the path. People passed them, looking at them and the car following them, and quickly steered clear of them.
Raven paused as she saw the sign of the local graveyard. She had never come here as a kid. Back then, she’d been scared of zombies and monsters.
“What are you doing?” Raven asked.
“You need to see.” Carlos pulled her into the graveyard.
She forced herself to keep moving.
It was stupid to have a fear of this yard, but not the one back home in Fort Clover. Carlos slowed down his steps, and he was looking at the stones, intently.
He suddenly came to a stop, and Raven looked at him. He turned to her. “It took some finding, but I thought you should see this.”
Grabbing her hips, he stepped behind her, and Raven stared at the headstone. Raven Leah Stoltz. Her mother. Their names were so freaking similar. Her father had insisted that his daughter’s name be similar to his wife’s. Raven had figured her mother didn’t know what to call her, so, they’d changed her mother’s names around, and Leah Raven was her name.
Taking the name Raven, she had tried to keep her mother’s memory alive. To be the kind of woman her mother would be proud of, and she had failed her a few times.
No more.
“You … he…”
“He didn’t,” Carlos said. “After the truth of who he was was found out, your mother’s body was discovered in a shallow grave on the outskirts of town. An autopsy confirmed poisoning. No one could find you, but out of respect, they returned her name to Stoltz.”
“She finally had a resting place.”
“Yes. They were hoping to find you, so that you’d be able to … make a decision, but Leah Raven vanished.”
“Thank you,” Raven said.
The man from the car came rushing inside, and Raven struggled not to laugh even as tears fell down her cheeks. She was so damn happy and sad, but at peace at the same time. Carlos had stopped off for flowers, and he handed them to her.
“I’ll give you a moment,” Carlos said.
Raven turned toward the headstone. She missed her mother so much.
This wasn’t right, but it was the best she had. “Hey, Mom, I’m … I miss you.” She had to stop saying she was sorry.
Smokey had also added to his story of the little girl. As he wrapped his arms around her, he’d asked what she would say if that little girl had been Bella. She had felt rage consume her.
Carlos had asked her what she would have done if she was the mother in this situation. Would she blame her daughter for not saving her?
The answer was no.
She would have been proud of her daughter for getting away, and if anything, she would have hated herself for not being strong enough. Raven had a feeling her mother, if she was even aware of what was happening, would have hated it.
Her mother loved her. Had done everything she could to protect her.
“I forgive you, Mom. There is nothing you need to feel bad about. He was a bad man, and he … he fooled us all. You can … rest now. Rest in peace and know that I’m going to be okay. It is all going to be okay. I’m pregnant, and the doctor’s told me I’m going to have a little girl.”
Carlos had been ecstatic. A little Raven running around.
“I’m going to name her … Leah.” She hadn’t taken the name. She was Raven. That was all she needed to be. “And I’m going to tell her all about you. About how beautiful and amazing you were. I’m going to try and be the best … mother to her.”
Carlos stepped toward her, wrapping his arms around her.
Everything was going to be okay.
****
“Where’s Raven?” Carlos asked.
Harlow snorted. “Afraid she’s running away?”
He glared at the younger woman.
They were inside Jonah’s church. Raven had asked that their wedding take place in Fort Clover. The guests included the Hell’s Bastards MC and his family. It was an MC-mafia mash-up. Fortunately, there had been no fires, but Smokey had assured him that he’d ordered his men not to … play with any of the women or daughters.