because the dumbass, Keys, had given her a gift on Valentine’s this year that had shot ketchup in her fucking face.
I’d cheered her on when she’d punched him in the shoulder for terrifying her, and of course I’d blamed him when she’d broken her pinkie finger too.
“No ketchup was harmed in the making of this gift,” Saint teased from his spot over in the booth where he had his legs up on the banquette. Idiot had broken his leg two weeks ago, and had been bitching about the itch ever since. I almost thought the itch was bothering him more than the break, but having worn a cast in June before, I felt his pain.
“Oh.” That spurred her on and when she opened the case, her eyes widened. “The fuck?”
“These are our earnings from the last three runs, aside from what we paid to cover our costs at the house,” I explained.
She frowned. “So?”
“So… there’s three years’ worth of tuition here.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Huh?”
Keys rolled off the bed, and she shot him a glare. “Don’t move, I ain’t finished with you yet.”
He didn’t obey, instead moving over to her side and slinging an arm across her shoulders. From his pocket, with his free hand, he retrieved a letter. When he passed it to her, she stared at him then at it, and began reading.
“You didn’t.”
“We did,” he countered. “You’re ready.”
She blinked up at him, then owlishly gaped at me and over at Saint too. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”
“We know. We’re coming too.”
Ama shook her head again. “This is too much.”
I wasn’t surprised when she ducked out from under Keys’ arm and squatted on the ground, before falling back on her ass and leaning against the reception desk.
He crouched down in front of her and I did too. Bookending her on either side, letting her know we were here, and we weren’t going anywhere.
“You’re ready,” I repeated.
“I’m not.”
“You went to Vegas,” Saint called out, and that he’d sat up and was scowling told me how much he hated being out of this. I got it too. She needed the three of us less than she had before, but more in a different way now.
She had the nightmares still, but the night terrors were fewer and far between. She could nap without hiding out under the bed, and had developed a mouth on her that would rival her momma’s someday.
But she was still our Ama.
Still our saint cloaked in a sinner’s clothes.
“I did, but this? I mean, it’s so far, and I’m happy here!”
“You can be happy here again after,” I countered, reaching out and grabbing her hand. I fiddled with her rings as I said, “We’ll come back after you graduate. It ain’t forever.”
“What about the MC?”
“What about how we live says that the MC is more important to us than you are?” Keys rasped.
“It’s four years!”
I shrugged. “So?”
“What about this place?”
“It will be here when we come back,” I repeated. “And nothing says we can’t open something up there too. We’ve been getting international attention, babes. I think they’ll follow us wherever we go.”
Her eyes were wide, startled, and unsure as she stared at me. “When did you do this?”
“A few months back. We explained the situation, and told them we understood the scholarship was no more. Showed them your portfolio, asked if they’d let you in again. They said yeah. We have the money, and your fathers gave us the okay to take a step away so you could attend—”
“It’s too much,” she breathed again, staring down at the acceptance letter. “Rhode Island is so far away.”
“Ain’t you realized yet, baby girl? Home is where we are,” Keys growled.
She stared at him for so long I started to worry, then her breathing leveled out. “You’re right. You’re my home. Not Rutherford, not the MC.”
“That’s right,” I told her gruffly.
And I wasn’t surprised at the clunking noise of Saint’s cast as he finally scrambled off the bench in the booth and made it over.
She stared up at him. “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” he replied.
“One-hundred percent,” was all I said.
“Without a doubt,” Keys murmured.
She gulped, looked down at the letter, and her eyes moved as she read the acceptance note once more.
Then, her smile appeared, and like the sun peering out from behind the clouds, she bathed us in her warmth as she whispered, “I’m going to college.”