It was several long moments, but finally, he replied, “I know, logically, but it’s gonna take me some time to believe it.” He squeezed my hand. “So, what now?”

That was a good question, and I only had one answer I could give. “We let go, and we move forward.”

Lord stood beside me as we watched the car take my mother away to rehab. He stood by me today in the same way he’d stood by me all week—as my rock. And I’d like to think I’d done the same for him. Dealing with the aftermath of Mathieu’s and Denton’s deaths had put us into new territory. We’d forged through together, coming out stronger on the other side. I’d held him as he’d broken down after we’d had Mathieu interred. He was a man who could carry all of my burdens and never stumble, and I’d taken on the weight of his too.

Lord laced his fingers through mine and pulled me against him.

“What do you say about getting out of town for a few days?”

“I’d say that sounds amazing, but what about Chains?”

The shop hadn’t yet reopened.

“I was good with keeping it closed a little longer, but Con offered his services. He’s going to cover for a few days so we can get a break.”

I smiled. “Okay.”

“Good. That saves me from having to kidnap you.”

I pressed a finger to my lips and pretended to reconsider. “On second thought, I think this is a terrible idea. I probably need to be kidnapped.”

Lord ducked and wrapped an arm around my waist and picked me up and over his shoulder.

“Not a problem. Packed your bag already anyway.”

I tried to swing my head around to look at him, but it was impossible from my position.

“You what?”

“I wasn’t taking no for answer. The kidnapping part wasn’t really a joke.”

I burst into laughter, and the sound made me feel lighter and more alive than I had in days. “I knew there was yet another reason I love you.”

His response was to land his palm on my ass with a smack.

“What was that for?”

“Because you love that too.”

Lord lowered me to the ground beside the ’Cuda and opened the door.

“In you go.”

Instead of getting in the car, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his face down to mine.

“Kiss me first, pawn star.”

When his lips met mine, I put everything I felt for him into the kiss. When I finally pulled away, he looked down at me.

“Best decision I ever made was to hire you.”

“Only because I made you.”

He smiled and pushed a wild strand of hair out of my face. “Then I guess it was the best decision I ever made not to fire you.”

“Not to correct you, but I didn’t let you do that either,” I said, my lips turning up into a grin.

“Stubborn woman. How the hell did I get so lucky?”

“Maybe it’s that voodoo magic sprinkled across the doorway of Chains … but I like to think it’s because my daddy brought us together. That watch of his sent me to you, so I guess I’ve got both him and my mama to thank.”

“That explanation works just fine for me. Now let’s get out of here.”

I glanced down at the passenger seat and back to Lord. “How about I drive?”

His lips quirked into a small smile, and he pulled the keys from his pocket and dropped them into my hand. “I’d only give up the keys for you, sweet thing. Any damn time you want.”

I closed my fingers around the keys as he led me around to the driver’s side and opened the door.

I slid behind the wheel and waited for him to climb into the passenger seat.

I grinned at the rumble of the Hemi as I turned the key.

“Next time, we’re taking Eleanor,” I said.

“It’s a deal,” Lord replied.

I shifted into reverse and wrapped both hands around the wheel—ready to conquer the world and anything the future had to offer with the man beside me.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Elle whispered-yelled at me over the laughing and general raucous of the party going on around us. She took a step to the side for a better view, and I slid my arm around her to keep her from unexpectedly taking a dip in Lake Pontchartrain.

“Whoa, sweet thing. You’re about to run out of dock,” I murmured into her ear.

She looked down at her feet and shifted even closer to me as she realized the edge was only inches away.

“Shit. That was close.”

I tightened my grip on her. “I’d never let you fall. You know I’ve got you. Always.”

Elle sighed and pressed her hand to my chest. “When you say stuff like that, you make me want to climb you. Which is a problem, because I’m not one for audiences.”

I dropped my other hand to cup her ass. “I think we’re going to be leaving sooner than I’d planned.”

She wriggled out of my hold—this time staying away from the edge of the dock—until she could see through the crowd again. “We can’t go yet. And for sure not until I figure out why the hell Lucas Fucking Titan is here. Who would’ve invited that asshole?”

I finally followed her stare through the bodies to where a tall, dark-haired man stood. “Vanessa invited him,” I told her.

Elle’s eyes darted up to mine. “Why?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Did you forget this is a fundraiser? And he’s probably got the deepest pockets in town?”

Tonight was our first annual Beers for Boxing event. Basically, we got people all boozed up on the samples donated and served by a dozen craft breweries from around the State of Louisiana and held a live auction. With Vanessa’s connections—and Elle’s—the guest list was pretty damn impressive. We were hoping we’d make enough tonight to start expanding our boxing program. My confidence had been rocked by Mathieu’s actions and death, and I’d pulled away from the boys. Con had given me my space, but I could tell it had bothered the hell out of him. But a little soul-searching—and several come to Jesus talks from Elle—went a long way. I finally believed what she’d said to me: It wasn’t something I could’ve stopped. We all made our own choices. Mathieu had made his, and I was making mine.

I was moving forward. I was letting go of the past and the things I couldn’t change. The future was bright and full of opportunity. I wouldn’t let the guilt from failing Mathieu prevent me from trying to help others. And in that vein, I was determined to see Chains become so much more than a pawnshop. I wanted to see it become the heart of a neighborhood—a place where people could come if they fell on hard times—not only seeking financial help, but the help of a community. It wasn’t all about the bottom line to me anymore; it was about being successful, but not to the detriment of others. We weren’t going to just pawn, buy, and sell. We were going to start connecting people in need with resources to give them a hand up. And one of those resources was the gym. It might seem strange that we were relying on fighting to get these boys off the streets, but it was about more than learning how to throw a punch—it was about learning discipline and giving them something to work toward—namely, college scholarships like some of the boys had already received.