“Hello?”

“Mom, can you come pick me up? I am sick,” Tiffany says hoarsely into the phone.

“Sure Baby, I will be there soon.”

“Okay, the nurse wants to talk to you.”

“Okay.” I speed up, wanting to hurry and get to the school. I know if she’s saying she’s sick, she is sick. She had strep a few weeks ago, and she never complained once. She just said her throat was hurting, so I took her to the doctor—she had strep and a double ear infection.

“Hello, this is the nurse. I think your daughter has the flu. She is running a fever of a hundred and four.”

“I will be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, bye!” The nurse hangs up the phone.

I call Lane next.

“Hey, Doll.”

“I am on my way to pick up Tiffany from school, she has a fever of a hundred and four, and the nurse thinks it’s the flu,” I tell him in a rush, the need to make sure she is okay strong.

“Oh fuck.”

“I am going to take her straight to the emergency room to get her checked. Can you meet me there?”

“Yeah, I will be there.”

“Bye, Honey.”

“Bye, Doll.”

I hang up. This past month has been the best month of my life; everything is perfect. I have officially moved in with Lane, and I commute to Raleigh every day until I find a place in Lane’s town for my clinic.

Tiffany and I have become super close. We have our weekly girl evenings to spend quality time together. Tiffany has stolen my heart, and I have talked to Lane about adopting her in the future.

It will kill me if Lane and I split up, but it would devastate me if I didn’t have Tiffany in my life. No matter what, I want her in my life. She is my daughter—she may not be my blood, but she is my daughter. I love her just the same.

A few minutes later I pull up in front of her school, having broken many speed limits in the process. I mean who even follows them in the first place?

I hurry up the walkway to the school and walk into the office. I show them my ID and all of my information so I can pick her up.

The nurse pops out of her room with Tiffany behind her. She is really pale, and she is holding her head. She is sick. I walk over to her and she looks up at me. Her lips are chapped and her eyes are droopy.

“Hey, sweet girl, let’s get you to the doctor.” She nods and falls into my side. I grab her backpack from her hand and shove it over my shoulder. I bend down and pick her up. She is way too big for this, but I can tell she doesn’t feel like walking.

The nurse holds the door open for me, and I walk out to the car. Tiffany’s entire body is hot to the touch, and she is shaking uncontrollably. She has her face lying on my shoulder.

I manage to open my car door and set her inside. I buckle her up and throw her backpack in the seat beside her.

I get in the car and call Lane.

“How is she?”

“She is really sick, Lane. She is sick enough that I carried her to the car.”

“Fuck!” he says loudly and I hear him slam a door shut.

“I will be at the hospital when you get there.”

He hangs up and I pull into traffic. I have never dealt with a sick kid before, not like this, and my nerves are taking a beating because of it.

“Mommy, can you turn the heat on? I am cold.” Her voice is shaking, her fever taking a toll on her.

“Yeah, Baby.” I turn the heat low, because she needs to get that fever down and more heat isn’t going to help her.

Pulling into the hospital parking lot, I see Lane leaning against his truck. I pull in and he walks over to where Tiffany is sitting and throws open the door. She is clutching a blanket I had in the backseat.

Lane unbuckles her and lifts her into his arms. Her eyes are closed, and her body is shaking. He shuts the door and I step out, locking my doors. We hurry inside the hospital.

I sign her in and the lady at the front desk says, “The wait will be two hours.”

Two hours! I look at her in disbelief, and Lane looks at her angrily. “Tell Charlie the Grim Sinners president is here.” Lane looks down at Tiffany.

The lady pales and picks up the phone, and we sit down. I lift Tiffany’s legs onto my lap. “My body hurts.” She cries slightly and hides her face in the blanket.

My heart breaks, and Lane grits his teeth and looks at the floor. I know this is fucking him up too. “Has she ever been sick like this before?” I whisper to Lane and he shakes his head. This is new for him too, and we are so clueless about what to do to make her feel better.

The door opens, and a man wearing a white coat looks at Lane then at Tiffany and motions us over. He holds the door open for us; then he leads us to a room. Lane settles Tiffany on the bed, and the doctor gets busy taking her temp and vitals.

“Her fever is a hundred and four point five.”

The next couple of hours are long, very long. They manage to get Tiffany’s fever down. She has a bad case of the flu, and the aching is what’s getting her down. She is really disoriented too.

They are letting us go home, but every four hours we are rotating ibuprofen and Tylenol. “I want to go home,” Tiffany says for the fifth time.

“We are going, Angel, we are waiting for discharge papers,” Lane tells her and she opens her eyes to look at us both. She slides off the bed taking her blanket with her, and she climbs into my lap and lays her head down on my shoulder.

I lift the blanket to cover her and rock her slightly side to side. I wish I could take her pain. I wish I were the one sick right now and not her.

Lane wraps his arm around me, pulling me close. He reaches over my shoulder to stroke Tiffany’s hair. The MC brothers have been in and out all evening, checking on Tiffany.

“Here you are!” The nurse pops into the room, and Lane signs the papers. Lane bends down and lifts Tiffany into his arms, and she wraps her arms around his neck. I take the blanket that has fallen on the seat.

I follow Lane out of the hospital into the night air, which has a bite to it. Tiffany shivers and I cover her with the blanket. She still has a low-grade fever, and she will keep it for the next day or so until she is better. Luckily for me, I have a vet that I hired full time. The vet can take over for me for the next couple of days so I can be with Tiffany. I also know Lane will be with me. He already has Wilder stepping up until Tiffany is better.

This is one of the things I love about Lane; he is such an amazing father. He will step up and do things I know a lot of fathers won’t do. I know my father never did anything for me; it was all my mother and babysitters. My mother made us take care of ourselves as soon as possible.

I open Lane’s truck door and he sets her inside, buckling her in. He shuts the door and pulls me into his arms. “I will follow you.” I lift my head, and he kisses me and lets his arms fall.

* * *

I set Tiffany’s now-empty bowl of soup on the counter. Lane hands her meds, which she swallows it in one gulp; then he hands her some Theraflu, which will help with her aching. “Come on, sweet girl, let’s get you ready for bed.”

I help her off the couch, and she slowly walks to her room. I go to her drawer and grab some pajamas, and she slides them on. I gather the clothes she just pulled off. “I am going to take this to the laundry room.”

I hurry downstairs and put the clothes in the laundry hamper. I walk back into Tiffany’s room and I see neither her nor Lane. Her bathroom door is open, and I peek around the corner.

Tiffany is sitting on the counter with Lane behind her braiding her hair. “I love you, Daddy,” Tiffany says softly, and my nose burns as tears threaten to fall.

“I love you too, Angel, more than anything.” He ties her hair off with a bow and pulls her into his arms. Lane spots me standing in the doorway, and he smiles softly.

He sets her down on the floor and Tiffany yawns. She walks through the bathroom and hugs me around the waist before climbing in bed.

I walk over and kiss her on the forehead. “Sleep, Honey. If you need me yell and I will be here. I will be back in a few hours to give you your meds.” She nods and Lane takes my place, kissing her on the forehead.

Lane turns out the light, leaving her door slightly cracked, and I walk into our bedroom. I am beyond exhausted. This has been one of the longest days of my life.

I walk into our closet, grabbing one of Lane’s shirts, and slip it over my head. My bra hits the floor and I could cry with happiness. There is literally nothing better than taking off your bra after a long day.

“Lane, remind me to call.” I step out of the walk-in closet and stop dead in my tracks.

Lane is on one knee in front of me, holding a small box open with a ring sitting directly in the middle. I gasp, my hand covering my mouth.

Is this really happening right now?

“Amelia, you came into my life, and from the moment I met you, I knew you were it for me. I love you so fucking much. I would die for you, kill for you, and I will spend every day of my life showing you how much you mean to me. Will you marry me, Doll?”

Tears are streaming down my face. I nod frantically. “Yes, I will marry you.” I sob and raise my hand, and he slides the ring on, stands up, and wraps his arms around me, lifting me off the floor.

“I am happy!” I sob into his chest and he chuckles. “I love you, Lane.” I sniff and twist his shirt in my hands.

“I’ve got something else for you.” He sets me down and lifts something off the bed. It’s a leather vest saying “Property of Lane.”

This is huge in the MC world. The ring is a declaration for everyday people, but in the MC world, this is the same thing as engagement, and it’s letting everyone know not to fuck with me or they will face the wrath of Lane and the Grim Sinners.

I hold the vest to my chest, my eyes still filled with tears. “If you don’t fuck me right now, I may just explode.”

He throws his head back laughing, his eyes lit with happiness and a contentment that I am just now seeing.

I am going to be married to Lane. Life couldn’t get any better than this.

Well, until shit hits the fan.