It's hard. Moving on after losing someone you love, losing a person who helped you become who you are today. Not having their physical presence by your side causes instability because an essential piece of your structure is gone. That's how I felt when I lost not only Noah but my old man as well. I imagine that’s how Mila is feeling. Her Grams was her lifeline for so long. The only love she felt her entire life until our paths crossed. The pain of loss never goes away. I know. I still feel the sting of sorrow every day, but you learn to live with it.

Inner strength.

We all have it.

For some, it takes awhile to find, but it's there.

Watching her now as she stands in front of the bathroom mirror, dressed in her standard work scrubs preparing to start a new day, I see that strength in her. I can sit here on the edge of my bed and claim to be the stronger sex, but that would be a lie. The woman standing before me has strength beyond any man. Bending down, I tie the laces on my work boots before standing and walking up behind her. "Hey, beautiful. I gotta get goin'. I'll be on the site working with the crew today. You need anything, you call." I kiss the top of her head. After painting her lips with her favorite red lipstick, she spins to face me. I run my finger through her soft hair causing her eyes to close momentarily.

"I was thinking," she sighs reopening her eyes.

"About what, Kitten?"

While I get lost in the gold specks of her eyes, she tells me. "I'm ready."

I smile when she smiles. "And what are you ready for?" I ask her planting a kiss on her temple.

"To move forward. I don't need the trial period, Reid. I know what I want. I want to stay here. Permanently."

I let her words sink in. I know what she feels for me, but Mila has been apprehensive about making a full commitment. She was still somewhat guarded, and she had every right to be. Trusting someone, trusting them with your heart isn’t easy. With my mouth hovering over hers I admit with a grin, "Wasn't plannin' on letting you go, babe," and then I kiss her.

* * *

I'm not that boss who does nothing but sit behind a desk pushing papers. I'm the one working side by side with my men. I'm a firm believer in leading by example to show them what I expect from my employees.

It's hot a fuck by Montana's standards today, so the rest of the crew and I are taking a water break. As I'm walking over to the office trailer, a black car pulls up. I pull a bandana from my back pocket to wipe the sweat from my brow as I watch River step out of his car.

"Reid, you got a minute?" he asks shaking my hand.

"Got about ten minutes I can spare." I inform him.

"I can't get in touch with Mila. I need to finalize her grandmother's will with her."

She told me the other day she was dodging his calls because she wasn’t ready to deal with any of it just yet. I don’t blame her, and I wasn’t about to push the issue. When she was ready she would say something. By her words this morning, I think now would be a good a time as any to take care of it. "How about I give her a call. See if I can get her to come by later today," I tell him.

River nods, "Sounds like a plan. I'm sorry to have bothered you at work. I'll be in my office until 5:00 pm today."

I down the rest of the bottled water I was holding in my hand, "Alright," I answer.

Once he gets back in his car and pulls away, I dig my phone out of my back pocket and call Mila.

"Hey, everything okay," she answers on the third ring.

"Yeah, babe, everything is good. Listen, you feeling up to going by River's today? You've got to take care of your Grams' will." I ask her. The line is silent. I know she's contemplating.

Hearing her exhale, she answers, "Okay. It's time I take care of it. Will you go with me? I think I can get off an hour early today if I ask now."

"Yeah, Kitten. You need me. You got me," I tell her.

"I'll just meet you at his office… and, Reid?" She says pausing, "I love you."

"Love you too, beautiful. I'll see you later," I tell her before we end our call.

A few hours later I'm pulling up in front of River's office building to find Mila sitting in her car waiting. Hearing the rumble of my bike she gets out and slings her bag over her shoulder.

"Hey," she walks up to the side of my bike after I've backed in beside her car.

Hangin' my helmet on my handlebar, I pull her into my lap while I'm still sitting. "Hey, babe. Been waiting long?"

"Maybe ten minutes. Not long," she tells me and runs her fingers through my hair before tracing the tattoo on the side of my head.

"You ready?" I ask her.

"Ready," she responds kissing me before she stands.

Getting off my bike, I grab her hand in mine, and we walk inside. We don’t have to wait because River is standing outside his office door and ushers us on in. Taking the two seats on the other side of his desk we sit while he walks over to a large file cabinet and pulls out a sealed manila folder.

"Thanks for stopping by, Mila. How are you holding up? I haven’t seen you since the funeral," River inquires sitting down.

He hands the envelope over to Mila, and she answers him, "Doing better, River. Thank you for asking."

"Everything's there," he tells her as she pulls the papers out and starts to flip through them. "She left you everything. The house, which was always in her and your grandfather's name. And the money. You'll have to sign some papers before I can transfer everything to your name. That should only take a couple of weeks before everything gets finalized," he informs her.

Quietly she sits and takes her time reading everything. When Mila finishes looking it over, she hands them to me.

"How long did Grams know about the money?" Mila asks River.

"I'm not sure. Mrs. Scott, your grandmother, brought me legal papers and other documents your grandfather left behind that she found buried in her closet. That’s when I discovered the money and told her about it. But that was also after she came in to draw up her will shortly after being diagnosed with Alzheimer." He tells her.

"So, it’s a good possibility she nearly… forgot. That she didn’t even remember anything about the money?" Mila mumbles.

It makes sense. I don’t think her grandmother would have kept something like that from her. She knew how hard Mila worked to make ends meet and the sacrifices she made through life. If she would have remembered, she would have made sure Mila knew and helped her financially.

"You ready to sign papers today, babe? Or you wanna wait?" I ask her.

Sitting straighter, I see the strength I admire in her shine through, "I'm ready."

She signs everything and walks out of the office thirty minutes later, and we head straight to Logan and Bella's house to pick up Ava. Since Bella kept Ava all day, it makes the rest of the evening grind less hectic on Mila when Bella offered to feed us dinner too. I picked up the slack for awhile just after her Grams passed because let's face it, Mila has been through one thing after the other for awhile now. Eventually, everything finally caught up with her. So, I stepped up my game and put my nonexistent domestic skills to use. It wasn't always smooth running. I'm still learning all the curves that come along with taking care of a four-year-old. I don't know how Mila has done it by herself for so long.

Logan and I are sitting outside on the deck in their backyard while we watch Ava play with a puppy. Logan told me he was thinking of surprising Bella with a dog the other day when I swung by the clubhouse to have a few beers after work with the guys. "You realize in a few months you'll have piles of shit the size of boulders in your backyard, right?" I lean back in my chair.

"It's what she wanted, brother," he states.

We both stare on as Ava plays tug of war with a Great Dane puppy.

"That dog will be bigger than Bella is," I laugh.

"She'll make a good watchdog. Who's gonna mess with her if she has that walking beside her," Logan pleads his case.

Mila and Bella walk out the sliding glass doors bringing Logan and I a glass of ice tea. Snagging her by the waist, I pull Mila onto my lap, and Logan does the same with Bella.

"Logan, there are chairs that I can sit in," she teases.

"You'll sit your ass right here where I want it. Don't sass me woman; I just bought you a really expensive guard dog," he pulls her in tighter making her feet dangle off the ground.

She rolls her eyes, "I already have you," she kisses him.

Ava slowly walks up to her momma while trying to carry the pup in her arms. "Momma, I want a doggie," she giggles when the puppy lifts its head back and the dog's tongue laps at her face.

I chuckle, and it causes Mila to turn around giving me a stern 'she doesn’t need a dog' look. Shit, I'd give either one of them whatever they want. If her momma were to say yes, I would go out and get a puppy tomorrow if it made them happy.

"I'm sure you can come play with this one anytime you want, sweetie," Mila tells her then looks to Bella to help her out.

"You can come play with her anytime you want," Bella smiles and confirms.

"Yay!" Ava giggles and continues towards the grass to play.

We sit a while enjoying the cool evening breeze. The sun is starting to set a little, casting an orange glow across the tops of the trees as the lightning bugs begin to randomly flicker on and off while they hover over the water's surface.

"I want to sell Grams' house," Mila says softly breaking the silence.

"Babe, you sure?" I ask her knowing it means a great deal to her and holds so many memories. I can't have her give that up because I want her to live with me.

"What if I moved into the house with you?" I offer.

She is quick with her answers and firmly says, "No. I want to stay where we are. I'm happy there. Ava is happy there. No. I'm selling the house. The sooner, the better," she states. Shifting her body she faces me, "Will you help me pack? I have tomorrow off."

"Yeah, babe." I take her face in my hands and kiss her.

Relaxing for the first time today, she sinks back into me. We end up staying until the sun has set before saying our goodbyes and head home.

* * *

The next day with Ava in tow, we turn onto the street to Mila's house and roll up to see all my brothers and waitin' in the driveway with a moving truck. I imagine Logan called in reinforcements after last night's conversation. It's what family does for one another. You shouldn’t have to ask someone to be there for you. They should already be there willing to help. Mila is still getting used to the fact she has become a part of the family. It still overwhelms her. The same as it did when everyone was there to show support and respect when Grams passed away. Day in and day out someone was there. Whether they cooked her food or took care of Ava or merely checked on her, they were there. "You good with them helpin' out, Kitten?" I ask her to be sure.

She swipes a lone tear from her cheek as we come to a stop and I turn off the engine.

"More than good," she whispers.

She unbuckles herself and her daughter, and the rest of the woman go inside to get things started. I walk up to my brothers who are gathered on the front lawn talking. Since we're just the muscle for the day, we hang back and let the ladies do what they need to do.

"Hey, brothers. Thanks for helpin' out today," I greet them.

"Heard you could use the help," Prez speaks up. "She really sellin' the place? It’s a nice, quiet neighborhood."

It is a good neighborhood. Quiet because most of the residents are on the older side, but most the properties around here are well maintained. I'm still kinda shocked she was willing to let go of it so fast. I decided not to bring the issue up to her again after we got home last night. It's her choice. I only hope her and her daughter can be happy in the long run living in town. I have a backyard, but it's much smaller than this one. Not what I would think someone would want to raise a kid in if they had another option like this home. It's on the older side. Maybe built in the early mid-seventies. A ranch-style home, but it seems to be more family oriented than what I have to offer. "She's set on it. Not sure that’s what she really wants, but she is selling it," I confirm.

We stand around and shoot the shit for I don’t know how long. Mostly we throw around the idea of doing a charity run sometime soon. We do a few every year. The one comin' up helps fund a charity that supports our veterans.

"We have some stuff ready to get loaded in here," Bella steps out onto the porch and announces.

While my brothers start hauling boxes marked for my place- Strike that- our home, I search the house for Mila and find her in her Gram's room. She's sitting on the floor surrounded by boxes that have been taped up and has a photo in her hand. "Hey, babe. You okay?"

She cranes her head back to look up at me, "I'm good. I was looking through some old pictures and came across an old one of Grams and my grandpa back from when they started dating in high school," she says handing me the picture. I stare at the grainy black and white photograph in my hand. It's uncanny how much she looks like her grandmother. I give the photo back to her, and she places it in a box.

"I didn’t think it would be so hard packing everything away." She goes to get up, and I help her stand.

"You're allowed to change your mind about selling the house," I tell her.

"No. I still want to sell. It does me no good sitting here when another family could build their own memories in a home that held so much love."

I don’t ever get tired of being amazed by her kindness. I wrap my arms around her and hold her for a moment.

Come lunchtime we all paused long enough to eat the sandwiches Lisa had fixed for everyone. By late afternoon the women have everything wrapped and boxed. Looking more mentally exhausted than physically, I told Mila to head home for the day with Ava and I'd catch a ride back once we finished.

By the time I got home, after me and the guys hauled and put everything into storage, it was late. Jake dropped me off, and I dragged my tired ass inside lookin' for nothin' but a hot shower and the comfort of my woman by my side. Quietly, I make my way to the kitchen and grab a slice of room temperature pizza from the box sitting on the counter and eat it as I walk down the hallway. I stop long enough to peek in on Ava who is sound asleep holding her teddy. When I get to our bedroom, Mila is sleeping in the bed with one bare leg stuck out from under the covers. Taking the last bite of my food, I strip from my clothes, walk into the bathroom and turn the shower on.

I sit under the spray of hot water until it starts to run cold. Once I've dried off and taken care of all my other nightly shit I head to bed. I feel Mila's body shift as I ease myself under the covers. Lying on my back I pull her close.

Mila isn’t much of a spooner. She prefers to drape her body over mine. Sometimes to the point of sleeping on top of me. As soon as her head is tucked under my chin and her body melds into mine, I relax letting the feel of her warm, wispy breath across my skin lull me to sleep.