Fury stared at him before asking, “What the hell happened to you?”
Limit held up his phone.
“Maddie called. Gave me her blessing. Told me to get my ass on the road and go get my woman.”
Fury’s dark eyes widened as he nodded.
“Sounds like you’ve got somewhere to be. Don’t worry about the furniture delivery tomorrow, I’ll send Rayna and Esme over there to handle it.”
Fury shook the stack of papers in his hands.
“Thanks for doin’ this, Limit. You have no idea how happy it made Rayna to know that her house would stay in the family.”
Limit shook his head.
“No, you’re doin’ me a favor. I needed a place to build something real for me and for her.”
Fury shrugged before he tucked the papers under his arm.
“You better get on the road, I hear there are storms blowin’ that way. And it isn’t a short drive to Louisiana.”
Limit knew that was the truth.
“You’re right, I’m gonna go pack my satchels and get on the road. Thanks again for all the help.”
Fury only nodded as Limit breezed from Ox’s office and headed right for his bedroom. He didn’t want to get caught up in the storms, but if Maddie thought he needed to get to Louisiana, then that’s exactly where he would go. He’d taken care of the three things he wanted to take care of.
He’d bought a house for Scarlett and himself.
He’d visited his mother in Wilmington.
He’d had his first appointment in town to get the help he needed to repair his fractured mind.
All of those things were so important to him, and now he could report back to Scarlett the he was absolutely fucking serious about moving forward together.
As battle buddies.
It still surprised him that she’d been the one to offer that to him, but he wouldn’t turn her down again.
As he threw his meager belongings into a couple of satchels that he would tie down to his bike, he threw on a black sweater and a clean pair of jeans before sliding his cut over his shoulders again.
He’d only been separated from Scarlett for a matter of days, but it felt like a lifetime to him.
He threw his bags over his shoulders and headed for the parking lot, his legs eating up the pavement with his quick stride.
The skies overhead were still clear, still blue, but he knew how quickly that could change.
“I’m comin’, princess.”
Chapter 29
Scarlett was sitting with her mother, their hands intertwined. Carter and Ox were sitting on the other side of the bed, their heads hanging low. Dr. Peterson was administering some pain medication for Maddie, because all they could do at that point was make sure she was comfortable.
Scarlett hated it, she hated that there was nothing that she could do to help her mother.
Her hazel eyes were almost swollen shut from crying, but she hadn’t left her mother’s bedside since the day before. She couldn’t.
No matter what her father or Carter said, she just couldn’t.
Maddie’s eyes were closed but she was still breathing.
She’d been in so much pain earlier, they’d had to call Dr. Peterson. Once he’d arrived the doctor delivered the terrible news they’d all been waiting for.
She didn’t have much longer at all.
Surely not as long as they’d all been hoping for.
“I don’t want to say goodbye, mama. I’m not ready,” Scarlett breathed.
Maddie squeezed her hand and shook her head.
“It’s not goodbye, baby. I’ll always be around, whenever you feel like you need me. I love you.”
As the words floated past her mother’s lips, Scarlett watched Maddie fall asleep once again.
The pain was so intense she had to press her free hand against her mouth to stifle her tears.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
It’d been storming all day, a clear indication that the universe was just as sad about the loss of Maddie as everyone in her bedroom had to be.
To top it all off, Scarlett hadn’t been able to get a hold of Limit and she’d been trying all night.
She was worried that maybe he’d changed his mind or found someone else to warm his bed while she was away, even though she knew that her line of thinking made no sense.
Just as Scarlett stood up to go grab something to eat, the doorbell rang.
Both Carter and Ox rose to stand, but she stopped them.
“I’ll get it. You stay here,” She said softly.
“Are you sure?,” Ox asked.
She nodded.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Scarlett said as she stepped into the hallway.
The stairway felt longer than it ever had as she descended it, her bare feet making no noise at all. The hallway was dark as was the rest of the house for the most part, so the moon and the occasional streak of lightning in the sky were her only sources of light as she moved to open the door.
As the wet wood swung open, her mouth fell open.
Limit stood on her front porch, his broad shoulders encased in a wet sweater and his shaved head dripping rain water.
“Limit! What are you doing here?,” She asked.
He looked up at her and she watched a drop of water fall off the bridge of his nose.
“You needed me.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, she yanked him into her arms and collapsed against his chest.
He cradled her against his chest as he kicked the front door closed behind him. Scarlett was crying into the crook of his neck when he swept her up into his arms and held her close. She rested on the tops of his wet boots, pressed her body against his completely.
“How? When?”
He kissed her mouth before he answered, his wet lips working against hers gently.
“Maddie called me. I was in the middle of sorting out a few things, and I was gonna get to comin’ out here, but she said you needed me now,” He said roughly.
Scarlett wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder.
“I do. I really, really do.”
Limit didn’t hesitate to hold her again.
Scarlett didn’t even care that he was getting her all wet, didn’t care that she was crying all over his neck, all she cared about was that she’d needed him, and he’d come.
“I need to get back upstairs. Come with me,” She whispered.
Limit took her hand into his and followed her up the grand staircase.
His tall frame was so close to her that she could feel the damp heat radiating from him through his thick sweater.
“Did you drive straight through?”
“Yes. Your mom said you needed me here as soon as possible.”
The fact that her mother had taken the time to call Limit, and only the Lord knows when that would have been, because she was surrounded by people every hour of the day, struck her deeply. Obviously, her mother knew her better than Scarlett gave her credit for, because she did need her man, and seeing him soaking wet on her doorstep only served to prove to her further that he truly cared about her.
Before they got to her mother’s bedroom, Scarlett turned around and stopped him.
“I just want to tell you that I love you, and I appreciate you driving all the way down here. I didn’t expect it at all, but I’m so glad you’re here. If I forget to tell you later, remember that I said it now, okay?”
Limit stroked her cheek before he kissed her forehead.
“Don’t worry about me right now. Let’s go sit down with your mama. You and I can talk later,” He told her.
Scarlett gripped his hand tightly in hers and slowly opened the door to her mother’s room again.
Ox’s gaze fell on Limit immediately, but he didn’t say anything, he just nodded.
“Carter? This is Limit. Limit, this is Carter,” Scarlett offered.
Limit held his hand out to Carter instantly, and Carter shook it w
ith a tight grip.
“Nice to finally meet you,” Carter said politely.
Scarlett could tell that he wanted to say more, but it wasn’t the time.
Maddie’s eyes opened slightly and she peeked at both Scarlett and the man now standing at her bedside.
“Well, well, you can follow orders after all,” Maddie whispered hoarsely.
Scarlett laughed softly as she sat down in the same chair she’d vacated only moments before and took her mother’s hand again. She squeezed it briefly.
“Thank you, mama.”
Scarlett could tell that Maddie knew she was thanking her for far more than just calling her man home to her.
Limit pulled up another chair beside Scarlett, some fancy chair that was normally just there for decoration, but he didn’t complain about it. He just sat silently beside Scarlett and watched her with his observant gaze like he always did.
Dr. Peterson came into the room and checked Maddie’s vitals, something that had Scarlett in tears again.
Limit did the best he could to comfort her, and she appreciated it more than he would ever know. There wasn’t much to be done besides sit with Maddie and wait.
Scarlett hated the waiting.
As night fell and the day came to an end, Carter ordered food for delivery and Scarlett did her best to make Maddie comfortable.
As the food arrived, Maddie became lucid once again, and her astute gaze landed on Limit immediately
“I can see what my daughter sees in you, Colton. You’re a very handsome man.”
Limit dipped his head and thanked her politely.
“I want to hear it from your mouth that you’re going to take care of my daughter, no matter what that entails.”
Limit glanced at Scarlett before he answered, “I’ll give her whatever she wants or needs for as long as she’ll have me.”
Maddie seemed more than pleased by his response, but so did Carter. Scarlett could see that Ox was doing his best to stay out of it, more than likely because he spent all of his days around Limit and knew their relationship dynamic better than anyone. Maddie didn’t need to hear all the gritty details of their past drama; she only needed to know that things were going to be okay.
“Good answer, I hope you mean it.”
“With all my heart,” He told her truthfully.
Scarlett’s gaze collided with his, but he didn’t do anything other than place a hand on her thigh and squeeze.
In that moment, she didn’t need anything more than him.
A promise was a promise, and that’s what he’d given not only her, but her mother. He’d driven all the way to Louisiana for her.
He’d asked her father permission for her hand because he loved her.
Scarlett wasn’t an expert on love, she wasn’t even well versed with it, but everything her mother had told her weighed heavy on her mind.
Their pasts didn’t matter.
Their mistakes didn’t matter.
The fact that they loved each other enough to work through it and try- that mattered.
Love is a choice, and she’d made the choice to love Limit exactly as he is.
As his silvery eyes met hers again, she felt a sense of contentment settle deep into her bones that was powerful enough to settle her agony for just a moment.
It wasn’t a tsunami and it certainly wasn’t earth-shaking, but it was enough to remind Scarlett that everything was going to be okay.
Maybe not right then.
Maybe not the next day, either.
Truth was, Limit was a glutton for punishment. He’d be content to keep his pain all to himself no matter the outcome because he was so used to being on his own that he didn’t remember how to share.
Scarlett realized that in loving Limit she was going to have to teach him how to do that all over again.
“I love you,” She whispered.
Limit tucked his hand into hers and kissed the back of it.
“I love you, too, princess.”
Not a happily ever after, and not the ending she’d dreamt of as a child, but that was okay with her.
She didn’t need it anyways.
Chapter 30
Two months Later
“Rayna, this place is amazing!”
Scarlett felt excited for the first time about Bryson City since her mother’s death.
Limit and Fury were on either side of Rayna as she led them through Scarlett’s new home.
That’s right, her and Limit were officially living together.
During his trip to Louisiana, once they’d finally gotten a chance to talk about things, he told her that he’d purchased Rayna’s old house in hopes that she would one day share it with him. While Ox had returned to Bryson City shortly after Maddie’s funeral, Scarlett had chosen to stay at her home with Carter until everything was sorted out. Ox had given Limit the choice to stay with her or return with him.
While Limit and Ox’s misgivings over everything that had happened hadn’t been sorted out right away, over the time they’d been together since Maddie’s death, Ox had done his best to understand both of them and their relationship. Obviously, Scarlett and Limit had work to do, but the fact that they were both willing to face whatever challenges may lay ahead, together, meant a lot to Ox.
As her father, he was a little less lenient, but as Limit’s president he respected the hell out of him for pulling his head out of his ass and going after what he wanted and Scarlett really couldn’t ask for a better resolution between the two main men in her life.
So, Limit had chosen to stay…
They’d been inseparable ever since.
It wasn’t perfect at first; she’d been so caught up in her own grief, she all but ignored him. She hadn’t meant to, and Scarlett certainly didn’t want to hurt Limit, but she was so overwhelmed with the death of Maddie that she basically shut down.
It wasn’t until Carter of all people talked some sense into her that she realized that wallowing is the exact opposite of what her mother would have wanted her to do. Shortly after, he’d even left Louisiana to go on a trip of his own that Scarlett didn’t doubt he would need.
So, she’d finally decided to take a three-day long trip back to Bryson City on the back of Limit’s bike and enjoyed every second of it.
She’d even gotten her first tattoo along the way.
That’s right, she had Limit’s brand directly on her forearm where everyone could see it. She got to pick the design, but he got to pick the location. At first, she’d figured he’d go for a traditional tramp-stamp.
He’d surprised her when he pointed to her right forearm.
“I know you’re more conservative than me, and I’d love to tag that ass with my name. But, I want you to love it as much as I do. Will your forearm be okay?”
He’d been so thoughtful about it that she couldn’t even be mad that it was always visible. That was the whole point, right?
In that time, she also got her stitches removed from her arm and from her side only to reveal some pretty kick-ass scars that Limit loved to trace with his tongue. He still got worked up when he thought about Scott, but as far as that whole ordeal went, no one questioned the car accident story. Eventually, she’d heard from his father, which she’d expected- there was no way Trey Worthington would let it go that his son had died in North Carolina, not far from where she was living- but she’d kindly explained that she had no idea what happened to Scott.
How could she have known he would get blitzed out of his mind and try to drive to her apartment?
How could she have known he’d get so drunk, he’d drive right off the side of a mountain?
Trey had ended up being so embarrassed by the time she got done reading off every phone call, playing every pathetic voicemail, every threatening voicemail, that Scott had left her, that Trey was willing to agree to never contact her again.
A personal victory, in her eyes.
As Rayna led almost the entire club through her and Limit’s new house, Scarlet
t felt that same sense of contentment she’d felt months ago wash over her.
Her mother would be happy for her.
She knew that.
Everything with Limit was slowly working into something that made both of them stupidly happy. Scarlett still had a lot to learn as far as their world went- she didn’t doubt that one bit. But, it was something her family could teach her together.
“And here, we have the master bedroom…”
As Scarlett looked up, she caught sight of Limit heading for the stairs. Instinctively, she followed him.
“Baby? Where are you going?”
He smiled up at her from the bottom of the staircase.
“We have one more guest.”
As he opened the front door, a small older woman stepped over the threshold and squealed with delight at the sight of Limit. Scarlett instantly knew she was his mother, Eve.
“You must be the woman whose tamed my hellion of a son,” Eve joked as she opened her arms in Scarlett’s direction.
Eve was a petite woman with dark hair and eyes the same color as Limit’s.
Scarlett hugged her close and whispered, “Only some days.”
Eve roared with laughter as she pulled back and assessed the two.
“So, when am I going to get some grandbabies to spoil?”
Limit scratched the back of his head before he shrugged uncomfortably.
Scarlett laughed outright and winked in Limit’s direction.
“We were just about to take a peek at the master bedroom, why don’t you join me?”
Limit mouthed a thank you in her direction and she blew him a kiss as she eased his mother up the stairs.
Babies?
Not any time soon. For her, at least. Esme didn’t have much longer until she was due, a few months at most.
As Scarlett rounded the corner of the hallway that led to her new bedroom, she caught sight of Emily and Green kissing near the bathroom. He had one arm poised against the wall above her head and other resting on her waist.
Scarlett couldn’t help but smile.
As Eve chattered on in her ear and the rest of the crew hung out around her new home, she realized that her mother had known what she was doing all along. Maddie Hunter had been a smart woman, sending her away when she did.
Gluttony (Seven Deadlies MC Book 3) Page 20