Page 92 of The Wreckage of Us

I laughed. “I know it sounds crazy, but I feel more like myself than ever since I started working at the ranch. I never thought I’d be able to say that I loved a job like this, but I do. For so long I’ve been thinking about running away from this place, and the more time that passes, the more I think about how nice it would be to stay and teach Rosie about the ranch when she’s old enough.”

“Big Paw was telling me how good of a worker you are. It’s hard to impress that man, so you should be proud of yourself.”

“I am. I mean, it’s hard, especially with Rosie, but somehow I’m keeping my head above water. I’m remembering to swim.”

He put the truck in park in front of the house and shut off the engine. “I guess this isn’t the point I should ask you to come on tour with me for a few weeks, huh? In my mind it sounded like a great idea, but now that I see how much you’re loving your life, I’d feel awful pulling you away from everything.”

“I don’t know if the team can handle me leaving for a long period of time. After losing the Wreckage on the ranch, we’ve been trying to train new guys to be as good as you four were.”

He smirked. “Good luck with that.”

“I do want to see you in concert, though. I want to see you in your new world. It just might take a while for me to be able to get there with Rosie and all.”

“She’s always welcome to come, you know.”

“Soon,” I agreed, taking his hand into mine. “I promise we’ll come see you soon.”

Just then, Rosie started crying, and I glanced back to her. “Do you think we can do once around the dirt roads to get her back to sleep?” I asked.

Ian turned on the truck and put it into drive. Within five minutes, Rosie was sleeping again.

“Did you ever see yourself raising a baby at nineteen?” Ian asked. His right hand was still laced with mine, and I loved the warmth his touch sent through me.

“I actually fought really hard for this to not be my reality, and yet here we are. Truthfully, I don’t regret it. Rosie is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. If you’d asked me if I would be dating one of the biggest up-and-coming musicians, I would’ve called you crazy too. But I guess that’s the thing about life—it just happens.”

He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it, sending me waves of comfort.

And sometimes what happens in life is better than one could’ve ever imagined.

Thanksgiving dinner was filled with laughter, comfort, and tears in the barn house. I was seated at the table with the Wreckage as Rosie played with one of the many toys that the boys had brought back with them for her.

Eric, James, and Marcus were all smitten with the little girl in her turkey onesie, and it seemed that all of Eres was smitten with the Wreckage.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your Thanksgiving dinner, but I was wondering if me and my friend could get a picture?” a young girl said, shaking as she walked over to our table. Her friend stood back a little, trembling. They couldn’t have been over fifteen, and the stars in their eyes were so bright and filled with hope.

When Ian and the guys agreed to the photograph, the girls jumped around with glee. The photographs with fanatics didn’t stop until Big Paw made an announcement, forcing the crowds to stop storming the guys.

“How weird are your lives?” I asked them all, smiling. I loved the attention they were getting, because I knew how hard they’d worked to receive it.

“Pretty damn weird,” Marcus replied, shoving food into his mouth. “But it’s a good weird.”

“Based on the number in our bank accounts, it’s a really good weird,” Eric sang, grinning ear to ear.

“And speaking of numbers in bank accounts,” Ian said, reaching into his suit pocket. He pulled out an envelope and handed it over to me. “This is for you from us.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What is that?”

“Open it and you’ll see,” James said.

Slowly I opened the envelope, and the moment I saw what was inside, I shut it and tossed it onto the table. “What the hell is that?” I breathed out.

“It’s a check. You have seen a check before, right?” Ian joked.

“Not a check with that many zeroes, and was that a comma after two numbers? Commas don’t come after two numbers on checks!” I exclaimed. My heart was pounding against my chest from simply touching that in my hand.

Ten thousand dollars.

The guys had handed me a check for $10,000 as if it were the easiest thing in the world. I remembered a few months back Marcus and Eric had fought over who was paying for their twenty-dollar Chinese-food bill. Now, they were handing out $10,000 checks.