Free Simple Ride (Hellions Ride Book 6) by Chelsea Camaron Page B

kids. I have some money saved. Mom,
my boys, and I can have a fresh start.
    All that together talk was Boomer’s
way of supporting me while I was in trouble. Now it’s time to be on
my own. I got into this mess on my own, and I will walk away alone.
That is how it should be.
    I will forever treasure my time with
him. Nathan ‘Boomer’ Vaughn has given me the best moments of my
adult life outside of holding my children for the first time. He
gave me little memories all for myself. Now it’s time to be ‘Mom’
again, and I need to focus my attention on Wesson and Colt,
anyway.
    I don’t speak as he walks over and
takes me by the hand. He guides us out without speaking and doesn’t
bother locking his house.
    “ Boomer, you should lock
the door,” I remind him, thinking maybe tonight has been too much
for him.
    “ Honey, the only person
stupid enough to break into the house of an Army Green Beret is
your husband, and how did that work out for him?” His eyes grow
wide, and his tone is sharp. “I’ve got nothing real valuable inside
that house, because I live in the woods and know how to hide my
valuables better than that. The gun I keep inside is now in a bag
on its way to the police evidence locker. I have a side arm in the
glove box of my truck.
    “ We’re going to a hotel
because we need to sleep, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t
feel like cleaning up the mess in my bedroom right now. My couch is
shit, and the jackass broke the glass on my back door, so the house
isn’t secure even if I do lock it. So let’s go get some sleep and
tackle what happens next in the morning, okay?”
    “ Sleep, as in, together?
You’re staying with me?”
    “ Unless you need space,
yeah, we’re going to sleep. If you want more, that’s on you. With
everything you’ve been through, you don’t have to, and that’s okay,
too. Right now, I wanna take us to get some sleep so we can clear
our heads safely then get you to your boys tomorrow.”
    My boys … tomorrow. With all the
craziness and the many emotions running through me, this is the
light at the end of a very dark tunnel. I can hold my boys
tomorrow.
    “ You’re gonna go with
me?”
    His eyes flash with something I can’t
read. “As long as you want me around, I’m there. If you want me
gone, once I get you to them, I’m gone.”
    He makes it sound so simple. He killed
a man protecting me, yet he is willing to walk away if I want him
to.
    I put the back of my hand to my
forehead. I don’t have a fever. I’m not delirious. I pinch my arm.
I’m not dreaming.
    My husband is dead. Boomer gave me
that escape, whether that was his original intention or not. Push
came to shove, and it was save me or let Dennis shoot. Boomer chose
me. Now, if I say the word, he walks away.
    I have never had control or power over
my situation before. Boomer gives me that. If I want more, I can
have it. If I don’t, he walks. Simple as that.
    “ Come on, Pami. Let’s get
out of here and try to get some sleep. You need your head clear to
figure out your future.”
    I nod and follow him to his truck. We
go to town and get a room at the local hotel. It’s nothing fancy,
but it is a shower, a bed, and a place that doesn’t have remnants
of my husband on the walls.
    I close my eyes and breathe deeply.
One step at a time, I will get beyond this. It’s over. I can
breathe. No more looking over my shoulder.
    Today is like a birthday. Today is the
first day of the rest of my life. No matter how many times Dennis
has hurt me over the years, I get to have my boys now. I get to
have my life without him.
    My boys won’t live their lives
worrying about their mom. They will get to have me with them every
day.
    Tomorrow.
    I watch as Boomer cautiously moves
around the room. He doesn’t touch me. He is giving me space. I need
space. I need to process this.
    My husband is dead. The monster is
gone. He can’t get to me.
    Boomer shrugs out of his jeans and
T-shirt, stripping down to just