Clare’s name lit the screen. Ryder picked it up immediately.
“Hey.” His voice was rough from almost no sleep.
“I heard what happened,” Clare said quietly. “Are you okay?” Ryder rubbed a hand across his beard.
“News travels fast.” “Small town.”
A pause. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not much to say. I did what I had to do.” “Are you sure about this?”
There was concern in her voice. And perhaps hope.
“The club won’t just let you walk away, will they?” Ryder sat at the kitchen table.
“Probably not without some pushback.” He stared at his bare fingers where the club rings had been.
“But I’m done, Clare. Really done.” “I believe you want to be,” she said carefully. “But changing isn’t easy.”
“Trust me. I know.” The words landed exactly where they needed to.
Clare knew better than almost anyone what it meant to leave a dangerous past and rebuild a life without guarantees. “I know it won’t be easy,” Ryder said. “But I can’t go back. Not after...”
He stopped. In his mind he saw Maggie’s smile, Max reaching for him, and Clare beside the park bench.
“The kids ask about you,” Clare said, changing the subject gently. “Maggie wants to know if you’ll come to the park today.” Warmth moved through Ryder’s chest.
“What time?” “Around three. We usually go after Max’s nap.”
“I’ll be there.” After the call ended, Ryder walked into the bathroom and studied himself in the mirror.
Long hair. Beard.
Tattoos covering his arms and neck. To most people, he still looked like the same intimidating biker.
But his eyes were different. Some of the hardness had begun to disappear.
At three, Ryder walked to the park instead of taking his motorcycle. It was a small choice, but it felt important.
He spotted Clare on their usual bench while Maggie chased bubbles and Max toddled after her. “Red!” Maggie squealed when she saw him.
She ran over holding a bubble wand. Clare smiled as Ryder approached, but there was caution in her eyes now.
Ryder understood it. She had children to protect.
She could not build her future on a man simply because he had made one dramatic decision. “I meant what I said,” Ryder told her as he sat down. “I’m done with that life.”
Clare nodded slowly. “I want to believe that.”
She looked toward the children. “But change takes time, Ryder. Real change.”
“I know.” Maggie showed Max how to blow bubbles.