Outlaw's Ride: An MC Romance by Carter Steele (books recommended by bts .txt) 📕

With Wreck’s support I got through the anxious waiting period for the initial reply and soon actually developed a back and forth pen pal relationship with my mom! It turned out that the FBI had told her about me being alive a little while ago and she was hoping every day that I would call her. I told her everything that happened, including why that call would never come, even now. Reconnecting with her through messages on a screen was the right way for us to do it. We had plenty of time to cry while reading and writing and could tell each other the whole story without having to actually hear any of it said out loud which might have been too difficult for both of us.

Eventually a month later we even had a video call together with Wreck serving as my translator. When Mom found out I couldn’t speak she started learning to read sign language, but wasn’t nearly as proficient as Wreck was yet. These days though, after weekly video chats and even visiting in person a few times she had everything down like a pro.

Between the high altitude, the incredible distance we walked and the fact that I should’ve hiked at least one small mountain before attempting this ridiculous bullshit, my feet ached, my legs threatened to give out and I was pouring sweat. I couldn’t think, and sucking in air was a conscious act of will to keep myself from passing out. The rest of the world faded away. All I could see was the next goddamn step – over and over. Each a mountain in their own right. I wasn’t going to last much longer. Soon Wreck would have to abandon the bags and carry me out of here...

Unevenly-spaced rock stairs eventually gave way to packed earth as the cliff face fell away and was replaced by roughhewn stone walls that rose all around us as the near endless final ascent blessedly came to a stop. I crawled up the last stair and when I found the strength to actually look around the first thing I saw was Wreck who’d beaten me to the top. He’d dropped the bags and was leaning against one of the walls for support. The awed, child-like wonder on his face was something I’d never seen on him before. With a big grin he helped me to my feet and took me into his large arms so that we could bask in the view together.

Our walk ended at what I could only describe as the back door Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. The hike had taken us higher than the legendary city so that we were overlooking both Machu Picchu and the whole sacred valley mountain range when we arrived at the Sun Gate. The gate itself was a series of rooms that looked like an entrance outpost to guard the pass into the ancient city.

“Stay here,” Wreck whispered into my ear and let me go. I was so entranced by the view that I couldn’t have moved if I wanted to.With the roof having been long ago worn away by the weather there was no reprieve from the sunset as it flooded the whole valley. The golden yellow light caught the mist cascading over the mountaintops giving it a flowing water effect that was truly breathtaking.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” came a voice behind me. It was so impossibly familiar that it broke the view’s spell on me.

Mom? I wondered, turning slowly. I knew for a fact that she and Jeffy were back in the US. When I video-chatted with them this morning I recognized the décor of their living room. There was no way she could be here, it just wasn’t possible.

It turned out I was right and wrong. Wreck had set up the camera stand and was actually streaming a live video chat through his phone with my mom and little brother. I gave him the biggest look of disbelief. I would never in a million years have thought of all places we’d actually have reception here at what felt like the top of the world, but seeing it with my own eyes made me realize how wrong I was.

“Hi sweetie!” Mom cried excitedly, pulling Jeffy closer who was waving emphatically.

“Hi!” I signed in reply with a smile that warmed my heart. Wreck didn’t have to do this, it was incredibly nice of him. “It’s so nice that we can share this moment together!”

“Oh you have no idea,” Wreck scoffed with a smirk and adjusted the camera so that my family could see the city through one of the sunset soaked doorways. It was a perfect shot. After he was finished he walked into that doorway and waved me over. “I couldn’t think of a better place to do this so…”

Then he dropped to a knee.

My eyes became saucers and my breath betrayed me.

“What do you say?” Wreck asked. There was a twinkle of hope in his eyes and the crease of a smirk on his lips. “I love you, Sarah. Wanna waste your life with me?”

My hands stumbled with the simple yes so I just nodded instead. I would’ve screamed if I could’ve, fortunately Mom and Jeffy had me covered and when Wreck scooped me up into a big embrace and kissed me even the smattering of tourists in the area started clapping and cheering.

I was terrified at what the future would hold for us, but from that moment on I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that with him at my side there wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle. This was a new chapter in our lives. For the first time in my life I could finally put the past to rest and actually look forward to the future.