Bad Boy Biker
The bookstore was further from a plan—just a someday-thought she'd had for years that had floated close enough to grab.
She grabbed.
That was the thing she wanted Grace to understand, and Emma, and Mia when she got old enough. That the bookstore wasn't born brave. It was born desperate and stubborn and from the specific clarity that comes after a life falls apart.
You don't wait to feel ready.
You build, and the building makes you ready.
---
Her phone buzzed. Duke.
*Where are you?*
*Store.*
A pause. Then: *Which one?*
*Third.*
*Coming.*