Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Later that night, when we were home and alone in bed, I curled up next to him and asked, “You really think this moving in thing is going to work?”
“Wouldn’t have asked you to if I didn’t.”
“So, you think we’re going to be okay.”
“We’re going to be more than okay, baby. Just wait and see.”
Epilogue
Rooster
One Year Later
Christmas at the clubhouse has always been a big event, but this year, the brothers outdid themselves. There wasn’t a corner or crevice that didn’t have some kind of light or decoration, and there were countless presents under the enormous tree. We’d had a big year. Cotton’s new role had given the club new life. We were both feared and respected by everyone in our line of work, and other than a few normal hiccups, our runs had gone off without a hitch.
We’d done well, and we wanted to celebrate our success. It’s what we always did, but this was taking it to a whole new level. Hell, I could barely even walk through the family room to get over to Torch and Savage. They were standing in the corner with Wrath and Q, watching as the kids chased each other with pool sticks, and neither of them even attempted to make them stop.
“You know it’s only a matter of time before one of them loses an eye, right?”
“Awe, they’ll be alright,” Torch snickered. “And if not, patches are cool.”
“Yeah, you have a point.” I looked to Savage as I said, “I’m not sure Londyn will agree.”
“You’re probably right.”
Savage handed me his beer, then rushed after Dalton, taking his pool stick from his hand. He talked to him and the other kids for a moment, then sauntered back over to us. He took his beer back as he said, “That should be the end of that.”
“For the time being, anyway.” I chuckled. “Give ‘em a minute. They’ll be into something else soon enough.”
Savage motioned his head over to the corner of the room where Grim was sitting. “He doesn’t look so good.”
“No, he doesn’t.” The usually fierce, unstoppable man was leaned back in his chair with his shoulders slouched ,and his eyes fixed on something in the distance. He’d been sitting there for the better part of the day, tossing back one drink after the next. “It’s been a year since that shit went down with Beckett. You know it had to be bad if it’s still fucking with him now.”
“Yeah, the guilt is eatin’ him up.”
“But it’s not his guilt to carry.”
“Well, he’s carrying it all the same. Hell, he came all the way here just to try to escape it.”
“Doesn’t look like it’s working.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Clearly wanting to change the subject, Torch turned his back to Grim and looked over at the dart board where the kids were playing. “Nathan seems to be doing good. Hell, looks like he’s grown two feet since the last time I’ve seen him, and that was just a couple of weeks ago.”
“Yeah, they’re both growing fast. No doubt about that. They both seemed so young when Maggie and I started dating. It’s hard to believe that in a couple of months, Nathan will be trying for his permit.”
“How’d he like the bike you got him?”
“He’s a little unsure of it just yet.” The year before, I’d gotten Nathan a dirt bike, and he’d damn near ran the wheels off of it. Since he was getting older, I decided to get him a 1967 Harley that we could restore together. It would take us some time to get it up and running, but when we were done, he’d have something to be proud of. “But he’ll come around.”
“What about his father?” Torch asked. “He cool about you gettin’ it for him?”
“Probably not, but so far, he’s been good about it.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up helping Nathan out with some of the parts.”
“That’d be good.” Savage glanced over at Maggie and Samantha. “And what about the girls?”
“Samantha’s been begging for these ugly, brown slipper things, and they’d been out of stock for weeks. But Maggie worked her magic and was able to find ‘em. And I got that new claw foot tub she’s been hinting at for the past year. So, I’d say all is good. What about you two? Did your crew get everything they wanted?”
“Dalton got a house full of shit. Everything from games to an electric scooter, so he’s tickled. Londyn, on the other hand, is still very pregnant, so she didn’t get her Christmas wish,” Savage chuckled.
“Pretty sure Mia feels the same.”
I glanced over at Londyn and Mia, and they were both sitting on the sofa with their hands propped on their round bellies. It wasn’t their first rodeo. They’d both already had a kid, but that didn’t seem to help matters. In fact, it might’ve made it worse because they both seemed pretty miserable in their gargantuan state. “It looks like they’re about to pop.”