Ash (Hounds of Hellfire MC #5)

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ASH

“ W ow, Jelly Bean. You look gorgeous,” I complimented my daughter when she walked into the living room. Damn, how did she get to be sixteen?

“ Must you call her that?” Deidre whined. Nora’s mother had mellowed over the years, but she still made me want to toss her out on her ass sometimes.

Jennalynn and I rolled our eyes at each other, then grinned.

“Thanks, Daddy. But…do I have to wear it?” She glanced down at the puffy pink princess dress and screwed her face up in disgust. It was completely wrong for my “rocker-chick”—her words—daughter’s style.

“Of course not, Jelly Bean.”

Diedre gasped. “You agreed to let her have a debutante ball when she turned sixteen!”

“Yes, Mom,” Nora sighed as sashayed into the room. “Jen agreed to the party.” I winked at her and held out my hand, beckoning her to come to me. She smiled and sauntered over, letting me pull her down into my lap. “But we didn’t commit to a particular kind of dress, or the guest list you gave me, or the decorations you picked out.”

“Did you learn anything from our wedding, Diedre?” I drawled. “You push…”

Nora grinned. “We push back.”

“Or run away,” Jennalynn snickered, then huffed, “Don’t get me wrong, that’s sounding really freaking great right about now.”

I turned my wife’s face toward me and pressed my lips to hers, only pulling away when Jennalynn muttered, “I’m right here, guys. Cool it on the making out.”

“Yes,” Diedre snipped. “ Must you do that?”

“Yes,” I told her matter-of-factly. “Woulda thought you’d get over it, considering it’s how you got four kick-ass grandbabies.”

Diedre sniffed, but her face softened when she looked at Jennalynn. “You do look beautiful, my dear.”

“I look like a cupcake, Grandma,” Jennalynn snorted.

“You look perfect. Don’t you want to catch the eye of your handsome prince?” Nora’s mom asked with a slightly dreamy tone.

Nora, Jennalynn, and I all burst into laughter.

“Nah, Grandma. I’m lookin’ for the guy up the road who has tattoos and rides a motorcycle.” She winked at me adorably, so I didn’t comment that she would never be dating.

Nora tilted her head, studying our daughter with a secretive smile. “Why don’t you show your grandmother the dress you picked out?”

Jennalynn’s face lit up, and she bounced out of the room.

“Honestly,” Diedre huffed. “What are you teaching that girl, Nora?”

“To be herself. No matter what anyone else thinks.”

I fucking adored my wife.

“Daddy!” Vivienne screamed. A second later, our four-year-old came barreling into the room with a terrified expression and chocolate all over her face.

“Vivi! You are in so much fucking trouble!” Garner—our twelve-year-old son—shouted.

I winced as Nora and Diedre gasped like pearl-clutching old ladies. It was me who was gonna be in a shit ton of trouble.

Vivi ran over and threw herself at Nora, burying her face in her stomach.

When Garner burst into the room, he glared daggers at the little thief and stalked across the room. He stopped in front of us and shoved his hand onto his hips. “That was the last of my Halloween candy!”

Vivi turned her head—leaving a smear of chocolate on Nora’s T-shirt—and blinked her big blue eyes at him as giant tears rolled down her cheeks.

She was a master at puppy dog eyes and heartbreaking tears, which was why she had every man in this house wrapped around her little fingers.

“Sorry, G,” she said in a trembling voice. “I didn’t know it was yours.” Then she leaned in and whispered, “I thought it was Shep’s.”

“Ugh,” Diedre moaned. She hated that all our kids went by nicknames.

Personally, I enjoyed her pain, but I kept that to myself.

“It was mine,” fourteen-year-old Shepherd muttered from the corner where he’d been practically hiding behind a book since his grandma arrived. “G stole it first. So serves you right, bro.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Jennalynn strolled back in.

“What is that?” Diedre screeched.

“Well, Mom,” Nora said in an “announcer” voice. “This gorgeous model is wearing a vintage-inspired satin A-line gown. The strapless dress has boning in the corset and lovely, handcrafted details. As you can see, there is ruching at the top of the skirt before it flows to the floor in front, with a slit up the left side and a court train in the back. To add flair to this ensemble, made so incredibly beautiful by the model, are black lace gloves that end on the biceps with intricate detailing.”

Jennalynn was beaming and walking around the living room as if she were on a runway.

I might have laughed if I wasn’t so fucking speechless. When did my little girl grow the fuck up?

She turned around, and her leg flashed between the thigh-high slit. I jumped to my feet, making sure to keep Nora and Vivi from falling to the ground. “Not a chance in hell, Jelly Bean!” I growled. “You are not wearing that.”

“Finally, we agree for once,” Diedre sniffed. “But you might have used more appropriate language.”

I threw her a withering scowl, and she shut up.

My daughter’s face crumpled and tears welled in her eyes, making me feel like the world’s biggest jackass. “You don’t think it looks good on me, Daddy?”

I sighed and walked over to her, pulling her into my arms. “Of course I do, Jelly Bean. You look amazing.”

“Then why?—”

“Because I’m not going to let some horny teenage punks drool over my sweet, beautiful girl.”

“But Daddy?—”

“No. I’m sorry, but?—”

“She’s growing up, Eli,” Nora interrupted. “Soon, she’ll be dating. You’re going to have to accept it sometime.”

I frowned at her. “Like hell. There will be no boys.” I turned my glare down to my daughter. “No dating. Not until I’m dead.”

Nora sighed. “What if I sew the slit so it starts at her knee?”

Jennalynn’s face brightened. “Please, Daddy?”

My resolve loosened.

“Please?”

“Shit,” I muttered.

Jennalynn squealed and threw her arms around me in the kind of hug she used to give me when she was still Vivi’s age. “Thank you! Thank you!”

“Really, Nora,” Diedre huffed. “Could you at least talk her into a soft pink or maybe a baby blue? They would bring out her eyes and soften the whole…ensemble.”

“I already talked her into elegant black, Mom,” Nora replied dryly. “Be grateful it’s not the blood red or hot pink and black she wanted.”

“She looks bweeutiful!” Vivi shouted, clapping her hands.

“Really, Dad?” I looked over at Shep, who was shaking his head sadly.

“I can’t believe you caved,” G added in a disappointed voice.

“Talk to me when you have daughters, boys.”

Shep snorted, “Never gonna happen. Women are too much trouble.”

Everyone but G laughed. Instead, he gave his brother a sharp nod in solidarity. They were in for a wake-up call when they met the right woman.

Jennalynn kissed my cheek, then went to pester her grandma into admitting that she secretly liked the dress. Nora sauntered over and wrapped her arms around my torso. Dropping her head back, she smiled up at me. “Thank you, Eli.”

I bent my neck and put my lips on her ear before growling, “You know you’re going to pay for this tonight, baby girl.”

She shivered, and I palmed one of her ass cheeks, giving it a firm squeeze.

“Wook! Daddy’s playing gwab azz!” Vivi shrieked before peals of laughter erupted from her cute little mouth.

“Who taught that to my precious grandbaby?” Diedre gasped.

I put my head in Nora’s neck to hide my chuckle while her shoulders shook from her silent mirth.

“If I’d known this was how my life would turn out after I met you, I’d have snatched you up and taken off the moment we met,” I murmured.

“It’s not like you took much longer than that,” Nora giggled.

“When a Hound of Hellfire finds the woman for him, we don’t fuck around, baby girl. We get a property patch on her back, a ring on her finger, and a baby in her belly.”

Nora sighed sweetly. “Well, then. Good thing I fell in love with one.”

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