11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
P it waited as his wife finished putting on her makeup. Why, when she swiped the lipstick on her lower lip, did it make him want to muss her all up again? He knew that wasn’t a possibility. Her brother was getting married today. Pit and Ariel were in charge of the kids making it down the aisle as the ring bearers and flower girls. He only hoped he and Ariel could keep them all wrangled.
Ariel’s news last night had him looking at the kids differently. Roam and Sprite’s minions had scared him, but holding little Matthew had him imagining a little boy or a little girl with his and Ariel’s features. He stood and waited until she was done, then held his arm out.
“Shall we go wrangle the kids? It will be good experience,” he said quietly. Their door was closed, but he wasn’t chancing anyone finding out when Ariel wanted it quiet.
“Yes, let’s head over there. Mom said we could take Roam and Sprite’s side-by-side because it has the car seats already installed.”
He followed his woman downstairs, then to the living room where the kids were all waiting. It took a little bit to get them all in car seats or seatbelts, along with all the little wedding things they needed: flower girl baskets, ring bearer pillows, and shoes. Oakley and Georgia kept kicking off their shoes. He finally slid them into a little bag he ran back into the house to get. If they kept kicking them off and he had to stop on the drive, they’d never make it in time.
Once they had all the kids ready to go, he had a huge amount of respect for Roam and Sprite to wrangle this many children day after day. Blake, their six-year-old, had definitely helped. She was a junior bridesmaid and was going to carry Matthew down the aisle until she got to Regina. Then Regina would hold him during the ceremony. Grant, who was four and a half—because the half was apparently very important—was carrying the rings along with his younger brother Casper. Pit was thankful the rings were tied on the pillow because he’d stopped Grant from hitting his sisters with it or from him and Casper playing football with the pillow. Georgia, Casper’s twin, and Oakley, who was close to the same age, were flower girls.
It was Pit’s job to make sure the kids got down the aisle because Sugar was Sprite’s matron of honor since she was the only female sibling. War was Roam’s best man, and Brew was officiating. Ariel had mentioned Brew had decided to get the certification to be able to perform weddings in Texas and Kansas.
His Sugar was smiling at him, and he winked back. Liam, Sprite’s brother who was home on leave for the wedding and Christmas, helped Sprite off the trike he’d ridden over to bring her. Pit had to stare a minute at Sprite’s dress before he realized it wasn’t white. It was a pale pink to match her hair. To him, she looked exactly like a princess. The smile on her face was so wide.
“Sprite, are you ready for me to tell them to start the music?” Pit asked.
“Yes,” Sprite said.
He turned and nodded. The music started. It took him a minute to recognize it. He and Ariel had attended the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas concert a couple weeks ago. His Sugar had loved this song and hummed along to it, so he’d made sure he knew what it was—Christmas Canon. This was an instrumental version, and he wished he could dance with Ariel in his arms instead of wrangling children.
He motioned for Blake and Matthew to go. Roam needed to make sure he had plenty of firepower when she got older. He’d be chasing the boys away. Once she’d handed Matthew to Regina, he sent Grant and Casper with the ring bearer pillows. When they were halfway down the aisle, he could see that this wasn’t going to go great. Grant accidentally bumped Casper, at least he hoped it was an accident, and them going down the aisle nicely was over. Casper grunted, scowled, and then pushed Grant. Bear, who was sitting in an aisle seat, caught the boys and separated them. Whatever he said must have worked because they straightened up and walked down the aisle.
After seeing the boys, Sprite asked Ariel to walk with the girls down the aisle to avoid any mishaps. He kissed her cheek as she and the girls headed down the aisle. Then he got ready to open the doors wider for Sprite and her brother, Liam. The music changed just a little as Liam walked Sprite down the aisle. Pit waited until they were through the doors, then shut them after them. He walked around and sat down in the seat they’d saved for him in the family row.
He sat there, not really listening much, until the couple said their vows.
“I, Sprite Jane Pacer, take you, Roam Matthew Shields, to be my husband. To have and to hold with love, laughter, and sometimes tears. To remember that no matter where I am or what I’m going through, you and I are stronger together.”
Pit could see why Roam had tears in his eyes because Sprite’s words touched Pit.
“I, Roam Matthew Shields, take you, my lovely Sprite Jane Pacer, to be my wife. From this day forward until I cease to breathe on this earth. You have brought love and laughter into my life and made what was a house our home. I will dry your tears and work every day to remind you how incredible you are and that we are stronger together. These words I so vow.”
Although Sprite was still smiling, tears were trickling down her cheeks. Roam leaned close and kissed her face, then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her tears.
“With these vows, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may seal your union with a kiss,” Brew said.
Pit stared past Roam and Sprite to his wife. He mouthed I love you, Sugar to her. He sniffed because he was not going to cry. But seeing her so happy and knowing she cradled their little one inside her had him wanting to hold her in his arms.
She mouthed back I love you too and his world was perfect. His MC might be on the other side of the law, but he would do whatever it took to keep her and their child safe. Their business of not-so-legal gun sales allowed them to be close to the underbelly without being completely a part of it. It was an excellent cover for their helping women escape abuse.
His MC worked closely with the Franks sisters’ organization to help individuals escape abusive situations. Neither organization followed the law when helping people get away, but sometimes things had to be done for the greater good.
When they’d lost his dad, he’d hoped that when he was President of the Saint’s Outlaws MC, he would have a safer MC. He wanted to lead them to a future where their sons or daughters could prosper.
He stood up as Ariel walked over to him. He slid his arm around her.
“Your mom didn’t say. Are we supposed to pick up anything here before heading to the reception?”
Ariel just smiled and leaned up close to his ear, “How about I show you all the places we can hide and maybe kiss before the reception?”
Pit nodded. Hide and kiss sounded good because after wrangling kids, his Sugar deserved a little surprise. He followed her out the door because he would follow Ariel to the ends of the earth; she made his life complete.