Epilogue
Natalie
Two Months Later
I wake up before dawn, the bed is warm beside me.
I smile to myself when I see Bear sprawled half on his back.
He always has one arm draped across my waist like he never wants to fully let go of me in his sleep.
I add that to the list of a thousand and one adorable things I like about my big biker.
His breath is steady and deep. That’s how I know that he’s getting some good sleep.
I ease his arm off me and carefully slide out from under the covers. My goal is always not to disturb his sleep just because I can’t sleep, and now I’m four months pregnant, that seems to happen regularly. Either worries about the birth fill my mind, or the fact that I need to go to the bathroom.
I pause to look back at him for a moment before padding out of the room. He’s my inked God and I love worshiping his amazing body. Plus, he’s got a heart of gold, a wonderful sense of dry humor and is always up for some fun. I couldn’t ask for a better life partner or father for my child.
The glass door leading to our balcony slides open easily when I push it.
I step out in the cool night. Leaning my forearms on the railing, I look around below to see if there is anything interesting going on.
Nothing catches my eye, so I scan the night sky.
It must be closer to dawn than I thought because I can see some hint of the horizon that the sun will soon be rising.
That’s when I catch sight of a drone flying overhead.
It makes me wonder if we might be able to add drone deliveries to our business, maybe for non-prescription medications and light snacks.
I make a mental note to bring that up with Bear.
Stepping back, I lower myself onto the fold-out lounger we keep on the deck.
I rest one hand over the soft swell of my stomach without thinking about it.
My brother has been out of the hospital for two months now and I’m due in another five months.
I’ve been thinking about the future a lot lately.
I wonder about all kinds of things—like what kind of mother I’ll be, what kind of life I want for my child, how many kids we should have.
For the first time in my life, I’ve got more choices than I ever dreamed possible.
The sliding door slides open behind me, and I don’t have to turn around to know it’s Bear.
No matter how careful I am not to wake him up, he eventually notices me missing and comes to check on me. He comes to sit on the lounger beside me.
“Couldn’t sleep?” he murmurs, voice rough.
I shake my head. “No. You know how I get.” I didn’t want to stay in bed and disrupt your sleep, so I came out here for a breath of fresh air.
He doesn’t push. He just leans his forehead against the side of my head and gives me a gentle kiss. Then he straightens and reaches into the pocket of his pajama pants. “I got you a gift,” he says gruffly.
When he pulls back, I turn to see what he’s talking about. That’s when I see what he’s holding.
It’s just a neatly folded piece of newspaper that is a little crushed from being in his pocket. He hands it to me and I see the headline.
FORMER MINISTER SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE.
“Open it up. It’s an article on Jeremiah’s conviction for killing his mother. You finally got the justice you wanted for Granny Ellie. And you didn’t have to wait forever. The prosecuting attorney said it was basically an open and shut case with all the evidence you gave them.”
I open it with shaking hands, intending to read the article. But a ring slides loose from inside, landing in my palm.
Now, this ring isn’t flashy. There is no big diamond or showy setting. It’s just basically a thick, solid band. It looks like it would belong on Bear’s hand as easily as mine. It’s brushed metal. Something that most people would call practical and enduring.
Something is etched deep enough that I can feel it with my fingertip on the inside of the band. I hold it out to the floodlight off to the side of the balcony and turn it back and forth until I can read the words.
Be my ride or die. Marry me.
Bear’s not the kind of guy to drop to one knee or make grand speeches. He’s the kind to say what’s on his mind simply and clearly so a woman like me can understand. So, when he speaks, it’s just him talking to me like a real person.
“Nat,” he says quietly, “that headline is your past. It’s finally getting buried, where it belongs.”
His hand comes out to rest over my stomach. “This right here? That’s your future, and mine too. I want to give our kids the childhood we never had. If you want that too, marry me.”
I can’t help the smile that jumps onto my face.
“Of course, I want to marry you and give our kids a wonderful childhood. You’re gonna be an amazing father.
I love every single thing about you, even your club.
They’re all good men and I’m never gonna give you grief for being there for your club brothers like they were for us. ”
A small smile tugs at his mouth as he gazes fondly at me. “It’s a good thing you feel that way because you’re under Savage Legion protection now. Between me, Rick, and the other club brothers, you’re gonna be the most well-protected woman in Las Salinas.”
Tears spring to my eyes before I can stop them. I look down at the ring again, at the words that feel like they were carved straight from his heart and then back up at him.
“I don’t need fancy rings with big diamonds. I doubt I’d want to wear it even if you bought it. I think grand gestures and people staring at you when you propose are annoying. I like that you’re just keeping it real, giving me a ring I will actually wear and keeping it just between the two of us.”
I slide the ring onto my finger myself and turn my hand back and forth in the light to see the gleaming metal. It looks like it belongs on my hand.
When he leans over to kiss me then, it’s slow and deep, with one hand cradling the back of my head, and the other resting protectively over my stomach. This moment is made of everything I love.
When we finally break apart, a slight noise draws our attention to the sliding glass doors. I turn and there is my brother. He’s standing on the other side of the glass smiling like the Cheshire cat. He’s staring at us like he’s been there this whole time.
For a heartbeat we all freeze. Then I lift my hand between us, and my ring catches the faint light of early morning.
Rick’s eyes drop down to the ring. Then, after a long second, his mouth twitches despite himself. He lifts his thumb in a grudging, unmistakable thumbs-up.
Bear snorts softly beside me, shaking his head.
I lean back into him, still watching my brother as he stands there staring at us.
We’ve had plenty of talks since he got out of the hospital.
I’d love to say he welcomed the changes with open arms. Mostly he did, but I guess we’re still working out our new relationship dynamic.
But he’s not angry at us anymore, and he’s moved into the new apartment I bought with the church money.
He might find his own place—because I doubt any red-blooded man is going to want to stay with his sister, her husband, and their baby, especially if he’s going to want to have a love life—but for the moment, it works.
Bear mutters under his breath, low enough that only I can hear, “I swear to God, I can’t seem to catch a break from that brother of yours.”
I tilt my head back and smile up at him.
“You know how Rick is. Don’t take it personally,” I whisper.
Rick rolls his eyes dramatically from inside the room.
And for the first time in my life, the three of us grudgingly admit that Bear marrying his best friend’s sister was not the worst idea in the world.
Even Rick can see that Bear is my happily ever after.
I feel it all the way down to my bones. Bear has made all my dreams come true and given me a child, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving to him that he made a good decision.
THE END