Epilogue
ATOMIC
ONE MONTH LATER
Wrapping my fingers around Ryan’s wrist, I help her apply pressure, looking up at the camera with a smile as I do. The knife slides through the cake with ease, then I flip the server over and guide the piece out, placing it as neatly as I can on the plate in front of me.
Ryan hands me a fork, I take it, and together, we take out a hunk of cake, holding our forks up before we place them on one another’s lips. Taking a bite, I smile at her, then lean over and touch my lips to hers.
She’s a goddamn vision in white silk. Absolutely fucking perfect in every way. Sliding my tongue over her bottom lip as I break the kiss, I straighten as the photographer’s camera flashes in our direction.
“I love you, Grover,” she exhales beside me, wrapping her arms around my bicep before she leans her temple against my shoulder.
Turning my head, I look down at her. “You good, legs?” I ask, admiring her blonde hair, which has tons of twists and shit holding it up.
She turns her head slightly, her eyes lifting to meet mine. I wrap my fingers around the back of her neck, massaging her gently. Her lips curve up into a small smile.
“I’m just tired.”
“Long day,” I murmur.
“Something like that,” she exhales.
“Ryan?” I ask.
She sinks her teeth into the corner of her bottom lip. “I’m pregnant.”
My fucking heart stops beating inside of my chest at her words, then it grows ten times its size before it explodes with excitement. The moment is sweet, but I’m not one to sit on this for more than a second or two.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
She nods her head, and that’s when I take a step to the side. Her arms fall from mine as I turn and head straight for the emcee’s microphone. I don’t know if she calls out my name or tries to stop me. I don’t give a shit.
Grabbing the microphone from the emcee, I clear my throat and call the room to attention. The noise simmers down, and I feel everyone’s eyes on me. My eyes are only for one person, though. She’s standing a few feet away, her lips parted and her eyes wide as fuck.
“I just need everyone’s attention for a moment,” I call out, but I don’t look anywhere other than in Ryan’s eyes.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out here tonight to celebrate Ryan’s and my marriage. The final piece to becoming the family that we should have always been.”
Applause erupts, and I smile as I wait for it to die down. When it does, I finish my impromptu speech.
“And just like a goddamn puzzle, we’ve found another piece. Ryan is pregnant.”
The room goes fucking wild, and my men rush the stage. King is the first to arrive at my side. Brew, my brother by blood, is the second, and before I realize what’s happening, they pick me up, carrying me from the small stage and straight toward the bar.
My gaze catches Ryan’s. She’s got her fingers pressed to her lips, but they don’t hide her gigantic smile or the tears that are streaming down her cheeks. Then she waves at me as I disappear through the reception before I’m plopped down in front of the bar.
The rest of the night is a complete fucking blur. So many drinks, shots, and joints are passed my way. And I am in full-on party mode because I do not turn down a single one. I probably should, knowing that I have to go to the hotel with Ryan tonight, but I’m celebrating.
A baby.
I’m going to have a baby.
Another one.
Fuck me, my life is now perfect.
I thought I couldn’t get any happier than marrying Ryan, vowing myself to both her and our son. But this information has just raised my happiness level to completely fucking overflowing.
“Now this right here,” Brew shouts.
I turn to him, trying to focus on his face, but he’s a bit blurry, and I think there might be two of him.
“This is exactly what I wanted for you, brother.”
Lifting my hand, I curl my fingers around the back of his neck before I press my forehead against his. “I want this for you, too, Brew.”
“I’m good knowing you have it, Grover. Two kids, a beautiful wife, the perfect goddamn family for the man who thought he could never have it. Fucking perfection, brother.”
I don’t argue with him about the fact that I want him to have this happiness. Hell, I want every single one of my brothers, blood or club, to have what I do. I understand why King was so goddamn elated when he found Shawn. Found out she was knocked up.
It’s fucking overwhelming perfection.
RYAN
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Wrapping my arms around Adam’s shoulders, I give him a hug before I release him so he can walk into his classroom, but he doesn’t go immediately. Instead, he turns to me, his eyes finding mine, and his lips twitch into a smirk. He looks so much like his father when he does this.
So much.
It used to make me sad when I would see his little expressions that were so much like Grover’s, but now I love it. It makes me smile every time I notice.
“Mom,” he calls.
I hum but don’t say anything, my focus clearly on him as I wait for his question. It’s clear he has one, and I almost laugh because he seems to always have these burning questions when he needs to go somewhere or do something. Mostly when it’s time for school or bed.
“Thank you.”
My brows snap together, not because he’s thanking me, but because I don’t know exactly what he’s thanking me for. Before I can ask, he continues to give me his praise, although I can’t stop staring at him with confusion.
“Thank you for giving me a dad.”
My confusion turns to shock. “Where is this coming from?” I ask.
I don’t crouch down in front of him because my belly has grown, and I don’t know if I would be able to stand up again without some help. Adam shrugs a shoulder, his eyes searching mine, then he lets out a heavy sigh.
“I just… I feel really happy now.”
I didn’t know he wasn’t happy. Although he’s so young. He may not even truly remember our lives before we came here. Then he finishes, and my heart squeezes.
“Dad keeps us safe.”
And he does.
Wrapping my arms around him in another hug, I touch my lips to the top of his hair and inhale his sweet little-boy scent. It’s before school, so he isn’t sweaty yet, and I laugh to myself, knowing that even if he were, I would still think his scent is sweet because he’s mine.
“He does. I’m happy, too,” I whisper.
“I know.”
Before either of us says another word, he pushes away from me, calls out that he loves me, and he’s behind the schoolyard gate and then inside the main building. He’s gone in a flash, unknowing how much he’s truly moved me.
How much he’s rocked my world.
My son is amazing. And I know people say that about their kids because they love them, but truly, he is amazing. Once I’m completely sure that he’s safe inside the building, I turn and head toward my car.
I love my car.
Grover gave me an upgrade right after the wedding, so it’s only four months old. It’s a brand-new Audi Q7. I didn’t know that I wanted it, but now I can’t imagine having anything else. I absolutely love everything about it.
Driving toward the bakery, I smile to myself. I don’t have to prep or open this week, but starting next week, Shawn will be on maternity leave, and she’s asked me to keep the bakery going full steam ahead.
I’ve spent the past six months learning how to bake and somewhat decorate her treats in preparation for this. I am so excited. Maybe I should be going back to school for some big career, but this is fun for me.
I am happy baking, spending the days with my friend, and being able to take care of my son when I need to. And now that I’ve got a new baby on the way, I have a feeling this is going to be an amazing schedule.
Plus, it’s nice not having to stress about every single dime that comes in or goes out of my bank account.
I’m sure I could be doing a lot more, but Grover assures me that everything is good and I’m doing what I need to do.
What he wants me to do. I’m sure some people wouldn’t be happy, but it’s refreshing.
Calm, peace, and happiness are welcome because I don’t think I’ve ever had all three, ever in my life. I am here for it, gladly, grateful for every damn moment with a smile on my face. Pulling into my parking spot downtown, I gather my things, then lock my car before I walk toward the bakery door.
It’s locked.
Frowning, I tug on it again.
Still locked.
It’s well past opening. Shawn usually has it open and ready to serve for the breakfast crowd. She’s started making muffins and breakfast bars. Looking through the window, I see that the lights are on, but other than that, there is no movement.
What the fuck?
Thankfully, I have a key, so I dig it out of my purse and quickly let myself into the bakery. I probably shouldn’t be walking in here blindly, but I’m too scared to think about what I should or could be doing.
I’m too scared to think rationally.
Rushing through the store, I call out Shawn’s name, but she doesn’t answer. I make my way to the back kitchen, where I stop at the sight in front of me. She’s on the floor, lying on her side, but she’s not conscious. Her eyes aren't open.
Sinking to my knees, I wrap my fingers around her shoulder and gently shake her, calling her name again, but she doesn’t respond. Shaking, I extend two fingers and press them against the side of her neck, searching for her heartbeat.
It’s there but light.
Too light.
Then I think about the baby.
Oh my god.
Riffling through my purse, I find my phone. My initial reaction is to call Grover, but I have to call an ambulance first. I’ve got to think about the baby before anyone or anything else. I do everything the dispatcher says, but Shawn is unresponsive.
I’m far too full of adrenaline to be of any use. My entire body is shaking. Tears stream down my face, and somewhere in the middle of that, after the dispatcher hangs up and after the ambulance has taken Shawn away, I call Grover.
“Stay right there,” he grinds out.
I know I’m completely hysterical. I can hear it as I speak too quickly, as I attempt to explain everything that’s happened. As tears continuously stream down my cheeks. I’m sitting in a chair at one of the small pub tables when he arrives.
He marches through the door, his beautiful, concerned face focused on me.
“I’ve already called King. He’s on his way to the hospital. What happened?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
He nods his head, his gaze searching mine. “Okay, then let’s get to the hospital and find out. Do you need to see a doctor?” he asks as he places his palm against my belly.
Shaking my head, I clear my throat. “I’m okay, just scared.”
Grover gathers me and my things, locks the bakery up, and then drives me straight to the hospital in my car. I don’t know how fast he goes, but a few moments later, I’m sitting in the hospital with a water bottle in my hand, trying to drink it so I stay hydrated.
It seems as if hours pass by. Maybe it’s only moments. I’m unsure, but men in leather cuts fill the waiting room. We’re all somber, our moods having depleted with each passing minute. There have been no updates.
Nothing.
We wait.
Then King walks into the room through a swinging door. A collective gasp fills the air, then silence. His eyes find mine, and he marches straight toward me, wrapping his arms around me in an embrace.
“Thank you,” he whispers against my ear. “You saved their lives.”
He releases me and takes a step backward, and his eyes scan the room. I watch as his lips curve up. He is boastful, he is happy, and all my anxiousness about this situation vanishes.
“Shawn’s blood pressure was dangerously low. They had to do an emergency C-section, but she is going to be okay, and the baby is fine. He’s absolutely fucking perfect.”
“Do we get a name?” Rim calls out from the back of the crowd that’s now gathered around King.
His smile grows, and before he can say the baby’s name, Grover slides his arm around my waist and tugs me against his side. Wrapping my arms around his middle, I rest my cheek against his chest as I wait for the name.
Shawn has kept the baby’s name a secret. Even though we all knew he was a boy, she would not spill the name. This baby is the first one born to this generation. There are no babies around the clubhouse.
This is the first.
Adam wasn’t around here as a baby, and as we wait in this hospital room, I can’t help but feel that twinge of regret that sometimes washes through me at that fact.
I know that it’s all happened for the best, and the absolute greatest outcome has come from it all.
But that doesn’t mean that I don’t wish I could have experienced it all while it was happening.
Our princess will be another royal birth coming in a few months.
Soon our clubhouse will be more like a romper room instead of a den of iniquity, and I can’t fucking wait for it to happen.
“Brendan Presley Stanley comes in at six pounds, twelve ounces, and twenty inches long. A little smaller due to the low blood pressure shit, but he’s fucking perfect.”
King leaves, going back to his wife and baby. Grover gathers me close with both of his arms. I look up at him, my belly pressing against his, and give him a smile.
He dips his chin slightly, his lips touching mine. “I love you, legs. Fuckin’ love you.”
“I love you so much,” I exhale against his mouth.