Epilogue
Riding a motorcycle was just as terrifying as he’d expected.
But it was also exhilarating.
Emmett squeezed his arms a little tighter around Rooster as they went around a curve, giggling with pure excitement once they straightened out again.
The sky was so clear and blue above them it didn’t seem real.
All the fields they passed had corn or soy growing, the air full of the scent of summer in full bloom as it whipped around them.
It was just the two of them out for a ride before his appointment later. Usually, they went out with at least a couple of other guys from the MC, but this time, Rooster had grinned at him and said he wanted Emmett all to himself for a while.
Considering he’d moved into Rooster’s house a month ago, he had him all to himself anytime he wanted.
Well, except when Roni popped over to see him because she was lonely by herself but kept putting off finding another roommate.
She’d claimed she was getting too old to break in anyone new, but Emmett thought it might be something more, but she wouldn’t admit it.
They also didn’t have alone time anytime Ollie dragged Emmett to waxing nights, even though Emmett refused to let anyone rip the hair from his privates.
He hadn’t wanted to, and then Rooster had told him he preferred no manscaping, which had settled it for him.
He still enjoyed going and hanging out with the others.
They had movie nights and playdates too.
So he supposed Rooster may have had a little bit of a point.
Somehow, Emmett had not only found the best daddy in the whole world, but a group of friends who were like family to him.
He was even more grateful as the months went by and no one from his own family reached out to him.
When Easter had come and gone without a single text or phone call about coming to dinner, he’d cried on Rooster’s shoulder for a solid hour, appreciative of his daddy’s strong arms holding him tightly.
He doubted they would have gone—or that Rooster would have even contemplated it before saying no—but the way his flesh and blood family discarded him so easily tore his heart apart.
But he wasn’t going to waste time wallowing on what he didn’t have when he had a perfect day planned with the most important person he did have.
They rode around for a couple of hours, stopping once for gas and so Emmett could pee, and then once more to grab food when they got back into Ridgewood.
He was tired in that feel-good way you got after spending a lot of time outside, but he perked up as they parked outside of Rebel Yell.
Emmett hobbled inside, still not used to riding for so long, while Rooster grabbed their late lunch from the saddlebag.
“Right on time,” Roni said, looking up from where she was prepping her station.
“I have to eat first,” Emmett informed, nodding decisively when she raised a brow at him. “Daddy’s orders.”
Someone snickered from one of the other stalls, and his eyes widened. He hadn’t noticed the man lying on the table in Knuckles’s area, getting his ribs tattooed.
Ouch.
Ignoring Roni’s laughter and his warm face, he sat on the couch in the little sitting area at the front. Rooster came in behind him and brought the food over, laying everything out on the low coffee table.
“Once he’s eaten, you can get started,” Rooster said to Roni, grabbing one of the burgers and taking a bite out of it.
“Oh, I heard.”
She could be such a brat sometimes.
Emmett stuck his tongue out at her and opened his nuggets, carefully dipping one into his honey mustard before eating it. Roni finished what she was doing and wandered over, sprawling in the chair to his right and stealing a few fries, and she and Rooster talked about some club stuff.
As soon as he finished, she popped back up and waved her arm. “Come on, babes. This’ll be a piece of cake.”
He knew that wasn’t true, but that was why Rooster was there, even though it would have been nice to get the tattoo as a surprise for him.
His friends had offered to hold his hand while he did it so he could keep it secret, but in the end, he knew he wouldn’t get through getting stabbed with a needle a bazillion times without his daddy.
After he slipped into a pair of bright blue shorts that made Rooster smile and Roni laugh, he sat on her chair, pulled up the hem, looked away, and said, “Okay, do it.”
That made her laugh harder. “We have to place the stencil first. Hop back up.”
“Oh, right.” He knew that. Once he wasn’t terrified of being around the rest of the MC, he’d started coming into the shop quite often to hang out with her when Rooster was on shift. He knew all the steps for getting a tattoo and most piercings.
After she placed the stencil on the front of his left thigh and had him approve it in the mirror, she nodded toward the chair. “Okay, now we can start.”
He sat back down and leaned against the cushions, immediately holding his hand out. Rooster dragged a folding chair closer and took it, pressing a kiss to the back of his fingers. “You’ll be okay, baby. You can take as many breaks as you need.”
“I wouldn’t recommend it though,” Roni said, and he whipped his head around to stare at her as she dipped her tattoo machine into the black ink. “Once you stop, it hurts even more to start again. You want to just power through and get it over with.”
“Viper, what the hell?” Rooster barked at her.
She shrugged. “It’s true. Now, don’t move unless you want this to suck.”
Emmett turned back to Rooster with wide eyes, suddenly unsure if he could go through with this. Maybe he could get a thousand temporary tattoos and just reapply them every few days. That’d basically be the same as having Rooster’s name inked into his skin.
“What would you think—ouch!” Luckily, Roni had her other hand pressed firmly into his leg below where she was working, so he couldn’t really flinch. He still whimpered and closed his eyes though, the immediate burning sensation just as awful as he’d expected.
“You’re so brave, baby,” Rooster whispered in his ear, petting his head and neck. He stayed like that pretty much the whole time, even though it had to be killing his back to be stretched over him like that.
Emmett loved him even more for it, despite having thought that wasn’t possible, considering how much he already did.
It took forever to finish, and he did take two breaks.
Once just to catch his breath and then again to drink some juice when he started to get lightheaded.
He didn’t look at his leg the whole time, even when Roni wasn’t working.
Somehow, he just knew it would hurt worse if he saw the evidence of the pain.
Finally, she finished and sprayed a cool liquid over his burning skin that helped for a second until she wiped it away. “Okay, babes. You were a rock star. Sat like a total champ.”
“Nice job, Em,” Knuckles said from where he was sketching in his stall, grinning at him over his pad.
He sniffled. “Thanks, Knuckles.”
“What about me?” Roni asked, tossing trash away and peeling off her gloves.
“I’m mad at you.”
“What?” She spun around on her chair to stare at him with wide eyes.
“That hurt a lot!” he cried out, then turned and buried his face in Rooster’s chest, letting the tears he’d been holding back fall.
Rooster wrapped him up in his arms and rubbed his back. “You knew it was going to hurt, baby. Don’t be mad at Viper.”
Wiping at his eyes, he peeked over at her and immediately felt bad. She looked devastated. “Emmett, I’m so sorry.”
He let out a slow breath and sat up. “I forgive you. But I don’t want to do that again.”
“You don’t have to,” she assured him, leaning in and giving him a quick but fierce hug. She smelled a little like disinfectant, but underneath that was her familiar perfume of gardenias. “Do you like it, at least? You know, since it’s permanent and all.”
He rolled his eyes and finally looked down at his leg and sucked in a breath. It was… perfect. The pretty script that read Property of sat above a beautifully rendered, black-and-gray Snowball. Underneath, in a bigger, bolder font, was his daddy’s name. For the whole world to see.
“It’s amazing,” he said hoarsely. “Thank you.”
She pecked him on the cheek and went back to cleaning up. “You’re welcome, babes. I’m glad you like it.”
“I love it. Snowball looks so good.”
“It turned out really great,” Rooster agreed, placing a hand on Emmett’s knee and turning his leg a little to see better.
“Thanks.” She held her knuckles out for a bump.
Emmett sighed and looked up at his daddy. “I think I might need a nap after that. It was so stressful.”
Rooster chuckled and stood, grabbing Emmett’s hands and tugging him up. “Let’s get your new ink covered, and then you can change, and we’ll head home.”
After Roni placed the clear bandage stuff over his tattoo, he gave her another hug, then hustled back to the bathroom and changed back into his jeans. He hissed at the fabric rubbing over his tender skin, but there was no way Rooster would let him ride home on his motorcycle with bare legs.
The ride home didn’t take long, thankfully, and he started stripping off his pants the second they were inside. Rooster chuckled and followed him through the house. “How about little time to unwind?”
He spun around so fast, Rooster almost ran into him. “That’s a great idea. Will you make me a snack while I change?”
“Of course.” Rooster kissed his head and went back to the kitchen.
Emmett pulled on another pair of shorts and a T-shirt with trucks on it, grabbing Snowball and Woofie from their bed.
He really was tired, so he decided not to pull out his blocks or superheroes.
Instead, he colored for a while as he munched on crackers and celery with peanut butter, which he pretend fed to his stuffies too.
Struck by inspiration, he pulled out a plain piece of paper and got to work.
“That’s a pretty picture you’re drawing,” Daddy said as he settled on the couch behind where Emmie was sitting on the floor not too long after he started.
“It’s us and our house and our new dog,” Emmie said, grinning up at him.
“New dog, huh?” Daddy ran a hand over his head in the most perfect way, then handed him his superhero sippy cup.
He drank half of it down right away, realizing he was super, super thirsty. “Please, Daddy? I promise I’ll be good.”
Daddy chuckled and kissed the top of his head before leaning back against the couch with a sigh. “You’re always good, baby.”
That sounded like a yes to him.
Dropping his crayons, Emmie pushed to his knees and then pulled himself up onto the couch. He grabbed Daddy’s face and laid a big kiss on it. “Thank you, Daddy!”
Laughing, Daddy wrapped his arms around Emmie’s back and pulled him into his lap to give him a big hug. The best kind of hug. “I don’t remember saying yes, silly boy.”
Emmie wiggled into the bestest position so his owie wouldn’t hurt and fully relaxed against Daddy’s big, strong chest. “You will. Know why?”
He could tell Daddy was smiling when he said, “No, why?”
“’Cause you love me so much.”
Daddy’s arms tightened around him. “That’s true. I really do.”
Squealing in excitement, he hugged Daddy back, then scrambled out of his lap to get back to his picture. He was definitely getting a dog, and they were all going to live happily ever after together.
He just knew it.