Epilogue
Jackson
Ten Years Later
Ten years had passed since that day when I told Roxy I loved her. The two of us had done a lot of living since then, and a lot of loving, too.
Rox and I had ridden all over the country.
We’d seen Savannah, as she wanted, and the Badlands, and Yosemite.
We’d driven up and down the coast of California.
We’d been to the Grand Canyon, and the Florida Keys, the Smoky Mountains, and Mount Rushmore, all with her on the back of my bike.
Somewhere along the line, on one of our trips through Las Vegas, we’d tied the knot. Roxy was now officially Roxanne Stone.
And in that time, I’d seen the Stone Kings MC grow from a small band of brothers to a strong, fiercely loyal motorcycle club in its own right.
Building the club from the ground up had been a long process, one that cemented the brotherhood of the MC in ways that went beyond any bond of blood in many ways.
The Kings chose me as first president. I didn’t expect it to feel like such an honor, but it did.
Against all odds, and against anything I could ever have predicted, I’d made Lupine my home again.
Thanks to Roxy.
And now, we were about to go on the biggest journey of all.
Roxy Stone was about to have my child.
As I sat with her in the labor and delivery room, watching my gorgeous girl breathe her way through the contractions like a champ, for some reason my thoughts went to my own parents.
I couldn’t imagine my dad being in the delivery room with Mom; I new for a fact he’d been hanging out in the waiting room chain smoking cigarettes, as men of that generation did.
But me, I wanted to be here. I wanted to see every second of it, wanted to witness the strength of this perfect woman who still amazed me and me so damn proud every single day.
I wanted to see her give birth to our little boy.
I wanted to know the second he came out into the world.
The labor lasted a little over sixteen hours.
It was one of the most terrifying fucking experiences of my life, truth be told.
One thing I learned is, the strongest man alive can’t hold a candle to the strength a woman has to have to give birth.
It’s a journey we’ll never understand, us men.
I’ll always be a little bit in awe of my wife after seeing her do it. But don’t tell her that.
Thankfully, in spite of all the pain, and blood, and mess, the labor went off without a hitch. Hours later, I was settled on the edge of Roxy’s hospital bed, watching as she cradled our son in her arms. I’ve never seen her look more beautiful, before or since.
“Hey, little guy,” I said softly. I lifted up a tiny fist with my pinky, and almost lost it when his fingers tried to close around it.
“Jackson,” she whispered, looking up at me. Her eyes were wet. “I love him so much already. I’m so happy. I feel like I could die, I’m so happy!”
I was all choked up, barely trusting myself to speak. I cleared my throat. “So,” I managed. “What are we going to call the squirt?” Rox had been adamant that we not name him until after he was born.”
She gave me a radiant smile. “Greyson,” she said. “Greyson Frank Stone. For his daddy’s eyes, and for his grandpa.”
I looked down at my little boy, and with a little jolt realized that he did indeed have my eyes. They were lighter than mine, but definitely gray. With a soft laugh, I leaned down and kissed my wife. “You got it, Mama. Greyson Frank Stone it is.”
Greyson Stone. Future member of the Stone Kings. The next generation, of both my family and my club.
I wondered what would be in store for him.
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Thank you so much for reading STONE!