Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Serenity - One Year Later
“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy,” Mila says, pulling on my arm.
“What, baby?” I say, hanging my dress on the hook before lowering myself to her eye level.
“CC is here!” she exclaims, trying to brush her own wild curly hair out of her face.
“Oh my gosh. You know what that means. It’s almost time to watch Mommy and Daddy get married.”
Peanut enters the room, coming to a panting stop beside us. I scratch him behind the ear, and he sneezes at me. “I know. I know,” I assure him. He’s a little slower than he was before he got hurt, but Mila keeps him on his toes. He’s letting me know she’s being especially crazy this morning.
I give him a few more scratches. “You need to be good today, since everyone is busy getting ready for the wedding,” I tell her. “No going outside until Daddy comes to get you, okay?”
“I know.” She leans over and whispers in my ear, “Papa Dan and Papa Wolfe are hiding in the garage, but I not tell nobody,” she says seriously.
“Are they trying to get out of work?”
“Yeah,” she states simply, jumping up on my bed. Her pink dress poofs around her like a cloud. She’s had it on since she rolled out of bed this morning.
I watch as she stretches her legs out and begins to knock her black boots together. They are her newest prized possession. Gaw, she’s the cutest!
Someone knocks on the door.
“Come in!” I yell, going back to my vanity.
“Have you seen my husband?” Lily asks, popping her head into the room. “I need him to help me with the flowers.”
Mila places her finger over her mouth, giving me an ornery grin. “I not see him in the garage, Nanna.”
Lily walks over and gives her a big kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, baby.”
Mila is too smart for her own good, but she’s definitely a girl’s girl. She follows Lily out, no doubt wanting to hear the butt chewing both of her grandpas are about to receive.
Shelly is the next to walk in. “I thought you might want to nurse before you get your dress on.”
I sit down, taking Rio from her arms. His little baby brows pull together as he scowls at me. “Oh, are you so hungry?” I ask him. He can’t stay grumpy at his mama for long. A little smile pulls at the corner of his mouth as his lunch comes into view.
Just like Daddy.
Shelly fusses with my curls which have grown well past my shoulders now.
“Knock, knock,” a woman hollers from the other side of the door. When she pokes her head in, Shelly pats me on the arm.
“Come on in,” she tells Jesse. “I’ll come back for Rio in a bit.”
“Thank you.”
Shelly and Jesse give each other a hug and then Jesse sits on the bed, setting her bag at her feet.
“I’m so happy you’re here. I didn’t know you were coming.”
She smiles. “Dirk and I are always up for a good road trip.” She reaches out and pushes the blanket down so she can see Rio. Her eyes meet mine. “He’s beautiful.”
“He looks just like his daddy.”
Her head tips to the side, and she studies me. “Motherhood suits you.”
I blush. “Oh, I don’t know about that, but I do love it.”
“How are you adjusting to club life?”
I switch Rio to the other side as I think about it. “I guess okay, but I sure do miss having the twins around to guide me. It’s not easy being the president’s wife.”
She laughs. “I hear you there.”
“Are they doing okay? Have they settled into their new roles?”
“They really have.” She watches Rio for a few minutes lost in thought. “I have something for you.”
“Okay.” She seems hesitant to give it to me.
“Two things actually.” She leans over and pulls a blanket from the bag beside her.
My hand flies to my mouth as she stands and holds it open. It’s my grandmother’s quilt! The one that was on my mother’s bed.
“How did you know this was special to me?!”
Jesse runs her hand over the soft squares my grandmother cut so many years ago. She shrugs. “I didn’t. I just thought it was too pretty to leave behind. It wasn’t until I met with your father that I knew it had been your grandmother’s.”
My heart stops. “My what?”
“Your grandmother’s.”
“No. No, the part about my father.”
“Oh that,” she says nervously tapping her fingers over her forehead. “I … um … well, I kind of went on a search for him. I know it was wrong of me, and I only did it because I almost missed a relationship with my father. I couldn’t stand the thought of you missing …”
I interrupt her rambling explanation because I know she means well. “Jesse, it’s okay.”
She spreads the blanket over my bed. “I wanted her to be here with you today,” she continues, wiping her eyes. “God, I’m getting to be such a fucking softy in my old age.”
“You’re not old.”
Rio’s mouth drops open as he falls asleep. It’s the boy’s habit to eat until he puts himself in a milk coma.
I pull my robe over myself. “So, about my father …”
“Oh, yeah, he’s here too.”
“What?” I jump to my feet.
She places her hands on my arms. “Slow down. Your men are vetting him. There’s a chance he might not even make it into the house.” She walks me over to the window and pulls the curtain aside.
My eyes fill with tears as I watch the Royal Bastard’s surround my father.
“When your mother moved you to Arkansas, he lost track of you and your brother. He hit a dead end.”
My bottom lip begins to tremble because what she’s saying rings true.
“Oh, baby, that man loves you. Don’t doubt it.”
“Then why are they keeping him out there?”
Her gaze goes back to the window. “They need to be sure of that for themselves. It’s their job to protect you. Rage is setting boundaries for his family.”
I watch my husband speak to my father, and a sense of pride fills my veins. He shows me how much he loves me every day. He never leaves me guessing.
“He’ll make the right decision,” I say, turning away from the window and returning to my vanity.
Jesse follows and takes my son from my arms so I can finish getting ready for my wedding. “Looks like you have what it takes to be a president’s wife,” she says, pleased with the trust I have in my husband.
Everything becomes a bustle of activity after that as the girls come back into the room. Mila squeals in delight as Shelly places little white flowers in her hair.
A knock on the door makes everyone pause, and the women all scatter as soon as Rage steps into the room.
“We’ll be back,” Shelly says, closing the door behind them.
I roll my eyes at him. “Don’t let that go to your head. You’re not all that scary.”
He ignores my comment because he’s focused solely on rolling his gaze down my frame. I shiver in its wake. His attention is one of my most favorite things.
“Your father is here,” he says directly, facing things head on. It doesn’t surprise me anymore, and actually I like it. “Do you want to see him?”
“How do we know he’s really my father?” I ask, knowing his answer before he says it.
“Fingerprints match.”
I can’t hide my amusement, and a chuckle escapes me. His scowl deepens.
“I trust your judgment. What do you think?” I ask, trying my best to pull a serious face, hoping to ease the lines between his eyes.
Carson knocks on the door, interrupting us. Rage sighs loudly.
“Hey, we’re ordering pizza. Do you guys want anything?”
“The wedding starts in an hour,” Rage reminds him, grinding his teeth together.
“Yeah, that’s why I’m ordering it now. It will be here in thirty.”
Again, a giggle escapes me.
“So, no?” Carson asks.
I shake my head at him. “We’re good.”
He flips Rage off and then closes the door behind him.
“I’m sorry,” Rage apologizes, rubbing his temples. “Today wasn’t supposed to be this chaotic.”
I walk over and wrap my arms around his waist, looking up at him. “I love you.”
His scowl lessens, and he finally relaxes a little.
“I’ve had the perfect day,” I assure him. “And if you think I should see my father, I will.”
Rage grabs my face in his hands and leans in, kissing me with a passion that reaches the tips of my toes. “Te amo, mi serenidad,” he whispers across my face.
I stomp my feet like a little kid, shaking us both, because the way he talks to me makes me straight up giddy. “Can you believe we’re getting married today?”
“We’ve been married.”
“It will be real this time.”
“It was real last time,” he argues.
He smiles when I grab his face in my hands, pulling his nose to mine. “Listen here, mister.”
His rich laugh vibrates through my body, and whatever we were just arguing about evaporates into the air. But his mirth doesn’t last long, and he returns to his serious nature.
“So, you think I should see him?”
“My intuition tells me he’s being sincere, but this is your decision. Just say the word and I’ll send him away.”
It makes me smile because I know it was only my decision after he decided it was okay. But I love him for it.
“Okay, I’ll see him.”
He gives me a final kiss, making it last as long as possible.
“I’ll see you in a bit, Mrs. Turner.”
His kiss has left me achy in all the right places, and all I can do is smile at him shyly.
His lips press against my forehead, and he grins. He loves it when he gets me flustered.
After he leaves, I stand in front of the mirror, shaking my hands. I’m so incredibly nervous. I haven’t seen my father since I was twelve.
There’s a knock on the door, and my honorary father, Big Dan, steps in. He holds the door open for my real one.
“I’ll be right outside.” He gives my father a stern look in warning before walking out.
He looks so much older than I remember.
“You’re all grown up,” my dad says, choking on a sob. He covers his mouth with his hand.
“I can’t believe you’re really here,” I say. I’m not sure how the hell this even happened.
My father is here.
On my wedding day.
“I, um …” He shakes his head. “Your husband introduced me to your children. They’re beautiful.” Again, he has a difficult time speaking through his emotions.
I found my dad once on Facebook. It was right before I graduated high school. He had a new family by then, and all I felt was jealousy. I thought he had traded me in, but he had to go on and live his life … just like I have.