Chapter 39 #2
“They are pretty special,” I admit.
“When your friend Jesse called me, I could hardly believe my luck. I’d been praying we’d find each other again.”
I don’t know what to say, because I had very little to do with it. The universe somehow just keeps conspiring on my behalf.
“I’m sorry to hear about your mother and brother,” he continues. “Jesse explained everything.”
I nod, still unsure of how to act. It’s not every day your father shows up. Or at least mine doesn’t.
He waves his hand over me. “You’re the prettiest bride I’ve ever seen.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks, and the little girl inside of me basks in the familiarity of his compliment. My father always had a way of making me feel special.
As if sensing my walls crumbling, he opens his arms to me. I rush into the warmth of his embrace.
“I’m so sorry I lost you,” he says, hugging me tight.
I feel his relief at having me in his arms again, and I wonder if it’s similar to the feeling I had when I pulled Mila from her crib the day I rescued her.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not, but I’ll spend every day of my life making it up to you. My wife and I want to move to Cheyenne to be closer to you … and your family.”
“You’re moving here?”
“We are. If you’ll allow it. I want to know you, Serenity, and I want to know my grandchildren.” He looks at me like he’s found the most precious element in the universe. “My wife stayed behind. She wanted to give us time to reacquaint, but she’s very excited to meet you.”
My gaze bounces over his face, and I realize maybe I was wrong about his new family. They weren’t what kept him away. It was my mother. She didn’t want to lose my brother and me. We were all she had.
“That was very considerate of her.”
He smiles at me proudly. “I’m so happy for you, Serenity. I can see you’ve built a wonderful life here with these people.”
“Will you stay?” I blurt out, already knowing I don’t want him to leave and we’re running out of time.
His immense joy at my invitation shines through the smile on his face and the tightness of his hug. “You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world. Well, Rage might be a tad bit happier at the moment. It’s obvious how much he loves you.”
“I love him too.”
“Good.” He holds me at arm’s length, getting one last look at me before he heads out to join the rest of my friends and family down by the lake. “So beautiful,” he says again, tears shining in his eyes. “I’ll talk to you more this evening.”
I nod, biting back tears. This is the best wedding gift anyone could have given me.
It takes me a few minutes to compose myself, but eventually I step out and find Dan right where he said he’d be.
“Are you ready? We got about ten minutes,” he says, patting me on the cheek.
“I think so. You guys didn’t bring any more surprises with you, did ya?”
He laughs. “Life is full of them. So, I make no promises.”
I notice the twins tossing one of Mila’s balls between them in the living room. “What are you two doing in here?” I ask, rushing toward them. “Get out there!”
“Our pizza isn’t here yet.”
“Oh my god! Rage is going to kill you.”
Dan laughs behind me. “I’ll wait for you on the deck,” he tells me.
“Can’t you spank them or something?”
He shakes his head. “I haven’t been able to turn those boys over my knee for quite a few years now.”
The doorbell rings, interrupting us.
“Fuck yeah, pizza time,” Cole says.
Big Dan heads out back while I give myself a once over in the mirror.
“Hey, do you got any cash on you? I need to tip the pretty little lady at the door,” Carson asks.
I glance over my shoulder as I begin digging in my purse. The girl tugs on her hat, turning away from me. Aw, she’s shy. I can’t say that I blame her. The twins are a little overbearing at times, and they’re making it obvious she’s caught their eye.
“The delivery app said her name is Luna,” Carson says, leaning back to get another look at her himself.
Cole is chatting her up at the door when I walk over to hand her the ten-dollar bill I found in my purse. It was all I could find.
Her gaze is nervously darting around the property.
When her eyes connect with mine, I gasp. It’s like looking at the grown-up version of Mila. Her wild curls stick out from under her ballcap, and she has one of them twirled around her finger. She starts to back away from me.
“Luna?”
The second she realizes I know who she is, she runs.
“Luna, please stop!” I chase her in my wedding dress out into the driveway, but she gets in her car before I can stop her.
“What the fuck is going on?” Carson asks as he and his brother rush to my side.
“That’s Rage and Mila’s sister!” I yell, waving the ten wildly in the air.
They look at each other for a brief second, and then Cole plucks the ten out of my hand. They run to their bikes, taking off after her. I watch them speed away, not quite understanding what just happened.
Oh my god. Luna is here in Cheyenne, and Rage doesn’t even know. I glance at my watch, knowing everyone is waiting for me out back.
I can’t tell him, at least not right now. He’s already worried that today has been too chaotic. This would send him over the edge. I have faith that the twins will find her and get to the bottom of this. There’s really no need to worry him until I know more.
“Where are the boys?” Dan asks when I slide the patio doors open and step outside.
“Um, the pizza girl left without her tip. They’re just making sure she gets it.”
“Goddammit, what the hell am I going to tell their mother?”
“The truth?” I ask, shrugging my shoulders.
He curses under his breath, mumbling something about not spanking them enough as kids as he pulls me down the path that leads to the lake. “Of all their hair-brained ideas.”
Mila is waiting for us with Peanut and her little basket of flowers when we reach the rows of chairs filled with our friends and family.
I squat beside her, still a little shook by my encounter with her doppelganger.
There is no doubt in my mind that the young woman who was just at my door is Mila’s sister.
“Are you ready, baby?” I ask, turning my focus back to my wedding.
She nods her head while twirling her hair around her finger.
“Daddy is waiting for you at the other end, and Peanut will be with you every step.” I let my fingers trail through her curls as she bravely steps away. I love her more than life itself.
Big Dan walks over and gets my dad, insisting he be included in walking me down the aisle. I love that he didn’t give up his spot but was secure enough to share the honor. He and his wife are some of the best people I’ve ever met.
When I finally get to Rage, and he wraps his hands around mine, I sigh in relief.
His touch always feels like coming home.
The rest of the ceremony goes by in a blur. I doubt I’ll remember any of it better than the one we had at the hospital.
“You may kiss the bride!”
Rage places his finger under my chin, slowly lifting my face.
“Look, Mommy, look. It’s a duckie!” Mila cheers.
Everyone laughs as they look up at the sky. Not one, but two ducks fly directly over our heads.
Now this … this I will remember forever.
“What are you waiting for? Kiss me already.”
Rage slowly drops his gaze to mine. “How do you manage to make every single day magical?” he asks.
I ignore the fact that he gives me credit for the universe doing its thing.
“Everyone’s watching,” I say, not moving my lips and tipping my head toward the audience. “And you still haven’t kissed me. Awkward.”
He laughs lightly and then dips me back, making up for any embarrassment I may have felt.
The crowd cheers, and immediately the celebration begins. One thing about the Bastards is that they know how to throw a party.
Rage pulls me to the side after we’ve made the rounds, thanking everyone for coming.
“Alright, what’s going on? Where are your sidekicks?”
“The kids are with Shelly and Wolfe. You know that, silly.” I bat at him playfully. “I think I’ll go have another piece of cake. Would you like one?”
His hand wraps around my neck when I try to slip away, and he pulls me back. “Not those sidekicks. The twins.”
“Oh, oh them,” I say, laughing nervously.
Rage is a patient man, but he isn’t one to be trifled with. He tips my chin. “Look me in the eye when you lie to me.”
A shiver runs through my body, and his scowl turns into a seductive grin. He leans in close, his lips brushing over the shell of my ear. “I think you like it when I talk to you that way.”
“I’m not going to lie,” I whisper against the side of his throat, kissing him lightly. “I don’t like it. I love it.”
He pulls back slowly, his gaze roaming over his brothers. “Let’s go get the kids. We’re leaving for our honeymoon … now.”
I place my hands over his stomach, leaning into him. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is,” he says, already pulling me toward the house.
Jesse winks at me as we pass her and her husband. I’m sure they heard everything. When I look back at her, she claps her hands, giving me a round of applause for my performance.
Maybe she’s right.
Maybe I do have what it takes to be the president’s wife.
When we’re loaded up, and I still haven’t heard from the twins, I realize I need to come clean before we leave town.
Rage looks behind us, making sure the kids are securely buckled in their car seats. Neither one of us could stand the thought of leaving them behind, so we decided to go on a “familymoon” to Disneyland. Mila has been looking forward to meeting Ariel and getting to see the ocean for the first time.
We wave goodbye to our friends and family, and then we pull out onto the road.
“I have to tell you something.”
“I figured you did,” he laughs, shaking his head. “Let me guess. The twins fell in love with the delivery girl and ran off after her.”
My mouth falls open. “How did you know?”
“I watched the cameras after I found their uneaten pizza still sitting on the coffee table,” he admits, tipping his head back and laughing. “Those two are never going to learn their lesson.”
“Um, did you happen to recognize her?”
“Who?”
“The girl who brought the pizza.”
“I like pizza,” Mila says from the backseat.
“Me too,” he says, winking at her in the rearview mirror. “And no, I didn’t recognize the pizza girl.”
“It was Luna.”
His brows pull together in a scowl. “What do you mean it was Luna?”
“La luna is up there,” Mila says. She tips her head, pointing up at the night sky.
“Very good.” Rage praises her knowledge of the Spanish word for moon. He’s been teaching her. His attention returns to me. “How did you know it was her?” he asks quietly.
“Carson told me her name. It was on his delivery app, and when I saw her …” I pause to nod my head toward our daughter. “She looks like Mila,” I whisper. “When I confronted her, she ran.”
His jaw works back and forth.
“Maybe she’s testing the waters in Cheyenne to see if she likes it,” I say, trying to ease the worry lines on his forehead.
A few months ago, Luna called to check in on Mila. She told Rage she had been living in her van. He did his best to convince her to move in with us, but she refused his offer.
We’re both deep in thought as he pulls onto the interstate, heading west.
“How long is she going to continue to hide?” he mumbles to himself, setting the cruise control.
Mila giggles from the backseat as I get a message from Carson. I place my hand over my chest. “Oh thank god, they have her.”
“Where are they?” Rage asks, impatient to know more.
Mila squeals happily, waving her little hands at the vehicle passing us. She’s so excited to be on our road trip.
“Carson says they’re taking her home.”
“Good. Tell them to get her set up in the guest room, and we’ll be back in a week.”
“I’m so relieved,” I tell him after sending the text.
“CC is so funny!” Mila yells behind us, giggling.
We both turn at the same time, catching Cole making faces at our daughter as he and his brother pass us in a van.
My phone dings, and I look down at it. “Um, I don’t think Carson meant our home.”
“They’re taking Luna to Nevada,” he says, glaring at the vehicle as it slides in front of us.
“Nooo, they would never …” My words drift off when another message comes through. “Oh, you’re right. That’s exactly what they’re doing.”
“CC can’t steal the moon, Daddy. It’s too high,” Mila reasons quietly as she stares up at it and releases a tiny little yawn.
I cover my mouth, stifling a giggle.
Rage looks at me and scowls.
THE END