Epilogue
Two years later
Rain
I cannot believe it’s been two years since I married Ridge. It has been one hell of a ride. I wouldn’t change it for anything, though.
Especially not the way he loves me.
I look over at him at the stove, making us breakfast. He wanted to bring it to me in bed, but I convinced him to stay longer than he had planned.
“Stop looking at me like that. You need food,” he growls.
“Pssh, I could live off of you,” I joke.
He shoots me a look over his shoulder.
I’m two months pregnant. He has been hovering like a complete helicopter parent, and the kid isn’t even here yet.
It’s actually really sweet.
Still, he hasn’t gotten used to my new sex drive. I can’t count the number of times I have jumped him since I found out I was carrying his kid.
“Behave,” he hisses at me.
“You spoil all my fun,” I jest.
Before he can retort, there is a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” I tell him, blowing him a kiss as I leave.
When I get to the door, I’m surprised to find Mr. Cohen standing there.
“Hey. Come in.” I gesture him in, looking down at the oversized T-shirt I stole from Ridge. “Um…let me go get changed. Ridge is in the kitchen.”
I scurry down the hall, switching out my sleep shorts for leggings. Then I pull my hair up so it doesn’t look so messy.
When I get back to the kitchen, Mr. Cohen has a mug of coffee while he and Ridge chat at the table.
“Eat.” Ridge points at my plate in the spot I was sitting.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” I sass him.
He gives me a look that tells me my ass might not like that response later.
Wisely, I sit down and eat. I was only joking anyway. This baby has been demanding food since the very first whiff of bacon.
“Mrs. Harris, I came to check in. Your father had some very specific instructions for when you hit two years,” he tells me.
“Of course he did.” I roll my eyes, but there’s a smile on my face.
So much has changed since the first time I met this man. Back then, I was angry. I would have burned the world down to get away from this place.
Now, there is nowhere I would rather be.
“So, first, how are things going between you two?” he asks.
“We are happily married,” Ridge answers for me as I start to eat my food.
We haven’t told anyone about the baby yet, so I am grateful he didn’t disclose that information.
“That’s good to hear. So no separation?” he asks.
I look over at Ridge. “No. We will stay married.”
“Good. All the provisions have been met then. Your father’s trust is now solely in your name.
You can do with it as you please. The house is also yours, so if you wish to sell it, now you are able.
The bike has already been transferred into Ridge’s name.
He also left these letters for you both.
” The man slides a letter to each of us.
“Do you have any other questions for me?”
I shake my head as I look at the envelope with my father’s handwriting sitting in front of me.
“No. We are good,” I tell him, not able to take my eyes from the paper.
“I’ll get the paperwork submitted and send you copies via courier. If you ever have any questions, I’m here. If you need to make any changes to the trust, call me. I will help you do it. I’m glad to see you both happy. Mustang would have loved it.”
Without another word, he shows himself out.
I look over to Ridge and see him frozen as well.
“You didn’t know?” I ask.
He shakes his head. He has unshed tears in his own eyes as he holds the letter in his hand.
“Do you want to read them together?” he asks.
I nod. “Let me finish eating.”
I quickly eat the rest of my meal before taking my plate to the sink. Then I hold my hand out to Ridge and lead him to the couch.
He sits next to me, an identical envelope in his hand.
With shaky hands, I open mine as he does the same.
My dearest Rain,
I hope you are not still angry with me. Ridge told me I should write you a letter, but I figured you would throw it out before reading it.
That is why I have asked my lawyer to wait to give you this letter.
I had hoped time might have diminished the anger and allowed you to be able to read my words without hate in your heart.
I didn’t mean to make you angry. I only wanted to ensure you would be taken care of.
Please do not blame Ridge for this. He warned me that this wouldn’t be a wise decision.
I made it anyway. You see, the thing is that when you are a parent, you are willing to do anything necessary to make sure your child is safe and protected.
You will understand if you have a child yourself one day.
I know Ridge wouldn’t have been your first choice, but he is a good man. I promise he will take care of you.
You have been married to him for two years now.
I don’t know what decision you made. Whether you were able to become friends with him or maybe even fall in love with him.
Or perhaps you still hate him and plan to leave him.
No matter your decision, I don’t want you to run away from this place.
I want you to embrace it. It has been your home and will always be your home.
You might be wondering why I did it. Why did I do something so drastic? The truth is, I know you, Rain. You are brilliant. Strong-willed. Kind. You also do not handle emotions well. When you feel anything that might scare you, you run. You would never want to be a burden on anyone.
I saw it in your eyes. Every day you would look at me, and I could see that you wouldn’t stay once I was gone. You would leave this place and all the pain behind. The idea that you would give up your history just so you didn’t have to face it was worse than the cancer.
So, to answer your question, I did this for you.
So you would keep this part of your life.
After two years, you will have moved on.
It won’t be so painful to go to our old house anymore.
You will have gotten closer to the club and realized that they really are your family, even if I’m not there.
I did this to protect you from yourself.
I hope that you see a better future for yourself. The one I always saw. I want you to find happiness and joy. I want you to smile more than you cry. I want the pain to be the minority while laughter is your whole life. Whether it is with Ridge or with someone else, I only want you to flourish.
I love you more than words can express, my darling daughter. More than any one person could ever love another human being. I never once regretted a moment of being your father. Know that I will always be with you in your heart.
I love you, Rain.
Love,
Your father Mustang
Tears are falling freely down my face as I read his words. He always knew me better than I knew myself most days. How he could see that I would have fled, I will never know.
I am grateful he did, though. I couldn’t have asked for a better father. He truly gave up his life for me.
Thank you, Dad. I love you too. I send the mental note up to him, hoping his spirit can somehow hear me.
When I look over to Ridge, I see his eyes are wetter than mine as he reads the words in his own letter.
I rest my head against him, holding him as he processes his own emotions.
One thing is for sure. Dad was right about Ridge. He is a good man and the man I plan to spend the rest of my life with.
Ridge
I wait for Rain to start reading her letter before I read my own. I’m scared of what it might say. I never expected to hear from him again, yet he surprised me again.
Ridge,
You said I should write Rain a letter, and I did, but I think I also owe you one.
You were always like a son to me. The moment I saw you look at Rain like she could be your whole world, I knew.
I wanted you to be the one to be by her side.
I had hoped I had years of meddling to get you two together, but the cancer took that from me. So I had to take drastic measures.
Do you remember that day? You had come over for dinner.
You hadn’t seen Rain since her graduation.
I had let her run off and travel a bit with some friends before she came back.
That absence made all the difference. I could see it then.
She wasn’t just my daughter anymore. She was a woman you were attracted to. Interested in maybe.
I always thought you might ask my permission to pursue her, but you never did. Then I realized why. You would never jeopardize our relationship for something with her. While honorable, it was unnecessary.
I know you think you aren’t good enough for her. None of us ever really do feel like we deserve the women we love. What you don’t know is that if I had to choose anyone in this world to love my daughter, I am beyond glad it’s you.
It wasn’t fair of me to ask you to take her as your old lady, but I had hoped the significance of it would endear her to you. That she would realize that you were in this together, and she didn’t have to take on the world by herself.
I don’t know what has happened in the two years you have been married, but I am certain of one thing.
You have loved and protected her. I hope she was able to see that and learned to love you back.
I hope you were able to convince her to stay with you.
If not, then I hope you make sure whoever she does end up with is someone I would have given my blessing to.
I trust that no matter what, you will ensure she is always taken care of.
You were an angry kid when you came to us, but I am proud of the man you have become. I am blessed to have been able to call you my friend all of these years, but know I always considered you my son.
I know we don’t say these words often to one another, but they are important for you to hear.
I love you, son.
Thank you for everything you have done for me and my girl.
Mustang
My face is wet with tears. He’s right. We almost never tell one another we love each other, even if the feelings are there. I don’t know why, but seeing those words from him heals something inside of me.
He’s proud of me. He loves me.
“He hoped we would stay together,” I tell Rain.
“He said the same in mine. What else did he say?” she asks.
“You can read it,” I offer.
She shakes her head. “I want to hear it from you.”
“He’s proud of me and loves me. He also knew I loved you long before I even knew.”
She laughs. “Sounds like Dad. He told me that he saw in my eyes that I wouldn’t have stayed. He was right. My plan was to leave after the funeral and never look back. I don’t even know why I stayed, really. Looking back, I had already planned to leave everything behind, so why did I stay?”
I lay my head on top of hers as she leans on my shoulder.
“You thought you would have left, but you wouldn’t have stayed gone. This is your home. You wouldn’t have wanted to lose those memories.”
She leans back, looking up at me. “I think I want to raise my child in his home. The home I grew up in.”
I swallow the lump in my throat as I wipe the tears from her face. “If that’s what you want, then that’s what we will do.”
“What about this place?” She looks around at the house we made our home.
This place holds a lot of memories for us. None that outweighs the ones from her dad’s house.
“We will keep it. Use it as a safe house for the club and shit. Maybe rent it out to club families who need a place to live. Don’t worry about it. I like the idea of raising our children where you were raised.”
She wipes my face as I did hers. “You are really one hell of a man, Adam.”
“Only because you make me that way.”
I lean in and kiss her lips gently.
“We are going to have to renovate the house. It’s been sitting there for two years with very little movement inside. The carpet needs to go. It smells like smoke from the days when Dad would smoke inside. The wallpaper is from the seventies…” Rain starts listing things that need to be done.
As she talks, I nod along. It will take time to get it all done, but with the help of my brothers, we can do it.
I would do anything for her.
After all, she is the love of my life.
“We can do all of that. No problem at all,” I tell her. “The guys would be happy to help.”
“I knew I married you for a reason,” she jokes.
“Oh yeah? Was it my good looks? No, my large cock?”
She rolls her eyes. “Or the fact that you were willing to give up your entire life and chance at happiness for even the smallest sliver of a hope that I would fall madly in love with you.”
I cup her cheek. “I would have never given up trying. I knew I had what I had always wanted.”
“What’s that?” she whispers.
I press a kiss to her lips, deepening it before I finally pull back.
“You.”