Chapter Twenty-Five
Two Months Later
I’d been instructed to stay in bed until they were ready. It was Sunday, which meant Nicole would be by to pick up the kids later that afternoon. My big day was still twenty-four hours away, but that morning, the kids and Jed insisted on a celebratory breakfast. None of the Barkers could truly be trusted in the kitchen, but I couldn’t deny them.
Tomorrow, the doors of The Law Office of Alexia Torres would officially be open for business. I could hardly believe it. After my first month as general counsel for the Wild Stallions, I felt ready to add to my workload and do all I set out to accomplish when I agreed to take the job. As promised, Jed connected me with a local realtor. I didn’t think I’d find the right space so quickly, but she was no joke. Before I knew it, I was registering my business in Gillette.
One more sleep, and my dream of hanging my own shingle would become a reality.
If someone would have told be that over the course of one summer, I’d become the general counsel for the Wild Stallions Motorcycle Club, I’d start my own private practice, and I’d be grafted into my own little family, I wouldn’t have imagined it even remotely possible. Even living in that truth didn’t feel real sometimes. Except, rather than pinch myself when it felt too good to be true, all I needed was to look down at my right wrist for my reminder that life wasn’t just good, it was incredible.
The ink was only a couple of weeks old, and I often found myself staring at it, in awe of what it meant and the promises permanently etched into my skin. I knew I wasn’t Jed’s first ol’ lady, but I was certain I was his last. Much like my man didn’t need a marriage license to hold him to the commitment he made to his woman, he hadn’t insisted on branding me. He offered the option of my own kutte instead, but that didn’t sit right with me.
I was still learning what it meant to be a Stallion and the gravity of my own involvement with the club—as their legal representation and an ol’ lady. Nevertheless, the ink every member wore, as well as the branding of the women they loved, it all seemed too significant to overlook.
My black and gray cowboy stood with his hat tipped down, covering his face. He swung two lassos—one over his head, spinning around his torso, and the other at his hip, spinning around his boots. It was a simple, dainty homage to the skeletal cowboy Jed had tattooed on his side, representing the wrangler he was.
Bella still thought I was crazy, and mami hated it; but Jed loved it, and so did I.
While I waited on breakfast—laughing to myself at the commotion I heard in the kitchen—I worked on my latest letter to Alejandro.
He’d spent the last month and a half at a rehab facility in Montana. He was completely unplugged, and he asked us not to visit so he could really focus on his recovery. It was hard, but we respected his wishes. Since we couldn’t call him, we wrote him letters instead. He’d been slow to respond at first, and he’d still only sent mami and Bella a couple of letters—but he and I were up to half a dozen, each envelope coming with increasing frequency.
He still had forty-three days left, but I could hardly wait to see him. I could tell he was really trying. He seemed good, and his spirits sounded lifted and positive. With each letter we wrote, our relationship healed a little bit, and then a little bit more, and that lifted my spirits, too.
I was practically floating through life recently.
After that day in the hospital, the drama in my life had taken a much needed hiatus. It took a little while for me to figure out what normal looked like—with my new job, my new living arrangement, my new family—but figuring it out had been delightful. I was surrounded by the most amazing community of people. I got to spend time with a couple of the coolest kids on the planet. And I was still convinced Jed Barker was Prince Charming on steroids with a biker ‘stache.
“Lex! Breakfast is ready,” Axel hollered.
I looked up, grinning at the closed bedroom door, and called back, “Coming!” before setting aside my letter to finish later.
Certain everyone else was still in their sleep clothes, I didn’t bother to change out of mine. I went to join my family in one of Jed’s tees and the pair of sleep shorts I donned after he made love to me earlier, before the kids were up.
The kitchen was an actual disaster area, and my jaw fell open at the sight of it.
“Ignore the mess! Pretend it doesn’t exist,” insisted Marlowe as she hurried to my side. She took me by the arm and maneuvered me around what might have been the aftermath of a flour explosion.
I followed her lead and tried not to laugh.
“So, what’s for breakfast?” I asked as I sat.
“Waffles,” Axel announced.
He brought a plate stacked high with said waffles and set it in the middle of the table.
“Wow. I didn’t know we had a waffle maker.”
“It’s new. Surprise!” sang Marlowe. “Also, dad made eggs and bacon,” she said, bringing both to the table.
“This is quite the spread. Thanks, everyone.”
“Mmhmm,” Axel hummed as he took his seat.
Marlowe placed an empty plate in front of him, adding another where Jed would sit, then placed the last plate in her hand at her seat before she sat down.
I was about to mention I was missing a plate when Lowe said, “Whoops. Hey, dad—could you bring Lex a plate?”
“Yup.”
I looked over at my man, smiling at the mere sight of him. He was sexy all on his own; but after an hour in the kitchen with his kids, concocting what appeared to be a very promising breakfast, he was just downright hot. The fact that he was in a muscle tee didn’t hurt, either.
“Anyone want orange juice?” he asked, setting my plate in front of me.
“Sure.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll have some,” I added.
“You got it.”
He turned, headed for the fridge, and when I glanced down at my plate, my breath caught at the back of my throat. I stared at it for a second and then looked up, first at Marlow, then at Axel. They were both grinning at me as they squirmed in excitement.
That’s when I knew.
It wasn’t a figment of my imagination.
There really was a little velvet box sitting on the plate in front of me.
When I looked back at Jed, he was standing next to me, a crooked smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“How important is it to you that I get down on one knee?”
“Very,” I whispered as my eyes flooded with tears.
Marlowe giggled, and Jed’s smile lit up his blue-green eyes.
He then got down on one knee, reached for my right wrist, and gently grazed his thumb across my tattoo as he said, “Told you I was searchin’ for forever. Turns out, she looks just like you. Will you marry me, gorgeous?”
My insides did that thing as I took hold of his face and brought my lips to his. I didn’t even have to think about it before I replied, “Absolutely.”
And then I kissed him.