Epilogue
VIKING
“Hey, you ready? We’re about to head out.”
Trenton moves something around in the closet, ignoring the question. If we had a typical relationship and he wasn’t still constantly on his best behavior around here, I’d take it as a personal slight, but that’s not him.
“What’s up, kid?” I ask again, sitting on his perfectly made bed.
The guest room still looks just as it used to be. You’d never know Trenton’s moved in. Josie took him shopping for clothes, but I think I need to talk to her about making this space his, so he can finally have a place of his own to relax.
He pulls his signature black hoodie off one of the hangers and throws it on before turning to take me in.
“Are you sure you want me to come today? I could just stay here, work on a paper I have due in English.”
“Look, if you’re uncomfortable, I’m not going to make you come today.
But it should be a good time. Everyone’s families are coming, so there’ll be a lot of people there for you to meet and some good grub too.
I think Blaze is grillin’ and he makes a mean burger.
I’d like to show you around, maybe talk with one of the guys about getting you in at the shop if you’d like that? ”
His head snaps up at the offer, eyes lighting with excitement. “Are you serious?”
“School is your first priority, but if you want to get your hands dirty and do some of the grunt work, I don’t think the guys will mind one bit.”
“Yeah, that’s cool. I could do that.” He tries to hide his smile, but the excitement dances in his eyes, and I know it’s the right call.
The guys might be a mismatched crew with a few felonies and questionable choices among them, but having a solid group of men around Trenton when he’s been exposed to one piece of shit after the other from his mom will do him good.
If there’s one thing my men will always have, it’s each other’s backs, and that always extends to our families.
“Great, let’s go then. The girls are in the car.”
He hustles out of the house, jumping in the back seat, already knowing which side is his.
“Everything okay?” Josie asks quietly as I slide in a moment later.
“Yeah, we’re good.”
Reaching over, I grip her hand and bring her fingers to my lips for a quick kiss. Everything about this moment feels so right. My kids in the car, my woman at my side, a club full of my brothers, finally ready to back my choices as president.
The last couple of months have been a fucking shit show, but it also could have been so much worse. I’ll take the wins where I can get them.
The parking lot overflows into the back grassy area. Kids run around chasing each other, immune to the loud music pouring from the speakers. Haley takes off the second Josie gets her out of the car, disappearing inside, either to find one of her favorite people or a treat from Jo in the kitchen.
“I got her,” Josie calls over her shoulder, following in a dress that steals the blood throughout my body, redirecting it south to my cock.
Trenton’s door closing pulls my focus back. That same nervous energy from earlier radiates off him in droves as he takes everything in. It’s a fair response for someone who’s never experienced our way of life.
The garage doors on the shop are up, exposing an old Chevy on the lift in one stall and a couple of bikes in the one next to it. I need to check in with Axe Man on the books, and it looks like now’s as good a time as any.
“Come with me, I want to introduce you to someone.” I knock him on the shoulder as I pass and listen for his following footsteps.
The crunch quickly comes from behind, keeping up with my long strides across the parking lot. Motor oil and fresh rubber assault my senses as we step inside, the music from the main building drowning out the clanking of metal on metal underneath the car.
“Need a hand?” I call out, grabbing his attention.
Axe Man doesn’t startle, just tucks the wrench he was hammering away with into his back pocket before grabbing the rag to wipe off his hands from the other.
“Hey, boss. Who’s this?” He nods toward Trenton’s skittish form behind me.
“Axe, this is Trenton, my son.” His eyes flash with quick surprise before giving my boy a once-over.
“With ice blond hair like that, no one’s questioning you. What’s up, kid?” He holds out his hand, drawing Trenton closer into the garage.
“Hey.” It’s all he says, but he’s polite enough to take the hand offered and give it a quick shake.
“We’re about to head inside, but I wanted to check in and see if you could use an extra pair of hands a couple of times a week. Trenton’s interested in learning some basics.”
“You ever worked on cars before?”
“No, sir.”
“Sir? None of that shit out here.” He laughs.
“You call me Axe Man or Axe like your old man, and we’ll be square.
I can always use an extra set of hands, and as long as you can read the numbers on the wrenches I call out to you, we’ve got a starting place.
I’ll have you taking the engine apart and back together in no time. ”
“Cool.”
“Great. That’s all you need?” he asks, looking at me.
“Books filling up, yet? I know Chopper was working on getting the word out we’re open to the public now.”
Axe shakes his head, not in answer, but in annoyance, from the sigh that accompanies it.
“Got more bikes coming in than there are members of the club for the next few months. Apparently, our being available to the community is something we weren’t taking advantage of. As I said, I could use an extra set of hands.”
“Once we meet and restructure, you’ll have it. Now, stop working and come get something to eat.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let me finish up, and then I’ll be in. See you next week, Trenton. Make sure you wear something you’re good getting dirty.”
Trenton smiles and nods, turning to follow me out of the shop and into the main building on our lot. Bodies crowd around the tables of food, filling plates, and grabbing drinks from the bar.
“Holy shit.”
I freeze, shooting him a look with a lifted brow. His face falls, paling a shade, under my gaze.
The spark of laughter pulls from deep in my chest, exploding out, and drawing looks from the people closest to us. My hand drops to his shoulder, squeezing tight.
“I was really starting to wonder if you were a teen after all. Good to know, there’s a little fire in there somewhere.
Don’t worry about it. Just keep it clean around Sienna, Pierce and Lexi’s daughter, or she’ll take your money for her swear jar.
Girl’s hustling her retirement out of the lot of us. ”
His shoulders relax a bit further, and he finally looks at ease again.
A couple of the guys stop us as we make our way around the room, but no one comments when I introduce Trenton as mine.
Only a couple of the guys knew what was going on.
It wasn’t as important as the club selling our stash or getting our legit businesses rolling, but it’s great to finally have it out there in the open.
“There you are,” Josie calls, waving us over to the big table surrounded by our closest friends. “Did you get something to eat, baby?”
I think she’s talking to me, but her eyes are cut over my shoulder at Trenton, and the pride I have in my wife swells.
“Not yet,” he answers, taking in the loud group at the table.
None of them pays us any mind, too busy enjoying each other’s company.
Haley’s chatting away with Sienna, a plate of cookies between them, while they flip through a couple of coloring books.
Pierce and Lexi are huddled over a sleeping figure tucked in a stroller, and Si and Harlow are whispering to themselves at the opposite end.
“Let me go get you something.” Josie offers, motioning for us to sit.
“Me too?” I ask.
She shoots me a withering glare over her shoulder as she slips through the crowd.
“I didn’t expect to see you two here. How’s parenthood going the second time around?” I ask Pierce across the table.
His tired smile could power a damn lighthouse. “I could ask you the same thing.” He nods toward Trenton, who’s been pulled into something with our girls.
“We’re figuring things out as they come,” I answer honestly, and he nods in understanding. “This mean you’re finally ready to come back? Let your woman breathe for a bit.”
Lexi snaps her attention in my direction. “Yes, please take him. Get him out of the house.”
“Princess.”
“No, don’t princess me. You’ve been home for months. The club needs you back.”
“You need me.”
“I think I’ve got it, big guy.” She pats him placatingly on the chest. “And if not, that’s what Harlow’s for.”
“Yeah, leave the poor girl alone and let me finally spend some time with my favorite nephew,” Harlow pipes in.
“Actually, Axe Man is looking for some extra help in the garage. You up for working on some bikes and whatnot for a while? Your other skills are on ice for a bit.”
“Yeah, whatever you need, I guess,” he answers, but his eyes are on his wife.
“Look who I found, wandering around like a lost lamb,” Josie announces, her hands full with plates laden down with food.
“Charlie!” Lexi and Harlow chant at the same time.
A plate drops in the space before me, before Josie perches herself in my lap, as Charlie finds a spot on the other side of the girls.
“She does still love me after all,” I whisper in her ear.
Warm arms wrap around my shoulders, her lips ghosting against mine, as a sinful smile perks her right cheek.
“Today anyway,” she teases.
“A toast.” Blaze appears, a tray of dark shots balancing on his palm. He passes them around until everyone has their own.
“To what?” Harlow asks.
“New beginnings,” I call out at the same time Josie says, “Family.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Si says.
Glasses clink and tap the table, before we shoot them back. Josie shifts the full shot still between her fingers.
“Want mine?” She offers an unsteady smile, fighting for space on her beautiful face.
“You’re sure?” I whisper, the room disappearing around us as I pluck the shot from her grasp and set it on the table.
She nods, tears lining her lashes, as I crash my lips against hers. Puffs of laughter press into my mouth, but it doesn’t keep me from claiming her until she finally gives in and kisses me back with the same enthusiasm.
I pull back, gazing down at the woman who makes every day on this planet worth living.
When everything shatters around us, she’s the one to piece it back together, no matter the splinters and cuts along the way.
She’s my strength, my center, my calm in the storm.
And without her, life is simply a dull reality I don’t want.
Pulling her tighter against me, my lips find her ear, before I softly murmur, “To our family and loving you every day for the rest of our lives, mama.”