Epilogue
TWO MONTHS LATER - WES
“You sure about this?” Kicker, the Prez of the One-Eyed Jacks, eyed me as he crossed his arms.
“I’m sure.”
Lindy squeezed my hand as Lock and Butler exchanged a look and grinned.
Grace stepped outside the office and joined us in the courtyard of Eagle Wings as the Prez, Butler, Lock, Boner, Lindy, and I took a long look at my father’s Panhead with the Jacks gleaming eye skull, and “JUMP” flickering in a silver cloud of smoke on the tank.
A thick silence fell.
Were they reminiscing in their heads about shared adventures with Dad on this Harley? Good days, shitty times, wild adventures, close calls?
My first time riding a motorcycle as a toddler was on that bike with Dad. I could still see clearly in my mind’s eye Dad and Mom cruising down Clay with the club when I’d be hanging out in town after school. Or the two of them leaving the house together on this bike to take off on club runs. A sight to behold. Closing my eyes, I let out a breath.
Since Dad’s death, I’d held onto his bike. I’d ridden it here and there. Kept it clean. Clung to it, gripped it tightly because it had meaning and significance. It had to, didn’t it? Because it fed my anger and my regrets. Such an inheritance.
After Lindy and I had gotten back to Meager from our three weeks in L.A., the decision came over me when I spotted the old Harley in the garage where I kept it. A bright light had gone off in that dim shed. My body had seized with the clarity of it. No murkiness, no maybes, no pushing it off, curling it away. None of that. Only yes .
Yes to so much more. Yes to our future that we were living now .
Donating it to Eagle Wings was the right decision. Lock and Boner and the crew would rebuild it into something great. They would either use it as a showcase piece for the shop or sell it and use the money to reinvest in the business. A business whose future I was a part of.
My lips tipped up as my back straightened, taking in the gleam of the sun over the shiny metal of the Panhead. I handed Grace the registration papers, “Do with it what you will, Eagle Wings. She’s all yours.” I lowered my head in a dramatic bow. Grinning, she took the folder of documents and hugged me. I hugged her tighter. “Love you, Grace.”
“Love you too, Wes.”
Lock shook my hand and gave me a great big bear hug. “Thank you.”
“Thank you, man,” I murmured. “For everything.” Letting go of me, Lock slid an arm over his wife’s shoulders and they headed back into the office.
Boner and I high-fived and hugged, and he took the bike inside the bay, where he and Tricky led the Harley up a small ramp deeper into the shop. The Panhead faded from view, and I let out a tiny breath, my muscles easing.
The sun’s heat seeped through my flesh as Finger’s words came back to me: “Make your bridge out of what your father gave you along with your own vision ‘cause that’s what you got. May be good, may be dark, doesn’t matter. Bright spot, your mother is a hell of a strong, straightforward woman, and you got the Jacks in your corner. All of that is the truth of who you are, and that’s powerful. You want better? Use it and cross that bridge.”
He was right. Everything I’d learned from my dad, my mother’s infinite support, the love and loyalty of my Jacks family—that was the truth of who I was, and I revered that truth, always had, and it was so powerful.
Now I could finally let go of the dark web of pain and regrets and the shadows of so many sins. They no longer owned me. And in that surrender I moved into creating what I felt was better because I did want better. Better for me, for Lindy, for the Jacks. Finally crossing my bridge on my terms to make it happen.
Lindy’s arm went around my middle. “You good, babe?”
“Very good.” Grinning, I kissed her.
Butler came over to us. “You guys ready for tomorrow?”
“I’m ready,” I said. “I’ll be here bright and early.”
“Glad to hear it. Every detail counts when you’re prospecting.”
Lindy and I shared a look. I’d have to live at the Jacks clubhouse for the next two weeks and probably more to fully immerse myself in club doings. I’d taken time off from Trash Ink for this, too.
“You going to be okay on your own, Lindy?” asked Butler.
“Keeping busy. Tomorrow night I’m flying to L.A. on a job with Violet for a week, then when I get back, I start school in Rapid and work at Lenore’s in between.”
“Huh.” I frowned at my woman. “Are you saying you’re not going to miss me?”
“Oh, I’m going to miss you all right. When I get back from L.A., I better get conjugal visits or I’m going to have to sneak into this clubhouse like some groupie—just so you both know.”
“Damn, baby, that might be fun though…”
Butler let out a loud laugh. “No worries, Lindy. This won’t be for long. Being made a member isn’t a matter of time. It’s a matter of commitment.” Holding my gaze, he put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
I was becoming a One-Eyed Jack because I wanted to be for me. Because I esteemed this brotherhood, this family of mine and Lindy’s that meant so much to the both of us. We had a lot to give to our family. Both here in Meager and Nebraska, our lives were rooted in it, pulsed with it, and always would.
“How’s the new bike running?” Butler glanced at my gleaming new Softail Deluxe in the parking lot.
“She’s a dream,” exclaimed Lindy.
We said goodbye to Butler, and I got on my bike and started her up. My heartbeat jerked at the guttural roar of my Harley growling back at me. Would I ever get used to this intense feeling surging through me at that sound? Never.
My dick throbbed at the sight of my old lady in my faded club T-shirt that she’d ripped at the collar to be an off-the-shoulder T along with her tight faded jeans, the new black riding boots I’d bought her at Pepper’s, and her old leather jacket with loads of buckles on it. “Come on, Lind. Get on.”
“In a rush, are we?” She secured the lid on her head.
“After we go swimming, I got to get my hot wife home and make hot crazy love to her all night long.”
“Ahh, great answer. I like that plan.” Laughing, she climbed on the back of my bike and slid her arms around my middle. We sped out of the Jacks property.
Although fall had begun weeks ago with a cold sweep, today was an unusually warm and sunny day and we’d decided to take advantage of it. We descended the hill through the dense forest, the air brisk over us. The crisp scent of pine and aspen filled my senses as we tore around the curves that led out of Meager.
Cutting through a dark golden field of sunflowers which was being harvested, I got us on the road to the Hippie Hole, a classic Black Hills swimming spot. I hadn’t been in a long time, and I wanted to share it with Lindy.
Cutting through the crisp wind, we swept past the ancient granite hills, through the evergreens. Those trees whose colors had changed to rich yellows, oranges, and reds for the season shimmered in my vision. I remembered the roads that led to this hidden paradise and made the turns and parked the bike.
Lindy grabbed her tote bag, and together we hiked up the path and finally got to the swimming hole. “Wow,” she exclaimed. “This is incredible.”
“When I was little we’d come here a lot with the club.”
There were plenty of people here enjoying the surprising heat, and we finally found a spot to stash our bag filled with towels, water, grapes, and cookies. We already had our swimsuits on underneath our clothes.
Quickly, we got into the water and swam and dove. Holding onto each other, we bobbed in the cold water and kissed, laughing as we splashed at each other. It felt good to horse around like the kids swimming next to us who seemed to have no cares in the world.
I had no cares in the world.
When we got back up to our perch in the stone and relaxed on our thick towel, our wet skin gleaming in the afternoon sun, I drew Lindy close to me and grabbed my phone. Raising it high I got the the two of us with the swimming hole behind us in the frame. “Ready?”
Giggling, Lindy pressed herself against me, her arms holding me tight around my middle. “I’m so happy, honey.” She smashed her lips against my cheek as my thumb pressed the camera button. Laughing, we stuck out our tongues at the camera, at each other.
I wiped back strands of wet hair from her beautiful face. “Love you, Lind,” I whispered against her smiling lips and snapped another photograph.
On the back of my bike, Lindy let out a whoop, her hands high in the air. Heat filled my chest as I led my Harley over the blacktop through the drenched with color trees, our very own jewel-filled magic kingdom, toward Meager. Toward home.
On Clay Street, now decorated with colorful banners celebrating autumn, traffic was light, and I sped through town as I’d done a thousand times before. But now, it felt different. I was married to the love of my life who was on the back of my bike.
Slowing down at the Rusted Heart to make a turn at the next corner, Jill and Boner’s son, Nic, stood on the sidewalk holding hands with Willy. Lindy waved, and Nic hopped up on his toes as he and Willy waved back at us. I made a right turn at the corner. Up three blocks, over another two. Pulled in the drive.
Home.
Home for now.
We looked forward to getting our own house one day, probably after I finished prospecting. But my mother and her realtor friend were on the hunt for us from now because, as Alicia had pointed out, you never knew what might come up, and if we found “the one,” we should be ready to make a definitive play for it.
The minute I locked our apartment door behind us. Lindy attacked me. We kissed as we peeled off our jackets, our boots, our clothes. My bathing suit trunks. Her bikini top. Embracing we fell on the sofa together, laughing. My hands slid over her breasts, down the curve of her hip memorizing every silky curve and dip of her flesh. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
“Me too.”
She yelped as I ripped off her bikini bottom and slid my fingers inside her wet pussy on a groan.
“Fuck, I’m going to miss this…” I nuzzled the underside of a tit.
Her fingertips dug into the sides of my face. “Babe, there’s something I want to say.”
“Say it while I make you come.”
Her hips ground down on my hand. “No condom. I want us to make a baby. I don’t want to wait. I want more of us, more of this.”
My heart pounded in my chest at her words. “Hell yes.”
“Was that for the no condom—” Her back arched as I nipped at her breast. “—or the baby?”
I laughed as my fingers slowed their pace inside her wet heat. “For both.”
Her head knocked back, and the moans that fell from her lips filled my insides with even more molten heat. I loved making Lindy come, watching her come every fucking time.
“I don’t want to wait either, Lind. No time is ever “perfect.” It’s what we make of it, how we handle it. I want everything with you. That’s how I love you.” My fingers churned and her body trembled. “You feel that, babe?”
Her molten gaze found mine. “I feel it…I feel it…” Her hips squirmed against me, her fingernails grazing down my upper arms, over the tattoo I’d gotten in L.A. of an angel’s wing with the word “SACRED” inked inside it.
Lindy was my sacred. We had that sacred together—the trust, the belief, the satisfaction, the tears and the laughter, our fucking, the honesty. All of it, sacred.
Her breathing deepened, her legs stiffening, spreading wider. “Make love to me, Wes.”
On a groan I brought my aching cock to her wet entrance, stroking my swollen tip in her slickness.
“Wes!” Her hips lifted.
I thrust inside my wife’s luscious body in one long stroke. Her back arched and I licked at her tits, her nipples hard, begging for my attention. Bringing one of her silky thighs over my shoulder, I slid back slightly and thrust deeper, picking up my pace. I let out a hiss at the throbbing pressure of her around me, nipping at the tattoo of thorny vines I’d finally finished on her leg.
She let out a low moan as her greedy-for-me pussy stretched around me, clenching my cock in a way that blew my brain cells apart.
“Hell yes…” she grit out, her thrusts meeting mine.
Heat blasted through me, pleasure building. I wanted to brand every sensation in my memory to last me until the next time I made love to her.
“Lind…love feeling you on me. Gonna fill you up with my cum.”
Her face streaked with red, lips parted, she met my gaze with her steely one. Her hips lifted against mine as her fingers slid in the slickness between us to her clit and down over my thrusting cock. “Do it, baby. So good, Wes…so fucking good.”
“This is how I love you, Lind. Hard and fast, gentle and wild. With everything I got, ‘cause you’re everything to me. Every fucking thing.”
“Everything, Wes.” The pleasure swelled and surged, taking us with it on its tide. “Everything.”
LINDY
The next morning, I kissed my husband goodbye and good luck as the orange ball of the sun rose in the mellow, tender sky over us.
A new day, a new era.
He wiped at the tears welling in my eyes, and my lips tipped up. I pressed my lips against his, and he smiled. “Love you, baby.”
“I love you, Wes.”
Life wasn’t perfect. Our lives hadn’t been and never would be. But they were beautiful to live just the same. There was so much goodness here. Precious goodness that Wes and I cherished and held onto, not only to preserve but to nurture. To create more, give more. That’s the true strength of love.
My hand slid to my tummy. Always more.
The blazing ball of yellow-orange sun rose steadily and brightened the sky over us as Wes took off down the road, a hand in the air as he and his bike zipped out of sight. I raised my hand in response, my heart skipping a beat.
Through fear and blood and smoke, we fought hard to hang onto love, and we gained more than we’d ever imagined. Home. Family. Truth.
And that truth–be it ugly, painful, messy–was a beacon in our darkness. A measure. It would never twist or buckle. Truth and true family stand mighty and steadfast through harsh winds and merciless storms. In the unrelenting heat of the sun.
Inhaling the fresh crisp morning air, I grinned as I pulled Wes’s hoodie jacket tighter over my chest. The rip of Wes’s bike growled in the distance, and my heartbeat picked up, warmth sweeping through my soul as I lifted my face to the first bright rays of the sun.
Thank you for reading Wes and Lindy’s story. I hope you enjoyed the book and would consider leaving a rating or quick review.