Epilogue
GRUDGE: ONE WEEK LATER
“You ready?” Mom asks from the safety of my room at the clubhouse.
I look at the ring box on the desk. “Never been more ready. Thanks for coming with me today.”
Mom smiles. “Feels right, I guess. I was there to help you buy the first one.”
The one I now know Lucy has kept all this time. I want her to have that ring and keep it forever, however she wants to. But I want this new one to represent a fresh start. Something that is more representative of who we are now.
Two people willing to blend their lives together.
Lucy spent the day with Wren and some of the other old ladies, because Wren is losing their mind in the apartment above the bakery.
And I took Mom to see Dad.
It took a hot minute to get him to understand why this is a good thing. But as Mom said, love always wins.
And Dad is a sucker for Mom when she gets romantic.
And the final stop? A jeweler in Denver, where I spent the equivalent of a house deposit on a ring I hope Lucy loves. A stunning cushion-cut stone on a platinum band that has smaller diamonds on it.
“Do you think she’ll love it?” I ask Mom, opening the box.
Mom puts her hand on my shoulder. “She’ll love it because she loves you, sweetheart. You’re easy to love.”
I huff at that. “You’re biased because you’re my mom.”
“Maybe. So, are you going to go get your girl?”
“Yeah, Mom. I’m going to get my girl.”
When we get to the bar, Lucy is already there. So are all my brothers, so are their old ladies, if they have them. It’s not an official party.
Yet.
It’s just a regular family night at the bar, with the familiar scents of oil, whiskey, and woodsmoke from the huge fire someone started in the fireplace.
Butcher slaps my shoulder on the way by. I asked his opinion on proposing to Lucy in the clubhouse so soon after becoming president. And he assured me the club needs the good to offset the bad.
Lucy sits with Wren and Greer, but I see Catfish watching Wren from his spot across the room. I didn’t want them here. King was keen we kept them safe away from the clubhouse.
But with Lucy and Catfish pleading Wren’s case, I capitulated.
Not gonna think about the look on Catfish’s face, right now.
I nod to Smoke, who turns the volume down on a Black Sabbath classic, “Changes.”
“Hey, Luce, get your ass over here,” I shout.
That gets me some wolf whistles and cheers.
Lucy’s hair is curled behind her ear, and there’s the little wrinkle across the bridge of her nose that makes me want to eat her whole.
She’s still here.
And she’s still mine.
The first time I proposed, it was just the two of us. But I want to acknowledge that this time it’s different. We’ll do it with the backing of this huge family I’m part of.
“Maybe you should get your ass over here,” she shouts with a smile so fucking brilliant, it hurts my heart.
I take a step forward, then, another. Because I want her to know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her, even in front of my club.
The conversation drops, and the music changes to some yacht rock classic.
As I walk to her, I feel the weight of every patch stitched onto my cut.
Grudge, my name because I couldn’t let go of what happened between us.
Iron Outlaws, the only club I ever wanted to join, following in my father’s footsteps.
President, because now I’m responsible for the livelihood of every single person in here.
And Colorado, because I can’t imagine living anywhere else on earth.
She gives me a soft smile when I get to her. “What are you up to, Zach?”
I drop to one knee, and my brothers whoop and holler.
“Let the man speak,” Taco yells.
Lucy’s breath catches as I take her hands. “Oh!”
I look up at her, and, for a second, it’s just us. No noise. No patch. No legacy.
It’s like we’re back in time. Just two teenagers who couldn’t imagine loving anyone else.
“Bug,” I say, my voice steady. “The first time I asked you to marry me, I thought I knew what love was. I thought the fire in my gut for you ensured we’d last forever.”
Her eyes shine, and her hands start to shake in mine.
“We were young and reckless, and the world took advantage of us both. It stole years from us in ways we were too young to know how to fight.”
I pause for a second and let that truth settle between us.
“But you…you never left my heart, Lucy De Bose. Even if you left my life. Not for a single goddamn day.”
Tears cling to her lashes.
I squeeze her hands; reassure her I’ve got her.
“When you walked back into my life, angry and fierce, I thought I could ignore you, but I lasted all of five minutes.”
My brothers chuckle at that.
I reach into my cut, pull out the ring box, and pop it open.
“Like last time, I’m asking you to get married quick.
But, unlike last time, I want to marry you properly, in front of our friends, wherever you want.
I love you for who you were. For who you are.
And for the woman you’re still becoming.
I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for the days we lost and getting the most out of the days we have left. So, will you marry me, Bug? Again?”
Lucy doesn’t speak.
She drops to her knees and crashes into me, arms tight around my neck, lips on mine in a kiss that fixes the last of the cracks in my heart.
“Yes,” she whispers against my mouth. “God. Yes.”
The room erupts.
There are cheers. Whistles. Shouts of congratulations.
My mom’s crying. Wraith claps me on the shoulder, then helps the two of us to our feet.
But all I feel is Lucy.
My soon-to-be wife.
Again.
“And this time,” I say against her lips, “no one else is going to write the ending, except us.”