Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
DREW
All day, Ayda and I had seen our brothers walking around carrying logs, boxes of candles, flowers, before looking at me with a roll of their eyes to let me know they weren’t all too happy with being ordered around by a bunch of testy women.
Once Autumn had done all she needed to do around the yard and The Hut, she’d packed Ayda into a car and driven her away from the night. I stood there on the porch, my hands tucked in my pockets, and I watched her disappear down the road.
That was the last time I’d ever spend quality time with Ayda Hanagan.
Tomorrow, she’d become Ayda Tucker, and the thought made me silently giddy.
I’d been staring at the road she’d disappeared down when Jedd, Slater, Kenny, and Deeks came charging out from The Hut, their arms flying around my neck, hands roughing up my hair, and the cries of The Hounds of Babylon filling the air.
I was fought, tackled, mocked, and teased until they managed to drag me back inside with a promise of whiskey all night long—enough that would make sure I slept the night away without waking up, pining for my woman.
Eric stood behind the bar, taking the position Harry once owned with a cloth thrown over his shoulder as he slid tumblers of liquor up and down the bar, laughing freely, without the shadows around his eyes I’d come to expect.
Rubin and Tate amused themselves among the enthusiastic young women, even though I believed Libby was still very much a part of Tate’s life.
He was entering that stage where the boy was dying, and the reckless man was coming to life, and as I glanced over to keep checking on him, I vowed to try steer him onto better paths once the wedding was over.
“Refill?” Eric asked, dragging my attention back to him.
“One more,” I told him.
“Right.” He laughed to himself. “Because these lot are going to let you sleep tonight.”
“They’d better.” I studied the happiness on my father’s face as he went about his business. “It suits you, you know.”
“What does?”
“Happiness.”
Eric’s face fell, his eyes finding mine.
“If that’s what you are,” I added. “Maybe I’m just seeing you differently than I ever did before, but I like seeing you without the cloud over your head. The secrets, the regret… they all seem to have faded away. You’re not bad to be around when you’re like this.”
“Save your declarations and vows for tomorrow.” He smirked, but I could see the effect my words had had on him. The happiness shone a little more every time he realized our bond was growing tighter.
“Roger that.” I tipped my glass toward him before taking a sip and looking back over at my men.
As far as nights before your wedding day go, it was tamer than I expected.
Maybe they realized how important this was for me now.
Ayda wasn’t just some chick riding through my life to satisfy a craving.
She had become my life, and the build-up to this moment had been a rollercoaster of loving, losing, fighting, and trying to survive.
Tomorrow marked the start of a new forever. The old one now dead and buried.
Tame or not, though, I still rolled into bed with a heavy thud, with Jedd laughing over me as he slapped my cheek and tucked me in for the night.
“Love you, brother,” I slurred, enjoying the warm buzz that flowed through my body.
“Get some sleep, shithead.”
I raised my middle finger, smiled dopily, and closed my eyes.
When I woke, it was morning, and the light poured through the open blinds. The haze of a new day meant I needed a second to catch up, and I threw my arm over my face, groaning as I rolled over and tried to open my eyes.
The minute I did, water was thrown on me, forcing me to gasp and sit bolt upright, my hands digging into the mattress as I breathed through the shock.
“Wakey, wakey, rise and shine. It’s lose your freedom for the rest of your life time,” Slater sang.
I flicked water from my eyes, shaking my hair as I looked up at him.
“You bastard!”
“Really? The first words you’re gonna say on the morning of your wedding are You bastard? Today is a sacred day, brother. Thou shalt not cuss or do anything little wifey wouldn’t approve of.”
“The fuck is wrong with you?”
“Not a damn thing.” He grinned brightly.
“Screw you.” I laughed, reaching for a pillow to throw at his head.
He dodged it, and ran over to me, rubbing his hand over the top of my wet hair. “Come on, Fucker. Get up. I have promises to keep and women to please. If you’re not in that shower within the next five minutes, my ass is on the line.”
“Anyone would think you were taking this best man shit seriously.”
“Don’t get me started. I’m still pissed about that.”
“You really expected me to choose between my best friend and my VP?”
“Fuck, yeah, I did. VP is his job. Being your best friend has been voluntary, and I deserved the good karma that went along with that.”
I reached for another pillow, tossing it at him as hard as I could and earning an exaggerated grunt for my efforts. “Fine. I’ll share the role with Jedd. Blah, blah, whatever. Now get in the shower.”
For the first time in my life, I did as I was told without argument, moving where Slater told me to, showering, trimming my beard down and spraying whatever shit he told me to spray over my body and on my neck.
When it came to getting dressed, I stood in front of the clothes hanging off the curtain rail and smiled to myself.
“Stepping into the shoes of a new man, Drew,” Slater said with excitement. “You ready?”
“I was made for this,” I told him proudly, and then I reached up and pulled down my clothes, eventually shrugging into my crisp white shirt before I stepped into the smartest pair of black suit pants I’d ever owned.
Deeks and Eric had helped me pick them out after I’d told them both I didn’t want to do the traditional MC wedding attire.
I wanted this to be a once in a lifetime day for both of us—one where I’d look like me, only different.
I wanted to knock her off her feet as much as I knew she was going to knock me off mine.
By the time I was dressed, standing in front of the long mirror, I palmed down the front of my shirt and shook out my legs to make my trousers fall right.
Slater was standing next to me, holding onto the black vest we’d had made with white embroidery on the back in the design of my club’s patch.
The Hounds and Reaper were with me… we were just being a bit fancy for the day.
Slater held it out, and I pushed my arms through, shrugging it into place and pulling down the edges to make it fall as perfectly as it needed to.
“Smartest cut I ever did see,” Slater admitted softly.
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat and began to fasten the buttons up, stretching my neck out as I did.
It had been a hard decision, choosing not to wear my cut.
A decision I didn’t take lightly. It was as much a part of me as my legs and arms were, and even though there was a tiny bit of regret at not feeling the weight of it on my shoulders, the weight was exactly what I’d wanted to be free of for just one day.
That cut was covered in responsibility, death, and mistakes.
Those weren’t welcome at the altar. I didn’t want the ghosts of anyone looking at Ayda while I told her all the things I needed to tell her.
I didn’t want my mind to drift when the familiar smell of leather reminded me of a time I’d rather forget.
My cut would go on later that night, once the ceremony was over, but for now, I needed this. I needed peace.
I wanted this for both of us.
“You think it’s too much?” I asked, staring at my own reflection as I bounced on the balls of my feet.
“Not even a little bit, you handsome fucker.”
I grinned and caught his eye, watching as he turned away and rubbed at his brow.
“Allergies, Slater?”
“Yeah,” he croaked. “Give me a minute.”
“Take all the time you need,” I said, rolling the sleeves of my shirt up to my elbows before I reached over to grab the black bow tie on the side.
“Well, maybe not all the time you need. Ayda will kick your ass if you make me late, and one of us needs to figure out what the fuck to do with this.” I held out the bow tie and watched the fear shine from Slater’s eyes.
“Shit. We need Eric, don’t we?”
“I guess we do after all.”