EPILOGUE
GENEVIEVE
Three years later . . .
“Wow.” My eyes raked over the white tent. “This is something else.”
“They sure cleaned up the boneyard.” Isaiah gripped my hand, leading me to our reserved seats.
We were sitting in the second row on the bride’s side, the space reserved for family. The white folding chairs were arranged in perfect order. There weren’t many of them, but nearly all were filled.
The grass was green beneath our feet. The lot behind the garage that had once been filled with old junkers and spare, rusted parts had gotten a total transformation. It must have taken the guys months.
The old cars had been moved behind the clubhouse. They were hidden by the grove of trees. The grass had been mowed short, surprising us all with the lush carpet that had been hiding underneath years of neglect.
There were flower pots filled with colorful petunias and lime-green sweet potato vines. The trees along the edge of the property had grown considerably over the past three years. Their leaves blocked out some of the bright June sunshine.
“We might actually have a decent barbeque here now.” Isaiah glanced over his shoulder at the cement pad and picnic table next to the steel wall of the shop.
I followed his gaze, picturing Dad sitting there. The table was in the same place as it had been years ago when we’d had one of our first conversations. It had been over three years and his memory still brought on the threat of tears.
“He’d be so pissed today,” I muttered. “But he would have showed up regardless.”
“Just like the rest of us.” Isaiah led me to our seats. In front of us, Bryce was wrestling with three-year-old Xander and two-year-old Zeke.
“Sit. Down.” Her nostrils flared. “If you two don’t stop fighting, I swear—”
“Uncle ’Saiah.” Xander launched himself over the back of his chair into Isaiah’s arms.
Isaiah caught him. “Hey, kid. Are you being good for your mom?”
“No.” He picked at the button on Isaiah’s white shirt.
I didn’t get to see my husband dressed up much.
Normally he was in his garage attire of T-shirts, jeans and motorcycle boots.
But this weekend marked two in a row when he’d put on a starched shirt, rolled up the sleeves to show the tattoos on his forearms and pulled on a pair of black slacks. The boots remained.
A rush of heat bloomed in my core. Just like I had last weekend, tonight I’d get to undo the buttons on that shirt and get my hands on all that inked skin.
“So?” Bryce turned in her chair. “How does it feel to be back?”
I smiled at her, then up at Isaiah, who was attempting to teach Xander how to wink. “It’s good to be home.”
After three years in Missoula, Isaiah and I had moved home yesterday.
Last weekend, I’d graduated top of my class from law school. Monday would be my second first day of work at Jim’s firm, this time as a lawyer.
I still had to pass the bar exam, but Jim had ultimate faith I’d make it through flawlessly. For now, I’d be under his wing once more, learning and growing until one day, maybe, he’d pass the practice down to me.
I shifted in my chair, searching the crowd for his kind face. I found it three rows back. He sat beside his wife, Colleen, her blond hair twisted into a fancy knot. They both smiled as I waved.
It was good to be home, surrounded by family again.
Isaiah and I had been alone in Missoula.
With my busy class schedule and his long hours working at a small garage there doing routine car maintenance, we hadn’t met many friends.
On the occasional weekend, we’d drive up to Lark Cove to visit Kaine, Piper and their kids.
Suzanne came to Missoula every other month for a visit.
She’d sleep in the small guest bedroom and tell me stories about Isaiah from his childhood.
I’d lost my only family when Mom had died, but her death had led me to a new one.
“Hey.” Emmett slapped Isaiah on the shoulder as he took the empty seat beside us. “Ready for this?”
“No.” Isaiah frowned. “Any chance we can talk her out of it?”
Emmett leaned past us and took in the tent. “It took Dash, Leo and me three hours to figure out that fucking tent. I’m good if she calls this off, but she’d better keep the bar open.”
I giggled, looking around again. “Where is Leo?”
“Late as usual.” Emmett shrugged, then pulled a Dum Dums sucker from his pocket for Xander. The kid’s eyes got wide as Bryce’s narrowed.
“That’s the fifth one.” She shook her head as Emmett handed one to Zeke too. “When they’re bouncing off the walls from a sugar high, I’m letting you watch them while Mommy enjoys the open bar.”
We all laughed, then sure enough, Leo slid into the chair by my side. He leaned over to kiss my cheek, then stretched across my lap to shake hands with Isaiah.
“Is it official? You guys back for good?”
Isaiah nodded. “As of last night.”
We’d arrived in town before dark with all of our belongings packed in the back of a U-Haul trailer. Isaiah had pulled it behind his truck while I’d followed in my car.
Every month that passed, Isaiah was getting more and more comfortable driving me around.
It was always easier on his bike. Still, for the most part, we drove separately, or I drove him.
There was no rush. There was no reason he had to drive.
He’d proved over and over that he’d be there in an emergency.
“What’s in the shop right now?” Isaiah asked the guys.
“We just brought in this sweet old ’66 Dodge Charger,” Emmett told him. “There’s quite a bit of metal work to do, but it’ll be a cool rig when it’s done.”
“I haven’t fabricated anything in a while,” Isaiah told him. “I’m out of practice.”
“It’ll come back,” Leo assured him. “Are you guys staying in the apartment for a while?”
“Just for a few weeks, until we close on the house,” I answered.
Thanks to Jim’s starting salary at the firm and the paycheck spike Isaiah would get being back at work for Dash, we could afford a house.
It was a new build, a small starter home on the edge of town, and in three weeks, it would be ours.
All we had to do was wait for the builder to paint the exterior and knock out our punch list.
We’d gone to see it first thing this morning.
I was so excited to make it mine I could barely stand it. Though it had been fun sleeping in the apartment last night too. Dash hadn’t rented it out in the years we’d been gone. It had become our home away from home, the place we stayed whenever we came home to visit.
Trips to Clifton Forge hadn’t happened often in the past three years with my busy school schedule, but we’d managed visits at Christmas and two weeks each summer.
We’d spent a long weekend here right after Zeke was born.
We’d never missed a birthday party. Isaiah and I had even started going to Prescott once a year, staying with Nick, Emmeline and the kids.
We hadn’t started off strong, but the ties that bound us together were strengthening.
Dash and Nick had embraced me as their sister.
Each year, the three of us met here in Clifton Forge on the anniversary of Dad’s death to toast him by his graveside.
While they’d go and visit their mother’s headstone, I’d do the same with mine.
Marcus Wagner had been convicted of Mom’s murder and obstruction of justice.
The sheriff from a neighboring county had led the investigation and found evidence stashed away in Marcus’s home.
The gun he’d used during the kidnapping.
The Warrior’s vest. And a handful of things that had been Mom’s.
Those things added to the recording of his confession that the judge had allowed into the case, and the prosecution hadn’t had a hard time getting a conviction.
Marcus was currently serving a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.
Since his sentencing, I’d done my best to forget the man existed.
I had justice for my parents.
The wedding crowd around us rustled, everyone shifting in their seats as whispers drifted from the back row. I turned, wondering what was happening—it was too early to start the ceremony—when Presley marched around the corner of the garage.
Her white gown was hefted into her fists. Her hair was styled away from her face and her makeup was flawless. She was gorgeous. Furious, but gorgeous.
“What’s going on?” Isaiah asked Emmett.
“Fuck if I know,” he muttered.
As Presley stormed down the small aisle between the rows of chairs, Dash rushed to catch her. He was in slacks and a jacket because she’d asked him to walk her down the aisle. “Pres, don’t.”
“No.” She put up a hand, the dress draping to the grass as she continued walking. “I’ll do it.”
Presley walked to the altar, nodding at the officiant who stood under the white archway entwined with green vines and white flowers. She squared her shoulders to address the crowd.
No.
We all hated Jeremiah, that was no secret. He’d joined the Warriors and had moved to Ashton to be closer to the club. Year after year, he’d strung Presley along. He’d promised they’d get married. We’d all thought it was bullshit, but then six months ago, they’d set a date.
So here we were, ready to watch her marry a man none of us liked much. She’d already given Dash her notice so she could move to Ashton. He was in denial, refusing to fill her position at the garage until after she’d left town.
But Presley had made her choice and I’d stuck by her side, even meeting her and Bryce in Bozeman one day to shop for dresses.
I didn’t want Jeremiah for her, but I didn’t want this either. Not today.
Presley didn’t deserve this kind of humiliation.
A flush crept up her face but she kept her chin high. “I’m sorry to inform you all that the wedding has been canceled.”
A chorus of gasps and whispers filled the air.
My heart dropped as I searched for Isaiah’s hand. He held my grip tight, his molars grinding. Beside me, Leo cracked his knuckles. Emmett’s fists were white-knuckled on his knees. The fury emanating from Dash as he stood beside Presley was like a heat wave.
Jeremiah had better not show his face in Clifton Forge for quite some time.
“Thank you all for coming.” Presley waved a hand to the tent. “Please take your gifts. I can’t—” She shook her head, her eyes turning glassy.
“I got this.” Dash stepped up. “You go.”
She nodded and bolted to the side, racing away.
Isaiah handed me Xander, standing to chase her. Emmett and Leo were right behind him.
I met Bryce’s worried gaze. “What should we do?”
“Get these people out of here,” she muttered. “Then either we bring Presley back to the bar, or take the bar to Presley.”
The guys were way ahead of us. As Bryce, Dash and I ushered guests to the parking lot, Isaiah, Emmett and Leo managed to snag Presley before she could disappear.
They hurried her upstairs to the apartment, Leo grabbed a bottle of tequila from the bar, and they proceeded to line up shot after shot for the wounded bride.
By the time Bryce, Dash and I had taken care of the catering staff, bar staff and deejay, then joined the group in the apartment, Presley was muttering incoherent sentences on the couch, minutes away from passing out.
She’d changed into a pair of my lounge pants and a hoodie. She’d cried her mascara down her face.
“A text,” she slurred. “He did it in a text.”
So Jeremiah had called it off, as I’d feared. Asshole. “What did his text say?”
“Hewanz Scarlett.”
Scarlett? “Who’s . . .”
Presley’s eyes drifted closed and she was out cold.
“Okay, never mind,” I muttered.
“We’ll take her home,” Dash said, handing his suit jacket to Bryce.
“No, I’ve got her.” Emmett scooped her up in his beefy arms. “You’ve got the boys and their car seats.”
“I’m going to go find Jeremiah.” Leo stood from the couch where he’d been hovering over Pres. When he walked past me, the smell of alcohol on his breath was staggering.
“Not tonight.” Isaiah caught him by the arm. “The last thing we need after three years of peace is a fight with the Warriors.”
Leo grumbled something under his breath, but he nodded. “Fine. Not tonight. But I’m kicking that guy’s ass for doing this to her.”
My face paled, something Isaiah noticed instantly.
No. We’d gone so long without trouble, and I didn’t want to invite it back into our lives. As much as I would like to see Jeremiah suffer for breaking Presley’s heart, I didn’t want revenge enough to risk our safety again.
“Leo, I’m driving your drunk-ass home,” Dash said.
Thankfully, Leo didn’t argue. He just tossed an arm around Bryce’s shoulders and made a face that sent Xander into a fit of hysterics.
Zeke had fallen asleep on my shoulder thirty minutes ago.
“See you guys on Monday.” Dash took Zeke from me, bending to kiss my cheek. Then he opened the door for everyone to file out.
When it clicked behind him, I blew out a deep breath, walking into Isaiah’s arms. “That was bad.”
“She’ll be okay. Better this than a nasty divorce.”
“Yeah.” I closed my eyes. “I was looking forward to dancing with you tonight.”
He lifted my hand, holding tight to the small of my back, then spun us in a circle. I smiled as he slowed and swayed us back and forth, the only music our beating hearts.
It was home. Here in this apartment, in his arms, was home.
“I’m pregnant.”
Isaiah stopped dancing.
I’d found out two days ago and had stalled telling him because of the move. But now that we were here, now that we were home, it was time.
Isaiah and I had talked about having kids. We were both nervous about becoming parents, Isaiah more so than me. He had this lingering doubt that he didn’t deserve the love of a child.
But he knew I wanted to be a mother. Deep down, he wanted to be a father. So we’d decided to wait until after school, and I’d gone off the pill two months ago.
“You’re pregnant?”
I nodded.
He took my face in his hands. And smiled. “I love you, doll.”
Isaiah’s eyes had been so haunted once. So dark and lifeless. Tonight, they were as bright as stars. My husband. My life.
“I love you too.”