Epilogue Samantha
My fingers flew furiously over the keys as I typed up my latest debriefing. As I relived the takedown, I couldn’t help smiling. After all, it wasn’t every day that you apprehended a gun trafficker who carried his shipment in a clown- decorated ice cream truck.
It also made me think of Gavin and how he would have hated the case. The one thing he was afraid of was clowns. A year might’ve passed since his murder, but I still thought of him and missed him every day.
A knock came at my door, but I didn’t look up. “Yeah?”
“Are you still here?” Peterson asked.
“Just finishing up.”
“You should have left an hour ago.”
I glanced up at him. “Since when do bosses encourage their employees to be slackers?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, he countered, “When that employee has a wedding rehearsal in less than two hours.”
After hitting save on the file, I held my hands up in defeat.
“Fine, fine. I’m leaving now.”
“Good. If I had to see one more text from your future sister-in-law about where you were, I was going to scream.” At my laugh, he narrowed his eyes. “Just exactly how did she get my number?”
“You’re in the wedding party, and as the wedding planner, Alexandra needed your contact number.”
“I see.” He motioned me with his hand. “Come on. I’ll walk you out.”
I had to smile at his overprotectiveness. Even though it had been over a year since Eddy attacked me, Peterson still insisted on walking me out if he was in the building when I left at night. He would also be walking me down the aisle tomorrow at Bishop’s and my wedding.
Although I could have asked my older brother, Steven, or my stepfather, Peterson had really been a father figure to me over the years.
We took the elevator down to the parking garage, and then Peterson walked me over to my car. “See you in two hours.”
“Drive safe.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Peterson gave me a wry grin. “You better watch that. I might just get a kick out of it in a dirty- old- man way.”
I laughed. “Get out of here.”
He waved and then headed down the row to his car. Just as I started the car, my phone rang. I smiled at the ID. “Hello, Future Husband.”
A chuckle came from the other end. “Hello, Future Wife. You leaving work?”
“Yep. On my way to the clubhouse now.”
“Good. I’ve had Alexandra and Annabel on my ass most of the afternoon.”
“Oh man, double trouble there.”
“Damn straight.”
Since I lacked the girly girl gene for interest in wedding planning, Alexandra and Annabel had taken over the details.
Whenever they tried to make it too much, Bishop and I would veto them.
In the end, we decided to get married in the same place that Annabel and Rev had.
It made sense to do it at Tohi Ama. It was where we had spent our first night together.
The place where we started our relationship.
It made sense that we would become man and wife there as well.
“So I picked up your mom and stepdad at the airport. Your brother and sister and their families won’t get in until later tonight, which will be better for you to make the introductions.”
“Thanks for doing that. How are they?” What I meant to ask was how they were adjusting to being at an MC clubhouse surrounded by bikers. My mom, who still harbored a lot of prejudice against bikers, had had a hard time when I told her about Bishop.
She hadn’t wanted to accept our relationship for a long time, and I think she hoped that I was just sowing some wild oats or something rebellious like that. She couldn’t understand how someone with my history could ever trust, least of all love, a biker.
But as the months went on, Bishop and I remained serious.
When we got engaged, she tried through numerous phone calls to talk me out of it. Over and over again, I tried explaining that Bishop and the Raiders weren’t anything like the man who had taken her husband away.
It had taken a face-to-face meeting for her to actually start to warm to Bishop.
We had gone down after Christmas and spent New Year’s with my mom and stepdad.
Bishop was extremely patient with her and kept his temper when she was openly hostile.
Finally, it all came to a head over dinner one night at my mother’s favorite restaurant.
After Bishop picked up the check, he turned to my mother. “Mrs. Bennett, there’s something I need to say to you.”
My mother pursed her lips at him as she reached for the last of her wine. “What is it?”
Bishop drew in a deep breath as my stepfather and I leaned forward anxiously in our chairs.
“I’ve spent most of my life dealing with people thinking I’m the scum of the earth because I wear a cut and ride a Harley.
I’ve learned to accept that. And while my brothers and I aren’t always model citizens, I can swear to you on my life that your daughter is safe with me. ”
My mother waved her hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, Samantha has told me that a hundred times. But it still doesn’t change anythingfor me.”
“I hate to hear you say that. I want you to be able to be happy that your daughter is in love and that she is loved in return. I will work until my fingers bleed to provide for her a safe and stable life.I will always put her life before mine.”
I reached over and squeezed Bishop’s hand. “Just like he has
done not once, but twice.”
“Twice?” my mother questioned in surprise.
While she knew what had happened with Eddy, she had no idea what Bishop had done during the Diablos’ attack. Her hardened expression relaxed when I told her about Bishop throwing himself on top of me. “I see,” she murmured.
“More than anything in the world, we would like your blessing,” Bishop said.
My mother played with a piece of lint on the tablecloth. “I can’t say that I’m ever going to feel completely comfortable with Samantha being a biker’s wife and being involved with outlaws. But at the same time, I don’t think she could find a man who loved her more than you do.”
Although I was never one to cry, tears pooled in my eyes. “No. I couldn’t.”
“So all I can say is I’ll try.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Bennett.” With a wink, he added, “Just you wait. I’ll win you over before you know it!”
And he did. By the time we left to go home, my mother had made huge strides in coming to accept Bishop. Of course, he was only one biker. Now she was about to face a roomful of men in cuts.
“I’d say it’s going okay. I steered them down to Mama Beth’s, since I thought it was a safer bet than keeping them out of the roadhouse.”
“Good thinking. I’ll go straight there when I leave. I’ll have Peterson with me. He’s still a little skeptical about this whole marrying-in- the- woods thing.”
Bishop laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me.” At the sound of voices in the background, Bishop sighed. “Look, I gotta go. I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Okay. Bye. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
No matter how many times he said it, I never got tired of hearing Bishop say he loved me. There was a time I thought I’d never get to hear the words, so that made them even sweeter. I was thankful he wasn’t the type of man to shy away from saying how he felt.
As we started into the clearing at Tohi Ama, the sun sat low on the horizon, sending streaks of pink, orange, and purple across the sky.
I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful evening or location to have my wedding ceremony.
“Okay, once the bridesmaids are in place, then we’ll cue the wedding march, and, Samantha, you’ll come down the aisle. ”
“Now?”
Alexandra waved her hands wildly. “No, no, no! It’s bad luck to walk down the aisle during the rehearsal. He can walk down the aisle, but you need to come around the chairs.”
“I stand corrected,” I replied, with a grin. Alexandra was taking this wedding stuff way too seriously. But the last thing Bishop and I needed was more bad luck, so I decided to humor her for the both of us.
After bypassing the aisle, I rejoined Peterson at the altar, where Bishop waited. Both Rev and Deacon were his best men, and Mac, Boone, and Breakneck evened out the groomsmen.
Besides my sister, Sophie, my bridesmaids represented the world I was entering, and there was no one from my past before Bishop.
Alexandra, Annabel, Kim, and Annie filled the spots.
It was a no-brainer that Willow would be the flower girl, and Wyatt was going to try his best at being the ring bearer.
Since he wasn’t quite two, it was going to be interesting seeing how he did.
“Now we’ll practice the vows.”
The minister, who was a Raider from out of town named Fuzz, went over the parts of the service with us without us actually saying the vows. That would be reserved for tomorrow. “And then it’ll be the ‘by the power vested in me’ jazz, and you may now kiss the bride.”
Bishop drew me into his arms and brought his lips to mine. I melted into his embrace, letting my hands run up and down his back.
At Fuzz’s whistle, we pulled apart. “Now, that’s enough of that. You weren’t supposed to practice that part,” he said.
Bishop grinned. “But I needed to make sure I got it just right tomorrow.”
“Like you need practice,” I mused.
Alexandra stepped forward again. “After the kiss is the processional and the service is done. Once we do some pictures, we’ll move on to the reception.”
“Speaking of the reception, I’m starved. Let’s head back for dinner,” Bishop said.
Back at the clubhouse, we had a sit- down dinner of homemade BBQ and sides. It wasn’t fancy or classy, but I loved it all the same.
Bishop and I were making a dent in an enormous piece of chocolate cake when a scream of pain echoed through the room.
Two tables down from us, Kim’s daughter, Cassie, was bent over, huffing and puffing.
Considering the special circumstances of her pregnancy as the surrogate making Rev and Annabel’s dreams of parenthood come true, everyone’s attention was immediately riveted to her.
Turning over their chairs in a rush, Rev and Annabel sprinted over to Cassie.
“Are you okay?” Rev questioned.
“Is it Braxton Hicks?” Annabel asked.