EPILOGUE

KADENCE

Four Months Later

“I now pronounce you both husband and wife…again.” Scottie grins at the two of us. I laugh as Holden’s arms wrap around me. The once small bump, now more prominent, is almost squished between us as he embraces me. “Kiss that bride of yours, Nash.”

Holden’s blue eyes drag from Scottie to me with a smile so wide I can’t help but match it.

“C’mere, Sunflower,” he rasps as one hand slides up my back and around the back of my neck.

“It’s wife to you,” I whisper as his lips graze against mine.

Holden shakes his head and the corners of his mouth turn up again as my hands grip onto the edges of his cut.

“You’re still my Sunflower.” Holden closes the distance between us, taking my top lip first as he kisses me and our friends cheer around us. Getting lost in the first kiss we’ve shared in hours, I whimper against his lips, feeling him smile against my own.

The sun beams down against the raging water of the river below. It glitters against the soft pearls and stones on my dress, creating a disco-like effect over the brand new wood and metal of the bridge. When I first suggested it as the place we should get married, Holden shook his head and went into many, many reasons as to why we would never get married here.

Trey had spent time with the city planners to fix the bridge after Holden called it a death trap. He wasn’t entirely wrong, I had almost died because of the state the bridge was in previously. Under Holden’s guidance, Trey had the bridge rebuilt to almost new only leaving the initials carved into one restored piece of the wood.

Holden pulls back from the kiss as the crowd begins to file off of the bridge and back towards the pull off through the cut down trail lined with flowers that led us out here.

“I have something for you,” he says, tucking a tendril of hair behind my ear.

“You do?” I raise a brow. “I thought we said no gifts.”

He narrows his eyes and bobs his head. “We did, but we’ll just call this perfect timing.”

I shove against his chest. “Holden Nash, what did you do?”

“Nothin’ darlin’, it wasn’t all totally me,” he admits, glancing behind him.

I follow his eyeline to where Cole and Blake are bickering back and forth about something. Holden shakes his head as we continue walking with everyone else. His fingers intertwine with mine as we walk down the trail until he came to a stop just before the opening out to the pull off. He lets go of my hand and turns to me, curling his fingers around my cheeks.

“I told you once I never wanted to replace your father and I know he couldn’t be here today, so I wanted to give you the next best thing.”

My brows furrow softly. “What?”

He dips his head, looking out beyond the tree line, and points. I turn to look and through the trees I see shiny black metal.

“Is that?” I whisper looking back up at him, seeing that mischievous smile plastered on his face.

“Go look,” he says softly, pressing his lips to my forehead before letting me go.

Excitement flows through me as I make my way through the brush, holding my hand out behind me for him to take, which of course he does. Stepping out from the trees, in between the rows of motorcycles parked, was my Comet. My father’s Comet as I remember it. White-walled wheels, cherry red steering wheel and brand new black paint that glitters under the afternoon sun.

Tears fill my eyes and a sense of warmth washes over me. Holden lets go of my hand for a moment, stepping over to where Dex and Scottie are as they pass something to him. My eyes are glued to the car as I slowly walk around it.

“I can’t believe it,” I whisper.

“The guys worked hard,” Cole says from behind me. “I swear Wyatt polished it three times before he let any of us touch it.”

A tearful laugh leaves me as I glance over at West. His attention is on me with his arms wrapped around Blake’s middle. The two of them finally gave each other a chance. After Watson’s attack on Wyatt, Blake wouldn’t leave his side for weeks and in that time the feelings they tried so hard to hide finally spilled over. It was the happiest I had ever seen the two of them.

“I can’t believe it,” I whisper again as Holden steps back over to me, jangling the keys between his fingers.

“Give it a go.” He grins and opens the driver's side door for me.

I start to climb in, lifting my dress and huffing softly as the space between me and the steering wheel has shortened with my growing belly. Holden climbs in on the passenger side, leaning against the seat, watching me as I stick the key into the ignition and give it a turn. The car roars to life, sending a thrill down my spine. I look up at him with tears in my eyes. I was sure that this car would have been gone forever.

“You still plannin’ on leaving?” He dares to ask me with a sly grin on his face as he reaches up and swipes away a tear from my cheek with the pad of his thumb.

“Not a chance,” I whisper before leaning into him, kissing him softly with him welcoming it as our friends cheer again.

I understand why it felt like God laughed at my plans before. My plan was shit, full of ultimatums and tainted love. Now, I have the exact opposite. A man who would literally do anything to protect me and our child, a man who shows me what it means to be loved without condition. My family may be gone, a child lost and a missed opportunity with my mother but Holden Nash and the Hounds slowly fill in each crack left in my heart, day by day.