EPILOGUE

NAVY

And live we certainly did.

What a ride the last ten years had been.

As hard as we’d tried, I never did get my four girls and believe me, we didn’t give up easily. Instead, Gia had gifted me with four sons. The first one arriving nine months after we’d met. Four boys that not only looked like me but also acted like me. And they adored their mother just as much as I did.

About a month after everything had gone down and I’d blown up Gia’s childhood home, Kate had approached me about the property over the road from Crow Manor. There was no house on it, so it meant we would have to start from scratch. Not that starting from scratch bothered me, Gia and I were comfortable in our cottage and her gran and Hetty loved living in the village.

When I’d hear the price, I knew there was no way I could swing it by myself, no matter how comfortable I was financially. Deciding to call Bas and ask his opinion, he’d immediately told me not to do anything until he’d seen it. It hadn’t taken long for him to pack up Hope and the kids to come and have a look. They’d liked the potential and the fact that if we bought it as part of the estate it would be better tax wise, and they could build themselves a small home for when they visited, which they did often. It took a little while and some fancy lawyer-talk and we seemed to wade through reams and reams of paperwork, but in the end Bancroft Estate had ended up with a fair bit of property worth a lot of money.

I’d started to take a more active role in the estate, and, to my surprise, I was actually good at business deals. Between Bas, Hope, Gia, and I, we’d grown the family business to double what it had been.

Gia and I’d built the house of her dreams with an annex for her grandmother. Sadly, her gran didn’t get to live with us for very long before she’d passed away. We knew she’d been thrilled at the changes in her life; she told us so often. She’d hung on long enough to celebrate the birth of our first two boys with us before she’d left us. It had taken Gia a long time to get over her passing and Hetty simultaneously moving back to her family in Somerset.

The turning point had been when she’d found out she was pregnant with our third. When our fourth and last boy arrived two years after the third, we were complete, or so we’d thought.

When you walked into our house, you knew it was a home. It was also loud with four boys that were either fighting, laughing, or shouting. But most of all, it was filled with love. Gia ensured that our boys knew they were wanted and loved. Our dinner table was never quiet.

Bas, Hope, Vi, and George spent a lot of time between here and the main estate. Derek and Tristan had made their home at Bancroft Estates in Somerset as it was closer to the company that Tristan ran. It had been touch and go for Derek after being shot and I guess a wake-up call for all of us that time was short.

The first few years after Tristan took over his family company were hard, and he got a lot of pushback from older members of the board when their relationship was made common knowledge, but in the long run it was for the best. Gia had used the money she’d inherited to buy up their shares as a way to get those not happy with how her brother lived his life out of the company. It was a good decision because between Tristan and Derek, the company was thriving. I was proud of both of them.

The Crow MC was still growing and not just the one in the UK but the one in Zambia as well. Both were going from strength to strength and our numbers had grown with not just the second generation but the third generation joining in the businesses.

Over the last few years, we’d built up a nice alliance between a few other MCs. The O’Shea’s were still a big part of our lives as were their children and the businesses we ran together.

Once Reaper had stepped down from his role as President, the rest of us stepped back too, allowing the next generation to take our places and they did it seamlessly. We were always around if they needed us, but it seemed we’d done a good job of getting them ready for what life would throw at them.

With the MC in capable hands, it left us with more time to ride and enjoy life.

As with all things, time marches on and sadly we lost some of our beloved original generation, leaving a hole for a long time that would never be filled.

With their passing, it meant that the manor underwent changes and had some major upgrades done to it, ready for the next generation of Crows.

While some things changed, others stayed the same and one of those was the whole MC closing down business for the day and making the forty-five-minute trek to Bournemouth Beach on the last day of term.

Ellie insisted that this tradition continue as it was one of the best memories she had of her first year with us.

It didn’t matter if it was raining or not, we all went. If it was raining, we found a restaurant and had fish and chips. If it was sunny like it was today, then we packed a picnic and took it with us so that the younger children could run around wild.

Julia and Rogue always tried to come for this event as it was an anniversary for them. The first time Rogue had seen and fallen in love with Julia was the first time we’d done this ride.

It wasn’t often that Noni and Bull made it to the UK and we understood their reasons — there was a lot of heartache in this country for them. We looked after the graves of their loved ones for them, and most of us flew out to them for Christmas and New Year. There was nothing like getting away from the cold and the rain for two weeks to relax by a pool in the blazing heat to revive a person.

Today was the last day of the summer term and we’d arrived on the beach and staked our claim at our usual spot. I’d chased the boys around, picked up enough shells and stones to sink a battleship.

Once they’d tired of that, the tennis balls and wickets had come out. Our entire group was embroiled in a vicious game of beach cricket. There was a lot of laughter and we’d lost one of the balls to the sea when Ben hadn’t been able to catch it in time.

My attention was dragged away from the game by a small hand pulling on my shorts. Looking down into familiar blue eyes that were now drooping from tiredness, I picked up our youngest boy, who immediately cuddled into me.

“Are you okay, son?”

Feeling his little head nod against me, I smiled when he muttered, “Tired, Daddy.”

Patting his back, I waved at Dragon that I was out and motioned to where the women were sitting. Getting a thumbs up, I abandoned my post knowing that someone would take my place. I walked my son up to where my sweets was sitting.

She was just as beautiful as she’d been the first time I’d seen her. Gia’s eyes caught mine as we walked up. Winking at her, I grinned when her cheeks heated slightly. All these years later and my love still blushed for me.

Coming to a halt near her chair, I knelt down and settled our youngest on the blanket next to her. He immediately closed his eyes with a sigh, tilting the umbrella I made sure he was in the shade before turning my attention to Gia, who’d been watching me with soft eyes.

Cupping my hands on her belly, I smiled as our fifth and last baby kicked me. We’d both been taken by surprise when we’d found out we were expecting again and this time it was a girl, “How are you feeling, sweets?”

Lifting my eyes to hers to find her smiling at me, her hand cupped my cheek, her other hand covering my pec that held the tattoo that I’d had done the day I’d married Gia for real. It had started with just her name over my heart. I’d then added to with the birth of every child, “I’m okay, Navy, I haven’t moved from this chair since we got here. Everyone has been fetching and carrying for me,” she assured me. “Although, I have been enjoying the view this afternoon,” she winked at me as she ran a finger down my chest.

Smirking at her words, I guess I still did it for my Old Lady. Knowing that she would tell me if she wasn’t okay, I stood up, resting my hands on the arms of her chair, I bent over and took her lips in a soft, sweet kiss, trailing my lips along her cheek until I got to her ear, “Glad I still do it for you, sweets. Love you,” I whispered.

Gia shivered at my words, turning her head and kissing the side of my mouth, “Not as much as I love you, Navy. You’re my hero, you always have been, and you always will be.”

My heart filled with love at her words and as always, they settled me.

I’d waited a long time for Gia, she was everything I could have wished for. She made me a better man, a better brother and finally a father. I wouldn’t be where I was today without her by my side.

My sweets, my lady, my friend, my wife!

THE END