VAL’S EPILOGUE, AKA HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Joining the Blood-Red Suns was always about Lola for me. Yet, I never forget what it means for her family and mine.

The Charleston club isn’t an oppressive force always bearing down on us. For the year after I marry Lola, though, the big city assholes linger in the background. Occasionally, we’ll see a few scouts scoping out our territory. Though they never make trouble, we know they’re considering the pros and cons of challenging the clubs.

Wearing the Blood-Red Suns' patch throws me off more than I expected. However, my dad switched clubs to make a better life for himself. Now, I’m doing the same thing.

“I’m a mini-Emmett,” I tell West. “Your life is stagnant compared to mine.”

My brother always falls for those comments and decides to throw down. Of course, West and I have never needed a reason to wrestle.

To celebrate my daughter’s first birthday, Lola and I choose to throw a party at a Basin Rock park on a weekend when many eyes will be on us. I invite everyone from Rawkfist and the Blood-Red Suns. No one is allowed to refuse my invitation. They’re expected to kiss my ring.

Maybe the party’s timing is perfect or someone local made a call, but a dozen Charleston guys ride up to the park right after we finish with the cake.

They’re a scary bunch. Lola doesn’t hide despite Lina resting on her hip. However, Alexis, who is in full clown makeup, scoots her ginger ass behind my brother.

The Rawkfist and the Blood-Red Suns clubs are a scary bunch, too. That day, three dozen men face off against those Charleston guys. Nothing is said. At one end of our group stands Court, a man never afraid to spill blood. At the other end is Duke, a man no longer afraid of what his future holds.

After those Charleston boys ride off, we see less of them checking out our territory. Eventually, they stop showing up altogether. The Charleston crew realizes that taking this territory from two united clubs will cost too high a price.

By that point, Duke treats me as his co-president. We’ve divvied up our duties, making sure we both have enough free time for our families. For the first time, the burden of leadership no longer falls on his shoulders alone.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, I remarry Lola at the homestead just like I promised I would. That’s the day when Duke announces he’s making me president and will take on the VP role.

“I’m nowhere ready to retire,” Duke explains when he suggests the change. “But I’ve been in charge for a long damn time. It’ll be nice to let someone else call the shots.”

Though Duke says the words, I never feel like the burden is mine alone. If I have concerns, he’s always there to listen. If I have questions, I also have my dad and uncles.

The meatheads mature faster under my leadership than Duke’s. I’m not their dad figure. Though they always wanted Duke’s approval, the guys also had an insatiable urge to push back against him.

The meatheads know I like to get rowdy, but I can also turn off that goofball shit. The guys mimic me more and more, learning boundaries and taking on additional responsibilities. A few get married and have kids. The single ones I rotate down to Florida for a few months at a time each year.

“You’re a smart president,” Pa-Emmett says when I share my plan to keep an eye on Dallas.

My relationship with my pa changes after I have kids. I start to see the world through his eyes more. I want my kids to grow up feeling like I did, but fatherhood proves tricky.

I always assumed I’d have good-looking kids, and I wasn’t wrong. I imagined my daughter would be a sassy princess, and my son would be a good-natured rascal. Um, not quite as right about that.

Lina is plenty sassy, but she’s no princess. The one time we attempt to pin a tiara to her hair, she screams like we’ve dropped a tarantula on her head instead. Once I remove the tiara and stick it on Lola’s head, my blonde angel turns off her shrieking and smiles at me.

“Thanks, Daddy. That was a close one,” she says and throws up her arms so I’ll pick her up.

“What did you think was going to happen?” I ask as she relaxes on my hip and enjoys the higher view.

“Not sure,” she says and shrugs her little shoulders. “What did you think was going to happen?”

“I thought you were going to look like a little princess.”

Lina smiles like I’m fricking adorable, but she refuses to back down even when I pretend to cry. She really doesn’t want sparkly crap in her hair.

Worth is much more chill about wearing a tiara. He also lets his mom put a flower behind his ear once, and he’ll wear a lei during our Hawaiian-themed homestead parties. My son prefers gentle play. If things get too rowdy, he’ll look around for his sister’s protection.

“Swooping in to kick hiney!” Lina will holler.

I take a while to get the hang of having a shy kid. I can’t really figure out how Worth sees the world. Our home is safe. The homestead is fun. The people he encounters all view him as the son of the best person they know. There’s no reason to get startled or hide.

Yet, Worth becomes rattled easily. Rather than cry or even whine, he’ll silently run toward someone safe. When he’s little, Lola carries him around during family get-togethers. When he’s too old to fit on her hip, he’ll shadow her during parties. Worth is most definitely a mama’s boy.

Since Lola loves motorcycles, my son eventually comes to enjoy the loud beasts. Not as much as he loves animals, though.

“Can men be veterinarians and bikers?” Worth asks me one day while we sit out by Stache Lake and watch our Cocker Spaniel-terrier mix Goober chase butterflies.

“I don’t know if all men can, but I’m sure you can.”

“Why me but not them?”

“You’re smart enough to become a vet. Not everyone is.”

“Am I tough enough to be a biker?” he asks, watching me from under his dark, shaggy bangs.

“Of course. There are all kinds of men in our family’s clubs. Charming guys like me, mustached guys like Peepaw Jared, quiet guys like your cousin Ike. Lots of guys can find a home in the club.”

Worth offers me a great smile that day. He’s a kid wired completely different than I ever was. I sometimes worry about him missing out. Fortunately, a few of his cousins are wired in the same way. Gem loves animals and wants to become a veterinarian like Meemaw Christine. She and Worth are always checking on the homestead’s many pets.

My son also loves to play with Ike’s son, Van, who is a lurker like his dad. Whenever I worry that a quiet kid can’t survive on the homestead or in the club, I remember how Ike built a great life for himself.

Over time, I learn Worth might be quiet and reluctant to start drama, but he’ll leap into action when the time is right.

One day, when the kids are at karate class, an older student calls Lina “pigface” because of her chubby cheeks inherited from Ma-Poppy. My baby girl isn’t insecure about much, but that comment cuts her deep. Lina doesn’t fight back or scream like a banshee. When that boy hurts her feelings, she just lowers her head and begins to cry.

Before Lola can swoop in and give the asshole kid a talking-to, Worth attacks the bigger boy. My son effortlessly dodges punches while raining down hell on the brat who made his sister cry. The instructor even needs help peeling a seven-year-old Worth off the now-crying bully.

“I’m mad,” Worth tells me when they get home. “I want to hit him again.”

Lina smiles so big at how her little brother kicked someone’s ass in her defense. They were always close, but that day spawns a new, tighter bond between sister and brother.

“I think Lina would make a great member of the club,” Lola tells me one day while we watch our daughter run around with her cousins Cheri, Gem, and Mimi. “I used to want to be in Duke’s club, but I was afraid to be the only girl.”

“You’d make a badass biker bitch,” I reply and snuggle up closer.

Lola smiles at me in that lovestruck way she’s never lost. Over the years, we’ve disagreed from time to time. Old lovers have shown up to create drama or stake a claim based on a long-ago hookup. We’ve endured bad vacations like when I got food poisoning while we visited Kerrie in Minnesota. Through everything, Lola remains the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. Our only sticking point is my complete inability to make her come first when we do the sixty-nine sex position.

“It’s because I’m concentrating,” Lola explains one night. “I can’t come when I’m focused on making you come.”

“I’m concentrating, too, yet I come just fine.”

“Well, that’s because your brain might be concentrating, but your balls aren’t. That’s why I’m always going to win. It’s just science, Val.”

Lola’s a wise woman. So, when she suggests Lina should join the Blood-Red Suns one day, I allow the idea to flourish. The thought of Lina and Worth riding together fills me with intense pride.

Linking the McGraw and homestead families becomes bigger than the clubs. We also expand our power over both towns and even into Rockwell by buying properties and businesses. When the kids are in high school, Lola wins a spot on the county board overseeing all three towns. She makes sure the clubs’ goals are protected.

Despite our busy lives, Lola and I get plenty of time to focus on each other. She’s more than my wife. Lola’s my best friend. We’re constantly having fun, whether we’re watching a silly movie, playing basketball, or goofing around in bed. We always have each other’s backs, too. No one is a bigger fan of Lola than me, and she often looks at me like she’s shocked at her good luck.

The night we met, Lola absolutely floored me. Our chemistry felt like magic. No curse or club politics could stand in our way. I was willing to give up everything to win her heart.

Lola always wanted to believe in us. Even when she screamed at the grocery store, her eyes were bright with need. Staying apart was never a long-term option. If her great-great grandmother’s coochie hadn’t inspired a curse, I’d have married Lola as soon as we met.

In the end, I got everything I need to be happy. Lina and Worth are great kids. The homestead remains my safe space. I’ve gotten to ride with two great clubs. And my dream girl still looks at me like I’m fantastic.

I really am a lucky Adonis.

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THE END