Epilogue

EPILOGUE

TESSA

T he family I dreamed of having with Kian happened sooner than either of us expected, thanks to our daughter deciding that she wanted to come three weeks early. She was in such a rush to be born that I almost delivered on the side of the road on the way to the hospital. Luckily, my husband put his excellent driving skills to good use and got us there in the nick of time.

“Damn, that was close.” He stroked his finger down our baby girl’s little button nose. “I shoulda hauled Patch’s ass into the SUV with us, just in case. I won’t make that mistake again.”

I giggled at the thought of his club brother delivering my baby on the back seat of the vehicle. He was a great doctor who helped out whenever anyone needed it, but he wasn’t an OB-GYN. “Nope, our next one will be a boy who listens to his momma instead of our daddy’s girl who was in a rush to meet you because you whispered to her about how excited you were for her birth.”

“Gonna do the same each time you’re pregnant,” he warned. “But even if the next one is a momma’s boy, I get to name him.”

“Absolutely.” I wasn’t about to argue when he let me name our first after my mom. Honoring her with our little Tabitha was bittersweet since my dad still wasn’t a part of my life.

The only updates I got about him were when I asked Kian to check to make sure nothing awful had happened to him. The worst one had been when I learned that he’d sold my childhood home. So many of my happiest memories with my mom had happened there, but Kian had made it better by somehow getting the doorframe where she’d marked my growth each year and cuttings from her rose bushes in the backyard.

Being able to have a part of her in the home where we would raise our family meant the world to me. Even though I had no idea how he’d talked the new owners into it, I wasn’t surprised. Kian proved each day how much he meant it when he said he always had my back.

“I love you so much.”

“That’s good, sweet girl.” Carefully cradling our daughter against his broad chest, he leaned over to kiss me. “Because you’re stuck with me forever.”

“Don’t scare the poor girl off,” Mac joked as he and Bridget entered the hospital room.

Kian glared at him. “Like you haven’t said the same damn thing to your wife.”

“He does have a point, dear.” Bridget poked Mac in the side before hurrying over to Kian so she could coo at our daughter. “Oh, my goodness. Aren’t you so precious? It’s hard to believe that ours were ever this small now that they’ve grown up so much. One of these days, I’m going to blink, and it’ll be Molly in that bed after she has our first grandchild.”

“Over my dead body,” Mac growled. “And whoever the fuck thinks they can knock my little girl up will be six feet under, too.”

“Language,” Bridget snapped. “The baby is only hours old.”

“A little cursing won’t hurt her. She’s gonna be a Silver Saints princess,” he reminded her.

“Well, your first princess just turned sixteen years old, so don’t be surprised when we get a call from the school because she thinks she’s old enough to use all the swear words she’s heard you guys toss around over the years,” Bridget muttered, shaking her head with a sigh. “Our girl has enough sass in her that she’d probably make up some of her own just to piss off her teacher and then make a whole case over how she shouldn’t be in trouble for using words that don’t even make any sense.”

I laughed. “I can definitely see her doing something like that.”

“Enjoy your precious girl while she’s small enough to think that everything you say is gospel,” Bridget advised me with a smile. “Eventually, you’ll be tearing your hair out over her antics, just like me.”

Mac moved closer to his wife and pulled her against his side. “Molly isn’t that bad.”

“I’m not saying she’s bad, just a handful,” she corrected. “Which you don’t really see because she’s a daddy’s girl. But some day in the future, she’s going to meet a man and she’s going to think he’s as awesome as you, and then you’ll change your tune.”

“That’s not gonna happen anytime soon since she’s not allowed to date until she’s at least thirty.”

As they continued to banter, Kian leaned close and murmured, “Thirty.”

“Thirty what?” I echoed, my brows drawing together.

“That’s how old Tabitha will be when she’s allowed to go on her first date.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s more than a little hypocritical when I got pregnant with her at nineteen.”

He shrugged. “Maybe so, but that’s the rule.”

“Good luck laying down the law with our daddy’s girl.” I took Tabitha from his arms and smiled down at her. “She’s already got you wrapped around her little finger. I bet all it will take is one little pout, and you’ll cave. Even when it comes to dating before she’s thirty.”

He shook his head. “Not gonna happen.”

I didn’t want to be the kind of person who said I told you so…but I sure as heck did it when he was proven wrong sixteen years later.