Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
I couldn’t stop touching her.
Because she was everything—my woman, my future, my family.
The woman who owned every piece of me, and I planned to keep her close for the rest of my life.
EPILOGUE
LINDSAY
After three years of planning, I never thought this day would come. The new community center gleamed in the sunlight—all fresh paint, polished windows, and possibilities. The building was much bigger than the old one. And brighter too, but it still felt like home.
Which made sense, considering how much of my heart lived inside these walls. The rest of it was sitting in the audience, beaming big smiles at me.
I stood on the small stage in front of the new entryway, my hand resting on the curve of my very pregnant belly as I looked out over the crowd. Kids I’d watched grow up were bouncing with excitement. Volunteers, staff, and parents filled the rows of folding chairs. Off to the side, a wall of men in leather cuts stood watch, their arms crossed and sunglasses hiding expressions that were probably a little too soft for their reputations. Their wives and children were in the crowd of seated people as well.
Beck sat front and center, holding our daughter in one arm while our son clung to his leg. Baxter had his eyes. Laura had my sass. And both of them had our entire world wrapped around their fingers. Their grandmother’s too.
My mom sat to Beck’s right, an empty chair on her other side that we all knew my son wouldn’t use. If he got tired of standing, Baxter would crawl into my mom’s lap instead.
Meeting Beck’s eyes, I blew him a quick kiss. Then I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves before tapping the microphone to get everyone’s attention. “I want to thank you all for being here today. When I was a kid, this place was a second home for me. It gave me safety, support, and snacks I didn’t have to share with anyone.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
“And now? It’s where I get to give all that back. To see this place standing stronger than ever—full of light, life, laughter—that’s not something I could’ve imagined when the Iron Rogues asked me to step in as the manager six years ago. But here we are. And I’m grateful every day for the people who made this possible.”
I glanced at Beck. Then June. And the kids crowded around the bounce house in the back. My voice thickened. “Because of all of you…this isn’t just a building. It’s hope. And it’s home.”
Applause erupted, and I smiled through the lump in my throat.
After the ribbon was cut and the formalities were done, I stepped off the stage. Slowly, thanks to the watermelon masquerading as my stomach. I felt Beck’s arm wrap around my waist before my feet even touched the sidewalk.
“I said I wouldn’t hover,” he muttered against my temple. “But you’re carrying my kid and standing on a stage. That’s testing me, baby.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t trip over the mic cord,” I teased. “I could’ve gone down like a sack of potatoes.”
“Don’t even joke about shit like that,” he growled under his breath. Then he pressed a kiss to my shoulder before looking down at our daughter. “Your mommy is a menace.”
“No,” she disagreed with a grin. “Mommy da boss.”
“Damn right she is,” a voice rasped behind me.
I turned to find June, still wearing the same faded volunteer tee she’d had the day I returned to the center during my summer break. Her smile was gentle, eyes glinting with emotion.
“You saved this place.” She sniffled. “You really did.”
“It saved me first,” I whispered, pulling her in for a hug.
The celebration swirled around us. Someone had started a pickup soccer game on the new field, and the scent of barbecue and kettle corn filled the air. Balloons bounced along the pavement, sticky hands reached for cookies, and toddlers tottered between picnic tables under the watchful eyes of bikers.
And in the middle of it all, I stood with the man who’d claimed me, the babies we’d made, and another on the way. Beck didn’t just protect me. He gave me a place to land after a lifetime of standing on my own.
I’d walked into the Iron Rogues’ compound years ago full of fire and fury, ready to accuse their treasurer of negligence. Instead, I found a partner. A protector. My forever.
Savage isn’t going to waste a minute to claim Tamara as his own!