“I can see why. It looks totally untouched.”
“My dad brought my mom up here once when they were young. It was before they bought the property and before they even had the idea to start an MC. He said it was the one place on earth as beautiful as she was, and that’s the moment he realized that he wanted to stay here and make a life with her.”
I feel my heart beat a little faster. “Did he bring you here often?”
“Only once. Right after I fought my way out of Afghanistan, after putting you on that flight. I hadn’t told anyone what happened, or why I got a dishonorable discharge. I couldn’t eat or sleep and felt disconnected from the world.” He glances at the landscape below before speaking again. “My dad brought me up here and told me this land holds my best chance at a decent future. He told me that if club life wasn’t for me then I should pick a spot and build a house of my own.”
I gasp because that doesn’t sound like the Rock I know. The one who’s one hundred percent behind the club. It takes me a second to realize he was giving up his dream of having his sons rise to positions of power in the club because seeing him happy was more important. “Rock loved you enough to set you free to choose a different course in life. I think that is really sweet.”
“Yeah, me being so despondent must have really freaked him out and made him reassess everything he thought he knew about me. I told him it wasn’t being in the club that was the problem, but what happened in Afghanistan. I broke down and told him everything that happened. He helped me get my head screwed on about it.”
“Your parents are good people, Slate. You lucked out in the parent category. And Katie’s lucky to have them in her life.”
“I agree. My old man gave me one piece of advice that day that really stuck with me. He told me to stand on this ridge when you need to know what direction your life is headin’. So, that’s what I’m doing by bringing you here today, darlin’.”
My heart is pounding in my chest. I’m already sitting here in his property cut, so us staying together permanently must be the next step in his world.
His hands find my hips, fingers warm through the denim. The wind lifts a strand of my hair and brushes it across his cheek. He doesn’t look away.
“I almost lost you,” he says. “Twice. Once in Kabul. Once here. I don’t want to live a life without you in it, so I’m gonna give you the same choice my old man gave me. If you want to be with me but can’t accept club life, I’ll build us a home on our property. I can go to the club and work every day like it’s a regular job and come home every evening to you and Katie.”
I find myself shaking my head before he’s even finished making his offer. “No. I want to stay at our apartment in the clubhouse. I feel safe and connected there. I love being around Queenie and Tessa. I also like helping out around the clubhouse. We’re becoming close friends and I have you to thank for giving me the family I never really had.”
He lifts one hand and brushes his thumb along my cheek. “I want a life with you too. I’m glad my overly enthusiastic family and roughhousin’ club ain’t a dealbreaker for you.”
Before I can respond, he reaches into the pocket of his cut and pulls out a small, dark velvet pouch. He opens the pouch, pulls out a gorgeous ring, and holds it up so that it sparkles in the sunlight. “You accepted my property cut. Now I want you to accept my ring. Say you’ll marry me.”
I swallow thickly as I look it over. The ring feels substantial in my hand. It’s got to be three carats. The band is platinum. The Sons of Rage insignia is inscribed on the inside of the band where only I can see it. He’s giving me a piece of himself with this ring. I love everything about this moment.
My emotions overflow and tears gather in the corners of my eyes as I nod and tell him, “Yes, of course I’ll marry you. You’re all I’ll ever need or want.”
He closes his eyes briefly, then takes the ring and slides it onto my finger. I watch, equal measures shocked and thrilled to be engaged to the man of my dreams, the only man I’ve ever truly loved.
When I look up, Slate pulls me into him and his lips find mine, as if he’s sealing our agreement with a kiss. The whole world ceases to exist in that moment. When he finally pulls back, he rests his forehead against mine.
“From now on, you’re mine,” he whispers. “And I’m one hundred percent yours. You don’t have to worry that I’ll ever stray. The men in my family are extremely loyal to our women.”
My voice is thick with emotion when I respond, “It’s because your parents raised you to be decent men.”
He doesn’t deny it because we both know it’s true. Queenie has a lot of stories about things that went wrong and how she fixed them.
I pull back and tell him, “I actually have an engagement gift for you.”
He grins, “What did you get the biker that has everything?”
Pulling out that one last secret from my pocket, I hand it to him. “I got you another of something you already have.”
He stares down at the piece of plastic. The plus sign in the window of the pregnancy test. If I’m being honest, he seems dumbfounded and I’m not sure if he realizes what it is. It takeshim a second to work it all out in his head, but when his head lifts, he has the biggest smile on his face. He throws his arms around me and drags me close. “It’s the best gift you could have gotten me.”
“Are you sure about that, babe? It’s a homemade gift.”
He snorts a laugh. “I prefer homemade kids rather than ones made in a lab like my brother’s.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“Ask Tessa to tell you about her pregnancy. It’s not my story to tell.”
I’m halfway to asking him another question when something in his expression shifts. Gone is the teasing, instead he looks at me like he’s seeing not just the woman I am, but the entire life we’re about to build—the one growing inside me, the home we’re building, and the future ahead of us.
