Someone strung up lights across the main room and the bar is fully stocked. Music pumps from the speakers, and everywhere I look, people are laughing, drinking, celebrating. The zoning victory feels real tonight—tangible in a way it didn’t at the hearing.
Emma walks in beside me wearing her cut, and the reaction is immediate. Kya lets out a whoop, Lee raises his beer in salute, and Andi starts clapping. Within seconds, the women have pulled Emma into their circle, examining the cut, congratulating her and complimenting Maggie on her embroidery talents.
Stone catches my eye from across the room and nods once. Approval. Acceptance.
I head to the bar where Duck is holding court, talking to a group of residents about his mayoral campaign strategy.
“—and we focus on local issues,” Duck is saying. “Infrastructure, schools, keeping companies like Summit out for good?—”
“You’ll need volunteers,” Mr. Rooney interrupts. “I’m in. So’s my wife.”
“I can handle social media,” one of the younger residents offers. “Get you on TikTok, the ‘Gram, all that.”
Duck looks overwhelmed but pleased. “Appreciate it. All of you.”
Lee appears beside me, grabbing two beers from the cooler. “Duck’s really going to do this. Run for mayor. It’s wild.”
“It’s exactly what Stoneheart needs,” I say, taking the beer he offers.
“Yeah.” Lee grins. “And when he wins, we’ll have the MC running this town the way it should be run.”
Someone turns up the music and the party kicks into higher gear. Poppy’s dancing with Rose on her hip, the baby giggling at the movement. Axel’s at the pool table with Tank and Steel, talking shit and sinking shots. Maggie and Ginger have claimed a couch, watching their men with fond exasperation.
Emma finds me after a while, sliding under my arm like she belongs there. Because she does.
“Having fun?” I ask.
“The best.” She adjusts her cut proudly. “Everyone keeps congratulating me. Kya said it’s about time you made an honest woman of me.”
“Kya’s got opinions about everything.”
“She’s not wrong though.” Emma looks up at me. “This feels right. Being here, wearing this. All of it. Even the part where I don’t have the moon boot on.”
I glance down at her foot. She’s wearing sensible flats and the brace she wears during dancing. This isn’t exactly doctor’s orders, but she promised me she’d sit for most of the night. And I’m not particularly good at saying no to her.
Before I can respond, Stone walks over. “Congratulations, you two.” He doesn’t waste time with small talk, just claps me on the shoulder and then turns to Emma. “You look good, kid. That cut suits you. You wear it proud.”
She beams, shoulders back, and I swear she gains two inches in height. “Thanks, Dad. I’ve worn a lot of uniforms and costumes in my life, but this is the only thing I’ve ever owned that gives me genuine street cred.”
Stone laughs, the lines in his face creasing deep and warm. “You always could walk both worlds. That’s why I’m glad you’re here. You make this club stronger—make this town stronger.”
He holds my gaze for a beat longer, then tips his chin toward the back patio. “Come outside a minute, Bones. Need a word.”
I follow, heart thumping just a little faster. The early fall air is cool after the heat of the clubhouse. Stone leans against the porch railing, staring out at the rows of bikes lined up. He doesn’t speak for a minute, just lets silence fill in the gaps.
“You did good, Bones,” he says finally. “Not just tonight. Not just with the Summit thing. All of it.”
I don’t know what to say, so I keep my mouth shut.
“I look at you and Emma, and I see what I would’ve wanted for her if I’d had any sense at all.” His thumb taps the railing. “She’s been through hell. So have you. Could’ve turned either of you brittle, mean, all sharp edges and no softness. But you held onto each other.” Stone finally looks at me. “I’m proud of you. You hear me? Not just club proud. Real proud. Like a father would be.”
That puts a lump in my throat so big I can barely breathe around it.
Like a father would be.
I think about my brother—dead before I turned twelve. About the years after, when the club was all I had. About Stone taking a chance on a scrawny kid with too much anger and not enough sense. About thirteen years of proving myself, of earning my place, of loving his daughter from the shadows because I didn’t think I deserved to love her in the light.
And now he’s telling me I’m family. Not just club. Real.
