Since Crow left the club, it was becoming increasingly harder for Keys to track him. We were losing ground as time passed, but we were still dedicated to finding him. That being said, life had to go on.
With the help of the other charters, we now had two facilities we were building at once, several states apart. It gave us the option to move anyone at risk around to another safe location. Atlas had worked hard to rework all the routes, and had almostgotten us back to the place we were at before everything blew up with Crow. We were back on track, the club was united and focused. We were growing, both as Brothers and as an organization.
That day, I was at the garage, where I worked a few days a week, the rest of my time was spent at the house working on custom jobs. Running through paperwork in my office, my mind was distracted wishing I was home with Fee and Birdie. Fiona left the firm she was working with shortly after we found out she was pregnant. I wanted her home and close, and Fiona was willing to oblige—to a degree.
As soon as Birdie was born, Fee got started setting herself up as a personal CPA, which allowed her to be in charge of her workload. She got to pick and choose which jobs she took and how many at one time. She also helped out with the various club businesses when they needed it. Looking at my watch, I realized I missed nap time, but might be able to stop home to have lunch with my girls.
I rushed through the last of the invoices I was working through, hoping to cut out early and spend the rest of the day with my girls, when I heard a commotion in the loading bay. Annoyed at the idea that I’d miss family time if I had to deal with customer drama, I stopped short when familiar flashes of red caught my eye.
Fiona was standing just inside the garage, a giggling Birdie in her arms, already reaching for Star, who had raced from behind the counter to greet the duo. Birdie already had a head full of red curls, and was currently outfitted in what Auntie Charlie called her baby biker gear. The little leather jacket and jeans were adorable. As soon as I got close enough, I pulled Fiona toward me.
“Hey, pretty girl. This is a nice surprise,” I said, before leaning down to kiss her. I thought over time that my need for her would die down, but instead, it had only increased.
Any time apart made me miss Fiona. As the rest of the guys in the garage circled Star to try to get some Birdie time, I enjoyed a few minutes alone with my wife. Small moments to ourselves, ones where I could wrap her fully in my arms, were so important. Pulling back, I stepped away briefly to grab Birdie then went back to Fiona.With both of my girls wrapped up in my embrace, surrounded by friends and family, I felt like the luckiest man in the world.
Life was good, and I couldn’t imagine it getting any better.
Epilogue
Fiona
Three Years Later
It was late afternoon, and several bikes and cars were parked in our driveway. It was Sunday dinner at our house. Each weekend, it seemed like we had another guest at the table. That night, Bash and Match were out in the garage, while Bull and I prepared dinner inside.
Over the past few years, I’d made sure to make double of most dishes so that leftovers could get brought to the guys at the clubhouse. As a result, they were showing up at my doorstep on Sundays and finding a seat at our table. The more, the merrier, but I was going to need a second stove to keep up.
When Bash’s parents arrived a few hours earlier, Guard immediately assigned himself to babysitting duty. In typical fashion, he swept in and commandeered Birdie’s attention while the rest of us split up to take care of different chores. Cece typically hovered in the kitchen to gossip while Bull and I did the real work.
With dinner mostly ready, I popped my head into the living room to check on Birdie. I had to hold back the laugh at the vision that greeted me. Guard was sitting on the floor across from Birdie and her two favorite stuffies. A tiara was on his head as he held a plastic pink teapot. Catching my eye, he tried to giveme a scowl as he poured imaginary tea for Birdie and her stuffed unicorn.
“Pinky, Grandpa! You have to wift your pinky fingers!” Birdie scolded him, and I couldn’t hold in the snort that escaped my mouth.
“Mama! We pwaying tea party!” Birdie told me, and I bent down to kiss the top of her head.
“I see that, baby. Dinner’s gonna be ready soon, so let’s get you washed up.”
“K!” she said happily, hopping to her feet and running for the bathroom. It took Guard significantly longer, and with far less grace, to get to the upright position. Giving him a hand up, I took the tiara off his head and put it with Birdie’s other dressup toys.
“Thanks, girlie. Not sure I could keep that crown on any longer. Damn thing digs straight into my brain. I swear, it’s like a lobotomy,” he muttered.
“You have a brain? Who knew?” Charlie said as she dropped her purse and shoes by the door. Before either of us could respond, a blur of red curls zoomed past my legs, heading straight for the newly arrived guest.
“Auntie Charwie’s here!” Birdie screeched, herLs still morphing intoWs.
Charlie had just passed the bar and started working at a fancy law firm a few towns over. Between studying for the exam and adjusting to the new job, she had been busy the last few weeks. Birdie had missed her favorite Aunt.
“My Birdie-girl! I’ve missed you so much,” Charlie cooed as she entered the living room further, carrying the toddler in her arms. At almost three, Birdie was a walking, talking whirlwind of energy. She clung to Charlie like a spider monkey as she prattled on about everything she had seen and heard that day. Guard guided Charlie over to the couch while the rest of us went to set the table.
With Birdie distracted, we got dinner out and into the dining room in quick fashion. I sent Bash a text, telling him to come inside. He was out in the garage working on a 1968 Chevelle I had found him as a birthday present. He was restoring it in his spare time, and I was so happy I had found a gift he enjoyed. He was going to have Match do a completely custom paint job on the car—they were out discussing it at that moment.
As much as I tried to find out their plan, they were keeping it a secret from me. I would allow it for the moment, but only because I had my own secret to share with everyone tonight. A few months ago, Bash and I decided to try for a second baby. It worked faster than expected, and I was fourteen weeks along.
While Bash obviously knew I was pregnant, we hadn’t told the rest of the family yet. We were going to surprise them tonight with the news, but I had one last trick up my sleeve. Bash and I had spoken about finding out if the baby was a boy or a girl, and he said he wanted to be surprised, but didn’t mind if I decided I wanted to know.
The back door opened and Match entered, followed by Bash, their voices ringing through the house, announcing their arrival. Bash walked straight for me, wrapping his arms around me from behind and pressing a kiss to my neck. I jumped in his arms, the stubble on his face tickling me.
“How you feeling, pretty girl? Don’t push yourself too much. You know what the doctor said,” he whispered into my ear, his hand coming to rest on the small baby bump hidden under my sweatshirt. Morning sickness had been kicking my ass, but finally calmed down the past few weeks.
