Shadow appears behind me in the mirror, now dressed in dark jeans and a black button-down.
He looks good.
"Ready?" he asks.
"Are you?"
He takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. "Yeah. I think I am."
We take Charlie outside one more time, make sure she has food and water, and give her extra treats because we'll be gone for a while.
"Be good, girl," I tell her, scratching behind her ears. "We'll be back later."
Charlie wags her tail and settles onto her bed, content.
The drive to the clubhouse is quiet.
Shadow's hands are tight on the steering wheel, his jaw clenched with tension.
I reach over and take one of his hands, threading our fingers together.
"It's going to be okay," I say for what feels like the hundredth time.
"I know. I just—" He pauses. "I never thought I'd get this back. The patch. The club. Being part of something again. And now that it's happening, I'm afraid to believe it's real."
"It's real. We're really going to the clubhouse. Dad's really reinstating you. This is really happening."
Shadow brings my hand to his lips, kisses my knuckles. "Thank you for being here. For standing beside me."
"There’s no other place I’d rather be."
We pull into the clubhouse parking lot around three-thirty.
Brothers are already gathering—I see Thunder's bike, Blaze's truck, and Rogue leaning against the building smoking.
The Reapers Rejects brothers are still here too—Damon, Dixon, Shiver standing in a cluster talking.
Shiver sees us and grins. "Big day, brother."
Shadow nods, his jaw tight with tension.
Inside, the clubhouse is buzzing—brothers greeting each other, the anticipation building.
Mom's there too, helping organize things, and I make a mental note to talk to her about that later.
About boundaries. About moving on.
But not today. Today is about my husband.
"Grace." Dad appears, gestures toward the chapel. "Come on. It's time."
The chapel room fills up quickly. Brothers settling into seats around the long table—Thunder, Blaze, Blight, Rogue, and a dozen other Shotgun Saints.
The Reapers Rejects brothers take seats along the wall as witnesses—Damon, Dixon, Shiver all here to see this moment.
I sit along the back wall with the other women.
Dad takes his place at the head of the table. Shadow stands near the door, uncertain where to position himself without his patch.
