“I’d like you to get some more fluids in you through the IV. You are dehydrated. After that, we’ll discharge you to go home. You can take a shower when you get there. I don’t recommend a truly hot one though. It could make you dizzy and fall in the shower,” he says as I slump back against the lumpypillows. “A nurse will be in with a brace shortly. For now, try not to move your wrist too much. When you have a follow-up appointment, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re put in physical therapy to help strengthen your wrist.”
“Thank you,” I tell him before he leaves the room. “I’m ready to get the hell out of here.”
“We’ll be headin’ home soon enough, Little Fairy. Get the fluids you need and then we’ll be out of here. I’ll even stop at the diner and grab all of your favorites so you don’t have to wait to eat,” Axel says just as there’s another knock on the door.
Jolene is standing there with bags in both hands. “I already asked the doctor if you could eat. Hammer and Knuckles made a run to the diner and grabbed a ton of food. This is for the three of you,” she tells us with a large smile on her face.
Axel grabs the food from his mom and brings it over to divide between us. The bags are loaded down with burgers, fries, spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, grilled cheese, a chocolate milkshake, mozzarella sticks, and a piece of cheesecake. My stomach rumbles in hunger as I take in all the food laid out in front of me.
Axel and my dad each grab a burger while he hands me the spaghetti and meatballs. The garlic bread is smothered in cheese and I don’t hesitate to take the first bite of bread. I don’t stop the moan that escapes because the food from the diner is always delicious and I will never turn any of it down for any reason. The three of us eat in silence as we devour the food brought to us. I manage to eat most of the spaghetti and meatballs, all of the bread, and a few mozzarella sticks. Axel and I end up sharing the cheesecake because it’s our favorite. By the time I’m done eating and fully stuffed, I can’t stop myself from falling asleep. If I’m gonna be kept here a few more hours, I might as well get some rest while I can. All I want to do is holdmy son in my arms and stare at him as if it’s been years since I’ve seen him instead of the four days I was away from him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tease
AFTER ALMOST LOSING Sheridan when she was kidnapped by her mother a week ago, I know there’s no way in hell I can wait to make her mine. She already agreed to become my ol’ lady and wife. Now, I just need to make it a reality. Knuckles has her rag at his house and today we’re getting married. Sheridan doesn’t want a large ceremony filled with all the pomp and circumstance. We talked all night last night and she agreed to marry me at the courthouse with no one but her dad and my parents there to witness us exchanging our vows. Janessa is pissed as hell, but she understands that Sheridan can’t stand being in the spotlight for any reason. She prefers to hide in the shadows and live her life quietly. It won’t exactly be quiet with the club, but she can still go to school and only be surrounded by those she chooses. The only reason Shelly won’t be with us is because she’s still at college. My mom is going to video call her so she can witness the ceremony as if she were here with us.
Shelly was pissed to find out the incubator kidnapped her best friend and that Jess was involved in the kidnapping. She was ready to jump on a plane and fly home to deal with the two of them. When she found out we already took care of them, she lost her shit again. Shelly is nothing but loyal and will always be Sheridan’s defender. I’m truly thankful she was there for my girl when I wasn’t because I couldn’t get my head out of my ass. Sheridan is just happy because this is the last event in our livesShelly will miss. Once this semester is over, she’s moving back home and finishing her degree at the same school as Sheridan. She’s switched her major to psychology and plans on helping my soon-to-be wife with the ranch and helping others in their darkest hour. Something the two of them wanted growing up. Sheridan had her dad and Shelly, but she always wished there was someone better equipped to handle the situation with her mother so she didn’t have to rely on the two of them constantly.
I already know the club is going to throw a huge party to celebrate our wedding once the ceremony is over with. The ol’ ladies have been cooking for the last two days. They even called in some woman from another club to bake the cake for our reception. I have a feeling that won’t be the only thing they get from this woman because they’ve been raving about her baked goods forever. I don’t even know how the hell they heard about this woman or when they would have tried her desserts, but somehow they did. I honestly think they got her name from Shelly. Where she goes to school is pretty close to where the woman is from. At least that’s what I’m understanding from the conversations I’ve overheard in the clubhouse. All I know is that everyone is excited as hell for the cake and the rest of the food we’ll be eating at the reception.
“You nervous about marryin’ Sheridan today?” Knuckles asks me, walking in his guest bedroom as I slide my cut on over the black button-down shirt I’m wearing for our ceremony.
“Not at all. I’ve never been more excited about anythin’ in my life,” I answer him honestly as I tie my hair back in a man bun until I get to the courthouse.
I’m riding my bike over so I don’t see Sheridan before she meets me with the Justice of the Peace. She doesn’t want me seeing her and my mom already threatened me if I tried to catch a glimpse of her after I was dragged out of the housethis morning. Knuckles and my dad laughed their asses off at me because my mom literally dragged me out of the house by my ear. She’s feisty on a good day but that was definitely unexpected to say the least. Janessa and her rushed inside and locked me out. I didn’t even have my clothes to change into after showering. Knuckles had to go in and get them for me because they refused to unlock the door. Every time I tried to get inside, they simply relocked the door.
“I wasn’t nervous either. I thought I would be, but when the girl is the right one, there’s no reason to be nervous. Are you sure the courthouse is the way to go though?” he questions me, grabbing his own cut as the kids watch a movie in the living room.
“Yeah. Sheridan doesn’t want a loud, long ceremony in front of everyone. You know she doesn’t like to be the center of attention for any reason. She’s already had more than enough of that shit with the accident, havin’ Leo early, and then bein’ kidnapped. All she wants is for the two of us to be together with our parents. She’ll still wear a weddin’ dress and have her hair and make-up done as if we were havin’ a regular ceremony. That’s the one aspect of the ceremony my mom wouldn’t budge on. Janessa wasn’t about to let her get married less than the most beautiful woman either. You know how they are,” I answer my cousin as I sit down at the island in his kitchen and accept the cup of coffee he hands me.
“You got the rings and everythin’ else you need?” he questions me as his youngest daughter Alexis walks over and climbs up in my lap.
“Got everythin’ I need. She’ll be ridin’ over in mom’s SUV. She still can’t get in hers because of all the shit that happened. It’s just too much of a reminder. One of the Prospects took it to the clubhouse and parked it in the garage to use on runs andshit in the future. Her new SUV will be here by the time we get back from the courthouse. It’s had all the upgrades done already and is somethin’ I know she’ll love because she picked it out the day after bein’ discharged from the hospital,” I inform him while cuddling Alexis to my chest and missing my son.
Knuckles and I hang out in his kitchen while he cooks breakfast for the kids. I don’t plan on eating until the reception because breakfast has never really been a time I eat. I’d rather be in the gym working out than eating a large meal. The only time I ever eat in the morning is when Sheridan makes me. If she goes through the trouble of cooking a meal, there’s no way in hell I’m about to walk away from it. Sheridan’s a great cook and learned most of her recipes from my mom and her grandma before losing her. She’s tweaked them over the years and made them hers. I know if she’s taking the time to cook, then it’s something I’m going to enjoy eating. Knuckles cooks, but his food is barely tolerable. That’s why he only cooks simple things. This morning the kids are eating French toast and cut up fruit. Admittedly, his French toast is pretty damn good.
***
I’m at the courthouse in a private room with the Justice of the Peace standing in front of me. My dad and mom are in the front row on one side of the makeshift aisle Sheridan will walk down. Mom has my son in her arms as we patiently wait for Sheridan and Mr. Russell to show up. I look at the door when it opens to find the most beautiful woman in the world staring at me with a soft smile on her face. Sheridan is wearing a simple white dress with spaghetti straps holding it up. Purple flowers the color of her eyes adorn the top of the dress across her chest and along the very bottom. They’re connected with vines swirling around between the flowers and wrapping around her body. Her long hair is in some kind of updo with a few tendrilsof hair framing her face in curls. The make-up covering her face is almost non-existent with the only thing I see is color on her eyelids to make them stand out more than normal. I’ve always loved Sheridan’s violet eyes and the way they show every single emotion flowing through her.
I don’t take my eyes off of Sheridan as Mr. Russell walks her toward me. The rest of the room fades to nothing except the woman I’m about to make mine. Sheridan’s smile turns shy when she steps up next to me and her dad places her hands in mine. Still, I can’t take my eyes off of her as I notice every single detail about her. Including the earrings she’s wearing. The first pair in her ears is something Marcus bought her for her sixteenth birthday. She doesn’t typically wear them but chose to on our special day.
“Who gives this woman to this man today?” the man in front of us asks, bringing me back to reality instead of some kind of haze where Sheridan is the only person I see.
“I do,” Mr. Russell answers before turning to me with a warning look in his eyes.
No words are said because he doesn’t need to. His eyes send the only message I need to receive—I protect his baby girl with my life or he’ll make me regret being born. I would expect no less from the man who essentially raised Sheridan alone and was the only man in her life for so long. The Justice of the Peace goes through the ceremony quickly until it’s time for us to say our vows. Sheridan wanted to come up with our own and I wasn’t about to tell her no.
“Little Fairy, from the second I met you, I knew you were the one for me. For so long we were the best of friends and spent every wakin’ moment together. You were there in the darkest hour my family went through and never let me push you away like I tried to on a daily basis. You’ve given me the greatest giftwith our son, Leo, and have become the best mom I’ve ever met. Every single day you light up my world and make it easier to breathe with you by my side. The monsters that haunt me disappear with a single look from you and I know my life will never be the same without you by my side. I love you, Sheridan. You’re my best friend, lover, and the only woman who has ever owned my heart. I can’t wait to make a million memories with you and our family. Little Fairy, I will do everythin’ in my power to ensure you’re always protected, loved, and live out every single one of your dreams. You’re the other half of my soul and I will thank everyone I have to daily because they brought you to me when we were younger even though I kept you as a friend when I wanted so much more,” I tell her, holding her hands in mine and staring into her eyes so she can see the truth of my words and know I mean every single one of them.
Tears fill Sheridan’s eyes and I reach out to brush the few stray tears away as she rests her hands on my chest.
“Axel, you are the man I’ve wished for on a thousand stars over the years. You’re sweet, gentle, loving, protective, and so generous with our son and me. You always make sure we have everything we need and would go without just to make us happy. You’ve gone from my best friend, the one guy in the world to know all of my secrets, to the man who supports me and stands at my side. I love you and never thought I’d find a love like I read about in my books. With you in my life, I know I’ll have everything I’ll ever need because you won’t ever let me go without. You’re my biggest supporter and have always made me feel as if I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. You’ve given me a confidence to be myself I never had before and encourage me to grow on a daily basis. Axel, you fight my battles and ensure the monsters can’t get to me in my dreams. You ensure my life is as easy as possible and don’t leave when realitysets in. You’re more than the other half of my soul,” she tells me and I admit my eyes get a little blurry as emotion fills me from her words.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Axel, you may kiss your bride,” the man says, his voice breaking through the bubble surrounding Sheridan and myself.
Without hesitation, I pull Sheridan’s body against mine and hold her close before pressing my lips against hers. She opens her mouth and allows me to deepen the kiss for a few minutes before we break apart and she wraps her arms around me. For a few minutes the two of us simply hold one another while my mom and her dad sign what they need to for our marriage to be official and legal. We remain locked in our own world and I don’t have a problem with it because today is all about us and starting the rest of our lives together.
