Then he looked at Belle and Christian and said, “Go tell Uncle Clip that I need a few minutes. Okay?”
They nodded, then raced with smiles on their faces to their Uncle Clip, who saw them coming, looked at Ripper, and lifted his chin.
I looked at Ripper and asked, “What is it? You got that look.”
He smirked, then he asked me something I won’t ever forget.
“I didn’t have the best mom. You can talk to Creedence about it later, but... well... I’d be honored to be your son if that would be cool with you.”
I smiled at him, “Ripper, you became my boy when you knew you had Cree’s heart and held it with care and protected it.”
He nodded.
Then I looked at my girl, and then I looked up and whispered to her birth mother, Tasha, “You were a shit mom. But thank you for bringing my girl into this world.”
Storm
I leaned back in my chair as I watched Ripper.
He had just sat there waiting while his food got cold.
Helping cut up whatever the kids needed him to.
But still, he sat there, his plate untouched.
He waited for Cree to be done and sit down before he started eating.
That right there was the measure of how good a man he was.
And I’m thankful as fuck that I took a chance on him.
But... had I known more about how he felt for Cree... I would have gladly pissed off the entire Mountain of Clearwater Chapter when I kidnapped her and brought her here when she was seventeen years old.
Knox
I won’t hesitate to go toe to toe with any motherfucker.
But as I watched Ripper beat the shit out of Tank... my ass was staying in my seat.
I wouldn’t admit it to a living soul except one; he scared the shit out of me.
Just then, my woman walked over, and I watched as her eyes sparkled. She lifted a brow, “You're not getting in the ring against Ripper?”
I shook my head, “Nope. Don’t want to upset Cree when I beat the shit out of him.”
She burst out laughing.
Then, when she finished, I told her the truth.
“He scares me.”
She nodded, “I get that.”
Clip
Four Years Later
I sat in my chair with my woman and kids at my side as I watched Ripper and Creedence renew their vows.
