It wasn’t fair of me to ask you to take her as your old lady, but I had hoped the significance of itwould endear her to you. That she would realize that you were in this together, and she didn’t have to take on the world by herself.
I don’t know what has happened in the two years you have been married, but I am certain of one thing. You have loved and protected her. I hope she was able to see that and learned to love you back. I hope you were able to convince her to stay with you. If not, then I hope you make sure whoever she does end up with is someone I would have given my blessing to. I trust that no matter what, you will ensure she is always taken care of.
You were an angry kid when you came to us, but I am proud of the man you have become. I am blessed to have been able to call you my friend all of these years, but know I always considered you my son.
I know we don’t say these words often to one another, but they are important for you to hear.
I love you, son.
Thank you for everything you have done for me and my girl.
Mustang
My face is wet with tears. He’s right. We almost never tell one another we love each other, even if the feelings are there. I don’tknow why, but seeing those words from him heals something inside of me.
He’s proud of me. He loves me.
“He hoped we would stay together,” I tell Rain.
“He said the same in mine. What else did he say?” she asks.
“You can read it,” I offer.
She shakes her head. “I want to hear it from you.”
“He’s proud of me and loves me. He also knew I loved you long before I even knew.”
She laughs. “Sounds like Dad. He told me that he saw in my eyes that I wouldn’t have stayed. He was right. My plan was to leave after the funeral and never look back. I don’t even know why I stayed, really. Looking back, I had already planned to leave everything behind, so why did I stay?”
I lay my head on top of hers as she leans on my shoulder.
“You thought you would have left, but you wouldn’t have stayed gone. This is your home. You wouldn’t have wanted to lose those memories.”
She leans back, looking up at me. “I think I want to raise my child in his home. The home I grew up in.”
I swallow the lump in my throat as I wipe the tears from her face. “If that’s what you want, then that’s what we will do.”
“What about this place?” She looks around at the house we made our home.
This place holds a lot of memories for us. None that outweighs the ones from her dad’s house.
“We will keep it. Use it as a safe house for the club and shit. Maybe rent it out to club families who need a place to live. Don’t worry about it. I like the idea of raising our children where you were raised.”
She wipes my face as I did hers. “You are really one hell of a man, Adam.”
“Only because you make me that way.”
I lean in and kiss her lips gently.
“We are going to have to renovate the house. It’s been sitting there for two years with very little movement inside. The carpet needs to go. It smells like smoke from the days when Dad would smoke inside. The wallpaper is from the seventies…” Rain starts listing things that need to be done.
As she talks, I nod along. It will take time to get it all done, but with the help of my brothers, we can do it.
I would do anything for her.
After all, she is the love of my life.
“We can do all of that. No problem at all,” I tell her. “The guys would be happy to help.”
