She blinks.
“You’re not breaking up with me?”
“Breaking up with you? Lydia, I’m going to marry you one day. Why the fuck would I break up with you?”
“Marry…Bash…”
“Not tomorrow, but we’re gonna tie the knot,” I assure her, taking her hand. I run my thumb over her barren finger and lift my eyes to hers. “You’re going to tell me all about the ring your grandpa gave your grandma and when the time comes, I’m going to put something similar on your finger. Then one day, after we’ve lived a long life, full of grits and fried pancakes, you’re going to tell our granddaughter the story of us. It’ll be her favorite fairy tale and long after we’re both gone, she’ll think of us with a smile on her face and say, I love the way he loved her.”
“When the bones are good, the house don’t fall,” she cries, tears falling from those pretty eyes.
I have no idea what she’s talking about, but it’s all good.
I’ve got forever to figure it out.
The End
-Epilogue-
Lydia
One month later
“Shit,” I hiss, scratching my head as I stare at the bowl of cannoli cream in front of me. I probably shouldn’t have thrown all those mini chocolate chips in there. Spinning around, I move to the cabinet next to the stove and start searching through it for something comparable to dress the pancakes with, but my boyfriend has an obsession with instant grits, and it takes me a minute to find what I’m looking for.
“Ahah!” I exclaim, grabbing the bag of chocolate covered pretzels. I take a few out of the bag and crush them with the trusty meat mallet I got from Bed, Bath and Beyond. It blows Wolf’s out of the water, but don’t tell him that.
Spraying some whipped cream on the folded pancake, I sprinkle the crushed chocolate covered pretzels on top before taking a step back. Admiring my handy work, a smug smile spreads across my lips just as the bathroom door opens and Bash struts out knotting a towel around his waist.
Breakfast suddenly doesn’t seem important anymore as he lifts his head and our eyes lock.
I don’t know how I got so lucky.
When Riggs suggested I go to Texas and bring Bash home, I thought he was off his rocker. But it was my first shot at being the ad-lib in our story and so I let the crazy biker book my flight. He even reached out to Bash’s former president and arranged for him to pick me up from the airport. I didn’t know he had only gone back to take care of his mother’s house, I thought he left to go back to the Charon MC.
But he was still wearing the signature red and black threads associated with the Satan’s Knights.
I guess they punked me because some things are worth fighting for and Bash is definitely one of those things
I’m not mad, not even a little because it got me to do something courageous and, in the end, love won.
There is no question in my mind, it’s not always about time or how long you know the person. If love is right, it’s unbreakable. There will be hard times, times when life tries to test love, but if the bones are good, the house don’t fall.
Our house is a fucking fortress of steel.
Bash’s gaze wanders over my shoulder and his eyes go wide.
“What in Sam Hill happened to the kitchen?”
I still don’t know who this Sam guy is, and that’s fine. I love that we’re different because it makes for a lot of laughs and it feels good to laugh again. Bash brought the light back to my life. No matter how dark things are, he greets each day with a smile. It’s not always easy, especially since Wolf has him working with Parrish to reunite an abused little boy with his estranged father. They’re working with an organization called Bikers Against Child Abuse to help the boy and he asked me if I wanted to attend one of the meetings. You don’t have to be a member to sit in on one of them and I accompanied him and Jack to the last one. They were gearing up for a fundraiser so that was the main topic but after the meeting was adjourned, the president of the charter sat down with us and explained what they do. I walked out of there crying and told Bash I want to be involved. If I can help a child feel safe, then I’m all in.
“Lydia, darlin’, it looks like a tornado hit the counter.”
“I made breakfast.”
He cocks an eyebrow just as someone knocks on the door. We both turn to answer it, but I place a hand on his chest, stopping him.
Big mistake.
That chest…those abs… they’ll do a woman in.
“Why don’t you go get some pants on and I’ll get the door,” I suggest as my eyes wander to the towel. A flick of the wrist and I can have him naked. Forget the pancakes.
“That’s not what you said last night when you were pulling my pants off with your teeth.”
“I was horny then,” I explain, shrugging my shoulders. “Now, I’m hungry.”
“That so?”
“Mm hmm.”
“So, if I stick my hand down your shorts right now, I won’t find you wet.”
“Nope.”
“C’mere.”
“Bash!”
“Aww, I reckon you’re blushin’, darlin’. Ain’t nothing wrong with being hungry for my cock.”
Rolling my eyes, I reach for the doorknob.
“Pants. Now,” I order, pulling open the door. A smile spreads across my face as I stare at my best friend.
“Don’t put pants on for my account, Papi,” Chaz teases, winking at me before pulling me into his arms.
On the flight home from Texas, Bash asked how Chaz was doing. I told him I didn’t have much of an update for him because I wasn’t allowed to visit him, explaining how his mom had basically banned me. I called the hospital every morning but all they’d reveal is that he was stable and what floor he was on. I missed him terribly and after everything he did for me, I felt awful that I couldn’t be by his side, that I couldn’t tell him how grateful I was for having him in my life.
Bash didn’t say anything after that but when Riggs picked us up from the airport, he had him drive us to the hospital instead of Kate’s. I tried to tell him I wasn’t an approved visitor, that we wouldn’t be able to get a pass to see him, but he insisted I trust him, citing he had learned a few tricks from Jack Parrish. Sure enough, he took my hand and marched us right up to Chaz’s room, bypassing security. His mother was there, and she quickly objected when she saw me. Ever the southern gentleman, Bas told her she had no right to judge me, that I had been a good friend to her son when she had been nothing but a closed-minded bigot. That shut her right the fuck up and I swear, if I wasn’t already crazy in love with him, that would’ve sealed the deal.
Chaz’s jaw was broken and wired shut to heal properly so he couldn’t talk, but he knew I was there. Bash excused himself, and when he returned, he had a black sharpie in his hand. He rolled up his sleeves, and handed the marker to Chaz, giving him free rein to use his skin as his sounding board. Chaz only had three words he wanted to say, and when he was finished writing them on Bash’s arm, he looked at me and pointed to the words.
I love you.
I never meant to let these two men into my life, but I’ll thank God for them every day. I went from being this lonely girl with no one to share her life with to someone with a family.
“Hey, man,” Bash greets. “What are you doing here?”
“Lydia told me she was making breakfast, and I realized it’s been too long since I spent time with my favorite people. So, what’s on the menu?”
“Not me,” Bash quips, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I’ll be right back.”
He disappears into the bedroom and I lead Chaz into the kitchen. He takes a seat at the counter and takes in the mess.
“What the hell is all this…wait…is that whipped cream?”
“Remember the story I told you about the cannoli’s?”
“Honey, that’s no cannoli,” he says, pointing to the concoction on the plate. Bash returns, pulling a t-shirt over his head and takes a seat next
to Chaz.
“What’s going on?” he asks, looking between me and Chaz.
“I’m trying to figure out what the hell your woman is trying to feed us.”
With a smile on my face, I push a plate in front of Bash and watch as his eyes light up.
“That, my man, is a pancake with Cool Whip.”
“Actually, it’s cannoli pancakes,” I correct. “Or I like to call them, Bash’s Pancakes.”
His eyes meet mine and I smile at him.
There is no script to this life we’re given.
But you have to embrace the ad-libs for they just might be the best part of your story.
Other Books by
Janine Infante Bosco
The Tempted Series:
*all can be read as standalone*
Illicit Temptations (Book One)
Forbidden Temptations (Book Two)
Uncontrollable Temptations
(Book Three)
Reckless Temptations (Book Four)
Lethal Temptations (Book Five)
Eternal Temptations (Book Six)
The Nomad Series:
*all can be read as standalone*
Drifter (Book One)
Wanderer (Book Two)
Roamer (Book Three)
Loner (Book Four)
Satan’s Knights novels:
*all can be read as standalone*
From the Ruins
The Devil Don’t Sleep
Riding the Edge
Parrish
The Leather and Lace Duet
(Blackout Book One)
(Blackout Book Two)
Satan’s Knights novellas
Rite of Passage
Satan’s Knights Prospects Trilogy
Shifting Gears
Breaking the Chains (coming soon)
Walking the Line (coming soon)
Standalone novels
Raging Inferno – From the Burn Me Anthology – Full novel
The Riverdale Series:
*should be read in series order*
Pieces – Book One
Broken Pieces – Book Two
Fitting the Pieces – Book Three
Jake’s Journal (Book 3.5) novella – companion to the series
About the Author
Janine writes emotionally charged novels with an emphasis on family bonds, strong willed female characters, and alpha male men who will do anything for the women they love. She loves to interact with fans and fellow avid romance readers like herself.
She is proud of her success as an author and the friendships she’s made in the book community but her greatest accomplishment to date would be her two sons Joseph and Paul.
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Shifting Gears (Satan's Knights Prospect Trilogy Book 1) Page 22
