THORN (A Brikken Motorcycle Club Saga Book 4)
Page 24
"Mommy," shouted Nikki from the corner of the house.
Her daughter jumped up and down, waving both her hands above her head. Thorn squeezed Jessy's hand and said, "Keep your lips shut, Nikki."
Jessy looked up and shot him a frown. "Don't tell her that," she whispered. "I never want her to stop talking."
"She knows what I'm talking about," he said.
She pursed her lips, getting irritated. "Well, I don't."
At the corner of the house, he stopped her. He held out his hand, and Nikki flanked his other side.
"Can I tell her?" whispered Nikki loudly.
"All right, princess. Tell her what's going on." Thorn pulled Nikki around to stand in front of Jessy.
"Thorn bought you flowers. Lots of flowers." Nikki grabbed her free hand. "Come on, I'll show you."
"What?" She stepped forward, refusing to let go of Thorn and dragged him along with her.
"See?" Nikki let go of her hand and ran forward, quickly hidden by the rows and rows of rose bushes. "There's so many!"
Jessy's mouth opened. She glanced at Thorn. His gaze softened, and he lifted his chin, motioning her forward.
She let go of his hand and followed her daughter's path. Tall enough to see over the roses, she kept looking at him, waiting for an explanation. There were at least a hundred rose bushes. Most of them still in pots. She stepped between the rows and came to a clearing with two wrought iron benches she'd never seen before.
Turning in a circle, she looked all around. Thorn had filled the side yard with the biggest rose garden she'd ever seen.
"I can't believe..." She pressed her hand to her chest and shook her head. "You did this for me?"
Thorn slowly walked toward her. "You know, I don't think a piece of paper saying we're husband and wife means a whole hell of a lot."
She nodded. While they hadn't discussed marriage, there was never any doubt that when Thorn promised to love her forever and bought a house for all of them, that he wanted to be a family.
Thorn looked over her head. "Okay, Nikki. Bring it here."
Her daughter came running, holding a coffee cup. Jessy laughed. Those two had been plotting behind her back. She couldn't believe Nikki kept all of this a secret.
Thorn took the cup. "You're going to have to sit down for this, sweetheart."
Her heart beat wildly. Jessy looked behind her and moved to sit on the closest bench.
"When I first got together with you, I found a coffee can full of rose petals that you'd been keeping since you were a little girl." He paused and inhaled deeply. "I found them scattered in the yard last month and picked up as many as I could find. Some of them crumbled, but I was able to save enough to put in this cup."
Her vision blurred. She'd thrown them away when she thought all was lost for her and Thorn.
"I remember you saying that you start with 'He loves me'..." He stepped forward and squatted in front of her, pushing her legs together, and dumped the collection of petals on her lap. "Let's see what you end up with this time."
She glanced down at the sprinkling of red petals on her legs and back up at him. "I'm scared. What if it ends badly on 'He loves me not'?"
The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened. "In that case, I bought every single red rose bush from two different nurseries on the way home from the run and put every single bush inside the trailer. You can come out here for the rest of your life and sit, pick your petals off the roses until you end with 'He loves me' because I do, sweetheart."
Her heart squeezed, and her throat closed with emotions. "I love you, honey."
He rubbed the outside of her thighs. "Let's see what you've got."
She inhaled a deep breath, praying that the game ended the way she wanted. Not that it mattered. She was going to continue loving Thorn, and he would always love her.
Daintily picking up a petal, she dropped it in the cup. "He loves me," she whispered.
Nikki moved in closer and repeated her. She smiled at her daughter, knowing she had the best man in the world as hers and the best father figure for Nikki.
"He loves me not," she mouthed, not even able to say the words.
She hurried and picked up another one, gently putting it in the cup. "He loves me."
One after another, until she was looking at the bottom of the cup and anticipating the last one. Her pulse thrummed inside of her, and she accidentally crumbled one in her hurry.
Holding the last one out, she looked at Thorn. "He loves me."
Nikki leaned against her leg and clapped. She smiled into Thorn's eyes.
"Damn right, I do," he said, leaning over to kiss her.
Setting the cup on the bench, she launched herself at him, burying her face in the nook of his neck. He stood, holding her tightly.
"I love you so much," she said. "How did you get all the roses and the benches here without me knowing?"
"It took four pickups and eight Brikken members." He pressed his lips against her ear. "And, me keeping you busy this morning in bed. You didn't hear a thing with all that moaning."
She squeezed her eyes shut, laughing against his neck. Never, in her entire life, would she forget this moment knowing her and Thorn would be together forever.
Epilogue
One year later ~
Gillian, D-Con's newest girlfriend, adjusted the camera on the tripod. Thorn ran his hand through his hair and Jessy grabbed his wrist.
He growled. "This is bullshit."
"Sh." Jessy shifted Carter, to her other arm. "Johanna wants a family picture, and if you keep playing with your hair, it's going to look messy."
Ever since his son was born, he'd listened to Johanna bug everyone about getting together to have a family photo taken. She'd used Chief getting older as an excuse, though they all knew there were hundreds of pictures of each of them in photo albums at the club and at each of their houses.
"Chief's used to seeing me with messy hair. One day, he's going to look at the picture and point his finger at my head and ask who the fucker is in the back because he won't recognize me," he muttered.
Jessy giggled. "Stop. Your dad is seventy-five years old and smarter than all of us."
Jett leaned forward and looked down the line of family members. "How long does it take to get one fucking family picture taken? I got more important things to do than stand around here bumping elbows with everyone."
In the front row, Cora screamed and hit Arick. Sydney broke out of the back row and hurried around in front of everyone to whisper to her daughter.
"If we have to wait for all the kids to sit still and shut it down, we'll be here all day." Olin growled. "Trik and Linnea look like they're about ready to make a run for it."
"If they do, I'm running, too." Ashley looked at Jessy. "Aren't you hot?"
"Dying." Jessy glanced down at the baby, patting the underside of Carter. "And, wet."
Everyone around her groaned. Thorn leaned over and kissed the side of her forehead. "Five minutes. Then, we're out of here."
Sydney ran back to her spot beside Jett. Thorn exhaled in relief.
"Okay, everyone look at the camera." Gillian held up her hand. "On the count of—"
"Jesus Christ. Three," said Chief from the chair in the middle of the front row. "Everyone smile."
Thorn looked straight ahead and put his arm around Jessy, hearing Nikki shout, "Cheese."
After several seconds, Gillian shook her head and pointed toward the large group. "Jett and Sydney, you can't kiss. You need to look—"
"Look at the damn camera and keep your hands to yourself," ordered Johanna.
Jackie stepped out of line. "I need to go to work."
"Not yet." Johanna raised her brows. "One more try. Please, people. Let's do this."
"I have to pee." Linnea stood, holding herself between her legs.
Ashley groaned. "Sit down, baby. Hold it really, really hard."
"That's what he said...," came a mumbled reply at the end of the back row. Stassi wi
dened her eyes as everyone stared at her. "What?" It's not like every one of you wasn't thinking the same thing. Sheesh."
Thorn glared at his sister. He didn't care that she was seventeen years old. She was too young for her thoughts to go in the gutter.
"Okay, let's do it again. Eyes forward..." Gillian waved her hand. "And, smile."
The whole family quieted. Thorn tilted his head and stilled.
Gillian looked at the camera and smiled. "That's it. I got it."
"Thank God." Jessy turned to Thorn. "I need to go change Carter. Can you make sure Nikki gets inside?"
He patted her ass. "I'll get her."
With eight children counting Carter, the cousins all went in different directions. The women headed inside to put out the food, leaving Jett, Olin, and Thorn standing behind their mom, Chief, and Johanna, who all sat in lawn chairs for the picture.
Chief held Johanna's hand and slung his arm around Karla. Thorn took in the scene. Though Chief had stopped being involved with Karla when Thorn was a kid, his father always included her in all family gatherings, knowing it was important for Johanna to have her around, seeing she was the only mother figure Johanna had.
If anything, Johanna and Karla were more like mother-daughter than years ago.
His father respected Karla, for raising his sons and Johanna, which was apparent to everyone at Brikken.
Over the years, the changes in his parents were noted by everyone. They moved a little slower and seemed content to sit back and enjoy the time with family, often watching the grandkids. But there were times when Thorn caught his mom and dad looking at each other. Chief would nod, proud of what they'd achieved raising their family and his mom would smile, taking his approval for what it was. Respect.
Thorn looked at his two brothers and found them lost in their own thoughts, watching their parents. All three of them had settled into life with their families, starting another round of Stanton's that would someday take over Brikken.
At fifty-five years old, Jett had taken Brikken Motorcycle Club further than any of them would've imagined and Thorn couldn't see anything stopping them from continuing to supply chopped motorcycles to their partner in California.
"Rollo started all this," said Jett, turning his head toward Thorn. "I bet he never dreamed our families would grow to this size or Brikken would become the force it is today."
Olin removed his hand from his vest pocket and rubbed his fingers. "How many members do we have in prison right now?"
"Fifteen." Thorn searched the crowd of kids for Nikki and found her with Chee. "Fourteen on Monday. Freddy's getting out."
Olin looked around at them all. "Our family is free. That's something."
"Freedom, brother," mumbled Jett. Then, he smacked Thorn in the stomach. "I'm going to eat. Catch you assholes inside."
His oldest brother walked off. Thorn yawned.
"Are you getting any sleep with the new baby in the house?" asked Olin.
"Some. I wake up every time Jessy gets up to feed Carter." Thorn watched Nikki run off with Chee and suddenly stop at the edge of the field. He felt her hesitation. He needed to be there. "I'm going to grab Nikki and take her inside, get her something to eat before we head home."
"Good idea. I'm going to grab my kids." Olin whistled loudly. "Gunnar, Cora, Arick, Chee...get over here."
Thorn walked past everyone and stopped beside Nikki. He followed her gaze to the cars in the distance. She'd thrived over the years since he'd found her that night shut in the car crying.
The times she woke up in the middle of the night caught in the past became fewer, and she'd learned how to pull herself out of the times when it was easier to be quiet and reflect on her memories alone.
But, once in a while, Nikki would look at him, and he could feel the pain squeezing her slim body. And, he understood and stayed with her.
Nikki slipped her fingers into his hand. He squeezed. She was getting too big to try and distract her from her feelings.
He'd do anything for his little girl. She'd become more than Jessy's daughter. He loved her and would raise and protect her as if she was his blood.
Nikki leaned against him. "Can we go inside?"
"Sure thing, princess."
"Will you carry me?"
He lifted her, and she laid her head on his shoulder. Taking his time, he strolled back to the clubhouse. He knew once they got inside, she'd want down. She'd reached the age where she tried to hide how much she needed him from her mom so that Jessy wouldn't worry.
Chee ran over to him, and he set Nikki down. His nephew would take care of her and get her mind off the past.
He looked around the clubhouse and found Jessy wearing a different shirt. She lifted her gaze and pointed across the room. He followed her finger to where Chief held Carter.
Knowing his son was in good hands, he went to his woman.
Jessy searched the room, and he knew the second she spotted Nikki because she smiled. He took full advantage of her soft lips, and she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his middle and leaning into him. His body relaxed the way it always happened when she was with him.
He pulled back. "Have you told anyone?"
She shook her head. Her grin as big as the excitement he felt every time he thought of her pregnant again. He loved watching her get big with child.
"I thought we'd wait a couple of weeks before we tell everyone." She rubbed his chest. "I just want to enjoy this time with you, knowing that we're having another baby."
"Sounds good to me." He turned her around and pressed his chest against her back, wrapping his arms around her.
This time next year, three of his kids would be here. Growing, learning, respecting all things Brikken. His gaze connected with Chief and his dad nodded at him, holding the baby up proudly.
He dipped his chin in respect to Chief. Carter Rollo Stanton would probably never know the extent of his family history. The heartache. The struggles. The mistakes.
Rollo had believed in planning for the future and Thorn would follow his grandfather's example. All of his kids would know how to love and be loved.
Thorn inhaled deeply and gazed around the clubhouse. Between the hard times, there were good times. But always, there was family.
He looked forward to seeing the next generation take over the Brikken Motorcycle Club.
Dear Readers —
Thank you for reading A Brikken Motorcycle Club Saga series. I also want to thank the readers who contacted me and shared their stories, their tears, their opinion after they finished each book.
Chief, Jett, Olin, Thorn were picture-perfect characters for the stories I wanted to share, and I'm glad you fell in love with them as much as I enjoyed writing about each one.
One of the biggest requests I receive from readers is if I would write Rollo's story. While I understand why, I've always made it a policy never to have a main character die in one of my romance books. I prefer to leave Rollo as a legacy of Brikken, and his views, his love, his commitment can be seen in each family member.
If you'd like to keep up on book releases and chat with me, I would love to have you like my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DebraKaynFanPage.
Love,
Debra
Author Bio
Debra Kayn is published by Grand Central Publishing, Simon & Schuster Publishing, Carina Press - Harlequin Enterprises Limited, and repped by agent, Stephany Evans of FinePrint Literary Management. She has over fifty contemporary novels available worldwide where heroes and heroines come from the most unlikely characters.
She lives with her family in the Bitterroot Mountains of beautiful North Idaho where she enjoys the outdoors, the four seasons, and small-town living.
Website: www.debrakayn.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DebraKayn
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DebraKaynFanPage
Debra Kayn's Backlist
A Brikken Motorcycle Club Saga series
Chief
Jett
>
Olin
Thorn
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Falling For Crazy
Chasing Down Changes
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Breathing His Air
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Struggling For Justice
Starving For Vengeance
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Laying Down His Colors – Bantorus Motorcycle Club
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