“I'm so thankful that I came back. If I hadn't, I believe I would have been alone the rest of my life, always mourning the fact that I couldn't get the justice you both deserved. Be happy for me, Bri. He's a good man and he shows me every single day how much he loves me, and I love him with the same depth of emotion.”
Ava stepped slowly over to Mason's grave. The cardinals had sat silently the whole time she spoke to Brian.
“Hey, Mason, what’s Mommy’s sweet boy doing today in Heaven? Mommy wanted to let you know that I will always live close by now and will be able to visit you anytime I want. I love you so much, Mason, and Mommy misses you every single moment. I would give anything, if you were here with me.”
I heard the pain and anguish in her voice. Losing Angel was hard, but if I had lost Beau in that car wreck as well, fuck, I know I'd be in a casket beside all of them. Ava had to be strong as fuck to pull herself out of the hell she had been thrown into that day. Hearing the depth of emotion in her voice as she talked to her husband and son made my love for her grow even more. I'm sure every day we are together from this day on, that I would only fall deeper into love with her.
“Sweet boy, Mommy wants to tell you she is having another baby. I don't ever want you to think that I will forget you or love you less. Mason, you are my first born. Your place in my heart is etched with a love that is permanent and will never change. Mommy wants you to watch over your baby brother or sister always. Please do that for me, Mason,” her voice broke on her plea.
As we stood there surrounded by the most incredible peace I've ever felt, two male cardinals flew down and landed beside the female ones. They all started chattering away.
“Oh, Dog, they're all here,” she whispered.
“Yeah, babe. Pretty sure they’re all happy for us and are letting us know,” I said softly to her.
One of the male cardinals hopped to Brian's headstone and cocked his head sideways. I swore it was looking directly at me. The weirdest damn feeling came over me, urging me to take the ring out of my pocket and ask Ava to marry me. As the thought crossed my mind, the bird's head bobbed up and down and it hopped back besides the other three birds.
I reached down and pulled on the ribbon I had tied around the ring earlier today until it and the ring was out of my pocket. Moving slowly, I knelt to one knee. Ava turned to me with a curious look on her face.
I raised the ring up to her and said quietly, “Babe, pretty sure our loved ones are here with us. What better place to ask you than with them present. Ava, I was so lost and lonely before you came into my life. I felt like life was passing me by and I was going to spend it alone. Yes, I have Beau and my Brothers, but I didn't have someone to love me for me.
“I didn't have someone to lay beside me in the dark of the night. I didn't have someone who I wanted to spend time with, whether it was holding hands, talking, riding on the back of my bike, or making love. I've yearned for some unknown something for a long time, Ava, and when you walked into my office that night, I knew I had found it.
“Babe, pretty sure I can't live without you now. And, God, how I want our child. To hold something that you and I created will be among one of the best days of my life. With all that I am and all that I'll ever be, I'm yours Ava. I love you from the bottom of my heart and soul. Will you please put a lonely man out of his misery and love me the rest of our lives? Will you marry me, Ava?”
Tears ran over the smile that was shining brightly across her face.
“I agree that our loved ones are here,” she said as she glanced over at the birds who appeared to be watching us with great interest. “And a hundred, a thousand times yes, I'll marry you. You hold my heart, Dog. For now, and always, I'll be yours.”
She held out her left hand to me and I slid the ring on her ring finger. I got up, wrapped my arms around her and to a chorus of cardinals singing the most beautiful song, I whispered, “I will love you, Ava, forever and a day.”
~***~
Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late. Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them.
~Robert Updegraff~
The End
Afterword
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Thank you for reading Angel’s Rebellion MC.
Sneak Peek
of
Excerpt from Slade
Viper
“Got some good news, Slade. But I want you to hear it all so you can make the decision yourself. Doc called me not long after you left and asked if we would let her cousin come stay at the Clubhouse for a while. She's got an abusive ex-boyfriend she is wanting to hide from. I asked Doc if she'd be willing to watch your mom and the girl said she would. She's a nurse, Slade. But know, she does come with trouble riding behind her. I'm sure it's nothing that we can't handle though. The girl is from Fayetteville and managed to get away from her ex without him following her. At least that's what we're told. She'll be here around six this evening. You think she'd work?”
I saw a look of relief cross his face, “Yeah, would want to talk to her just to get a feel for her, but that could work out just fine.”
“Good, Brother. I don't want you to go into work tonight. I think it'd be better for you to be with her for the evening so you can see how Audrey and her get along. I think Hatchet can handle the place. It's a Monday after all.”
“That'd be good, Viper,” he murmured as he studied my face. “Something else is going on.”
I wasn’t surprised he could tell something else was up. He knew me well enough to know when something was weighing on my mind.
“Want to ask you a couple questions, Slade. They're pretty personal and I know you'll wonder why I'm asking, but I'll get to the reason soon.”
He nodded at me.
“Tell me what your mom has told you about your dad.”
He looked at me in surprise, I could tell he wanted to ask me why immediately. But he knew what I'd already said to him, so he held his tongue.
“Mom told me that my dad was in the military and that his name is Slade Wesley Dillin.”
“Why didn't she ever contact him, Slade?”
A sad look crossed his face. “She said that he'd given her his phone number, but she'd lost it. Said she remembered telling him she lived in Kentucky, but didn't think she'd ever said the town's name she lived in. Said she tried calling the base as soon as she got home, trying to contact him and they wouldn't tell her anything. Then she tried again when she found out she was pregnant with me. Had the same results trying to contact him that time too.”
Fuck. She'd fucking tried to find him and was blocked. How fucked up was that?
“Why you asking me this, Viper?”
~*~
Slade
I was curious as fuck wondering why Viper was asking me about my dad. I had no clue where he was going with his questions.
“Slade, do you remember meeting the Prospect, Casper, the other night?” Viper asked me.
“Yeah, why?”
I watched as he reached over to Dog's desk and picked up a picture. He looked at it a moment then looked at me. Silently, he handed me the picture. I glanced down at it and my breath caught in my chest. I shook my head slightly to clear my vision, I was sure I was seeing things. Staring up at me from the picture was a man who could be my fucking twin. I looked back at Viper, confusion clear on my face.
“What...How... Who is this?” I stuttered out.
“The man's name is Zane. He's Casper's younger brother.”
“He fucking looks just like me,” I mumbled as I looked back at the picture.
“Yeah, he does, doesn't he? Casper came to us this morning wi
th that picture and a story,” Viper sighed deeply.
“Slade,” he paused until I raised my head to look at him. “Casper's last name is Dillin. His dad's name is Slade Wesley Dillin.”
I jerked back. If I had been standing, I would have fallen down.
“What?” I demanded. “He said what?”
“He said he's pretty sure you're his little brother, Slade.”
I felt like I had just been hit with a damn poleaxe. The thoughts in my brain were scrambling, trying to process all he had just told me. I looked back down at the picture and realized I couldn't see it clearly, there were fucking tears in my eyes. I have two brothers. I have two fucking brothers and Casper knew where my dad was. Oh, fucking Christ. I'd found something I'd wanted all my life just when I was losing my mom. God. Damn. Life was so fucking unfair. The ache in my heart was literally taking my breath away.
“I need to talk to him, Vip. I gotta talk to him. Please, I need to talk to him.” I heard myself begging Viper like some damn little snotty-nosed kid, but I didn't fucking care. I had a brother that was living right here in this Clubhouse. I needed to see him. Now.
“Slade,” Viper paused and cleared his throat. “Son, your brother and your dad are in the Great Room.”
I heard his words as if they were coming from a distance and the moment they connected to my brain, I stood so fast the chair flipped, then I ran out the door, down the hallway and into the Great Room where I slid to a stop and looked at the men standing across the room from me. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. There was my dad. I looked just like him. Oh, sweet Jesus. That was my dad. I finally found my dad as I was losing my mom. The pain was staggering. Without even realizing it, I began walking toward him and he was meeting me halfway.
Coming Soon
Angel’s Rebellion MC: #3 - Slade
Angel’s Rebellion MC: #4 - Casper
Angel’s Rebellion MC: #5 - Boomer
Angel’s Rebellion MC: #6 - Ghost
For book blurbs, see my website.
Other Books by Jenever Evans
Angel’s Rebellion MC: #1 - Viper
Music Note
When writing I like to listen to music. Usually I have my earbuds in and playlist on repeat. However, sometimes a song will set the tone of a scene I am writing. It’s like I need the song to get the character in a certain frame of mind. (Yes, I am one of those authors that write what the characters tell me to.) With Mad Dog, there was one song that I played on repeat probably 50% of the time. It seemed to express Dog’s emotions throughout the majority of the book. There was also a song that seemed to express Ava’s emotions as well. Both songs are italicized. There was one song, while not named, if you know old rock at all, you will recognize a line from a scene that Viper was in. That song is denoted with **.
Playlist
“All I Want” by Alexandra Porat
“Yours” by Ella Henderson
“Tell Me Something Good” by Rufus & Chaka Khan **
“If I Could Fly” by One Direction
“Helium” by Sia
“You Don’t Know” by Katelyn Tarver
“Holding Out For A Hero” by Elise Lieberth
“Feels Like Rain” by John Hiatt
“River” by Bishop Briggs
“Chains” by Nick Jonas
About the Author
My love affair with books started as a preschooler when my mom read Little House on the Prairie to me. I was hooked. I was reading before I started school. By the precocious age of twelve, I was hooked on Janet Daily’s stories and totally convinced that I could write a book too. I wrote notebooks full of ideas. That’s when writing became my dream.
At the tender age of 5, I had my first thrill of motorcycle riding. Well okay, it was a minibike. Riding went well until it didn’t. I crashed. Fast forward to my teenage years when my true love affair with motorcycles began. It was then that I got a motorcycle. I rode constantly for almost 4 years.
I was determined to go to college and enrolled after our Irish twin sons started school. Professors encouraged me to write, but family life didn’t allow that kind of time. So, my dream sat idle, but it was always hovering.
My admiration of author Cee Bowerman became a friendship with her. She once said I should just write my own book. So, my dream that had been idling, revved up.
Angel’s Rebellion MC was born of that dream.
So, this is my dream. Their voices. My way.
Contact the Author
-Website-
https://www.jeneveirevans.com/
-Email-
[email protected]
-Facebook-
https://fb.me/jeneveirevansauthor
-Instagram-
https://www.instagram.com/jeneveirevans/
-Goodreads-
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20618973.Jeneveir_Evans
Mad Dog (Angel’s Rebellion MC: #2) (Angel's Rebellion MC) Page 33
