Epilogue

Ellie

I rolled over to roll into him but found Axel’s side of the bed empty. Still half asleep, I searched his side of the bed with my hands before finally managing to open my eyes.

I found a note sitting neatly on top of his pillow. My name was written across the front of it, and it was folded in half to hide the contents.

My stomach now a tight knot of nerves, I grabbed the note and sat up, pulling the blankets with me to ward off the chill of the morning.

Ellie,

Get dressed. Meet me at the shop. Hanna is with me. Don’t rush.

I frowned. There wasn’t any information in that note the eased my mind. I needed to know more. So I called him.

“Where are you?” he asked before anything else.

“I’m at home. In bed. Where are you?”

“The shop. Didn’t you read the note I left you?”

“Yeah, but I was worried. It’s early. Why did you leave so early? Is everything okay?”

I had definitely assumed the worst. It had been six months since Watson was arrested, but every now and then, or when things like this happened, I couldn’t fight down the thought that he might get out and come after Axel. Maybe the shop had burned down again. Maybe there was another hit out on the MC.

“Everything is fine, Ellie. Don’t worry. Just get dressed and come down to the shop. Hanna and I are waiting for you.”

I let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay. Fine. Just give me fifteen minutes, and I’ll be there. I need to grab a coffee on the way.”

Axel chuckled. “Okay, baby. I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

“Love you too,” I said before hanging up the phone and collapsing back into the soft mattress and cozy pillows.

Why must he make me get up so early all the time? He was a morning person, and I was sometimes. But today was Saturday. I had wanted to sleep in and spend a lazy day at home with him and Hanna. I was even going to make them French toast.

I sighed again and rolled out of bed. They were waiting for me.

I got dressed in a hurry, slipping into a pair of tight jeans and a loose black T-shirt. I stepped into a pair of red flats, hoping that if I dressed in clothes that weren’t suitable to work in, Axel wouldn’t put me to work on one of the side jobs we had for six motorcycles. It was my weekend, damn it, and I wasn’t going to spend it working.

I grabbed my sunglasses and car keys and rushed out the front door. The sun was shining, but the air was chilly, and I regretted not grabbing a coat as I slid into the driver’s seat of my car. I started it up and cranked the heat and turned on my seat warmers, which didn’t kick in until I was going through the drive-through to grab a cappuccino.

I sipped on it slowly as I drove the rest of the way to the shop, savoring the simple sweetness of the foam and espresso.

When I parked outside the shop, I began to wonder what the hell was going on. There were no other cars parked on the lot, and the two bay doors were closed. If Axel was working on something, I would be surprised. He always made sure the doors were open so the air flow was clean.

“What the hell is he trying to pull?” I muttered as I got out of the car and closed the door with my hip. I clicked the alarm on my fob to arm it, and the car beeped behind me as I walked across the gravel to the side door.

I was instantly cold again, and I hurried the last couple of steps to the door. I turned the handle, and as soon as the door opened, I was greeted with the smell of grease and, much to my surprise, lavender and rose and something else. Something very floral.

I stepped over the threshold, and my mouth fell open as I saw what had been done to the shop.

There were flowers everywhere.

The cement floor was hidden from view by red rose petals. Every single surface was filled with extravagant bouquets of carnations, roses, lilacs, lilies, daisies, lavender, and even orchids. I froze in place and stared in wonder.

Candles were burning, too, and they were the only source of light in the place. It looked beautiful, which was a strange thing to say about a mechanic shop.

Then, I spotted Hanna in the corner. She was bending down to gather handfuls of rose petals, and then she would toss them in the air over her head and twirl in a circle as they cascaded down around her.

“What’s all this?” I whispered.

Axel stepped out from behind a 1969 fastback we were painting. He held yet more flowers, which he handed to me when he was close enough. His eyes were fixed on mine, and they seemed to dance in the flickering light of the candle flames.

“Axel?”

He smiled, took my hand in his, and descended to one knee.

I thought I might pass out right then and there.

“Took you long enough to get here,” Axel said, giving me a crooked smile.

I stuttered and stammered like a fool. Words were completely out of my grasp right now. Axel was on his knee in front of me, and his hand was disappearing into the pocket of his leather jacket.

“Ellie Kinkade. I have a very important question to ask you.”

I nodded.

“But first, there are some things I want to say to you.”

My eyes were growing wet with tears. My heart was hammering, and my skin felt white hot all over. My hand shook in his grasp, and I clutched the flowers he had just handed me to my chest.

“I never had faith in myself that I could ever be a good man, Ellie. I never thought I could deserve the love of a woman like you. That’s why I held you at arm’s length for so long. You were too good for me. You still are. But I’m ready to be selfish. I love you more than anything, and I can’t imagine being without you. You make it easy to get out of bed in the morning. You make it easy to smile, to laugh, and to let go of all the anger and resentment I’ve carried around with me for a long, long time. You make it easy to fight for what I want. I want you—I’ve always wanted you. I want to spend the rest of my life doing everything in my power to make you happy and give you the life you deserve. You, me, and Hanna. A family. What do you say?” He paused and withdrew a blue velvet box from his pocket. He extended it out to me and popped it open.

A ring more dazzling than anything I could have imagined winked at me as it caught the light of the flames from the candles.

“Ellie, will you marry me?”

I took a shaky breath and nodded. I still couldn’t speak. All I could do was succumb to the wave of emotion that washed over me. I let out a sob as Axel took my left hand and slid the ring onto my finger.

“Mrs. Cooper has a nice ring to it,” he said as he got to his feet.

I threw my arms around his shoulders and wept with joy against him. He hugged me back, his strong arms squeezing my back.

“I hope these are happy tears,” he said, finally stepping back to wipe my cheeks.

I nodded again and struggled to finally find my voice. “These are very happy tears. I love you, too, Axel. So fucking much.”

“Language,” he teased, shooting a look over at Hanna, who was still enjoying playing in the flower petals.

I clapped a hand over my mouth. “Oops.”

Axel shrugged. “Fuck it, we just got engaged.”

Then he wrapped his arms around me again and swept me up off my feet. He spun me in a circle and both my shoes fell off. When he put me down, my bare feet kissed the silky petals on the shop floor.

“I can’t believe you did all of this for me,” I whispered, turning in a slow circle to soak in the sight of all the flowers and candles again. It was truly magnificent.

“I might have had a little bit of help.”

I laughed. “Let me guess. The entire MC knows?”

“Yep, they’ve known for weeks.”

“How on earth did you all keep it a secret for so long?”

“I threatened to kill anyone who ruined the surprise.”

I giggled and then kicked up a bunch of red petals. They soared into the air and floated gently down. Then Axel called Hanna over.

He and his daughter stood before me as I put the bouquet down on one of the already flower-covered workbenches. Hanna stood with her hands clasped in front of her, and she rocked her shoulders from side to side. She only ever did this when she was nervous.

She pursed her lips and looked up at me. Then she took a deep breath like Axel and I had taught her to do when her nerves were getting to her.

“After you marry my daddy, you’ll be my mommy.” As Hanna spoke the words, Axel pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket. “Will you adopt me?”

Axel handed me the paper. I unfolded it, blinded by my own tears, and was barely able to read the title of the adoption form. I nodded frantically, tears spilling freely down my cheeks now.

“Of course, I will, Hanna.” I dropped down to my knees and held out my arms. Hanna ran into them, and I hugged her fiercely. “I love you, baby girl.”

“I love you too, Mommy.”

Axel joined us on the shop floor and embraced both of us, resting his chin on Hanna’s head. I stared into his blue eyes and tried to lock this feeling into my brain forever. This was the happiest I had ever been.

“Mrs. Jeremiah Cooper, hey?” I asked.

Axel gave me a sheepish grin. “Hell, yeah.”

Author Note: I hope you enjoyed Axel’s story. If you happened to not read Ryder’s first I have included it for you along with two other books of mine as a thank you.