Christmas and New Years passed uneventfully, and I couldn't have been more thrilled. No nasty notes or misplaced household items. Our lives were back on track, and I was more optimistic about the future than I'd ever been. Blue still hadn't sold Razors or resigned from the club. The Christmas present he'd had delivered to our home hung in the back of our closet next to the leather jacket Chili had given me. It came with a note that simply said, Property of Grizz.

It was my father's old club jacket. The one Tommy had been tasked with disposing of when he thought Grizz had died by lethal injection. I realized that even though Tommy had battled with Grizz for my mother's affection, he still couldn't bring himself to destroy a piece of history that belonged to the man who'd fathered me. Instead of throwing it away, he'd given it to Blue.

I'd watched as Christian tried it on before returning it to our closet. Just because it was a perfect fit didn't mean it was meant to fit perfectly in our lives. Christian had turned down Blue's offer to take over the club. He promised me that giving up the lifestyle was nothing for him. He told me Abby and I were his priorities, and I believed him. He knew I had no intention of being my mother, who pretended not to see the harshest aspects of that world. Or his mother, who used her money to make things better for the women who'd succumbed to that life. I was too selfish. I didn't want to share my husband with a biker club. I kept both jackets only as a reminder of our legacy, not as a reminder of what some thought should be our destiny.

Christian's parents, along with Autumn, had readily signed the paperwork granting Christian and me full custody of Abby. Autumn was expecting another baby and had settled in New York with her new boyfriend and his family.

Christian's parents and Slade listened as we sat them down around the kitchen table right before Christmas and explained everything that had secretly transpired since my move to Florida. Aunt Christy shivered when I told her about the harmless oaf who'd been living in the attic next door, letting himself into our home.

"I remember you saying you detected a smell when you went through the house. Too bad I hadn't been with you. My nose would've led me right up those attic stairs," she announced proudly. We didn't disagree with her. Christian's mother had the keenest sense of smell of anybody I'd ever met.

"What do you think was behind Debbie's offer to have Joe set up surveillance cameras at your house?" Slade asked.

I smiled at my brother-in-law who'd readily accepted my apology for being so rude. He'd only been trying to help the night I'd so callously hung up on him.

"Was it maybe her backup plan in case the nasty notes didn't spook you? Like if she knew more about your habits she could use them against you?" he asked.

I gave him a noncommittal shrug. "Probably. Maybe. I don't really know, but that's a solid guess."

Aunt Christy jumped in and said, "I still think you two should've known better than to keep this kind of thing from each other and from us. We're family. We could've helped."

"Christian told me about the guy in the attic," Slade interrupted. "And before I forget. About those prints you wanted lifted from the cans we found there…" Slade looked at Christian. "Two sets came back."

Everyone glanced Slade's way and waited for him to reveal the owner of the fingerprints.

He looked at Christian and smiled. "Yours and Dennis's."

Of course Christian's prints were on the cans. They were stolen from our house. Mine were probably on some of them too.

"Why did it take so long?" Christian asked.

"Surprisingly, Dennis didn't have an arrest record until recently. And even though they inked him, the prints didn't get submitted to the database right away," Slade explained.

"That's the justice system for you,” Aunt Christy commented. She gave Slade a look I couldn't decipher before excusing herself to put on a pot of coffee.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. I'd spent the morning at church with Aunt Christy, Daisy, and Abby while Christian and his father puttered in our garage.

We were now home, and while Uncle Anthony was inside helping Daisy with homework she'd brought with her, Aunt Christy was fixing a snack for Abby. In the few short months that we'd had custody of Abby she'd transitioned full-time into our home without a hiccup.

Even though Autumn didn’t want to pursue a relationship with Abby, didn't mean that her mother didn't want one with her granddaughter. We included Abby's maternal grandmother in as many family gatherings as possible. Christian would be leaving soon to pick up Autumn's mother, but there was still enough time to enjoy each other's company beforehand.

We strolled hand in hand and enjoyed the warm breeze rolling off the lake as we made our way around it.

"I'm so glad we decided to buy this house. It fits us perfectly, don't you think?" I asked him.

"I like it too, but like I told you before, Mimi, home for me is wherever you are." He raised my hand to his mouth and softly kissed it.

"Do you miss it? Do you miss them?" I was talking about the club, the lifestyle, and the friends Christian had so easily dismissed.

"I have you. I have my daughter." He stopped walking and looked thoughtful. "And I have my motorcycle. Don't need anything else," he said with a dazzling smile.

I stepped in front of him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I gave him a crooked grin and said, "Marriage and fatherhood suit you." I raised up on my tiptoes and playfully nipped at his chin.

His face grew serious as he took mine between his hands and said, "Marriage and motherhood suit you too, Mimi. Should we tell them today or wait to see if it works?" He kissed the tip of my nose before letting his hands fall away.

"If an opportunity presents itself, we say something. If not, we don't. Let’s wait and see how it goes," I told him.

I slowly brushed my hand over his shirt, and asked, "Is it still sore?" I was referring to the tattoo he'd gotten. It was a chest piece that boasted Dreamy Mimi.

"Nah," he teased. “It hurt more when it wasn't there. When you weren't there."

I tilted my head sideways, an invitation for him to explain.

"When you were missing from my life, it hurt more"—he thumped his fist against his chest—"than the sting of a tattoo needle."

I was pretty sure I sighed. My husband may have been an alpha male with a mean streak, but he was also the most romantic man I'd ever met.

We resumed our walk and reflected on our decision not to open up a motorcycle repair shop with Glen and Susan. It had nothing to do with them. They were still our best friends. After hearing that both men were considering opening up their own businesses, Axel made them an offer they couldn't refuse. He made Christian and Glen co-managers for the motorcycle repairs and their new responsibilities also came with hefty raises.

"I feel relieved that we're not opening up our own shop," I blurted out. "Owning a business comes with a lot of responsibility. I think it would take time away from us."

He nodded his agreement.

"The new neighbors seem nice," I added, changing the subject. "But, their teenage son looks like he might be a problem."

"Not for us," Christian scoffed.

I gave him a sideways glance.

"I had his number from day one. Already set him straight." I recognized the rigid line of his jaw and smiled. Just like my father had told me, I would need a champion. I'd never felt so safe, so cherished, so loved in my entire life. And Christian had been right about that .38 Special song. I was back where I belonged.

We walked the rest of the way in silence and came upon Aunt Christy and Abby coming out of the house.

Christian still had time before he had to pick up Autumn's mother, so Aunt Christy and I sat on the grass and watched Christian push Abby on the solitary swing that hung from a huge shade tree that almost swallowed up our back yard. The sun was glistening off the lake as a family of ducks slowly quacked their way past us.

"Can you believe we're finally going to meet Bevin today?" Aunt Christy whispered. She looked at her watch in anticipation.

"Yes!" I replied a little too loudly. "I'm looking forward to meeting the woman who has mesmerized Slade for so long."

"Me too," Aunt Christy said with a hopeful grin. "I hope we're not too much for her. I hope she'll feel welcome."

I knew that Aunt Christy was more than excited at the prospect of Slade finding someone, but she had reservations about Bevin's mother disapproving of Slade because of Uncle Anthony and Christian's criminal histories.

"We'll make her feel like family," I assured her.

Her answer was a worried smile so I decided to share something that I thought would cheer her up.

"Christian and I have talked about it and decided we want to try and put a baby in Rachelle's belly."

Her scream caused the ducks to scatter and Christian to give us a questioning look. "You told her?" he asked me over Abby's head.

I nodded as Aunt Christy pulled me into a rough hug. I explained that there were no guarantees, but she ignored me and said she couldn't wait to witness the birth of her second grandchild. Sadly, Autumn hadn't allowed her to be part of Abby's birth. When Christian and I told Rachelle that we wanted to accept her offer, her only stipulation was that Christian couldn't look at her privates. "He can be in the room and cut the cord, but no peeking at my lady parts," she told me in her smooth Southern drawl. We didn't have a problem with that request, and I was certain Rachelle wouldn't have an issue with Aunt Christy being there.

"There are a lot of ifs, and we're getting ahead of ourselves, but we're going to be optimistic," I told Aunt Christy as she broke from the hug to wipe her eyes.

After she composed herself our conversation circled back to the decision to buy our home. Aunt Christy was surprised that I wanted to live here despite Dennis's secret home invasions.

"I guess I'm shocked that you're not freaked out about it or spooked," she admitted while gazing at Christian and Abby.

I explained that I was never one to be spooked or superstitious. I went by feelings, and my gut told me this was our home.

"I'm glad." She gave me a wide smile, and then her expression changed. "There was something I don't remember asking you."

"About?" I asked while fiddling with a blade of grass.

"Back to Debbie. So, I can understand how she'd managed to pilfer your spare set of keys and the chess piece the few times she was at your house."

"Yeah, it's how she got into my locked car at the museum. When she hung the white queen from my rearview mirror."

"But what was the significance of the white queen?" she asked, cocking her head to one side. "Debbie knew Abby had been swiping the pieces, but why did she target that one specifically?"

"I'd told her a story," I replied. I looked up at my husband who winked at me. "I guess she was holding onto it in case she felt the need to bring out the big guns. Which she obviously did after Christian started showing back up at The Alibi after Thanksgiving."

"What story?" Her brows crinkled with curiosity.

"The story about one of our weddings," I answered with a cheesy smile.

"One of your weddings?" Uncle Anthony asked. He and Daisy had walked up behind us. Apparently they'd finished Daisy's homework.

"Yeah, the most important one," Christian answered without taking his eyes from mine.

"Do tell," Aunt Christy suggested, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"I'm sure you'll remember some of it," I told her with a smile. "You were there."