Hawk
1 year later
Remission.
I never thought I’d be so damn grateful for that one word, but the moment Tessa’s doctors told us the transplant worked, it became my favorite word. Well, right after wife, because in a few short moments, Tessa Reese is going to become my wife.
We’re at the local church, a place I never thought I’d be, let alone be getting married in, but when your girl tells you that it has always been her dream to get married in the church she grew up attending, you do it. Little did I know that getting married in a Catholic church also meant that I’d have to become Catholic. There was so much damn stuff we had to do to get to this point, but if I had to do it all again, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Tessa wanted an intimate ceremony with just family and Martha. She didn’t want to invite her parents after everything they put us through with Sam, and I understood. I’m just sorry that her brothers weren’t men enough to stand up to their parents and support their sister. But it doesn’t matter, Tessa has enough brotherly love in Sin and Cut, not to mention all the other guys from the club.
“You know you better treat her like a queen, right?” Cut says from my left. We’re standing at the altar, waiting for Tessa to walk down the aisle.
I glance his way. “Yeah, Cut, I know that. Do you doubt me?”
“I’m just saying that’s my sister you’re about to marry.”
“Don’t try to vie for favorite brother now, man,” Sin says just to the left of me. He’s standing in between us since he’s my best man. “That spot is already taken.” He wipes his hands down the front of his vest. Yeah, the kind you rent.
“You wish,” Cut says, but I just shake my head.
“You guys need to check your pants to see if you’ve lost your dicks because you both sound like a bunch of pansy ass pussies,” Lick remarks from the far left. He tugs on the collar of his dress shirt. “Why the fuck are we wearing button-up shirts. This is some stupid ass shit.”
“Shh!” Bianca hisses from the front row. She’s bouncing Matthew Sinclair Jr on her lap, making sure he doesn’t fuss.
I glance to my right and see Lily, Savannah, Jenni, and Rhea in matching coral dresses. Over this past year, the five of them have become a tight-knit group. Each one has stepped up and helped when Tessa and I have needed it. They were there on countless nights making sure to keep Sam’s mind busy while his mother was too weak to play with him. They attended meetings, and school functions in Tessa’s place while she and I concentrated on her getting better. Cancer fucking sucks, more than I realized and if it weren’t for everyone in our life, it would have sucked even harder. We came together, just as a family should in a time of crisis.
I watch as Lily smooths the front of her dress over her stomach. Another month or so and Cut is going to be a daddy. I chuckle to myself thinking about the look of fear on his face when he popped the balloon, and pink shit fell all over him. He’s going to be an amazing, very protective father. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Jenni doing the same thing, she quickly stops and drops her hand when she sees me watching her. Yeah, she and Lick haven’t announced it yet, but we all know.
I feel a nudge and look at Sin. He nods his head towards the entrance of his church. When I turn my head, my breath catches. Standing at the end of the aisle is my forever: my Tessa. Sam is standing next to her, holding her hand. She’s wearing a floor-length off-white gown, and the satin wraps around her chest and waist perfectly, falling loosely around her hips and to the floor. Her hair, still growing, is in short dark curls.
She is stunning.
When the music starts, the few in attendance stand. Unfortunately, her parents and brothers aren’t here. After her diagnosis, but before she started treatment, they started talks about Sam and what to do with him when she passes—not if but when. They didn’t have faith in her strength and her will to live. They saw her as weak and were looking towards a future without her in it. We started the adoption process shortly after, and the day we told them that Sam’s last name was officially Gentry, they turned their backs on her. Again.
“Who gives this woman to this man?” the priest asks.
“I do, Samuel Gentry,” he yells which causes us to laugh. When Tessa steps towards me, Sam stays in his spot and continues to hold her hand. “I’d like to say something, please,” he tells the priest.
“Go ahead, son.”
With Tessa’s hand still in his grasp, he takes a step towards me and reaches for mine, too. When he looks up at me, his eyes are glassy. “Thank you…Dad.” Sam bites his lip, unsure of the title he just said out loud. I give him a wink to help ease his nerves. Dad. Such a simple word packed with so much meaning. When I take my eyes from my son and look at Tessa, I see the tears roll down her face.
“Thank you for loving my mom,” Sam continues as I gaze at my soon to be wife. “Thank you for finding enough room in your heart to love me too. I’ve always wanted a dad.”
My gaze drops to him when he turns his body towards Tessa.
“Not that you weren’t great, Mom, but you kinda suck at sports.”
Tessa chokes out a chuckle as laughter fills the church.
“Thank you, Dad, for giving me a family.” He slightly turns his body towards my brothers. “For giving me uncles, and aunts, and cousins, and a grandma. Because of you, me and Mom have so much, and because of you, we’re no longer alone. I am proud to be your son. I am proud to be yours just like I’m proud to call you mine. I love you.”
I bend down and pick up my son. His arms wrap about my neck as he squeezes. “I love you.” I rasp, my voice full of emotion. “So much, son.”
“Whoot, hell yeah!” Lick yells which makes the crowd laugh.
I pull back and smile at Sam. “Fury bound.”
“Fury proud,” he answers back with a nod of his head.