“Don’t you think I should be helping them?” she asks. We’re curled up on the front porch swing, having coffee while a group of young prospects clean up the lawn, picking up beer cans and other random trash from last night’s festivities in the morning sun.

She’s wrapped in my gray t-shirt and a pair of boy shorts, her feet propped in my lap, her peroxide orange hair tucked up in a little nub of a ponytail, and still to me she’s the most beautiful sight in the world.

“You’re royalty, Sloan,” I laugh. “You don’t have to help them. They live for this shit.”

Bruno, a short, stocky, recently graduated hang-around bends over the black garbage bag he has in his hand and starts throwing up.

“Yeah, looks like he’s having a blast.”

“Hey, he’s gotta learn to handle his liquor or take it easy.”

The sound of truck tires roll up the gravel driveway and my sister, Esther, waves from the front seat. Her and Brooks hop out of the truck, followed by a tiny little Rottweiler puppy wearing a pink bow around her neck, running full speed trying to keep up with the two.

Sloan’s eyes fill with tears and her hands start shaking.

“Oh my God, Esther! I love your puppy!” she says jumping off the porch swing and scooping up the little dog in her arms while it smothers her face in kisses. She’s giggling, bouncing the puppy up and down, like she’s in her own little world.

“I’m scared to tell her,” Esther laughs. “She’ll probably have a heart attack.”

“You like her?” I ask. I already know the answer by the way she’s fawning over the black beast with the nubby tail and copper dots for eyebrows.

“You guys got me a dog?” she squeals. “She’s mine?”

She sets the dog down and grabs Esther, hugging her close.

“Now you’re stuck here with us, Sloan. Sorry about your luck,” she teases.

“If I knew it was that easy, I would’ve done that a long time ago,” I say. I pick up the chubby little dog and set her up on the swing with me. She’s looking around in fascination, her ears perking up as she listens intently to the people around her, absorbing as much as she can about her new world around her. “What do you want to name her?”

“I don’t know yet! I’ve never got to name a dog before.”

“You’re outnumbered, bud,” Brooks says to me. “Now you got two bitches to boss you around.”

Sloan punches him in the shoulder. “How many do you have?” she asks him. “And ones of the blow-up variety don’t count.”

“That’s my girl.” I smile.

“Guys, this is seriously the best day of my life,” she says. She looks so cute, so wild and free standing there in the sunshine.

I pick up the puppy and hold her in my lap and she licks my face all over, and all I can do is laugh.

“I think that’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” she teases. “Big bad biker man letting baby dog smother him in kisses.”

“I’m gonna have to disagree with you on that one, Sloan. I watched that dog lick her asshole for a solid twenty minutes straight this morning,” Brooks jokes, with a little dry heave for added emphasis. “But we’ll get out of your hair if you need some alone time.” He heads back towards the truck.

“No way,” she says. “If you don’t have anything going on stay and hang out. You want coffee?”

“I’ll help you. We need to talk, anyway. I owe you an apology,” Esther says, and the two of them disappear into the front door, followed by the puppy. I lean back on the swing and smile. Seeing the woman I grew up with and the woman I want to grow old with getting along like friends means a lot. Esther doesn’t let many people into her circle, but she’d always been an advocate for Sloan.

“Look at you, you lucky fuck.” Brooks pulls up a chair. “It’s like you really did end up with the best of both worlds. Mountain Misfit life, city lady…”

“Oh, she’s not as city as you think,” I say. It’s insane. The girl has the world at her fingertips. She’s brilliant, beautiful, and highly educated, and she thinks the best thing ever is being up here on the mountain with me. She makes me a better person, and I make her happy and it’s as easy as that.

“I don’t care if she’s the most city chick ever. I’m just glad to have you back. I’ll bring you puppies every month if I have to to keep her around. I’m happy for you, man.”

“Did you hear that?” Sloan coos to the dog from the doorway. “You’re getting a sister!”

“We got enough for everyone,” Esther says, holding a tray. “You boys take a break and come up here with us,” she yells to the prospects in the yard.

Sloan curls up next to me on the porch swing, taking my hand in hers, squeezing it tight.

Red pulls up on his bike with Olive hanging off the back, Tank shortly behind. She runs up on the porch and tosses Sloan a bag.

“This was the closest thing I could find to your natural color. I hope it’s ok.”

“You’re so thoughtful, Ollie,” she says. I personally don’t care if her hair is green as long she stays here with me forever.

“What are we going to name this little beast?” Sloan asks, laying her head on my chest as we watch the little puppy fumble around the porch, sniffing everyone. It’s hilarious how a dog can turn a hardened batch of bikers into a bunch of baby-talking idiots.

Kinda like Sloan did with me. She’s so smart.

“Killer?” I suggest. “Harley? Dozer?”

“Come here, Rosie,” she calls out. The tiny pup is entranced with her voice and comes barreling over, still learning how to use her legs, her paws awkwardly big for her body. Sloan picks her up and rests her on her lap. “You are so loved, my pretty little puppy,” she coos to her.

“That works, too.” I kiss her forehead and she smiles up at me. We have nothing to do today but this.

It’s as if overnight, life became perfect. I have my best friends, my sister, the woman I’m going to make my wife, and the new generation of Mountain Misfits gathered around outside the house where it all began, and I feel like we’re all on the verge of something big, something exciting. I can feel my grandfather here with us, too, looking down in approval of the future we are going to create.