Epilogue
One and a half years later
Big John
I stood back with my brothers and looked at the finished product, a sense of accomplishment and calm coming over me. Home. Family. Two things I had never thought I would have. But now I had both, and I couldn’t have been any happier.
“Looks fucking good, brother,” Hawk said from the side of me.
He looked tired. Hell, we all looked tired. We’d decided when we’d started this project that we weren’t going to stop until we finished. Ten hours later, the house I’d bought for Daisy and me was freshly painted. BK had installed the security system, and Clay and Cooper had installed new windows and doors.
We’d looked at houses for months before I’d decided that we should build instead. Daisy had wanted something old, with character, a house that needed love to bring it back to life. I’d just about had her convinced to my way of thinking when we discovered the old two-story farmhouse. She’d fallen in love with it instantly, and I’d known that nothing was going to keep me from getting it for her.
I nodded. “Yeah, it does. Thanks to you and my brothers. I can’t wait for Daisy to see it.” All of my club had turned out to get the job done, even the old ladies had turned up to paint and clean the inside. New floors, kitchen and bathrooms, including a new one added upstairs, had been done the month before.
“That’s what family does,” Rock said, giving me a hard pat on my back. “The roof looks good, yeah?”
He’d convinced me to have a metal roof put on, and I had to admit that the barn-red color looked good with the red shutters and the front door. The rest of the house was white. I nodded. “That was a good idea, man.”
“What are you going to do with the old barn and silo?”
I looked past the house to the two structures Snake was talking about. The barn was about to fall, so it only made sense to take it down, but the silo looked solid. I shrugged. “The barn’s a wash, I think in time I’ll have a garage built. Don’t know about the silo. Daisy likes it, so I’ll leave that up to her.”
Ned, Jumper, and Fox rounded the corner of the house, carrying the ladders they’d used to reach the second story. “All done!” Ned announced.
The front door opened as the women in the club came piling through. “We’re all finished,” Allie said first, walking directly to her husband. Rock immediately slung his arm around her, pulling her in close.
“I love the new appliances!” Michelle smiled, heading for her old man. “We need new appliances.” Her comment was meant for Jumper.
“Yeah, I think we all deserve something nice for the work we’ve done here, today,” Robin said, looking expectantly at Snake.
“We have four kids, you want another one?”
She groaned and hit him in the arm. “You want a new old lady?” she joked. His expression revealed that he was thinking about it, so Robin hit him again. Grinning, Snake pulled her against him for a kiss.
“I’m jealous over your claw-foot tub,” Audra said, giving Hawk a pleading look, who smiled affectionately down at her. “When is Jasmine bringing Daisy by?”
“That reminds me, I need to text her.” I dug out my phone and sent a quick text off to Jasmine. Daisy had used the insurance money from the fire to build a new salon, where they worked until five every day. Jasmine was to take Daisy into town for dinner to kill time until she heard from me.
“When do you plan to move in?”
“After Daisy sees the place tonight, she’ll probably want to move in immediately.”
“She’s tired of living at the clubhouse,” Michelle said. She was a sight, the tips of her short, spiky hair coated with what looked like cotton candy. She’d obviously gotten paint into her hair.
“Can you blame her?” Allie asked.
“Well, it’s not like you have a lot of shit to move,” said Painter.
“True, brother. All the furniture Daisy ordered will be delivered this weekend, so she’ll have to wait until at least then. But there’s nothing to say I can’t christen the place tonight.” I knew the wolfish grin on my face revealed what my intentions were.
“You men are all animals,” Carol, Audra’s friend, and the only woman there who was not an old lady, quipped with mock contempt. Her gaze slid over every woman there before she joked, “Where can I get one?” Laughter broke out.
“Well, for starters,” Audra began, giving her friend a wink, “you have to get rid of Craig.”
“Not necessarily,” Painter jumped in, drawing everyone’s attention. “Unless you’d like a little action on the side. I’m always up for that.”
Just about everyone groaned and rolled their eyes. He was such a man-whore.
“You would be, brother,” Rock smirked.
“They’re on their way,” I said, slipping my phone back into my pocket after hearing back from Jasmine.”
“Then let’s pack up this shit and get lost,” Hawk grumbled, sending everyone into action. “What do we need to get inside, baby?” He glanced down at Audra.
“Just the paint and gear. We moved it all to the kitchen.”
“Okay, you girls are done and can head home. The rest of us will get the rest.” He gave Audra a quick kiss, and then sent her on her way with a smack to her ass.
The women piled into Audra’s large SUV, while my brothers began to pick up shit and toss it into the bed of a club truck we kept on hand for jobs. We worked quickly, and in no time the ladders, left over paint, brushes, and tarp were loaded up, and my brothers were heading to their bikes while Ned climbed into the truck.
“When you’re ready to take the barn down, let us know.” Hawk was on his bike and getting ready to take off.
I nodded and gave him a wave off. The others followed suit, following close behind our prez as they left my property and drove down the road, leaving a trail of dust, the noise of their bikes sounding like thunder. Just as they turned a corner and disappeared, another vehicle came into view. I grinned, anticipation of seeing my woman heating my blood. As Jasmine drove closer I stepped out the way so she could turn into the drive. “What the fuck did you do to my woman?” I leaned inside the driver’s side window with a grin, amused at the sight of Daisy sitting there, blindfolded, and looking a little flustered.
“Big John!” Daisy gasped with obvious surprise, a smile moving across her pretty mouth. “Jasmine threatened to take our first born if I didn’t humor her and wear a blindfold!” Her hands went up to remove it.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Jasmine quickly slapped Daisy’s hands away. “Not yet, you’ll ruin the surprise.”
Daisy let out a huff, but settled back against the seat. “It had better be good,” she said sullenly.
I grinned as I made my way to the other side of the car. “It is, baby.” I opened her door and helped her out, careful not to hit her rounded belly. She grasped my hands and clung to them as I carefully turned her toward the house. “You ready?” She nodded, that sexy bottom lip caught between her teeth. I couldn’t resist leaning in and giving her a kiss. Then I reached up and removed her blindfold, which turned out to be a pair of silky black panties. I gave Jasmine a questioning look, but she just shrugged.
“They’re new,” she said. “We did a little shopping after dinner. Daisy said that she needed new panties since you kept ruining hers.”
I couldn’t say anything in response to that. It was true.
“Oh, my!” Daisy gushed, her tone revealing her surprise and happiness. “When . . . What?” She turned back to me. “When did you do this?”
“We just finished.” There was a question in her sparkling eyes. “The club showed up early this morning, and we spent the day painting and shit. The old ladies took care of the inside for you.”
Tears filled her eyes. She dropped her hand to her belly and began to rub over it, as if to soothe the baby inside. My kid. My daughter. My heart was fucking full of pride and love for this woman. It was going to fucking burst when Molly made an appearance and I held her for the first time. It wouldn’t be long now.
“It’s beautiful,” Daisy said once she was able to pull herself together. “I never expected this. They’re good people.”
“Hell, yes, they are,” I agreed. I moved up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, nuzzling the side of her neck. “After the furniture is delivered this weekend we can move right in.”
“I wish we could stay here tonight.” Her soft voice revealed the emotion she was feeling.
I leaned in closer. “I doubt you’d feel comfortable on the floor, baby. But there is one thing I want to do before we leave.”
“Like what?”
“Christen the house.”
She turned her head to meet my eyes. “Are you kidding?” she asked with disbelief.
I saw the smile quiver on her lips before she gave into it. She knew me well enough to know exactly what I was saying. “Have I ever kidded around about fucking you?” I said in a low tone into her ear. Her shiver of awareness turned my dick hard. “That sound good to you?”
“Having your cock in me always sounds good to me.”
“Ohmygod!” Jasmine screeched, reminding us that she was still present and had obviously overheard Daisy’s last comment. “Let me give you lovebirds some privacy.” She’d never gotten out of her car. “If you survive,” her look was directed at Daisy. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She started her car and pulled out of the driveway.
“For an ex-hooker, she sure offends easily.” I was glad that she was leaving. I wanted to be alone with Daisy. “What are you thinking, baby?”
She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I’m thinking about how happy I am.” My arms were across the top of her belly. Her hands were resting on my arms. “How lucky I am to have you, and soon our daughter. How lucky I am that you have such good friends, and now they’re mine. When I left Boston, I didn’t have any expectations about what my life could become. I had no hopes for any future that would include a good man. I never thought I’d have children.” Her voice caught with emotion. “You gave me all of that. You saved me.”
“No, baby. We saved each other.” I gave her a gentle squeeze, kissing the top of her head. God, I loved this woman.
I was going to take her inside and show her just how much in the only way that I knew how. And if I had my way, I’d christen every fucking room in the house while buried inside her sweet body. I’d told her that we had saved each other, but she’d given me life. For years I’d been content to just let life pass me by, hell, I’d even liked it. No worries, no responsibilities, no commitments. Now I looked forward to taking care of my woman and any kid I put inside her belly. I had a reason for fighting and wanting to be a better man.
For her.
For them.
I thought about the large diamond ring inside my pants pocket. Tonight, was the night. I was going to ask Daisy to make an honest man out of me. I was committing myself to our life and future together. Fuck, I was looking forward to everything that would require, the ups and downs, the fights, the good times, the sex. I wanted it all, and I couldn’t fucking wait. I gave her another squeeze and kissed the side of her face, inhaling her sweet fragrance.
“You ready to see the inside?”
“Yes.”
I took her hand and led her into our home, wondering which room we’d christen first.
The End
Thank you for reading What He Wants, book #3 in the Phantom Riders MC Trilogy. Please continue reading for more information about me and my books.