Tracy

I’d come to this house because of a wedding I couldn’t pay for and ultimately didn’t want.

Today I’d be gladly a part of a wedding I wanted with all my heart and soul.

We’d chosen Christmas Eve for our wedding day.

I had a short window between exams and my next semester of nursing school and Christmas week was it.

It was the first time I had decorated The Castle for the holidays. We put a huge tree in the foyer, a smaller one in one of the front parlors, and another in the back courtyard.

“Is there no limit to the number of trees you’re willing to kill?” Sarge teased me but I knew he loved it too.

The holiday touches also served as decorations for my wedding day, with plenty of lights and sparkle. Maddox didn’t care what day we did it, as long as we did it soon. That’s what he’d told me.

The same man who’d tried to push me away wanted to get married the day he proposed. It only took six weeks to pull this wedding together. Six short, easy weeks. The contrast with what had been on the horizon for me was so stark.

I thought back to all the extras my Mother had thought were needed for me to marry Ted Perry.

I’d sold things, including a designer wedding dress, and my car. I’d worked here and given all my salary to them.

They’d made a good profit on their house. And slowly my parent’s debt for the wedding I didn’t have was gone. This wedding was all mine, mine and Maddox’s. And Sarge and Bella, and well, Olivia.

I’d made sacrifices to help my parents and finally that was done. I could start this day, this new life, with a clean slate.

My Mother – for good or ill – was onto something else now.

She’d stayed away from planning this event. In fact, at first she threatened not to show.

I was marrying a Dark Saint, which really meant I was gaining two families. The Maddox family and The Dark Saint family. I would not be moving into the Governor’s mansion. Instead, I was already living in a house with more history, and love, than I’d ever dreamed. It was a love I knew I’d helped nurture and now it had bloomed.

Funny how it worked with my Mom though. The Castle was epic, historical and, in its own way, had a big part of Port Azreal’s history. It had been a long way around, but she was seeing The Castle as an actual castle these days. I mostly just smiled and kept to my budget while she speculated on how it was a crime that The Castle wasn’t on a historic registry.

When Maddox asked me to marry him, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. I hadn’t thought marriage was something bikers really did. But I’d seen Josie and Bear. Plus Maddox said Sarge and Maddox’s Mom had a beautiful love story.

I thought we had the same thing. A love story – a messy one – but a love story just the same.

I knew without a doubt that The Castle would be the place for our wedding.

This was the gathering place for the Old Ladies back in the day. It was where the kids could play, safely, while their Dad’s road for The Saints.

I wanted it that way again. There weren’t many kids to play here, yet. But my Christmas wish was that Harlow, or Jen, or maybe Maya or Gina would change that very soon. I was just getting to know the women who, like me, had given their hearts to a Dark Saint.

The beach, the yard, the gardens – there were so many places that had been dormant. And now it was all coming back to riotous life. Olivia’s notes still guided me. And I grew more confident of what I wanted, so I added touches of my own.

My most important focus was nursing school. It was the life I needed outside of this house, the career I’d dreamed of and set aside. It was within my grasp.

I was finishing what I’d started. I was going forward so I could help Sarge, the club, and hopefully get hired full time at the Port Az Hospital E.R. someday.

I had stopped myself short before. Ted didn’t want me to have a career. Maddox knew I couldn’t be happy without one.

Josie had helped me make it reality. I was lucky to have her in my life.

This wedding was so different to the last one I’d planned, right down to the clothes on my back.

I’d gone to the second-hand store in town, Bohemian Wraps City, and the sweet owner, Lyric, had guided me to the perfect dress. It was satin, simple, and cost me fifty dollars.

Lyric had helped me get ready today. She’d become a fixture in my world as I spent my days off from school restoring The Castle to its former glory. She always knew how to get a chair re-upholstered or where to get a period doorknob. She also knew how to be sure my wedding dress was perfect.

“Stunning.”

I turned to find my Maid of Honor, Harlow.

“Thank you.”

She came over and hugged me.

“I don’t want to mess up your hair!” she said, and I laughed.

“Nothing to mess up.” I had chosen loose waves to go with my simple dress.

“Maddox is going to cry like a baby.”

“Tough bikers,” I replied.

Harlow and I were in this together in a lot of ways. She and her animal rescue mission, and me with my nursing degree. Maddox and Kade were the focus of our hearts but our jobs, our passions, were the focus of our place in the larger world. And both of us held our breath that our Dark Saints would maintain whatever peaceful balance existed for as long as they could.

But today wasn’t a day for the worries that always lived in the souls of the Old Ladies of The Dark Saints.

Today I was marrying Samuel Maddox, Junior.

My Dad walked me down the aisle. We’d set up folding chairs decorated with Christmas wreaths. I loved everything we’d done here.

Dad had been quiet, like always. Where Sarge was larger than life, my Dad was soft-spoken, and willing to go along with my Mom, or me, to keep us happy. I knew that part of me came from him.

As we slowly walked from the house to the beach, and to my soon-to-be husband, I scanned the sight. The beach at The Castle rivaled anything you’d see in The Knot. It was so stunning. The Christmas lights we’d strung under a canopy we’d found – in the shed of all places! – made it look like a dream.

I’d decided to go barefoot. I held onto my Dad’s arm with one hand and a bouquet of sunflowers in the other.

I saw Sarge before I saw Maddox. He looked fifteen years younger than when I’d met him. He was trimmer now, and he’d left the scooter in the house. He was doing that more and more.

Sarge looked at the sunflowers and something passed between us. He understood that Olivia was here with us. He smiled at me and wiped a tear from his eyes. The bikers were all softies. I understood that more every day.

Then Maddox and I locked eyes. He was strong, tall, and still more handsome each time I saw him. I walked toward him without hesitation. I always had.

My Dad placed my hand in Maddox’s hand. He steadied me on the loose sand.

“You have a tux on,” I said, and he smiled at me. I’d left it up to him what he wanted to wear. The tux made him look like a movie star or something. How had I gotten so lucky?

“You look like a fucking angel,” Maddox said, and the minister cleared his throat. The minister was another Dark Saint, Deacon. He’d been helping me too, to see that light and dark were part of the same coin.

“Oh, sorry,” Maddox said. Harlow took my flowers and I put both my hands in Maddox’s.

The ceremony began, and we pledged ourselves to each other in front of my friends and family, Maddox’s family, and The Dark Saints.

And then the party began.

Saints knew how to do that part better than anyone I’d ever known. I scanned the people partying, dancing, and eating. It was exactly as I’d hoped.

Sarge appeared to be regaling my Mother with some story. And she was quietly listening, with wide eyes. She normally dominated every conversation.

“So, President and founder? That’s something. Tracy, Tracy, did you know that?”

“I did, Mom.”

“But our history, is much longer than founding The Saints. Did you know that The Saints go back to the founding of Port Az?”

“Do they?”

Sarge chimed in with stories of Texas Rangers and outlaws.

“Really?” my Mom replied, and then added, “To me, that is just another strong argument for getting this incredible home in the Texas Registry of Historic Places, and of course that’s the first step, then you do the National Registry.”

Sarge listened, a little bemused. My Mom had a new mission, I feared. I drifted away from whatever plans were being hatched.

And Maddox found me. We didn’t have a limo; we had his bike. And it was time to go. We would take one lovely week away. My exams were over and it would be the only week I’d have until school started back up again.

We were going to spend a week together in Mexico.

We said our goodbyes and snuck out. Maddox had his bike loaded up. I had packed light.

We planned to stop outside of town so I could change from my dress to clothes that would be comfortable for several hours on Maddox’s bike.

I held on tight as the lights of Port Az faded behind us. The traffic was minimal on a night where most people were enjoying friends and family.

It was just the two of us.

After less than an hour’s ride, Maddox stopped for me at a deserted rest area. It was time to be done with my vintage dress. I wondered if I could re-sell it. I reluctantly loosened my grip on Maddox as he stopped the bike. I took my helmet off and enjoyed the cooling air on my skin.

We’d left the reception in full swing, and even though the planning had been fun, I needed a week of rest, with Maddox, alone together.

I was eager to be in vacation mode.

But instead of getting off and helping me, which was Maddox’s normal mode, my new husband slid me around to the front of the bike. His hands gathered the hem of my dress. He kissed me hard and I felt a heat rise immediately down to my toes.

“We’re out in the open, Maddox!”

He looked around.

“The place is completely deserted. Plus, we’re married. I’m sure this is part of the vows Deacon gave us.”

He moved me again and this time I helped. I was facing him, and straddling him. He kissed my neck and I felt his hands slide my skirt up dangerously high on my thighs.

“This dress is making me crazy,” he said. I rarely wore dresses these days, not since Ted. Maybe I should more often.

Maddox’s hands moved up and down my back, and I moved to get what I wanted from him.

I thanked God there were no cars on the road and no tourists at the rest stop because my ability to stop myself evaporated as Maddox yanked hard on the little thong I’d been wearing. I was quite certain that it was in pieces now.

Maddox pulled my skin into his mouth and I sank onto him. I rocked my hips as he lifted me and released me over and over.

I cried out as a wave of pleasure put stars in my eyes. It was delicious and fast, and risky as hell for two old married people.

“Yeah, baby, that’s the way,” Maddox said, and I felt his body shudder around me.

He rested his head on my shoulder and we held tight to one another. Finally, a headlight on the highway broke the spell.

“Merry Christmas, Tracy Maddox,” he whispered and leaned down to kiss the soft flesh between my breasts.

“Merry Christmas, Samuel Maddox.”

There may be trouble headed to The Dark Saints. Maddox warned me of that daily. I refused to live in fear or constant worry though. Most days I convinced Maddox to do the same.

Whatever came our way, I’d be with Maddox. We’d already proven that we could weather death, violence, and even Sarge.

I knew hiding away in The Castle would help no one. I wanted to open The Castle, our homes, our lives, to all the people who loved us.

If there was darkness, we’d push it out, all of us, together.

Maddox would be at my side and The Saints, all of them, would have our backs.