“Do you still have the rings?” I ask Sam. “Show me.”

Sam rolls his eyes in irritation and pats the pocket of his black leather jacket. “Right here, buddy. For the last time, I won’t forget the rings. Or lose them on the way to the wedding. Or drop them in the water. Trust me, okay? I’ve got this.”

“Alright, if you say so.”

“Here’s your tie,” Flint says.

He tries to hand me a dark blue necktie. When I don’t take it, he steps closer and starts to loop it around the back of my neck. I grab his wrist.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I ask. “I’m not wearing a tie. I thought we already discussed this.”

“Maggie asked me to try one last time with the tie, so I told her I would.” Flint shrugs and grins. “I tried and you said no. I did my part.”

He tosses the tie onto my kitchen table. It lands among the empty beer bottles and paper chip bags from last night’s party.

“Personally, I think we’re all stunningly handsome in our boots, black pants, and white shirts,” Sam jokes. “We don’t need ties. What girl wouldn’t want to marry us fine-looking gents?”

“Every woman in the world except the four who were crazy enough to say yes,” Jesse says from the open doorway. He walks over and claps me on the shoulder. “How are you holding up, Toby? Any last-minute regrets? It’s never too late to back out. All you have to do is say the word and we’ll ride out of here together. Right now.”

He’s joking.

The Steel Infidels know how I feel about Maggie, and they’ve been supportive of our upcoming marriage.

“No…I’m not backing out,” I say. “Marrying Maggie is something I want to do.” I wave my hand at the three Mason brothers. “I want what you have. An Old Lady, kids, a family of my own. You’re all lucky sons of bitches. Now I am too.”

“I hear you,” Jesse says. “We hit the jackpot of this thing called life. Do you have everything you need for the wedding? Who has the rings?”

“Damn!” Sam says, throwing up his hands. “For the love of God! Would everyone please stop asking about the rings! For the last time, I’ve got them.”

“Are you sure you trust Flint to officiate the service?” Jesse asks. “I’m finding it hard to see my VP and little brother as an ordained minister.”

“It’s not as if I’ve suddenly become a Baptist preacher overnight,” Flint explains. “It’s merely a legal formality. For only this one special occasion.”

“It is legal though, right?” I ask, suddenly worried.

“One hundred percent,” Flint assures me.

My nerves are acting up again. When Flint volunteered to become an ordained minister to marry us, I felt honored that he would be willing to go to all that trouble just for me. I couldn’t imagine anyone else that I would want to perform our ceremony.

Plus, Flint has an uncanny way of keeping everyone’s shit together. He’s calm under pressure. He won’t let me down and even more importantly, he won’t let me screw up either.

The other Mason brothers will be right there with me too. When I walk up to take Maggie’s hand at the wedding, Sam will be beside me as my best man. Jesse will be my groomsman. I might not be a Mason brother by blood, but I’m their brother in every other way that counts.

They’re the family I never had, along with the rest of the Steel Infidels. Our bond is stronger than any blood brothers could ever be. I would lay down my life for them and they would do the same for me.

No questions asked.

Flint glances at his watch. “The ceremony starts in an hour. The rest of the crew should be here soon so we can ride over to the lake together.”

He’d no more than gotten the words out of his mouth when we hear the roar of motorcycles coming up the road to my house.

“That’s our signal, boys,” Jesse says. “Let’s ride, Toby. Enjoy it, brother. This is your final trip as a single man.”

I take a deep breath and blow it out. When he puts it that way, it makes a man stop and think for a second.

Only for a second though.

“Now or never,” I say.

I grab my Steel Infidels jacket from the back of the dining room chair and slide it on. When Maggie and I talked about wedding attire, I assumed she knew my black leather jacket with the Steel Infidels patches was always part of the plan. If not, she’ll know when we show up at the wedding.

The rest of the Steel Infidels crew are sitting on their bikes in the driveway waiting for us. I walk over and shake each man’s hand individually to thank him for being there. I’m trying my best not to get too emotional, but it’s getting harder with each passing minute. Especially when I reach Donny and Rocco at the end of the line.

Rocco acts like a tough, bearded badass biker who doesn’t take any shit from anyone. Underneath it all, he’s a big old softie who gave me a job when nobody else would hire an ex-Marine that was fucked up in the head. Donny brought me into the shop and patiently taught me everything he knew. I owe them for giving me a chance at a real life.

“Don’t fuck up today and embarrass us all,” Rocco says gruffly when he shakes my hand.

“I’ll try my best,” I reply.

They wait until I climb onto my bike and buckle up my helmet before starting their engines. Jesse nods at me then holds up one hand in the air and makes a circular motion.

“Let’s ride,” he says.

A chorus of loud whoops and hollers fills the air, and then we’re off to a wedding.