by Amy Cecil
Everyone sits and Doc continues. “First, I’d like to begin by welcoming everyone and thanking each and every one of you for being here on this most happy of days. It’s no accident that each of you are here today and each of you were invited to be here because you represent someone important in the individual and collective lives of Caden and Emma.”
He looks around the room. “I truly can’t think of a better venue than our clubhouse for an occasion that I know is not only monumental for Caden and Emma but for all of us who are lucky to know and love them.”
He gets a little chuckle from the crowd and then continues. “The most remarkable moment in life is when you meet the person who makes you feel complete, the person who makes the world a beautiful and magical place. The person with whom you share a bond so special—that it transcends relationships and becomes something so pure and so wonderful—that you can’t imagine spending another day of your life without them. We all know that for Caden and Emma, it happened a very long time ago.”
I can’t take my eyes away from Emma. I feel as if I’m gonna burst. My love for her fills my heart.
Doc looks at us both and smiles. “I know how deeply these two care for and love one another, and I am honored to be here today among all of you as a witness of their commitment to a lifetime together.”
“Now Caden and Emma have asked me to keep this short, so I’m gonna do the best I can. I have not known Emma as long as Caden, but I can tell you from the moment Emma arrived at our clubhouse, I knew she was the woman for our prez. I can tell you—and I’m sure you all feel the same—I wish for them that their lifetime together as a couple is one of complete contentment, full of those moments they wish would never end, and that they continue to make one another smile and laugh. Their love is infectious, and it is obvious there is a bond between them that will never be broken.”
“So, without further ado… Dearly beloved and honored guests, we are gathered together here to join Caden and Emma in the union of marriage. This contract is not to be entered into lightly but thoughtfully and seriously and with deep realization of its obligations and responsibilities.” He sounds so official.
Doc turns toward Emma. “Emma, do you take Caden to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only onto him for as long as you live?
Emma smiles and says, “I do.”
“Do you have anything else you want to say to Caden?” he asks her.
Tears well in her eyes. “Caden, I have loved you as long as I can remember. Even as a little girl, I knew there would come a day when I would become your wife. And what an honor it is. You are my heart and my soul. You have given me so much, including two beautiful children, and I thank God every day we found each other again. I love you.”
Doc then turns toward me. “Caden, do you take Emma to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only onto her for as long as you live?”
I smile and say, “I do.” Finally.
“And, Caden, is there anything else you want to say to Emma?”
“Emma, I have no words. I had always hoped this day would come, but when our lives took totally different paths, I assumed it was just never meant to be. The day I saw you standing outside the gates in tears was the day my life began. Every minute since then, the good and the bad, has been amazing because it has been shared with you. You and our children are my world, Emma, and I love you more than you will ever know.”
I turn back toward Doc, and he clears his throat.
Oh, fuck no. You’re not gonna make me say that.
He clears his throat again.
Oh, damn!
Rebel leans over and nudges my shoulder and whispers in my ear, “Do it. It’s tradition.”
“And…” I hesitate and look out into the crowd. Those fuckers are just waitin’ for it. “I promise to treat you as good as my leather and ride you as much as my Harley.”
Cheers erupt from the crowd, and I’m pleased to see Emma laughing.
When the noise from the crowd dies down, Doc continues. “The rings?”
I turn back toward Rebel, and he looks at me curiously. “What?”
I give him a look that says: you better fucking give me those rings now. He laughs and hands them over. I hand them to Doc. He gives me Emma’s ring back.
“Caden, place this ring on Emma’s left ring finger and repeat after me. Emma, as a sign of my love.”
“Emma, as a sign of my love.”
“And to show the world I have chosen you above all others.”
Again, I repeat what Doc says.
“With this ring, I thee wed.”
“With this ring, I thee wed.” I slide the ring down Emma’s finger.
He hands my ring to Emma and says, “Place this ring on Caden’s left ring finger and repeat after me. “Caden, as a sign of my love.”
She starts to cry again. “Caden, as a sign of my love.” Her voice is shaky as she fights back tears.
“And to show the world I have chosen you above all others.”
“And to show the world I have chosen you above all others.”
“With this ring, I thee wed.”
“With this ring, I thee wed.” She slides the ring down my finger.
Doc looks at both Emma and me. “In order to make a relationship work, it not only takes love. It takes passion and understanding to get you through the good times and the bad. Continue to date each other. Take the time to show each other that your love and marriage grows stronger with time. It will take trust to know that in your hearts, you truly want what is best for each other. It will take dedication to stay open to one another and to learn and grow together. It will take loyalty to go forward together, without knowing exactly what the future brings. And lastly, it will take commitment to hold true to the journey you both have pledged today.”
He then looks to the crowd. “And now, by the power invested in me by the State of Pennsylvania, it is my honor and delight to declare you married. Go forth and live each day to the fullest.” He then looks directly at me. “Caden, you may kiss your bride.”
I pull Emma into my arms and give her a kiss to remember. When we finally come up for air, the crowd is clapping and cheering.
We both turn toward the crowd.
“Ladies and gentleman, I give you Mr. and Mrs. Caden Jackson.”
As we walk back down the aisle, music plays in the background. You can hardly hear it through the cheers.
After the chairs are cleared, we party. It’s a party that lasts well into the wee hours of the night. At one point, I look over at Emma, who is standing chatting animatedly with Honey, Sainte, Ari, and Rebel. She’s beaming and radiant and oh so beautiful. It’s in that moment I realize this is what true contentment is. A peace washes over me as I think about her and our two children, who thankfully are getting stronger by the minute and should be coming home from the hospital next week. I’ve never been a religious man, but I am truly blessed.
I think back again to the day Emma arrived at the gate, crying. That was our beginning, and we’ve dealt with every obstacle that has come our way: Brianne, Grayson, Ireland, and jail. And of course, we cannot forget Grayson number two. How fucked up is that? Well, thank fuck he crawled back into his hole, and if he knows what’s good for him, we will never hear from him again.
I take my drink and step outside for some fresh air. The memories of the past year fill my head, everything leading up to Hawk. Damn, I miss him so much. A part of me died with him, but Emma, Aiden, and Cadi have helped fill that missing part.
I look up at the sky and say aloud in a soft voice, “Hell, Hawk, I don’t know if there is a heaven or hell, but if there is, I know you’re in heaven.” I take a sip of my bourbon. “I won’t let you down, buddy. Every promise I ever made to you, I will keep. The club is flourishing, and I’m sure you already know we’ve acquired a new business and Honey is running it. She had a couple
of rough patches, but she is definitely on the mend. You were right about so many things: Honey and Sainte and of course the fact that I was gonna have a boy. But you neglected to tell me about my daughter. Guess your connection was a little clouded.” I chuckle to myself. Unless, knowing you, you kept it a secret to surprise me.” I hold my glass up to the heavens. “I miss you, buddy. Rest in peace, my friend.”
Epilogue
Ten years later…
Sainte
I sit on the couch while I watch my beautiful wife wrap presents. It’s Christmas Eve, and our son Luke is sound asleep upstairs, dreaming about Santa Claus. He just turned six and is a spitting image of his mother. Thank fuck for that. Honey is rushing to get all the presents wrapped because we have to be at Ice’s in the morning. It’s tradition. I guess I could help her, but I am thoroughly enjoying watching her.
Honey and I have been married now for seven years. She has not touched a drop of coke in all that time, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. It’s a constant struggle for her, but she’s strong. She has been an amazing wife and mother, and sometimes I wonder what the fuck I did to deserve this amazing life.
She looks at me and smiles. “You’re staring.”
“I am.” I don’t give her any more.
“Why?”
I grin. “Just counting my blessings, love. That’s all.”
“I love you, Sainte.”
“Back at ya, babe.”
I sigh. Yep, another Merry Christmas for the memory book.
Ice
The same night…
“Tell me again why we wait until Christmas Eve to do this shit?”
“Because, Caden, it’s fun,” Emma replies with a huge grin on her face.
“Darling, I love you and I love our kids, but this staying up till three am on Christmas Eve wrapping Santa’s presents is just wrong. We never got our presents from Santa wrapped, and if I remember correctly, you didn’t either.” She fucking ropes me into this every year, and like a pussy-whipped boy, I do it. Why do I do it? I look over at my beautiful wife of ten years, and the smile on her face as she hums Christmas carols is all the reason I need. She has enough Christmas spirit for the both of us and then some.
“You’re right. We just had a frenzied, free-for-all Christmas morning, which isn’t so bad when you’re the only kid. But we have the twins and little Jason, and there needs to be some semblance of organization now.”
Jason just turned four, and I’m not really sure any of them care about organization.
I give her a sideways glance. “Really, Emma? Christmas wrap flying all over the place is organized, not to mention the Nerf guns you put in their stockings. Between the wrapping paper and the shooting Nerf darts, I don’t see any organization there.”
She laughs. “But admit it. You love every minute of it!”
I roll my eyes. Hobbes is lying at her feet, and as I go to grab the roll of wrapping paper I intend to use, he rolls over onto it. Damned dog. I laugh to myself. I really do love that dog. He’s getting old now, and I have to say, it’s hard to watch him age. I remember when he turned seven and Emma was devastated. When I asked her why she was so unhappy, she cried and said, “’Cause he is now considered a senior dog. We’ll be lucky if we get two or three more years with him.”
Well, it’s been three years, and we’ve been damn lucky. I have no idea how much longer we have, but I can assure you we’ll cherish every minute with him. He is definitely a member of this family.
I walk to her, wrap my arms around her from behind, and softly kiss her on the neck. “Baby, it doesn’t have to be our chaotic Christmas. I love every minute I have with you and our family. I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.”
She looks up at me as I lean down to kiss her. We continue our wrapping, and as Emma places the last piece of tape on the last package, we hear whispering on the stairs.
I look at my watch. “Fuck, they can’t be awake already,” I whisper.
“They are. Come on. We’ve gotta hide.” She pulls my arm and runs, tugging me behind her as she heads toward the basement stairs. Hobbes looks up and watches us, moans and lies his head back down. Emma pushes me into the stairwell; she follows and closes the door behind her, leaving it slightly open so we can watch the kids.
“Holy shit! Look at all these presents, Cadi!” Aiden exclaims in an excited whisper. Aiden is the oldest to his twin sister Cadi by three minutes, which he never misses an opportunity to remind her about. We should have never told him he was the oldest.
“You shouldn’t swear, Aiden.”
“Why? Dad does it all the time.”
“And if dad jumps off the Brooklyn Bridge, does it mean you should jump too?” She admonishes him, and Emma and I try to contain our laughter.
“Of course I’d jump in after him, ’cause he’d need me to save him.”
Cadi rolls her eyes. “You’re so full of it, Aiden. Dad is invincible! He’d be saving your ass ten times over!”
I’ve always been Cadi’s hero, and sometimes it’s hard to live up to her expectations of me, but I do the best I can. After all, she’s my princess.
“Ah-hah! You just sweared too.” He is trying to look at all the packages. “Besides, you’re just saying that ’cause you’re daddy’s little princess.”
I giggle. Like I said…
“Of course I am, but that doesn’t alter my opinion of him.” She rolls her eyes and says, “It’s swore, moron. There is no such word as sweared.”
“Well, you can save Dad, but I’m gonna take his place as prez when he retires!” Aiden says proudly, puffing his chest out.
His words make me proud too, but then I look at Emma and see the worried look in her eyes. She has fully accepted my role in the club, but I don’t think she can wrap her head around Aiden’s.
I shrug my shoulders and whisper, “His mind will change. No need to worry about that now.”
She nods and leans into me.
We look back through the crack in the door and see Cadi looking around the room. “Aren’t you the least bit concerned where Mom and Dad are?” she asks. “They weren’t in their room, and now they aren’t down here.”
“Hell no! We’ve got a shit ton of presents to open. I think we should start now and get a jump on it.”
“No! You know the rules. We don’t open anything until the whole family is downstairs.”
“I suppose we’re gonna have to wait for Aunt Ari, Uncle Rebel, Aunt Honey, and Uncle Sainte too.” He whines and looks so disappointed. I believe he really thought he was going to get to start opening early.
“Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. And don’t forget your cousins.”
Aiden shrugs. “Come on, Cadi. Let’s just go back to bed. I don’t think I will be able to stop myself from ripping them open with all these presents in my face.”
Cadi laughs. “Come on, bubby. We can play Monopoly in my room until everyone wakes up. That should keep your mind off those presents.” She looks at the basement door and winks. My daughter is definitely the smartest of the bunch. Obviously, she knows we’re here.
“You always beat me,” Aiden says as they go up the stairs.
Fading off in the distance, I hear Cadi say, “I’ll let you win this time.”
Emma giggles as I lean in to kiss her neck. “Like I said, I love this life!” I trail kisses up her neck to her ear and whisper, “Merry Christmas. I love you.”
She wraps her arms around me and replies, “Merry Christmas, Caden. I love you too.”
The End
Sainte Playlist
Everything I do by Bryan Adams
Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi
Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin
Jumper by Third Eye Blind
Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word by Elton John
Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton
The Boys are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy
Arms of an Angel by Sarah McLachlan
Cocaine by Eri
c Clapton
Watch Over You by Alter Bridge
Sober by Pink
Snowblind by Styx
It’s Been a While by Staind
Beautiful Trauma by Pink
Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park
Running to Stand Still by U2
Save Me by Shinedown
Can’t Get Enough of your Love by Bad Company
I’m Still Standing by Elton John
Wonderful Life by Alter Bridge
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As always, I would like to thank my friends and family. Without their support, I never would’ve had the courage and the vision to become a writer.
I would like to thank my husband, Kevin. You’ve never doubted me or my abilities. All that I am, you let me be. I love you to the moon and back!
Also, I would like to thank the members of my street team, Amy's Amazing Street Girls. You ladies rock my world, and I am so honored to have you all on my side.
I’d also like to thank Maureen Goodwin, Ann Lopez, Nancy George, and Stephanie Nix. Thank you so much for being my BETAs on this book and all your help and promotion throughout the publishing process.
I would also like to thank Alicia Freeman and Monica Diane. Your PR abilities are amazing, and I couldn’t ask for two better personal assistants. You ladies are a pleasure to work with, and I could not be more grateful for all that you do for me.
I would also like to thank Ellie Augsburger of Creative Digital Studios. Your insightful ideas, formatting, creative cover designs, and marketing materials are top notch! Your incredible design talents make this book shine!
And finally, but definitely not least, I would like to thank Angie Wade of Novel Nurse Editing. It is truly a pleasure working with you. You make the editing process fun!
About the Author
"Face life as you find it-defiantly and unafraid." –Nietzsche
Amy Cecil is a bestselling and award-winning indie author of both historical and contemporary romance. Her penchant for Austen fan fiction won her the title of Favorite Historical Romance Author (2016-2017) while her MC series has won several awards throughout the indie community. Recently, she has expanded her repertoire to the thriller and erotic genres.