by Erin Osborne
Glen is actually the one that got the necklace and bracelet for me. I just gave him a little bit of information as to what I wanted. At this point, I’m not even sure where he got it, but I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. Hopefully Blade likes it.
“Alright girls, let’s get you down to your man and get this show on the road,” Pops tells us. “I’m goin’ to leave as soon as I hand you over. Don’t want anyone else to know what you’re doin’.”
“Thank you. We’ll tell everyone as soon as things calm down. We just didn’t want to wait to get married.”
“You don’t have to explain anythin’ to me sweetheart. Everyone does it in their own way. This is how you guys want to do it, then it’s all you.”
I’m glad that he understands and isn’t upset with the choice that we’ve made. We’re not doing it this way to leave anyone out. I just didn’t want a big fuss made when everything with Jason is up in the air. Knowing him, he would do everything in his power to make sure this didn’t happen. He’d figure out some way to get into Slim’s clubhouse. Or, he’d make friends with one of the club girls to get the information he needed.
“Fuck!” I say, a thought coming to me.
“What’s the matter sweetheart?” Pops asks me.
“I need to talk to Slim. He needs to know that Jason will use the club girls if he thinks they’ll give him an in for information.”
“I’ll let him know. You concentrate on gettin’ married,” Pops tells me, continuing to make our way down to Blade.
“Thank you Pops,” I tell him, taking his arm and letting him lead me to my man.
By the time we round the corner, there’s butterflies in my stomach and I wonder if Blade really wants to go through with this. All of my doubts creep back in and I feel like I’m trapping him into marrying me just because of the twins. In the back of my mind, a voice is telling me to turn around and run as fast as I can. Set Blade free to live his life without the twins and I trapping him. But, then I wouldn’t be with the love of my life and I’d constantly be running from Jason, looking over my shoulder wondering when he’s going to find me.
“Don’t do it,” Pops says. “You are his world and he wouldn’t be doin’ this if he didn’t want to.”
I chuckle a little bit at the fact that Pops seems to know everything that’s going on, and through people’s heads, before anyone else does. It’s kind of creepy, but it’s also comforting to know that my doubts are just that, doubts. I nod my head to acknowledge that I heard him and we continue on our way to my future.
The smile I see light up Blade’s face tells me that we’re doing the right thing. I can see love shining from his eyes and it proves that he’s not just telling me words that he thinks I want to hear. When he tells me that he wants to marry me, he sincerely means it.
Pops stops just before we get to Blade and we wait until the judge asks who is giving me away. “I am, along with the entire Wild Kings MC and the Phantom Bastards MC.”
For a minute, no one moves and no one says a word. I’ve never heard anyone be given away at a wedding by an individual and two entire MCs. Blade and Glock suddenly get huge smiles on their faces because I’m guessing that you never know what you’re going to get when it comes to Pops. He genuinely cares about everyone tied to the club. That’s why he walked me to Blade and gave me away. And gave credit to both clubs. Pops doesn’t need any recognition for the things that he does and gives to others.
“Okay. Let’s continue with the ceremony then,” the judge says.
The entire time the judge is talking, I’m not focused on what he’s saying or doing. I’m focused on the man standing before me and our little family. Blade and I stare at one another and I don’t even know if he’s hearing a word that the judge is saying. Before too long, I see Glock nudge Blade.
“You can say your vows,” the judge tells him.
“Keira, in the beginning, I didn’t want anythin’ serious. I didn’t want to live the life I grew up watchin’ with my parents. But, you broke down my defenses without even tryin’. When you left, my world got dark and the only thing I could think of was gettin’ you back. You have already given me the greatest gift of all by makin’ me a dad. Now, I want to spend the rest of our lives treatin’ you like the queen you deserve to be treated. I will do my very best to make you happy, no matter what it takes. I love you more than my life. Kenyon, Cory, and you are the three most important people to me.”
“Keira, you may say your vows,” the judge repeats.
“Every day since I met you, I’ve become a stronger person. I still have my doubts, including on the walk down to you. But, I overcome them and move on. You are the love of my life and I can’t wait to see what the rest of our lives bring. I will do my very best to love you and make you as happy as you can possibly be. Kenyon, Cory, and you are my entire life and I would do absolutely anything to protect you all. I love you more than you’ll ever know.”
The judge tells us that we can exchange rings after repeating him. Not only did I get Blade the matching bracelet and necklace, but there’s a ring that almost matches the set. I turn to Melody and she hands it to me. Repeating after the judge, I slip the ring on Blade’s finger. When it’s Blade’s turn to repeat the same words, I’m shocked to see him have not only a wedding band, but a matching engagement ring. The set is silver and it has a red stone surrounded by diamonds. Going down the side of the ring are alternating red stones and diamonds. It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen and I can’t stop the tears. Blade reaches up and wipes them away with his thumbs ever so gently.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride,” the judge says.
Blade barely waits for the judge to finish the sentence before he’s holding my face between his hands and gently kissing me. It’s a kiss that I’ve never felt before. He’s so gentle and almost hesitant to kiss me. Blade is known for taking what he wants, without force, but not being gentle in doing so.
“May I announce for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Branch,” the judge says before moving over to have Melody and Glock sign in the witness spots to make our marriage legal.
The entire time, Blade continues to kiss me. That is until Glock taps him on the shoulder so that we can add our signatures to the license. Before leaving, the judge tells us that he’ll file it with the necessary people and we should have our copy soon. We thank him and he leaves the room. Blade, Melody, Glock, and myself take a few minutes for ourselves to celebrate before we head back in the main room of the clubhouse.
“I’m so happy for you two,” Melody tells us, wrapping me in a hug.
“Thank you,” I tell her, hugging her back. “I’m happy that you’re here and were able to be here for it. It wouldn’t have been the same without you.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Blade, you’re lucky that my man stopped bein’ pigheaded and I made it here. Otherwise, you might be missing an appendage or two right now.”
“You know why I didn’t want you comin’ here,” Glock says.
“I do. And I also know that I’m being careful. Nothing is going to happen, so quit worrying about every little thing.”
“Guys, you do know that at least the two of us now know that you’re having another baby. Right?” I ask.
“What?” Glock asks, feigning shock at that statement. “We just wanted to make sure that she made it to the safe point in her pregnancy before we announced it to anyone.”
“We won’t tell anyone. I basically told you at the hospital I knew what was goin’ on,” Blade says. “It’s not gonna be long before everyone else figures it out either.”
“I know. Glock is the one that wants to wait. He’s worried something is going to happen since he wasn’t around when I was pregnant for Anthony.”
We all take another few minutes to just talk and relax before making our way back out to my babies. Ma and Pops are surrounded by the rest of the old ladies and a few of the other kids. Jameson is righ
t in the middle being his normal protective self. I can see him trying to make sure no one gets too close to the twins and that they’re both okay.
A smile overtakes my face as Blade wraps his arm around me and we watch our family. Both clubs are our family and I don’t know where we’d be without them. I know that I can’t thank them enough for everything that they’ve done for us, and me personally. Slim took me in when he didn’t have to and now my life is fuller than I ever dreamed possible.
Chapter Nine
Blade
It’s been about a month and a half since Keira and I brought our children home and got married. Within a week of us getting married, Rage had our home finished and it turned out amazing. Keira had tears in her eyes as she walked through it, going from room to room and inspecting everything. Somehow, I managed to have Rage build her perfect home.
For right now, the twins are going to be sharing a nursery. When they’re old enough they will have their own bedrooms that are already painted a blue for Kenyon and yellow for Cory. We’re not set on the colors because who knows what they’re going to want their rooms to look like, but it’s a start for now.
Since I no longer needed the house that we were renting, Grim and I decided to buy it. We’re going to keep it and hold it until we find a worthy individual to rent it to. Basically, the girls are all getting behind those that have suffered at the hands of domestic violence. So, what better way to help them out than to have a place that we can shelter a woman, or small family, that is trying to get away from their abuser. The girls fell in love with the idea and I’m glad that I talked to Grim about buying it.
Keira has been a champion. I’ve had to go away on club business a few times. The first time was just after we moved into our new home. So, she not only had to put our home together, but she had the twins to look after as well. When I talked to Melody, she didn’t ask a single person for help with the house or Kenyon and Cory. The girls all chipped in, but she did most of it herself. Not once did she bitch, whine, or complain about me not being there to help. Instead, she made our home as cozy as it can be and someplace I don’t ever see myself leaving, and took care of the kids.
We’ve talked about her going back to work, but I don’t think she honestly wants to. It’s fine by me if she wants to stay home and raise our children. There are things that she can do from home to make money if she truly feels the need to do so. Which brings me to today. I happened to find something that I think needs to be addressed. So, I go in search of my wife to have a talk.
“Kitten, where are you?” I call out, leaving our bedroom.
“In the nursery.”
Making my way there, I pause at the doorway to admire the view before me. Keira is holding Cory and rocking her back to sleep. Kenyon is already sound asleep in his crib and it’s just a matter of minutes before Cory joins him. I can see her little eyes fluttering closed before she pops them back open. Cory is so curious about everything that she hates taking a nap. Our little princess is already afraid that she’s going to miss out on something happening, that she’d rather be crabby than to get some sleep during the day.
Seeing Keira get ready to put Cory in her crib, I stay put. There are days that I walk in and Cory wants nothing to do with Keira putting her to sleep. I end up having to do it. I don’t mind those days at all, I cherish the fact that my daughter can be a daddy’s girl. Today, I need to talk to my girl though, so I stay rooted to my spot in the doorway until I know Keira is on her way towards me.
“Did you need something babe?” she asks, joining me in the hallway.
“Yeah. I was goin’ through the last of the boxes in the closet and I came across somethin’. Mind tellin’ me what this is?” I ask, holding out a stack of handwritten papers.
“Oh, um….” Keira starts, a blush creeping up her pale face. “Well, in my spare time, I’ve been doing a little writing. It’s nothing major and I was honestly going to just burn it.”
“Don’t you dare!” I tell her. “I’ve read a little bit of it and I think you have some real talent. I think you need to keep going and see what happens.”
“What do you mean?”
“What are your plans for this? Were you plannin’ on turnin’ it into a book?” I ask her, honestly interested in what her answer will be.
“I hadn’t really thought about it. I mean I was just sitting there one day and this idea popped into my head. I started writing it down on paper and the words just started flowing.”
“Like I said, I think you should go for it and see what you can do with it. There’s got to be someone out there that can help you out.”
“Are you sure? You don’t think it’s a silly dream and a waste of time?” she asks me, looking down and away from me.
“Kitten, I think what I’ve read so far is excellent and you have a real talent. Please, let me get things you need to do this for real and we’ll see what happens. At the very least, you’ll be tryin’ somethin’ that you obviously want to do.”
“Okay. I’ll give it a shot then,” she says, taking the papers from my hand and heading back in the bedroom with them.
“Now, I’m goin’ to go out for a little while. I’ll be back and I think Melody said somethin’ about you goin’ over there to help her out.”
“Yeah. She wants to basically just have company while she does her housework. Anthony is over with Jameson and Glock is doing something for the club.”
“I’ll see you in a little bit then.”
Making my way out to my truck, I place a call to Irish. I need him to go with me since he knows way more about computers and that shit than I do. After explaining what I want to do for Keira, Irish is more than happy to go with me so I can make my girl’s dream a reality. Honestly, I wasn’t lying when I told her I thought what I read so far was amazing. I can’t wait for her to get it finished and see what she can really do. We’ll do whatever we have to in order to let her publish a story, or however many she can write.
~~**~~
Irish and I have been gone most of the day and I think I bought out the entire store. But, hopefully I got everything that my girl will need in order to write her books. If not, we’ll go out and get what she does need. Money isn’t an object for me and I have no problem spending it on her. Besides, who knows how much she’ll be able to make by doing something she obviously loves.
We make our way into the house after placing a call to Melody and making sure that Keira was at her house already. I want this to be a complete surprise and she can’t see anything until we have everything set up.
There’s already a room in the house that we haven’t set up yet. Now, we have something to put in there. I’m going to make Keira her own office so she has a place all her own to do what she has to do. I even bought extra baby monitors so she can write while Kenyon and Cory are napping. As an added bonus, she can make a living and stay home with the kids. I could tell when we’ve talked about it that she really wasn’t looking forward to leaving them to find a job. Now she doesn’t have to worry about it.
“You really went all out,” Irish comments as we carry the last of the stuff in. “You sure it’s worth it?”
“Absolutely. You didn’t read what I did. Keira has the beginnin’ of a really good story here and I can’t wait to see where she takes it. Just so happens that it’s an MC. And she hasn’t even asked a single question about our club for her book. Somethin’ tells me that she knows more than she lets on.”
“What do you mean?” Irish asks.
“She doesn’t bitch and whine when I have to leave on club business. When it comes to wantin’ to know what’s goin’ on, she doesn’t ask any questions. Just takes what I tell her and knows it’s not everythin’ there is to tell. I’m thinkin’ she’s been around a club before or she’s done her research.”
“You think she’s attached to another club?” Irish asks me, the wheels starting to turn.
“If she has ties to another club, she hasn’t had anythin’ to do with them
in a very long time,” I tell him, not necessarily liking where his thoughts may be going.
“Blade, I didn’t mean anythin’ by it. I swear. I’m just curious.”
“I may bring it up to her, but I don’t need you runnin’ your mouth to anyone until I know what’s goin’ on. If she doesn’t have any ties to a club then I don’t want to start trouble where none needs to be.”
“I hear ya. Now, let’s get this shit set up. I need to go check on the girl.”
There’s definitely something going on with Caydence and Irish. We’ve hardly seen anything from him unless it’s mandatory club business. Even then, he’s there the amount of time he has to be and then he’s right back with Caydence and the baby. Ever since they adopted that little girl, things have changed with them and everyone has noticed it. We just can’t do anything to help if they don’t open up and let someone know what’s going on.
It’s been three hours and Irish and I are finally putting the finishing touches on everything that we’ve been putting together. Irish even went and put a few programs that she might need on her brand-new laptop and desk top computer. I wasn’t sure what she would prefer and I couldn’t ruin the surprise by asking her, so I just got both. Now, it’s time for him to head back to his woman so I can get mine over her and show her.
“Kitten, I need you to come home now,” I tell her, when she answers her phone.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, the concern evident in her voice.
“Yeah. I’ll be there in a second to help you bring the kids home.”
“Okay. I’ll get them ready.”
Hanging up, I make my way next door to help get my family home. Melody and Keira are just strapping the kids into the stroller as I walk up to the back door. Holding it open, I wait until Keira is through the door before pulling her in for a kiss.
“What’s going on?” she asks me.
“Nothin’. I got a surprise for you and I’m excited for you to see it.”