Lucky Forever: Texas Knights MC, Book 3

by Cee Bowerman

  14.

  ROWDY

  I stood up from my chair and took Sierra’s hand so I could lead her to the dance floor as Sonny strummed his guitar, getting ready to sing for us during our first dance as a married couple.

  Every time I looked at Sierra I became tongue tied. I was quiet when we walked through the grass around the table and stepped up onto the wooden platform the guys had set up for us to use today. From the second she had appeared at the end of the long carpet runner and started toward me with our daughters on each side of her, my heart had been in my throat.

  I knew that the song I had chosen for our first dance was perfect and had even more meaning than Sierra could know this early in our relationship.

  A hush fell over the crowd as I spun Sierra and then pulled her into my arms. The first notes of Garth Brooks’ song “If Tomorrow Never Comes” came from Sonny’s guitar and then his voice started in on the lyrics. I saw Sierra smile as I pulled her in close to my chest, our clasped hands between us as we swayed to the first notes of the music.

  She fit perfectly in my arms. Even with the shoes she had on, she was just short enough for her head to rest on my chest as I closed my eyes and moved us to the music. When it was over, I spun her out and around before pulling her back in for a long, heated kiss. The crowd around us erupted with whistles, cheers, and catcalls. When Sierra pulled back she was blushing.

  The next song started on the speakers attached to the large tent we were under and Sierra and I both laughed when Hank Williams Jr.’s song “All My Rowdy Friends” started to play. There was laughter all around us as Jace and Sarah along with Fain and Kari joined us on the dance floor and started two-stepping. Before the song was even into the chorus, half the crowd was singing and laughing right along with the six of us. Lexi and Leia danced past us, holding hands and spinning each other around in their pretty dresses, their boots showing as their dresses swayed with their movements.

  At the last notes of the song, I spun Sierra around and then dipped her. I thought to myself that this moment right here was one I’d remember until my dying day. I felt like that piece of my life that had been missing just clicked into place and my heart was overflowing.

  “Want to grab a drink and make our way past the food table?” I asked my bride with a smile as I tugged her in the direction of the beer troughs that were set up around the perimeters of the tent.

  “Who chose that song?” Sierra laughed as we walked together.

  “Had to be Jace or Fain,” I told her as I reached down to grab two ice cold beers. “I picked out “Friends In Low Places.”

  “I liked it,” Sierra paused and then she blurted, “I like you.”

  “Well, good, wife. I like you just a bit, too, you know.” I pulled her close to my side and turned us to look around at the group of friends who had watched us get married. “We’ve made a good decision, getting married. I think it will be very easy for us to love each other.”

  “Yeah,” Sierra whispered. “Very easy.”

  Fain walked up just then and we couldn’t continue our conversation, but I really wanted to know if she was feeling the same thing I was right then. But I could see love in her eyes when she looked at me, whether either of us wanted to voice it yet or not. I knew it was growing for me, too.

  “Brother, congratulations,” Fain said as he got close to us. “Sierra, welcome to the family.”

  “Thank you,” Sierra smiled.

  “I hate to cut this short, but I want to get back on the road,” Fain sighed. “I hate being away from Jenna for too long, you know?”

  “How’s it going between the two of you?” I asked him quietly, hoping that no one around could hear our conversation. “Last time I talked to you about her, you said she was still pissed.”

  “Yeah, she is,” Fain grumbled. “And I get it. She thinks I’m there out of pity or guilt. Fuck, I dont’ know what she’s thinking. She’ll barely fucking talk to me now.”

  “Shit,” I shook my head. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Do you love her?” Sierra asked and then her eyes got wide. “I’m sorry, I just met you. I don’t really know the situation and it’s none of my business.”

  “Yeah, I love Jenna,” Fain admitted finally. “I have for too long and I fought it. But with the accident and all, I realized I was pushing away a good thing. I’d walk through fire for that woman. Hell, I do every time I get near her brothers.”

  “The woman he’s talking about is Jenna Forrester,” I explained to Sierra. When she looked confused for a second, I added, “Her brothers are Bird, Kale, Clem, and Daughtry Forrester.”

  “Oh,” Sierra raised her eyebrows. “Good luck, buddy. I’m going to let you two talk. Fain, it was a pleasure to meet you and I’ll be praying that your girl comes around. All I can say is stick by her side and keep trying. If you love her like you say you do, she’ll see it eventually. I’m going to find the girls and make sure they eat some real food before we cut the cake.”

  “Thanks, Sierra,” Fain smiled. “I’ll come visit you guys next time I’m in town. I need to get to know my new sister and niece.”

  “I look forward to it,” Sierra smiled at Fain and then tiptoed up to give me a kiss. “Come find me later.”

  Fain and I watched her walk away and finally he turned to me and smiled, “You’re already lost, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “Pretty much.”

  ◆◆◆

  “Hey, babe,” I said as I walked up beside Sierra where she was talking to Summer, Willow, and Shannon. “The photographer wants to take some pictures of just us and the girls real quick. She suggested the corral with the horses in the background. Walk with me?”

  Shannon smiled knowingly and reached to take Sierra’s drink out of her hand.

  “You guys go on. Sierra, I’ll hold onto this for you.”

  “Thanks,” Sierra looked at Shannon oddly, probably wondering why she was acting so strange. “I just saw the girls over there talking to Holly and Emerald.”

  We walked hand in hand and found our daughters and when I told them we had more pictures to take, they both groaned.

  “Come on, there’s a surprise in it for you,” I told the two. “Leia, you know I give good surprises.”

  “He really does,” Leia told Lexi as she stood up. “Believe me.”

  Sierra laughed at the girls and I led the three of them toward the corral. Once we got near the fence, I whistled shrilly and the barn doors opened. Nicole and two of her assistants, followed by the cameraman Kari had hired for the night, led out the three horses I had purchased by phone earlier in the week while we had been in Austin.

  I heard Sierra’s gasp and Leia and Lexi’s excited screams as I vaulted over the fence into the corral to walk toward the horses and Nicole.

  I took the reigns of the buckskin mare that I had chosen for Sierra and led her toward the fence. Sierra’s eyes were twinkling as she stepped up and leaned over the upper rail to reach the horse. It was instant love between the two when Sierra went straight for that spot between the horse’s eyes and scratched while she murmured sweet words with tears in her eyes.

  I walked back to Nicole and took the reins of the other two horses and led them over to where Leia and Lexi were sitting on the fence. Both girls were smiling from ear to ear and nearly vibrating with nervous excitement.

  “Daddy,” Leia whispered, tears streaming down her face. “You found her!”

  “I did, love,” I smiled up at her and nudged the dappled gray mare closer so Leia could say hello and then handed her the reins.

  I turned to Lexi and looked up into her wide eyes. “Lexi, honey, this gorgeous girl is your horse. She’s my wedding gift to you and she’s your responsibility from now on.”

  The beautiful black mare sniffed Lexi’s hand as she put it closer and then nibbled Lexi’s palm with her lips causing Lexi to laugh. Lexi reached up and stroked the white forelock on the black mare’s head and whispered, “Thank you, Rowdy
. Thank you so much. I’ll love her forever and ever.”

  “We don’t have enough tack and saddles for you girls to ride them just yet, but let me put you on bareback for a walk around, okay? We’ll get some pictures of the three of you and then you girls can go change clothes and go with Miss Nicole to get them settled in their new stalls for the night, okay?”

  Both girls nodded and I smiled up at them before glancing toward Sierra. She was watching me talk to our daughters and I knew right then that she was falling for me. It was a new relationship, a new friendship, and we’d only known each other a week, but she was almost as in love as I was.

  I pulled Leia off the fence and hugged her tightly as she sobbed into my neck. I understood why she was emotional. I had granted three of her biggest wishes in one single day: a mom, a horse, and a sister. I gave her a minute to calm down and then kissed her on the cheek as I sat her on the back of her gray mare. I handed her the reins, knowing she could control the animal easily since she had so much experience with horses already.

  I turned and plucked Lexi off the fence and she gave me a tight hug as she whispered her thanks once again.

  “Rowdy, she’s so pretty,” Lexi whispered. “Thank you so much.”

  “She is beautiful and she’s a sweetheart just like you,” I whispered back before I kissed her cheek and put her on the back of the horse. I handed the reins to Nicole and saw that she was wiping tears off her face. She huffed out a breath and shook her head.

  “You know how to make all the girls fall in love, Rowdy,” She told me with a smile before she looked up at Lexi and started talking to her about her new horse, asking if she knew what she wanted to name her.

  I made my way over to Sierra and helped her get over the fence in her long dress. I held her close, her legs and gown flowing over one arm and her back resting in the other as she held tightly around my neck.

  “How did you do all this?” Sierra asked quietly. “You mentioned it at the hotel, but I just thought it was a possibility. I had no idea. And you even got one for me. She’s beautiful, Rowdy. All three of them are.”

  “Nicole helped. Shit, Nicole did all the hard work and she even kept them corralled in her backyard for the last few days so I could surprise you ladies.” I walked toward her horse that one of Nicole’s people was holding and told her, “I wanted a unique wedding gift to give you and I thought teaching you and Lexi to ride, giving you something that’s tangible and won’t go away was just the thing to do.”

  “How did you afford them?”

  “I dipped into my savings I’ve been building to buy the house,” I admitted. “I’ll work it back up though; Nicole said I had plenty of time. She won't sell to anyone but me.”

  “Yeah?” Sierra smiled brightly. “That’s good.”

  “So, we’re not going to be homeless, we’re just not going to own it outright quite yet.”

  “Okay,” Sierra kept smiling as I lifted her up and set her on the back of the horse sideways.

  I held onto the reins and walked her toward Leia and Lexi so I could take their reins from Nicole. The photographer was snapping pictures as Nicole and the others climbed the fence and I stopped where he told me to. Finally, after he had crossed the corral, he ordered me to walk forward as I looked toward him. He directed the girls to look his way, but didn’t have to tell them to smile.

  ◆◆◆

  SIERRA

  The head of Rowdy’s hard length hit the back of my throat and I swallowed, causing his whole body to jolt. I pulled my mouth up and swirled around the tip a few times before I did it again. My hands were resting on his splayed thighs and I could feel the tension in him as I kneeled in front of him while he sat on the edge of the bed.

  Rowdy’s hands were fisted in my hair, our earlier hard sex in the shower having demolished the polished updo Sarah had created for me before the wedding.

  “Sierra!” Rowdy tugged on my hair, trying to pull my mouth away from him. “I’m going to come, baby.”

  I doubled my efforts, swallowing him down again, and I felt his whole body go rigid just before he filled my mouth with his hot release. I swallowed it down and kept sucking until he let go of my hair and collapsed back on the bed. With a wicked grin, I sat back on my heels, letting him slip from my mouth with a pop.

  “Jesus,” Rowdy gasped, still out of breath. “That was fucking phenomenal. I think you’re trying to kill me, but what a way to go.”

  I laughed as I got to my feet, using his legs to push myself up. I bent over and kissed his flat stomach, marveling that I was now married to a man who had the chiseled body of a greek god.

  “I have a present for you,” I told him as I walked toward the dresser to get the packet of papers Marcus had given me earlier in the day.

  “Oh, honey, that was the best present you could have given me.”

  “I think this one might be a little bit better.”

  “I doubt it, but we’ll see.” I watched from the end of the bed as Rowdy sat back up and moved so that his back was against the headboard.

  I crawled up the bed toward him and knelt between his splayed legs, just as naked as he was and not caring the least little bit. I handed him the envelope and watched his brows furrow.

  “What’s this?”

  “My wedding gift to you,” I told him honestly. “It’s what I talked to Marcus and Reagan about that day when I asked to meet with them alone.”

  Rowdy opened the envelope and pulled the folded papers out of it. When he unfolded them I watched his face change from curiosity to shock.

  “The house and land are in your name. The only stipulation is that if you ever want to sell, you give Nicole the first option to buy,” I told him. “The paperwork on the sale went through before we were married, so the property and the house belong completely to you no matter what happens.”

  “Why?”

  “At first, I wanted to give you something that was just yours to make up for the fact that you were giving up your freedom to protect Lexi and I,” I bit my lip trying to form what I wanted to say, but finally shook my head. “Now, it’s not so much a thank you as it is a gift that I knew would make you happy. I truly want to make you happy.”

  Rowdy was staring at me, his eyes dark and intense. He tossed the papers onto the bed beside his leg and reached out to pull me up to him, my legs falling to the side as I straddled his.

  “You make me happy. Our girls make me happy. The smiles on your faces tonight are burned into my brain as one of the happiest moments of my life,” he told me earnestly. “I am happy. Happier than I’ve ever been. Happier than I ever thought I could be. You and Lexi fit with me and Leia so well, I can’t imagine a life without the two of you in it. I know it’s soon and I know it’s crazy, but I love you Sierra Lincoln and I will with all my heart for the rest of my days.”

  I tried to hold it back, but a sob escaped as I leaned in to kiss my husband. I felt it. I knew they were there, but I just couldn’t let the words out. Instead, I showed him.

  15.

  ROWDY

  “There’s a storm in the forecast,” I told Sierra as I leaned in to kiss her hello. “It’s that season, so it could be bad.”

  “Yeah,” Sierra looked up at me worriedly. “I’ve never had to deal with tornado season really. Last year, it was mild, or so Nicole said when I saw her earlier. I didn’t even know that there were tornado sirens in town until I heard them testing them one day.”

  “Freak you out a little bit?”

  “I thought we were being invaded!” Sierra laughed. “I was at the apartment and I threw the door open to see what was going on. Everyone was rushing out of their apartments for a tornado drill. Scared the shit out of me.”

  “Well, you guys know how to get into the shelter. If you hear the sirens, go straight there. I’ll need to let the horses out so they can run if they need to.”

  “You just let them out? What if they get hurt?”

  “They know by instinct what to do, babe. They’
ll hurt themselves if they’re locked up and a tornado drops down.” I walked over to the fridge and popped open a beer, “What's for dinner?”

  In the month that we’d been married, Sierra had amazed Leia and I with her cooking skills. She could make a meal out of anything and I was glad to see that she was teaching Leia the skills she had already taught Lexi along with new recipes for both girls to learn.

  “I thought we’d ride out and have a picnic since the weather was so nice, but maybe we should just stay inside.”

  “Let’s have a picnic, just a little closer to the house. The girls can work on their riding in the corral and you and I can snuggle up on the blanket while I tell you all the things I want to do to you tonight.”

  “Oh, really, Mr. Lincoln?” Sierra laughed. “What if I want to tell you all the wicked things I want to do to you instead?”

  “Mrs. Lincoln, I would love to hear every single one of them,” I wrapped an arm around her waist and ground my already semi-hard cock into her backside as she giggled and put together our picnic.

  “Alright, horny man. I hate to break this up but we’ve got kids to feed and I’m not sure if they’re done with their homework yet.”

  “I’ll go check on them,” I told her as I dropped one last kiss on her neck. “Be right back.”

  I took my beer off the counter and walked down the hall to the girls rooms quietly, waiting to hear the chattering at each other instead of working on their studies. When I heard their voices coming from my work room, I paused, irritated that they were in my space without permission, but more so because the surprise I was working on as a gift to them would be ruined.

  “Daddy did this one of me when I was little,” I heard Leia explain to Lexi. “He’s gotten even better since then, I think.”

  “What does he do with all the stuff he makes?” Lexi asked her.

  “He gives it away as gifts,” Leia paused and I heard the door to the armoire that I kept my finished work in open. “He gave a little chicken to my teacher at the end of the school year last year and she said it was worth a lot of money. He should sell his stuff, but he won’t do it.”