Page 29 of Freeing Souls

“I’m proud of you, Harley,” he says. “Tomorrow, I have something I want to show you, just us, alright?” I nod, but his face gives nothing away. “Enjoy your party. Later, we have a surprise for the guys,” he murmurs softly before pulling away.

“Hey, Harley.” I glance next to us, where Lex is approaching slowly. Her pixie cut is still brightly colored, and she is wearing skinny jeans with holes and a crop top.

I beam at her and give her a big hug. “Hey! I can’t believe you are here.”

She chuckles. “I wouldn't have missed this. Plus, my dad is going out of town for a few days, and, um, Rage said I could stay here with you guys. That’s okay with you, right?”

“Yes! It’s more than okay. You can stay in my room in the club. Are you okay with that?”

She nods. “Yeah, I’m warming up to everyone here.”

“Is everything okay with your dad?” I ask her.

“Yeah. I think so. Maybe–maybe we can talk about it later? I don’t want to bring things down,” she says sadly.

“Of course. I’m here when you need me. But also, you are graduating too! So party away with us,” I tell her, grinning.

My guys surround me as we all head over to a table on the patio and grab a drink. Gabe decided to allow us to drink at family BBQs only, so we all grab a beer and wander out into theyard, where some games are set up, along with tables and the large fire pit.

As we head over to where a bunch of people are sitting at the tables, Aggie waves at us from where she sits with Jayce on her lap. “How’s it feel to be done?”

“Really fucking good.” Ryker grins.

Presley, who is sitting a few chairs down on Axe’s lap tuts, “Language!”

“Sorry, Pres,” Ryker says, holding a hand up.

Jayce, who had been looking at a book on Aggie’s lap, wiggles his way down and then randomly storms up to Cade. He tugs on his jeans and holds his hands up in the air, “Up.”

“Jay, say please,” Axe scolds.

“Up, pwease.” Cade stares down at him with wide eyes before he glances at the rest of us.

I try to cover my laugh and take a drink of my beer while Presley says, “Cade, pick him up. He doesn’t bite.”

“Has he not held him?” I ask Grayson quietly, who is standing close to me.

“Maybe twice, but when he was younger. For the most part, Jayce goes for Ryker because he will toss him up in the air and be wild.”

Cade hands Ryker his beer and then bends to scoop up Jayce, who immediately points towards the woods. “Dog!”

Cade raises a brow at Presley and Axe. “He isn’t allowed to go on the trails without someone, and he watched Bear take off a bit ago,” Axe explains.

“You didn’t even want me. You just wanted my fu–freaking dog,” Cade grumbles quietly as he walks off with Jayce, who is now squealing with excitement.

Smiling, I lean on Grayson as Ryker comes to stand in front of us. He stares at us intently before his eyes darken, and thatstupid smirk works its way onto his face. Before I can comment, Grayson says, “Don’t even make a dirty comment right now, Ry.”

“Ruining all the fun,” he huffs.

After we play some games and drink more beer, the sun sets, and we all gather around the fire pit. Ryker pulls me down on his lap while Cade and Grayson sit on either side of us. Lex decided to head to bed early, so I showed her to my room in the club and let her be. I felt bad leaving her there, but she promised she was fine and we could talk tomorrow.

Gabe gets the fire started and then stands and raises his beer in the air. “Today, we celebrate my beautiful, smart daughter and the three bastards with her who have all graduated high school.”

Everyone laughs as Gabe continues, “Things have been messy and chaotic, but throughout all of that, none of you have given up. I’ve watched the four of you form an unbreakable bond and learn to help each other instead of trying to fight battles alone. I’m beyond proud of all of you.”

“One more thing,” Gabe says. The ranking officers all stand and head towards us. I notice Raven gesture for me to head over to where she and the other girls sit. Climbing off a reluctant Ryker, I wander over and sit between Carly and Brielle as we watch the guys stand in a line.

Parker walks over holding three folded up leather jackets. Gabe takes the first one and steps in front of Ryker. “I would like to formally invite you to be a prospect for the Sons of Silence MC. Accepting this cut means you are subjecting yourself to anything and everything the club asks of you for the next year, at which time you will be either voted in or out of the club. Do you accept?”

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