Page 54 of Striker

One year later

The boys were running wild as I was trying to set up for their birthday party. Nobody tells you that it’s completely possible for children to suck all your energy out and leave you with nothing. They also don’t tell you that your twin boys will walk at nine months and climb everything at ten months.

Colton and Knox were just as wild as their daddy and all three boys drove me crazy. They both were the spitting image of Striker; blonde hair, blue eyes and absolute cuties. If I didn’t carry them for nine months you wouldn’t even know I was their mother. Colton did have my personality and was a little softer than his brother Knox, who was more brash like his father.

“Striker! Come get your boys so I can finish setting this party up before everybody gets here!” He came running over, and scooped our boys right up and ran toward the house with them. I just shook my head and smiled as they all screamed and laughed.

Our boys were officially one year old today and we were having a big party at the ranch. After the wedding, Mama insisted we build her a ‘granny pod’ out back where Maverick and Goose were working on building their own little piece of heaven. The club had built her a cute little cottage and moved Mama right in. She was so happy and started to build a beautiful garden all around her place. Our little boys loved to take walks down to ‘Nana’s’ for visits and sweet little treats.

Goose and Maverick also built their own cabins on the family land and were working on making little homesteads of their own. They both had beautiful cabins but were still close to our Mama and our family home.

Striker and his Pop made an access road between both raches so we could all easily go back and forth. We were able to move some of our cattle over to his land and utilize some of their buildings too. Our little family was growing and I was amazed by our life each day.

I had just started to go back to school online so I could take over the Medical Center in the next few years. I was flying through my classes so hopefully I would finish sooner than expected. Doctor Hank had been absolutely amazing with helping out. I was receiving so much hands on training that I felt more and more confident everyday. We hired more nurses and were looking to expand the center since there were patients coming in from the surrounding small towns.

The motorcycle club had recruited some more Prospects and things were going great for them too. The clubs public bar, Highway 13, was officially open and doing extremely well. They also opened the strip club, Studio 13, and made a ton of money from there. I made sure Bambi was managing the girls there and getting paid properly now. She was happy and starting to think about going to school for business management.

Ellie Jo’s bakery was thriving too. The club did regular business with her and made sure to advertise for her like crazy. She was getting huge orders from surrounding towns and was looking at hiring extra help. Things were going well for everybody and I couldn’t be happier.

I finished decorating the barn with the lumberjack decorations and headed into the house. Striker had the boys all dressed in their plaid shirts, suspenders, jeans and little boots. They came running over and clung to my legs.

“Mama, Mama, Mama!” I picked my boys up and carried them over to the dining room table.

“Are you boys ready for your birthday?” They giggled and climbed away from me. I looked to Striker to see him leaning against the kitchen counter smiling at us. “Whatcha looking at, cowboy?”

He walked over and pulled me into him, “Just the three best things in my life.” As Striker bent down to kiss me, there was a crash and the sound of four little feet running away from it.

We both laughed and headed toward the mess. “Don't worry I’ll get it. You grab the boys and head outside. I can hear Goose and Mama Crawford coming up the path on the four wheelers. My Pop should be here any minute now too.”

I stood on my toes and kissed Striker on the cheek. “You are the best, babe.”

The party was in full swing and everybody was having a great time. The whole club was here and the pile of gifts for the boys was overflowing. We were so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives.

I made my way over to Striker and my brothers. They looked very serious and I was a little concerned. “No shop talk at the party, boys.” They all looked up and I could tell something was wrong. “What’s going on?”

Striker stood up and pulled me into his arms. “Nothing, Little Lark. Don’t you worry.” I pulled back and looked at all three of them.

“You boys better tell me what’s going on right now.” Maverick looked toward the barn and I saw a pretty little brunette with a husky, awkwardly standing with a beer. “Oooh, it’s about a girl. So who is she?”

Maverick sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “Name is Willow. Found her on the side of the road with her broken down van and the dog. Offered her a job cleaning the clubhouse and was just running it by the Pres. She’s definitely running from something but I can’t figure out what yet. Doesn’t seemed fazed by the club life so I think she may be in trouble with another motorcycle club. Goose is gonna put some feelers out.”

I nodded my head and took a sip of my drink. “Well, if you need anything, let me know. She could probably use a few good girlfriends in her life.” Maverick stared at her, wrapped up in his whole little world. “Go and be a gentleman, Maverick. Mama would kick your ass if she knew you brought that pretty little thing and left her all alone.”

He looked at me and just laughed. “Yeah, yeah. I’m going over there now.” As him and Goose walked away, I grabbed Striker’s hand and pulled him toward the pile of presents.

“Come on ,babe. Let’s let the boys open some presents before they take a nap.” Striker grabbed the boys as they ran past him and hauled them over to the pile. They laughed and tried to wiggle away.

“Let’s go, boys. It’s present time!” The three of them yelled and cheered as we sat down on the quilt. Everybody gathered around to watch Colton and Knox open their gifts.

As Striker pulled the boys on his lap I grabbed the first bags for them to open. “This one is from Mama. It’s a very special gift so be careful and make sure you show Daddy!” They ripped open the bag, throwing the tissue paper all over the place. As they pulled out the little shirts, I held my breath as Striker lifted one up.

They were little black shirts that looked like they had leather motorcycle vests on them. On the front it had a little patch with the boys names on it. Striker looked at the front and smiled. “These are cute, baby.”

I laughed and pointed to the shirt, “Look at the back, silly!” He turned the shirt around and his eyes got real big.

“Are you serious? Is this a joke?” I shook my head no and scooted closer to him.

“It’s not a joke Striker. It’s real! Show everybody else.” He turned the shirt around and showed all our friends and family.

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