Page 138 of Parrish

“Thank you,” I whisper, setting the cup on the counter.

I don’t know what’s going to happen when those pipes sound and our men return. I know Jack and I won’t be retiring to the Sunshine state. My husband won’t collect a pension and we won’t be that couple fighting over probiotics in the supermarket.

But we will be embarking on a new chapter of this story.

A chapter where we don’t live to serve the Satan’s Knights but rather each other.

There will be more time spent with our son.

More time with Lacey.

I’ll watch my husband become a grandfather and I can’t wait to see him in that role.

They’ll be rides too.

Long ones with no destination, where we ride for pleasure and not duty.

It’s a promising future for two people who didn’t have much of one a few weeks ago and as beautiful as that is, it’s also bittersweet.

Clearing my throat, I force a smile and tip my chin towards the mountain of onions and tomatoes in front of Maria.

“Can I help?”

“Always,” she replies with a smile. “My kitchen is your kitchen.”

The forced smile on my lips transforms into a genuine one and I realize something else…

Times change.

Roles switch.

Family flourishes.

It grows.

It transcends.

Jack and I might not be the patriarch and matriarch of the Satan’s Knights, but we’ll always be part of their story and they will always be property of Parrish.

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