Page 47 of Jagger
For a moment, I felt what my ancestors must have felt—freedom with your animal on the open range, feeling the connection between you, it, and the earth. I could practically see the prairie covered in wild buffalo as our trusted horses carried us into the hunt. My heart was racing, and I knew I was receiving a blessing that few got to experience.
Opening my eyes, I looked and saw Jagger with his phone out, pointed at me. I retook Luna’s mane, and with gentle pulls, I got her to slow down to a trot before she meandered to the fence so I could get off. Lifting one leg onto the fence and the other over her back, I stood on the fence while she moved away from me.
I rubbed her nose and touched my head to hers. “Thank you, Luna.”
She lifted her head before she trotted over to the discarded bucket of snacks. Leaning over, she began to chow down as I rejoined the group at the gate. Cheyenne unlocked the clasp so I could get out, and it was Laura who spoke first.
“That was amazing. I didn’t know you could ride a horse without a saddle.”
“Usually, you can’t, but Jackie and Luna have a unique bond,” Trent explained. “That’s why we kept her. She and Jackie can’t be separated.”
“We could go trail riding tomorrow if you want,” Cheyenne said to Laura, whose eyes grew wide.
She took one step back and shook her head, “I don’t want to hurt the animals.”
I was going to say something, but it was Phantom who addressed her. “You wouldn’t hurt them. And I think it would be good to get out and get some fresh air.”
“Are . . . are you coming, Gage?” Laura asked.
He offered her a smile and replied, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Gage? Huh, I guess that’s Phantoms real name. Mentally shrugging, I felt Jagger take my hand into his as the group of us turned away from the corral. I heard a noise behind us, and we all turned back to see Luna at the fence. Jagger and I turned back to see what was going on, and when we got next to the fence, I was shocked to see Luna offer him her face.
Carefully, he reached up and scratched her nose as he spoke softly to her. “I’ve got you, girl,” he said to her before pulling one sugar cube from his pocket. “Don’t bite me this time, okay?”
Slowly, he lifted his flat hand up with the cube in the middle of his palm, and I could tell he was terrified. I watched with rapt attention as Luna gently plucked the sugar cube from his hand and chomped down on it as he rubbed the side of her neck. When she had enough, she turned and trotted away.
Jagger smiled as I gave him a curious look. “I tried to feed her every day you were gone, but she kept biting me. I guess she blamed me for making you leave.”
I hugged myself to him and smiled as I said, “Then she’s got nothing to worry about. I’m home, and I’m never leaving again.”
He exhaled and whispered, “Thank fuck,” before he placed his hands on my cheeks and pulled me into a kiss.
I never thought the quiet guy at my cousin’s bar, the one who was always secretive and reserved, would be the one to sweep me off my feet. He wasn’t what I was expecting, but it’s often the unexpected in life that made for the best endings.
And with Jagger, I knew our ending was going to be happy.
It was written in the stars.
Epilogue
Jagger
It had been a few weeks since we discovered Blur, and I kept waiting for the blowback, but none came. I was pissed when Blur kept trying to bargain with us, saying he had news about the Royal Bastard’s National Chapter, but honestly, it wasn’t our business. Not anymore. If they were into something bad, then let karma—or the Madman—deal with them.
Jackie and I hadn’t spent a night apart since we reconciled, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I never knew you could grow to love someone more and more each day, but that was what I had experienced with Jackie. That didn’t mean I was going soft. It just meant she uncovered the softer side of me and it was only for her eyes.
Around the club, I was still the same hard-ass I’d always been. I didn’t allow fighting within the Sin Den, nor did I allow brothers to start fights with each other. If they wanted to throw down, I’d make them square up with me first, and that wasn’t going to change. If they kept being an ass, then I unleashed Animal on them, and that always stopped the problems.
We spent the last few days at the club, giving Jackie a chance to get to know the brothers and their ol’ ladies. Some were wives, some weren’t, but they were all welcoming to her. Tonight, I had something special planned for Jackie, and I hoped she would be okay with me doing it in public.
And get your head out of the toilet. I’d never expose Jackie like that, even if we still hadn’t had sex in a bed since the day I was an ass to her. She and I found our connection outside, innature, and so far, we managed to find quite a few spots that gave us isolation and privacy while allowing us to connect with each other and the universe.
I didn’t believe all that crap until her, and now, I knew it to be true.
“Are they on the way?” I asked Roughstock as he and Phantom had a drink at the bar.
I’d been pacing for what seemed like an hour, waiting for Jackie, Cheyenne, and Laura to arrive. The club wasn’t busy tonight on purpose, and I was eagerly awaiting my ol’ lady’s arrival.
