Page 23 of Sam's Forever

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My heart is happy as I watch my son and his new wife on the dance floor. The way they look at each other fills me with joy. All I ever wanted was for him to find the happiness that I’d found with Reaper, and it looks like he has.

“You did good with him, Abby,” Cash says as he stands next to me and looks at the couple on the dance floor. “She’s good for him.”

“She is,” I agree. Cash and I made our peace long ago. We’d been young, too young, and he’d done the best he could with what he had to work with, same as me. We could probably have gone about it differently, but then we might not be standing here with the loves of our lives somewhere in the room. Turning to Cash, I tell him, “He’s one of my greatest joys, and I wouldn’t have him without you. I’m glad you and he are on a more even keel. You’re more alike than you think.”

Cash blinks as emotion fills his face. He inhales and blows out a breath, “Thank you, Abby. That’s the biggest compliment you could give me. Because Sam is a good man and a loyal brother. I’ve strived my entire life to be one.”

Smiling, I wrap an arm around Cash’s waist as we watch the son we made dance with his wife.

LIZZIE & REAPER

Tears fill my eyes as I watch Cash and Abby talk at the edge of the dance floor, and when Abby hugs Cash, they flow over. “Here,” something white flashes in front of my eyes. Taking the tissue, I smile at Reaper. “Thank you.”

“No worries, babe,” he says, leaning back against the bar as we watch our spouses put their past to rest.

Wiping at my eyes, I sigh and rest my back against the bar, shoulder to shoulder with him.

“It’s good, right?” I ask.

Reaper flashes a smile at me, and I can see why Abby fell so hard and fast for him. “It is,” he agrees. “It’s been twenty-seven years; it’s time. We’ll be grandparents together. It won’t do our grandkids any good if their grandparents don’t get on.”

My mouth gapes in shock, “Are they?” I’m not sure if I want to say the word pregnant because I’m too young to be a grandmother.

Reaper chuckles at the look on my face and shakes his head. “Not yet, but I have a feeling it won’t be long.”

“Fuck, I’m not old enough to be a grandmother,” I moan, tilting my head back and looking at the ceiling. Reaper’s chuckling and then outright laughs when I turn and glare at him. That’s how Abby and Cash find us—laughing and me slapping at his arm, which only makes him laugh harder.‘Fucker.’

That night sets the tone for our relationships going forward. It’s no shock to me that we like each other. We’re cut from the same cloth, albeit in different countries. But a motorcycle club built on family is what we know, and it shows.

CHAPTER 15

ADAM

My sweet girl is beautiful and made a gorgeous bride. She’s also very happy; the happiness shines brightly from her face as she looks up at her husband.

The ache in my chest is killing me at the thought of my baby not living with us anymore. It didn’t matter that she’d not lived at home for the last year, her getting married meant it was real. She no longer needed me; she had a new man to turn to now. The night we nearly lost her has never left me. It’s burned in my memory for eternity.

I’m glad that she’s found a man who knows her worth and treats her like she’s his queen. He’s a good man… but, fuck, it still hurts to let her go.

It’s coming up for time for the father-daughter dance, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold it together.

Ally walks towards us just as Tilly whispers, “Here she comes.” And I know it’s time. Ally’s face is glowing with happiness when she stops in front of us.

“It’s time, Dad.”

“I’m not ready,” I grumble grumpily.

Ally lets out a tiny laugh at my words. We’ve had this conversation a few times in the last year.

“It will be okay,” she promises me, taking my hand and pulling me towards the dance floor. I’ve chosen ‘I Loved Her First’ to dance this dance with my girl. Because that’s what she was from the moment she walked into my office all those years ago. My girl.

Holding her in my arms for this last dance, the memories are like a kaleidoscope running through my mind—from the first time I saw her beaten and broken, then as she got stronger, not letting what had happened to her break her, to watching her leave school, her prom, going to college, then university, the night she was nearly taken from us, not once but a few times, and finally now as I’d walked her down the aisle to the man who would take my place. I don’t even know I have tears on my cheeks until Ally wipes at them.

“It’s going to be okay, Dad; I’m going to miss you too, but you gave me all the tools to ensure that I’d always be okay. I’m not going to be far away; we can still have lunch twice a week. You’ll always be the man I go to for advice. Plus, you love my husband; it’s not like you don’t know him.”

“I know that,cailín deas,doesn’t make it easy to hand over the reins, though, even if I did that over a year ago. Today is just the final bit. You’re always going to be my sweet girl, and as long as I’m around, you’ll never have to worry about anything, you’ll always have a home with us. I love you, and all I want for you is to be happy.”

“I am happy, Dad,” she assures me, her blue eyes sparkling with tears as they look into mine.