Page 50 of Driving Whiskey Wild
Bullet gathered Finlay in his arms and said, “I’m sorry for taking off and making you worry. Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“Thank you for not giving up on us.” She was so full of love for him, he’d become even more of a hero, but she’d never dare let those words slip out again.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d be here or not, so I drove by your place first, and, baby…” A world of emotions rose in his eyes. “That’s not your place anymore, lollipop,” he said with all the strength and passion she’d grown to love. “I need you here with me all the time. I know I’ve got baggage, and that probably makes you unsure, especially after tonight—”
She reached up and pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him into silence.
“You don’t need me, Bullet. You want me. I’m so thankful I’m the one you chose, because I do need you…and Tink. And more than that, I want you both in my life. I moved here to put down roots, and I thought those roots would include only sisterly love. But you’ve shown me I’m still capable of loving and being loved. I’ve got baggage, too, but our love is so big, it’s help-each-other-unpack-our-baggage love, the kind of love that lasts forever.”
“Thank you, angel,” he said softly. “But I do need you, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.” He brushed his lips over hers, his beard tickling her skin as he said, “Earlier today, you asked me if I had a favorite place, and I said I’d never had one, that I needed the open road. But I was wrong, baby. I found my place. It’s right here beside you.”
He lifted her into his arms and carried her inside. “How about we go upstairs and make up for the time we lost?”
“One orgasm for each hour we were apart?”
“That’ll never be enough.”
Epilogue
“IZ, CAN YOU grab the pigs in blankets? Dix, do we need more plates? I think we need more plates—” Finlay started when Isabel grabbed her by the shoulders.
“Fin, stop. We’ve got this. Don’t worry.” Isabel’s hazel eyes danced with confidence. She’d moved to Peaceful Harbor last weekend and had taken over Finlay’s lease, after Finlay had moved in with Bullet.
“Don’t make me go get your mother,” Dixie teased.
Finlay’s mother and stepfather had come down for the event, and last night, her mother, Penny, Isabel, Dixie, Gemma, Crystal, Red, and even Chicki and Babs, had helped prepare food for today’s fundraiser just so Finlay could go on the charity ride with Bullet this morning. While Finlay had been a nervous wreck, fussing over every little thing they cooked, her mother had been the eye of the hurricane, calm, cool, and collected.
“Why are you so nervous anyway?” Isabel asked. “You’ve been acting like you had drugs for breakfast ever since you got back from the charity ride.”
“I don’t know. I just want things to go well for Sarah, and I’m so full of adrenaline from the ride, I can’t seem to calm down,” Finlay said. The ride had lasted for three hours and had ended at Whiskey Bro’s, where the fundraiser was in full force. It had been two weeks since that fateful day at the meadow, and she and Bullet had been going for rides almost every morning since. Riding was just as addictive as Bullet was.
“Okay, girls, let’s go. We have to get this food out there.” Finlay picked up two trays of burgers and headed for the door.
Isabel and Dixie followed her outside, where hundreds of people milled about the tents and activities. They weaved between the dunk tank run by a host of handsome firefighters and a line of people waiting for a chance to get their pictures taken with the wooden photo props Truman had painted. For two dollars, they could put their face through the hole and become a woman in a bathing suit, a biker sitting on a motorcycle, or a child sitting in a sidecar.
They passed the obstacle course of orange cones beside the food pavilion, where a dozen or more children raced Big Wheels toward the finish line, their parents cheering them on. Bones came around the pavilion carrying Bradley on his hip and holding baby Lila, who was patting his cheek with her pudgy hand. Bradley’s eyes were damp with tears, and his knee was scraped up. Sarah walked beside them, rubbing Bradley’s back and carrying Lila’s blanket, her favorite stuffed hedgehog, and a bottle.
“Oh no. What happened?” Finlay asked.
“I falled on a rock,” Bradley said. “But I’m not going to the hospital. Bones said he’d fix me right up here.”
“Bones is good at that,” Finlay said. “Sarah, how are you holding up?”
Sarah patted her burgeoning baby bump and looked adoringly at her children. “I’m good, thanks. Just glad to have my babies and Scott home.” Lila had recovered completely, and the plastic surgeon said the scars on her face and arms should become almost undetectable over time. Scott was still in a wheelchair with pins in one leg, the other casted, but his lungs were healing well.
“We’ll catch up with you guys later,” Bones said. “I’ve got to get B-boy cleaned up. Bullet was looking for you a few minutes ago, Fin.”
“Isn’t he always?” Dixie teased.
Finlay smiled, thinking of yesterday evening, when they’d skipped dinner and made love for hours. They were together as often as they could be, and when they weren’t physically together, they were together in their hearts.
“For the record, Penny and I are jealous. The man worships you,” Isabel said as they passed the moon bounce.
“You can bring those trays over here,” Bear hollered from beside it, where Kennedy was peering through the mesh at him.
“No, they can’t,” Crystal said as she came out of the tent where the raffles were being held and took one of the trays from Finlay. “I’ll bring you and Kennedy plates,” she said to Bear, then to Finlay and the girls, “I’m so glad my stomach is better. I think Bear was hoping I was pregnant. Now he’s got babies in his eyes every time he looks at me.”
“Babies are amazing,” Isabel said. “You should have one!”
“Please keep her away from my husband,” Crystal teased. “There must be five hundred people here. Some of the raffles are up to thousands of dollars. Did you see the local newspaper guy? He’s taking pictures, and said he would do a whole write-up on the expansion of Whiskey Bro’s.”
“It’s amazing what this community does for their own,” Finlay said as they entered the food tent, which smelled heavenly and was bustling with people. She was pleased as punch with the turnout, even though the food was gobbled up as quickly as she could cook it. Thankfully, Nate Braden, who owned Tap It, a local restaurant, and Jasmine and Joe Carbo from Jazzy Joe’s Café, were also taking part in the event, so no one was going hungry.
Finlay looked across the tent at Penny, who was surrounded by families waiting for ice cream. Tegan and Isla, Chicki and Bud’s daughter, had come out to help her run the ice cream station. Several of the Dark Knights members’ wives and daughters were helping out with the food stations. Finlay felt lucky to have found her small hometown to be just as close-knit and welcoming as it had been when she was young. As she set the tray on a table, she spotted Red talking with her mother in front of the drinks station. It warmed her heart to see her two worlds coming together.
“Would you mind watching over things so I can go find Bullet? I’ll be quick,” she asked Isabel, who was glaring at Jed as he snagged three cookies from the tray.
“What? I’m sharing with my friends.” Jed motioned toward Quincy, who was waiting in line for ice cream.
“Mm-hm.” Isabel shook her head. “The only thing Quincy has on his mind is getting a luscious lick of Penny.”
Jed leaned across the table and said, “I could go for some licks.” He waggled his brows.
Isabel rolled her eyes. “Why did I agree to work with you again?” She laughed and looked at Finlay. “Oh, right, because my bestie is here. Did Bullet like your surprise?”
“He loved it,” she said, smiling to herself. When she’d shown him the tattoo she’d tried to get yesterday, he’d gotten a sad look in his eyes. At first she’d thought it was because she’d meant to have his name tattooed over her heart, but it had hurt so much, she’d gotten only one line, the left side of the letter B. But later, as they were lying in front of the fireplace, the flames casting shadows over their naked bodies, he’d run his finger over the line and said, I love that you wanted my name on you, but I wish I could have been there with you. I want to be there for all the important things in your life. Finlay had lined up a few catering jobs after the baby shower, and even though Isabel would be there to help her, Bullet had offered to go with her, too, when he could. The man claimed not to know anything about romance…
“Go ahead, Fin,” Isabel said, and smirked at Jed. “I’ll keep the vultures away.”
Finlay stepped outside the tent, scanning the grounds for Bullet as she made her way through the crowd. Even with so many leather-clad men milling about, her man was easy to spot, holding Lincoln near the temporary tattoo booth. She melted at the sight of her big, burly man with that sweet little one in his arms. As he pressed his lips to the baby’s head and closed his eyes for the briefest of seconds, she remembered what he’d said about wanting children. A heavy hand touched her shoulder, pulling her from her thoughts.
