Christmas Outburst

EPILOGUE

Seven years later

– NIXIE –

A smile tugs my lips when I glance around the main room of the clubhouse. The music isn’t really as loud as it usually is, but they are definitely getting ready to party. A few of the members have brought their old ladies. We just had a little Christmas get-together with all the members of this brotherhood.

This morning, we exchanged Christmas gifts together, and we’ve kind of made it a tradition to gather at the clubhouse for some drinks, food, and now it’s late enough for the Christmas get-together to turn into a full-blown party.

Leon is drinking a beer with Reef, Maeve, and Amos, along with a few others. He’s twenty-one now and a full member of Razing Muck MC. He’s balancing two jobs. During the day he’s a mechanic, mostly working on custom bikes. On the weekends he takes some security jobs.

“Ready to go?” Zale asks.

He’s balancing Lettie, my granddaughter, on his hip. She’ll be seven in five months and we’re taking her with us for a sleepover tonight. Lettie isn’t tiny, but she still loves to be picked up and hugged. I’m so freaking proud of my daughter and how she’s handled her life since she came to live in this town.

She named her daughter after my mother, Violet. We all call her Lettie, though. She’s a little thief of hearts and has every single member of Razing Muck wrapped around her finger. Meave has mostly taken over managing the pottery store and it leaves me time to do what I like most; spending time with Zale, my granddaughter, and creating mugs and such.

Zale is still working, though he delegates more with Reef handling most of the business side of the company. I’m not complaining about a single thing. Doesn’t mean my life is perfect, because everyone has their ups and downs. Though, becoming involved with Zale a little over seven years ago was the best decision in my life.

“Yes,” I tell Zale. “I am.”

I hold my arms out and Lettie instantly leans toward me to wrap her arms around my neck. Placing her on my hip, I nuzzle her neck and breathe in her lovely scent. At first the thought of becoming a grandma made me feel old.

Turns out, this little one makes me feel amazing and I’m very happy to hand her over when her mother shows up to take her home. I get all the perks; spoiling her and having loads of fun, while not being the parent who has to handle her day in and day out. Freaking perfect.

Tonight, we offered to take her home with us to spend the night. This way Meave can stay for the party as well.

“Can we watch TV and eat pizza fries?” Lettie asks with a yawn. “Daddy said I could.”

I let my gaze slide to Meave who gives me a wave. Reef gets to his feet and stalks our way.

“Daddy said you could, eh?” I murmur.

Reef takes Lettie from me and she instantly giggles. “Did you think you could sneak out without giving me a hug? I’m going to have to do without one all night and morning.”

Her giggle makes my smile honest and bright. It still warms my heart to see how Reef really stepped up all those years ago. They hug and Reef places a kiss on the top of her head when he gives her to Zale.

“Did you tell her she could have pizza fries?” I question.

Reef turns to Lettie and she actually pouts. The man glances back at me and shrugs.

I roll my eyes. “Focus on hardening your spine or she’ll put you in front of a wagon and whip your ass so you can ride her around town.”

Reef’s eyes widen and he grumbles, “It’s just pizza fries.”

“Yeah, now it is, wait till she’s older,” I snicker.

“We’ll pick her up after breakfast,” Reef tells me.

“Breakfast will be pizza fries because then she can burn off the calories instead of making herself sick by eating them right before bedtime,” I tell my son-in-law.

He rubs his hands. “Then we’ll join you for breakfast.”

Zale chuckles and shifts Lettie to his hip. She has her tiny arms wrapped around his neck and is already dozing off.

“Fine. I’ll bang on the wall when it’s ready.” Yes, I gave the house to my daughter when I moved in with Zale.

She needed a place for herself and with Zale spending most of the nights in my bed I took his offer to come live with me when he offered.

I point at Lettie. “We’re off. Have fun.”

“Thanks again,” Reef murmurs.

“Always,” Zale rumbles and places a hand on the small of my back to guide me out of the clubhouse.

I throw one last glance over my shoulder and see a woman dressed in a tiny Christmas dress shake her ass and one of the members is wearing Santa pants, a fake beard, and is dirty dancing with the chick. Yeah, definitely time to leave.

Zale and I do stay to party most of the time, but on these particular nights it’s also fun to retreat and spend the night together. Well, after we’ve put this one to bed. We head for the SUV and I quickly shrug my jacket off to hold it over Lettie. It’s snowing like crazy.

“Should I go back and tell Reef and Mave to spend the night at the clubhouse?” I ask, worry slipping into my voice.

Zale carefully places Lettie into her booster seat. She’s had a full day of bouncing around, starting with unwrapping presents this morning and then being spoiled by all the members, and us all day. She’s completely drained and is sleeping when Zale carefully closes the door.

He turns to face me with a smirk in place. “We were young once, didn’t worry about any damn snow then.”

Leaning in he brushes his mouth against mine. “Besides, why should they leave when they also have a room at the clubhouse? They know Lettie is safe with us and don’t have to pick her up until morning.”

I grab his leather cut with both hands to keep him in place and connect our lips once more. “Does this mean we have our own Christmas party after we’ve put our grandchild to bed?”

A growl rumbles through his chest and his hands are now kneading my ass. “Damn right.”

I hum and kiss him one more time before pulling back. “Then let’s go home and get this party started.”

Zale smacks my ass and I step away to round the SUV. The fresh snow crunches underneath my boots. A smile tugs my lips, warmth spreads my chest while I feel invincible. Being in love with a man a handful of years younger does wonders for the soul. Hell, maybe it’s not the years between us, but the connection as a whole.

There’s no cold creeping in my bones when I look at the promise of hot sex in Zale’s eyes. He sure knows how to capture my attention, fills my heart, and brightens my life.

He starts the SUV and places his hand on the inside of my leg. The attention of this man is endless. I consider myself lucky to have a man such as Zale complete my life. I glance over my shoulder to watch Lettie sleep for a breath or two before focusing on the road in front of us.

Zale drives slowly. The snow is a thick blanket covering the road and there’s a sliver of doubt hitting me. We should have stayed at the clubhouse as well. Though, I trust Zale, he wouldn’t have hit the road if he didn’t think it was safe enough.

I sigh in relief when we drive onto our street. The Christmas lights and ornaments decorating the street make me smile and warms my heart. I remember all too well how I told Zale years ago that the favor I wanted from him in return for protecting his son was for him to decorate his house. We’ve both been active in keeping my mother’s activities alive during Christmas.

Strange how life takes and gives while there’s a thin wire connecting everything from start to end, passing it on while continuing through the living. My heart is full when Zale takes Lettie out of her booster seat. Soon enough she will be old enough to go to college, get a job, find love, grow to live her life the way she wants.

I open the door and glance back at the snow that’s still falling. Things are always changing, shifting, falling in place. It did for me anyway. The day I met Zale. The past seven years have been filled with the unexpected; with joy, love, and pleasure beyond belief. Here’s to many more years together while we watch our children follow their own path in life while we sit on the sidelines and enjoy the ride while cheering them on.

Life couldn’t be more perfect with Zale by my side.