Page 21 of October's Ride with Atlas

“I'm messaging one of the girls to pick up the plates later because right now I want to crawl in bed and snuggle up to you,” I say. Then I set my phone down and carefully snuggle into his side that isn't bandaged, resting my head on his shoulder.

“Good, because I want to ask you to marry me, but can't seem to get down on one knee right now,” he says.

I freeze. There is no way I heard what I heard.

Sitting up, I look into his face, but it's the ring he is holding in his other hand that makes me realize I did hear him correctly.

“I want to marry you. I want you by my side always, and I don't want anyone to be able to take you from me. For our honeymoon, I'll take you to Italy and make sure you stand in that village and eat the best Italian food you have ever had,” he starts to ramble.

“Yes,” I say because there is no point in drawing it out when I know this is what I want.

“I had a whole speech.” He laughs, pulling me in with his good arm.

We only have a quick kiss because he’s busy getting the ring on my finger. Of course, it fits perfectly.

“This is my grandma's ring, and the fact that it fits you so well is proof you are meant to be mine. And before you ask, I had one of the guys get it from the cabin for me while I was in the hospital. Because I knew the moment outside my cabin that you chose me, I was going to ask you to be my wife,” he says.

There is no way I can stop the tears streaming down my face.

I can't remember the last time someone truly wanted me like this. My mom was stuck with me, and I thought my dad wanted me. But I never felt that I was the most important person in the world until Atlas made me feel that way. My dad didn’t take the time to get to know me the way Atlas and everyone at the club has.

“I really hope those are happy tears,” Atlas says, wiping them off my cheeks.

“They are,” is all I manage to say before I crash my lips into his and kiss him.

“Hopefully, this means she said yes?” Emerson says, peeking her head in. I didn’t even hear her at the door.

“She said yes,” Atlas says.

“I'll let everyone know we are adding another club member. You two enjoy yourselves. Not too much, as I don't need to be fixing his stitches,” Emerson says with a huge smile as she takes the plates out of the room.

“That kind of celebrating will have to wait, but I have a few ideas until then,” I say.

I think I’m going to like taking some control, at least for now.

EPILOGUE

VIPER

It wasn’t evenThanksgiving yet, and Ruby already had the Merc all decked out for Christmas. I’d just stopped in to grab a few groceries on my way to the clubhouse. With my luck, I’d walk in stinking like I’d been baking fucking gingerbread men thanks to the overpowering scent of the candles she had burning on every surface.

“Hi there, Viper. Happy Holidays!” Ruby waved from behind the register. She had on a red and white striped sweater with a light-up wreath on the front.

“Aren’t you embracing the holiday spirit a little early this year?” I asked as I set a few microwavable meals on the counter that would last me the rest of the week.

“Lighten up. There’s so much to celebrate this year.” She beamed at me, her eyes sparkling. “Now that you’ve sent the Savage Bones running away with their tails between their legs, this will be the best holiday season we’ve had in a long time.”

“They might have run, but I’m not sure we’ve seen the last of them yet,” I cautioned. Even though I was a grumpy-ass motherfucker, I wasn’t low enough to ruin Ruby’s good mood. There wasn’t anything concrete to share yet, but Atlas called ameeting at the clubhouse this afternoon because he got some sort of info that the Savage Bones hadn’t fully disappeared.

“Oh, don’t be silly. After that showdown last month, they’d do best to stay far away from Mustang Mountain. By the way, how’s Atlas doing? I haven’t seen him around, though I’m not sure if that’s because he’s been recovering, or if it’s because that darling blonde has been keeping him busy at home.” Ruby waggled her eyebrows.

I refused to take the bait and give her any info on Atlas and Bex. Not like I had any. The two of them had been keeping to themselves. “Last I heard, he was doing just fine.”

“Well, you tell him to stop by and see me sometime. I want to personally thank him for what all of you have done to save this town.” She smiled as she pushed the bag of groceries across the counter to me. “I expect I’ll see all of you at the Friendsgiving Feast next week?”

I tapped my card against the reader to pay. The holidays were a difficult time of year, but this year they were hitting me extra hard. I wanted to go to the Friendsgiving Feast just about as much as I wanted to stab my eyes out with the homemade huckleberry candy canes she had sitting by the register.

“A lot of the guys are planning on it,” I said while I waited for my card to go through.

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