Page 28 of Ghost's Revenge
"Beautiful," she says, and I can see the tears already forming in her eyes. "Absolutely beautiful."
Sarah has become family over the past three years—a mentor, a friend, almost a mother figure to me. She was the first person who told me I deserved better, and the first person to see the potential between Derek and me, even when I couldn't see it myself.
She holds out her arm. "Shall we?"
We walk down the hall of the shelter together, past the rooms where women are still rebuilding their lives one day at a time. I volunteered here for a year after we moved out, wanting to give back some of what was given to me. Now I work part-time at the front desk of the Pine Haven Medical Center, with hours that let me be home when Tyler gets out of school. It's not a glamorous job, but it's steady and it's mine, and the sense of independence it gives me is worth more than any paycheck.
The backyard looks like something from a fairy tale. White chairs decorated with yellow ribbons, an arch covered in wildflowers, the late afternoon sun casting a golden glow over everything. But it's the people that take my breath away.
Our family. Not by blood, but by choice.
Maria sits in the front row with her new boyfriend, her dark hair longer now, her smile easier. Jessica's there too, with the daughter she was pregnant with when she first came to the shelter, now a toddler in a frilly dress. Annie, whose ex-husband tried to drag her out of the grocery store before Derek intervened, now manager of that same store and engaged to a kind-eyed paramedic who looks at her like she hung the moon.
And then there's the club. The Outlaw Order MC, lined up on the groom's side like a wall of black leather and barely contained energy.
Reaper and Evelyn in the front row, their hands clasped together, wedding bands gleaming. They got married a year after we met, in a ceremony much like this one but at the clubhouse instead of the shelter. Evelyn catches my eye and gives me a thumbs up, mouthing "you look amazing."
Next to them, Wilder and Emma, still going strong despite the rocky start to their relationship. Emma's pregnant now, just starting to show, and the way Wilder keeps his hand on her stomach like he's afraid she might disappear tells me everything I need to know about how that man feels about becoming a father.
Blade sits behind them with his girlfriend, stoic as ever but clean-shaven for the occasion. Ace beside him, already half-drunk judging by the flush on his face but beaming with genuine happiness. Viper on the aisle, looking uncomfortable in formal clothes but present because family shows up, no matter what. Their girlfriends are here too and waving at me.
And at the front, waiting under the arch with Tyler standing proudly at his side as best man, is Derek.
My Derek.
He looks devastating in a black suit, his dark hair trimmed shorter than usual, the scar through his eyebrow somehow making him even more handsome rather than less. But it's his expression that stops my heart: the way his eyes widen when he sees me, the way his whole face softens with something that looks like wonder.
The music changes. Not the traditional wedding march but "La Vie en Rose," the song that was playing the first time he danced with me in our living room after Tyler went to bed. I start walking toward him, Sarah's arm steady beneath my hand, my eyes never leaving his.
Each step brings me closer to the future I never thought I'd have. To the man I never thought could exist—a protector who doesn't need to control, a warrior who chooses peace whenever possible, a father who never gave life to a child but gives life to our son every day through love and patience and unwavering presence.
When I reach him, Sarah places my hand in his and steps away. His fingers are warm and strong around mine, and I can feel the slight tremor that tells me he's as overwhelmed by this moment as I am.
"You're beautiful," he whispers, voice trembling with emotion.
"So are you," I tell him, and he smiles. Oh, that rare, full smile that transforms his whole face and makes him look ten years younger.
We wrote our own vows, simple promises that acknowledge both the darkness we've survived and the light we've found together. When he slides the ring onto my finger, a simple band with tiny diamonds that catch the light like stars, his hands are completely steady, all nervousness gone.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the officiant says, and there's a heartbeat of perfect silence before he adds, "You may kiss your bride."
Derek's hands come up to frame my face, gentle as always despite their size and strength. He kisses me like he's sealing a vow, like he's making a promise his body already knows how to keep. I hear Tyler's exaggerated "ewww" from beside us, hear the club members' good-natured hooting, hear Sarah sniffling quietly in the front row.
But all I can really focus on is the man in front of me. My husband. My protector. My home.
Later, after the ceremony and the dinner and the first dance, I find myself standing at the edge of the yard watching Derek twirl Maria's teenage daughter around the makeshift dance floor.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Reaper appears beside me, offering a glass of champagne.
"Just thinking about how lucky I am," I tell him, accepting the drink. "How far we've all come."
Reaper follows my gaze to where Derek is now showing Tyler how to do some complicated handshake with Ace, both of them laughing when the boy gets it wrong.
"Ghost is a different man since he met you," he says. "Happier. More at peace."
"We all are." I look around at our gathered family, bikers and survivors, fighters and healers, all moving forward together. "Who would have thought we'd end up here?"
"Not me," Reaper admits with a laugh. "I sent him to watch the shelter as a security precaution. Never expected him to find a family there."
