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Isaac looks to me, and I shrug, letting him decide how much to share.
“You remember the night you had me go pick up Holly from her date from hell?” Isaac asks Lyla.
“Oh my god. That was almost a year ago! If I had just called you an Uber…”
“I’m glad you didn’t call her an Uber,” I tell her.
“I just wish you two had gone to her place that night instead of Lyla’s room,” Mrs. Perry remarks quietly, causing my face to warm.
“My room? Seriously?” Lyla huffs.
“We didn’t actually…” Isaac starts, but his mother interrupts him. “I may be partially deaf, but Holly was loud enough to wake the dead!”
“Grandma, ew. I mean, could we please talk about something less gross?” Laurel asks in a tone that I know is about as polite as possible coming from her. Even her husband recognizes the effort when he covers her hand on the table and gives it a squeeze.
Barrett just keeps laughing quietly, to the point he is snorting tears, as if he thinks it’s hilarious.
“Well, I guess I better get used to that noise,” Mrs. Perry remarks with a sigh. “Holly and the baby are moving in with us, right, Isaac? I mean, unless you want me to go…”
“I’m going to need so much help with the baby if you’re willing, Mrs. Perry?” I ask her.
“Of course, honey. And call me Pam.”
“I’ll soundproof your room, Mom. And ours,” Isaac offers.
“Then it’s a deal. I love babies. And from now until June, somebody has to make sure you’re eating enough. I want a healthy grandson!”
“Thank you,” I tell her before facing Lyla again. “Are you okay with all of this?” I ask her.
“Since this is apparently all my fault, I guess I can’t bitch. Besides, the heart wants who it wants,” she says as Barrett slips his arm around her shoulders and kisses the top of her head. “Even when the heart wants a man old enough to be your father.”
“Lyla!” Isaac snaps.
“I’m happy for you two. Really, Dad. It’s time you found someone to fill the hole Mom left,” she tells him with a smile.
“Nobody could ever take your mother’s place in my heart. But where it was once a black, shriveled mess, it’s healing thanks to Holly, and it feels good to be…happy again.” He kisses me sweetly on the forehead.
“Wow. That wasn’t as gross as I expected,” Laurel mutters.
“I don’t know,” Lyla says. “I haven’t wrapped my head around this yet. But I will. Most people hate their stepmoms, right? I’m lucky that I get to call mine my best friend.”
And with that sentiment, I know that everything is going to be all right.
EPILOGUE
Isaac
Six months later…
“Congrats on becoming one of us and becoming a father again. Sorry it took a while to get back up here to celebrate,” Torin Fury says with a broad smile. “Here.” He offers me a small box with a lid like the kind jewelry might come in.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“A gift for being a good soldier and not raising too much hell about the patch over,” he says. When I hesitate, he huffs. “Just open it.”
I lift the lid up, and inside is a small, white, rectangular patch. “But Remy…”
“Remy is still the president of the Rockland chapter. But we’ve expanded to make Clayton part of a Northern Virginia district. You’ll have joint meetings every quarter, and Remy still pulls rank there, but you can continue to run your city, your club’s meetings, how you want otherwise, as long as you’re in compliance with Savage Kings’ bylaws.”
