Page 55 of Desert Sky (RB MC #4)

SHENIQUA

S he deserved this. All of it. I loved the life we had in North Carolina but Skye is blooming here like a sunflower turning toward the source of light.

I’m glad things worked out for her. For them. Despite all odds here we all were. At the Northport ranch—no less. This time with no disproving parents but filled to the brim with everyone who loved them instead.

The clink of a spoon against a whiskey glass echoed across the barn-turned-ballroom.

The laughter died down. The band paused. And all eyes turned to the head table—where Edge stood, a devilish grin on his face and a half-finished cigar in his mouth.

He raised his glass.

“Alright, shut up, ya animals. It’s my turn.”

JD groaned. Skye covered her face.

Edge’s smirk widened.

“Now, I’ve known JD since the day he walked into the Royal Bastards clubhouse in boots too clean and a jaw too tight. Thought he was some cowboy looking for the rodeo.”

Laughter rumbled .

“Turns out, he was a cowboy,” Edge went on, “but the kind who wrangles numbers, not bulls. Our pretty boy ranch heir with a secret past and tighter abs than any man needs. I hated him immediately.”

Cheers and hoots erupted.

“But,” Edge said, lifting his glass higher, “he earned our trust. Earned his kutte. Earned his place. And today—he earned himself a wife who might just be crazy enough to love him.”

Skye blew him a kiss.

“And who’s apparently willing to be blindfolded and married without any warning, so she’s definitely one of us now,” Edge added, smirking.

More cheers.

Edge looked at JD. “You pulled off the most dangerous thing a man can do. Not an ambush. Not a raid. Not a bar brawl with a rival crew. No—you planned a surprise wedding… with Regan.”

JD shook his head, laughing. “I’m lucky to be alive.”

“Damn right you are,” Tarak chimed in, rising from his chair and taking Edge’s place. “Now it’s my turn to roast this bastard.”

Tarak raised his glass. “Here’s to JD. Who managed to find the only woman on the planet who could take one look at his tortured-soul eyes, rancher fortune, six-pack abs, and MC loyalty—and still leave his ass.”

The crowd howled.

Skye’s cheeks turned pink. JD laughed until he choked on his drink.

“But like any good love story,” Tarak said, grinning, “our boy got his shit together. Eventually. After some bonfires, bullets, and broken rules.”

He nodded toward Skye .

“And Skye... thanks for giving our brother a reason to slow down, to step up, and to build a legacy that matters. You gave him a son, and you gave him a shot at forever.”

He raised his glass higher.

“To the best damn shotgun wedding this club has ever seen.”

Glasses clinked. A chorus of “to JD and Skye!” filled the air.

Then Cal stood, dressed sharp as hell in a navy suit, his Northport rancher elegance a quiet contrast to the MC chaos.

The room calmed as he lifted his glass.

“JD’s not just my brother. He’s the man I trust most to carry our family’s future,” Cal said, voice low but firm. “And he didn’t get here by blood alone. He got here by grit. Loyalty. Heart.”

He turned toward Skye.

“And you, Skye... You remind me of the kind of woman our mother should have been. Fierce. Loving. Willing to burn her world down to protect her child. I see you. And I’m proud to call you my sister.”

A lump formed in Skye’s throat. JD gripped her hand tight under the table.

Cal raised his glass to the ceiling.

“To the battles they fought. To the son the will raise. And to the love that brought ‘em back together. May it always be wild, real, and just a little bit crazy.”

The barn exploded with applause.