Page 17 of Sam (Crow MC 2nd Generation #2)

SAM

I wake at my usual time of five a.m. My arms are full of the woman who has come to mean so much to me. There’s no doubt in my mind that what I feel for her is not the same as what I’d felt for Bella.

The feelings I have for Ally are all-consuming.

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of her and miss her when she isn’t with me.

When we’re together, I want no… I need my hands on her.

Not that she minds, she automatically gravitates towards me.

I live for Fridays, knowing that I have her with me for three days before she goes back to her family.

There’s nothing better than being in my workshop, working on a piece and looking up to see Ally on the couch, reading or messaging her sister.

When we’d taken the step that we had yesterday, I’d known it was time.

I need to go and speak to Adam. Am I shitting myself?

Oh, I absolutely am. We grew up hearing stories of the O’Sheas, and there had been whispers of The Hole, but nobody ever elaborated.

It wasn’t only the O’Shea men. Their women were pretty scary too, especially Ally’s Aunt Sera and the women who came with her.

Turning over, I ease my arm out from under Ally.

Standing at the side of my bed, I gaze down at the woman lying in it.

Long limbs sprawled across the expanse of our bed, miles of creamy skin on display, and long black hair covering our pillows and trailing down her back and over her arms. She’s worth it.

No matter what happens today when I go to her family.

She’s worth it. We’re survivors, she and I.

She’s perfect for me, and I hope I’m perfect for her.

Glancing one last time at the woman asleep in my bed, I dress quietly, leaving a note to inform her of where I will be. Making sure to set the alarm and lock up behind me, I get on my bike and point it in the direction of the O’Shea compound.

It’s not a long ride, as they don’t live too far from us.

Riding up to the gate, I stop at the intercom.

From what I understand, years ago it had been an old-fashioned gate with a lock, or I should say gates, and there were still multiple ones, but most were now automated.

It’s early, but like us, most are early risers, so I know someone will be up.

Pressing the call button, I wait. Taking my helmet off, I look up towards the camera.

“Sam?” Sera’s voice comes over the speaker.

“I’m here to speak to Adam,” I tell her.

“Mmm,” she hums, then asks, “Are you sure you want to do that?”

‘Fuck no I’m not,’ I think to myself.

“Yes?”

Sera laughs when my reply sounds more like a question than an answer.

“Your funeral,” she laughs again, and the gate opens.

“Fuck me,” I mutter, wiping my hand down my face.

Not bothering to put my helmet back on, I put my bike in gear and rumble down the road to the next gate.

I don’t have to stop because it opens automatically and closes behind me with a clunk.

I’m sweating. Ally’s worth it, though. I’m repeating it like a mantra under my breath when I ride into the O’Shea drive.

All five O’Shea men are there to greet me, arms folded, legs planted.

“She’s worth it,” I repeat one more time, placing my helmet on my seat.

I remove my gloves, tucking them into my helmet. I know I’m wasting time. They know I’m wasting time because Colm O’Shea calls out, “Hurry up, lad, I’m old; I don’t have the patience to stand here much longer.”

He’s right. I get off my bike and walk towards them, coming to a stop in front of Adam. He’s the one that I’m going to have to convince. Ally adores her dad. He’s her hero, always has been, and I know he always will be.

“Adam,” I say, holding out my hand. His eyes drop, and he studies it. For a moment, I think he’s not going to take it, but then he does and gives it a quick shake.

“Sam,” he greets and lets go of my hand as fast as he took it. Abruptly, he turns and walks away towards the main house.

I watch him go with trepidation in my heart. A heavy hand comes down on my shoulder, and I turn towards Colm. “It’s good you came, lad. He’ll come round. Come on, join us for a mug of tea. They’ll want to grill you.”

“She’s worth it.”

His gaze softens, and he replies, “Yeah, lad, she is.”

Walking next to Colm, I’m a little sad to see how he’s aged.

I know that our older generation are all showing their age, and I dread thinking that one day none of them will be in our lives anymore.

Slowing my steps down, I walk with Colm towards their veranda and up the stairs, trying not to make it obvious that I’m hovering because he’s not that steady on them.

When we get to the top, I notice that they’ve all waited for us, watching their dad slowly climb the stairs.

“Sit,” Colm waves me to a chair. Sitting down, we all stare at each other until Colm chuckles, picks up the teapot, and pours out tea. “God’s sake. I’m fecking glad I only had boys.”

Tommy and Liam snigger, but Adam and Johnny continue to stare at me. I’m assuming because they’re the only ones with girls. Colm hands out mugs of tea and sits back, relaxing in his chair as he watches everything unfold.

I know it’s up to me to break the standoff, but I’m not sure how to go about it. Finally, I can’t take any more of the silence. I put my mug down and look Adam in the eye.

“I’m going to marry Ally,” I baldly state, taking note of the winces from the other men, but I’m done beating around the bush. “I understand to some extent that news probably doesn’t fill you with joy and fucking rainbows.”

Gathering my thoughts, I pick up my mug and take another sip of tea, my gaze never leaving Adam’s while I continue, “I can’t say I’m thrilled with Alec and now it seems like Beau too being with either of my sisters, and Dad sure as fuck isn’t happy with anybody defiling his little girls, so yeah, I get it.

“But Adam.” I take a deep breath before continuing. “Ally, well, she’s special. I know I don’t need to tell you that because you already know. I love her,” I hold up my hand when he starts to interrupt me, smirking a little when he glares at me.

I also ignore Tommy when he says, “Got major balls, Sam.”

Focusing my attention on Adam because I don’t want to be distracted. The smothered chuckles are bad enough.

“I understand you’re worried about Ally and me.

I never made it a secret that I had a thing for Bella.

I’d always thought we’d get married, have babies, and life would continue on in the nice, smooth way I’d got used to.

When it all went to shit, well, let’s just say I didn’t take it well,” I pause and take another sip of my tea.

Colm catches my eye and nods as if to say hurry up, especially as Adam is looking a little murderous.

“But if I’m brutally honest with myself, that relationship was never going to happen. I was young and stupid, chasing a fantasy I’d built up in my head. Being with Ally has made me realise that what I thought I had with Bella was nothing compared to what I have with her.”

Adam still looks like he wants to kill me, and I realise that I’m not explaining myself very well. It’s hard to put into words how differently I feel for Ally to what I felt for Bella because my feelings for Ally don’t compare. They are on a completely different level.

Hastily, I continue, “And then one morning I walked into my work kitchen, and there she was. So fucking brave, even though she was shaking so much she could barely speak to me. I wasn’t around when everything went down, so I can only imagine how fucking awful it was for all of you, but especially you,” I tell Adam.

“What I will tell you is that what I feel for Ally is nothing like what I felt for Bella. Ally...” I hesitate, tilting my head up to look at the roof of the veranda. Gathering my thoughts because I’m not sure how to tell her father that she’s my very reason for living. She’s my forever.

A smile breaks out when I realise that’s it.

That’s exactly what she is. Again, I look at Adam, “She’s my forever,” I tell him.

“Or she will be as soon as you give me your blessing to marry her; either way, she’s going to be my Old Lady, and I’ll work on you until you give us your blessing, or we have babies, whichever comes first. But I’m warning you now that I’m tying her to me in all the ways I can. ”

Colm chuckles at my words, Johnny looks impressed, and Liam and Tommy are watching Adam. They both look like they're ready to pounce, should Adam decide to go for me.

Adam says nothing for a minute. I’m not backing down, though. Ally is worth whatever he has to say.

He’s silent for a long time, and I’m starting to sweat again. Eventually, he speaks.

“What makes you think you’re good enough for her?” he wants to know.

“Oh, I know I’m not,” I assure him. “But what I will do is make sure she knows every day what she means to me. I’ll make sure she sleeps easy and that she knows she’s loved. You know me, you know what I come from and who my family is and how we treat our women.”

Adam sighs, sits back, and looks me in the eye. “I do, and it’s the only reason I haven’t made more of a fuss about her spending weekends away from home. I know she’s an adult, and I don’t really have a say.

“That you came to me and didn’t back down when the peanut gallery got in on trying to intimidate you means more than any pretty words you say. I suppose if it had to be anyone, I’m glad it’s you. Seems the Crows and the O’Sheas are bound to be tied together somehow.”

He’s quiet for a minute, then bursts out, “Fuck me, my baby’s going to be an Old Lady. I hope Jeanie takes pity on her dad and stays single for a long time. I’m not sure I’m ready to lose both my girls just yet.”

Johnny slaps Adam’s shoulder, “Fuck’s sake, man, it’s not like she’s going to another country. She’s only in the village next door, and if the two of them move to the manor, the girl’s going to be safer than houses.”

“True,” Adam nods. “I’ll speak to Reaper about upgrading their systems again.”

Breathing a silent sigh of relief, I relax into my chair. Colm winks at me with a smug grin on his face, and I have to stifle another laugh at the wily old man.

I keep my mouth shut, not wanting to say anything to jeopardise this or jinx the status quo we have going on.

The rest of the morning is spent getting to know the men of Ally’s family and bonding.

I like them. I always have. They have their own way of doing shit, but underneath it all we have the same values. Fuck with our families at your peril.

It was around lunchtime when Tilly comes out, followed by Jeanie, who smirks at me and gives me a wink. I’m not sure what it means, but I’m assuming that she’s spoken to Ally. Sera and Maya are last out the door.

“We’re meeting Ally for lunch over in Feannag. The kids are staying over at various friends and won’t need picking up until tomorrow,” Tilly says, kissing Adam, then looks at Tommy, “Lana’s joining us.”

“Okay,” he nods in understanding.

“There’s food in the kitchen. Help yourselves,” Maya tells us before stopping and kissing Johnny like they’ll not see each other for days instead of a few hours.

Sera kisses Liam, then busses Colm’s cheek. “Behave, boys, we’ll see you later,” she orders as she turns and rolls her eyes when she notices Maya and Johnny. “Johnny, let Maya up for air. We need to get going, and I’m not waiting for you two to fuck before we leave.”

Laughter rolls over the veranda, and I’m grinning. I fucking love this family.

Spending the rest of the day with them isn’t a hardship. After lunch, we end up going to their shooting range for a few hours. When Adam gets a text, he laughs. “The ladies are at Avy’s pub and, according to Hawk, they are very happy.”

Taking my phone from my pocket, I laugh when I see Ally’s text.

MY BEAUTY - Loorve you Sam. Don’t let me dadio scare you away

“Looks like we need to go and rescue the ladies,” Liam’s laughing too as he puts his phone away. It doesn’t take us long to leave the O’Shea compound. I ride ahead and park behind the pub before walking around and meeting them at the door so we can walk in together.

A drunk Ally is hilarious. “You’re alive!

” she shouts gleefully, arms waving. She’s happy and not just because she’s rat-arsed.

No, she’s genuinely happy. I kiss her, and it’s like I’m coming home.

We only break apart when Adam says something.

Letting Ally go, I watch her greet her dad, and I’m glad I went and spoke to him.

Mum and the rest of the Old Ladies must have joined up with the O’Shea ladies sometime today.

All of Sera’s girls’ squad are here too, and some of their men.

The ladies have taken up the entire bar and some of the tables closest to it.

Dad is off to the side, watching with an amused look on his face, and I wonder how long they’ve all been here.

When Adam pushes Ally towards me, I find I don’t care about anything else.

I lift her back onto the stool next to Jeanie and stand at her back, encircling her protectively with an arm as she laughs and chats.

It’s a good night, filled with laughter and family, and it wouldn’t be the last if I had anything to say about it.