Page 44 of Sinful Skulls (Rebel Skull MC #9)

Chapter Forty-Two

Daisy

W e ride back to the warehouse on a trailer with some of the wedding-goers. The celebration starts before we even get on the road as drinks are passed around. My parents exchange a few looks but not in horror like I’d imagined. They’re curious more than anything.

When we get to the warehouse, I watch as my husband makes sure each and every person around us feels seen. Brody is definitely the life of the party.

Everyone eats, drinks, and is merry.

“Cake time!” Jesse yells, waving Brody and me over to a table with the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen.

“Oh, Jessie, it’s beautiful,” I gush.

“I baked it, but Elizabeth decorated it with the flowers.”

My heart can’t take much more today.

Brody and I each wrap our hand around the knife, and as we’re about to cut into the cake, we notice two tiny resin frogs hiding under a leaf. His head drops, and I hug him tightly around the waist.

“She’s too much,” he whispers.

I pluck them off and set them on the edge of the plate. They deserve a special place somewhere in our life.

We follow the tradition of smashing the cake in each other’s face. It makes the club lose their minds in uproarious laughter. As soon as everyone gets their fair share of pictures and lines up for a piece of their own, Brody pulls me inside the warehouse.

He sets me on the bathroom counter and grabs a few washcloths out of the cupboard. His smile melts my heart as he begins to clean me up. “Thank you for agreeing to all of this for Rachel.”

“Well, I’d like to say I did it all for her, but …”

The way his grin widens makes my heart skip a beat. “So, no regrets?” he asks.

“Zero.”

He sets me on my feet and turns me toward the mirror when we’re both cleaned up. His chin rests on my shoulder. “Look at that. This is our first glimpse at ourselves as married people.”

It makes me giggle. “Do I look different?”

His eyes lock on mine. “Nope. I’ll forever see you as the same girl I met on the beach.”

“Even when I’m wrinkled and grey?”

“Especially then.” He turns me in his arms and holds my face in his hands. “I wish I could find poetic words to describe how your smile made me feel that day. I’ll remember it forever.” He chuckles and presses his forehead to mine. “I’m just so fucking glad we were both there.”

Brody then proceeds to slowly place soft kisses over every single inch of my face. “I love you,” he whispers after each one.

A knock on the door interrupts us.

“Get your fucking asses out here. You’ll have time for that shit later,” Dirk yells from the other side of the door. “The dancing is about to start.”

Brody’s entire face lights up.

“Can you dance?” I ask, looking down at his big feet.

“Can I dance?” He places his hand over his heart as if I wounded him. He opens the door with one hand while pulling me close with the other. We do a quick little two step out the door, passing Dirk.

He dances me all the way out to the patio where they’ve set up the dance floor.

“I’ll never doubt you again,” I say, laughing as he dips me. The club cheers.

After our first dance, Brody hands me off to my father.

“This makes me miss all of those daddy-daughter dances we used to go to,” he tells me.

I smile at the memory. “Oh my gosh, I loved those nights. Every year you bought me a little wrist corsage. I think it was my favorite part. Do you remember that?”

“I do.”

“I’m sorry if this isn’t the wedding you imagined for me.”

“It’s exactly as I imagined.”

“What? How could that possibly be?” I glance around at all of the bikers surrounding us.

“Daisy, I pictured you happy. Everything surrounding that was fuzzy and irrelevant to this day. I just wanted my girl to be genuinely full of joy.”

A lump forms in my throat as I realize Brody was right. The rift I built up between my parents and myself was in my mind. It wasn’t real. They’ve done nothing but accept me with unconditional love.

He cups my cheek, guessing my thoughts. “The best part of being your dad is getting to be included in your story, no matter how it reads.” He hugs me tight when I rest my cheek against his chest.

As he moves us across the dance floor, I notice my mother snapping photos of us on her phone. Then there’s Elizabeth … her tear-filled eyes are locked on us, and I wonder how much seeing my dad and I together is healing her heart.

She saved me from a father who would have pulled me into the darkness, and then she gave me to one who would harness the light of the entire sun just to see me shine.

So far, the day has been upbeat, but I feel the tension in Brody as he prepares himself to ask Rachel to dance with him.

“I’m going to be too emotional,” he tells me, nervously rubbing his hands together. He shakes his head. “I can’t do it. Let’s just skip it.”

I pat his chest. “You’ve helped me realize that it’s okay to let people see the darker parts of me. Listen to your own advice.” His eyes meet mine. “Just be yourself. It’s a memory you’ll cherish one day.”

He pulls me close, kisses my forehead, and then walks over to Rachel. He kneels in front of her, and I know he’s taking in every moment of this.

Everyone in the room pauses to watch my husband lead the woman who filled the motherly void in his life onto the dance floor.

When “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd begins to play, she looks up at him with tears in her eyes.

He gives her that boyish smile I’ve fallen in love with.

Maybe it’s the same one that made her open her home to him all those years ago.

She rests her head against his chest as they dance.

He holds her close, taking most of her weight.

He doesn’t let go of her. Not even to wipe the tears that are streaming down his face.

Raffe sits down beside me and drapes his arm over my shoulders, watching them with me. He leans close, whispering in my ear. “I’m forever in your debt for this.”

“We’re not here because of me. We are here because of him.” I nod my head toward Brody. “He loves hard, doesn’t he?”

Raffe sits back in his chair, pushing his finger and thumb in his eyes as he speaks.

“She was so happy when Jackson found Willow. Rachel knows she’s leaving her son with someone who will love him as much as she does.

She’s been praying every night since then for Brody to find the same.

She’ll leave this world a little more peaceful knowing he’s finally found it. ”

“Her love made today even more special,” I tell him.

He nods in agreement, unable to speak.