It was like we were the town project. Even though this place is nowhere close to town.
Vic and Pops often joked that people never showed up to fix the mansion like this, so maybe they just want to get rid of us. It’s a cute joke. But it’s not true. I think people just want to be part of something real and Vic and I are real.
Of course, they were all promised a free tattoo, a Shrike Bikes hoodie, and a VIP ticket to the first annual Sick Boyz Tattoo and Bike Festival, which will happen next Fourth of July, if they clocked fifty hours.
Turns out Vic wasn’t joking when he said he might make this place the next Sturgis.
We still spend a lot of time in town. Vivi is just about ready to start third grade at Saint Joseph’s. She and Starling are still in the same class—I did the bribing this year, since Ronnie took care of that last year. And she is thriving there with all her cousins and friends.
I’m thriving in school as well. Elle, Rina, and Luu come out to the farm at least once a month to help me decorate. They’re not cutting boards or nailing things down, so they must come for the eye candy. And of course, I still see them a couple times a week to study in the library.
I thought about changing my major since we’re not going to have a dairy farm. But we are going to have hobby animals. Goats, and cows, and ponies, and chickens, and Vivi has almost talked Vic into a piglet. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy farm life, so I stuck with animal science and added a few business electives just to make sure this time, I ran the place right.
Life just looks different now. I was never one of those corporate women who wanted to run things. I like a simple life. In fact, I got a new hobby when we started the farm project. I filmed it. Every day we were out here, I made videos of our progress. And then Rook showed up one day and said we should turn this into a show on Tube. So we did. And we’ve already got four hundred patrons who support us every month.
Vic is still tattooing, but only four days a week now instead of five. He just raised his hourly rate to five hundred dollars an hour instead of three. His schedule is booked solid three months out. Plus, every few months the general shows up. Of course, Bobby is here almost every weekend and he brings his wife and kids so…
Yeah. Wow. I have a whole new life overflowing with people.
“What are you smiling about?”
I turn and look at Vic as he comes into our bedroom.
Our. Bedroom. Not his mansion bedroom that he lived in since he was a child. Not my crappy student housing bedroom that I couldn’t wait to leave behind. But our bedroom.
It’s not perfect yet. We’re not sure what our style is. But isn’t figuring out who you are as a couple most of the fun of being with someone?
“Holy hell, Vicious. There are so many things to smile about today.”
His shirt comes over his head. He unbuckles his belt and drops his pants. Then he climbs into bed next to me, already kissing me as he reaches for the light on the nightstand.
“Let’s see,” he says, whispering into my mouth. “I’ve got you.” He kisses me. “I’ve got Vivi.” He kisses me again. “I’ve got two hundred acres, a barn, a greenhouse, an extra day off a week, the general’s little side job… what else?” He kisses me between each of these examples, but then pauses to see if I’ll answer. “Am I missing anything?”
This is when I realize he knows. But I play along anyway. “I dunno. Are you missing anything?”
“Mm.” He kisses me again, his hand sliding up my thigh. But it doesn’t stop there. And it doesn’t wander between my legs, either. His hand comes to rest on my belly. “What am I missing, Daisy?”
“We’re gonna need another V name, Vicious.”
“I knew it! Fuck yeah.” He leans over and kisses my stomach. “This time,” he says, getting serious and looking me in the eye, “I’m gonna do it right, Daisy.”