Out of the Ashes (Sons of Templar MC 3)

“You don’t remember asking Zane to tune it for you before the meeting?” I asked, leaving my thoughts behind for now. “Even though it’s been in tune all of your life, thanks to the fact it’s like an extension of your hand,” I added.

She wandered toward me, her face uncertain. “Yeah. I’m just—”

“It’s okay to be nervous, doll. I’d think you were weird and possibly a cyborg if you weren’t,” I told her teasingly.

“It’s just, this could be huge,” she said in a small voice. “Like, life changing huge.”

I nodded. “Could be,” I agreed. “Knowing you and the boys. Your talent? The chances are high. I believe in you, you know. Anything you want to do, you can do it. You’re capable,” I told her firmly.

She smiled at me. “You think?”

I winked at her. “I know. My entire retirement plan rests on the millions you’re going to make,” I said.

She laughed as we walked together down the stairs. “Is Zane coming to the meeting?”

I stopped walking and stared at her. “Um, is he big, ultra-protective and like a total control freak?” I asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “He’ll be there, threatening to disembowel the suits if your deal is anything less than six figures,” I joked.

We made it to the bottom of the stairs and now it was Lexie’s time to stop. She regarded me with a look that was way beyond her years and I knew she was going to say something wise and possibly tear jerking.

“You know, he may have been sixteen years too late, but Zane’s the best dad I could’ve asked for,” she said quietly.

Yep. Totally wise and totally tear jerking.

“And, he’s going to be the most amazing dad ever to my little brother or sister,” she added with a small smile.

I jerked. “How did you know that? Are you a wizard?” I said on reflex, denial not even an option. I did not lie to my kid. Not anymore.

She nodded to my hand.

I glanced down. I was still clutching the positive pregnancy test. Shit.

Lexie kissed me quickly on the cheek. “Happy for you, Mom,” she said quietly. “And proud of you. You’re like, my hero,” she added.

I swallowed my tears. “You stole my line, kid.”

She smiled and straightened. “I’ve got to go and practice. Love you.”

One of the first things to happen after I got rescued was our marriage. The one that was proposed when I was chained in a basement happened about one week after my bruises faded for good. I actually had to convince Zane not to get a priest into my hospital room and marry us the second I’d been patched up. He’d relented. Barely. And only after I told him about how my first marriage had been devoid of family, and how I wanted our whole family, the club to be there when we were married. To witness their brother finally getting his happy ending.

So, on a sunny day in the same patch of grass where we had survived a nightmare, we created a new memory. I walked down a hastily put together aisle, wearing a simple ivory dress and flowers weaved through my curls. Lexie walked by my side.

I only had eyes for Zane as I walked past all of the people who I considered family. He smiled. Actually smiled a sexy smile as his eyes followed Lexie and I until we made it to him. When we made it, he gently pulled Lexie into his arms and kissed her head. “Love you, Lex,” he murmured softly.

She beamed up at him. “To the moon,” she whispered, her eyes slightly watery. She winked at me then moved to join Laura Maye and Gwen.

Zane grasped my chin. “Prettiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he told me in a low voice.

For once, I didn’t have a single word to say. Luckily, since it was our wedding, Steg, our officiator, said a lot of stuff to actually get us married. Zane wasn’t through rendering me speechless, as I learned when it came time for the vows.

His hands gripped my waist tightly. “A wise woman once said that the first eclipse that blocks out the light, makes it seem like the sun will never shine again,” he said softly, eyes never leaving mine. “My mistake was thinking that eclipse was a destruction of light. Something permanent. You and Lexie made me see that I wasn’t condemned to live in that darkness forever. That I’d get to live in that brightest fuckin’ light that emits from the both of you. Something I’m gonna hold onto and treasure for the rest of my fuckin’ life,” he finished with passion.

I didn’t think there had ever been such a beautiful set of wedding vows ever, especially with the word fuck used in them. A set of vows uttered from the lips of a man whose silence was a feature people had come to except, evidenced by the multitude of dumbstruck and tearful faces throughout the crowd. I didn’t have eyes for any of them, only my husband, who I grabbed by the neck and kissed the shit out of.

It had been an amazing year. After I had been rescued from the clutches of my psychotic and decidedly evil ex-husband, things hadn’t exactly been happy ever after. It worked well for the Disney princesses, but not in real life. Things like nightmares and flashbacks plagued me for quite a while, even though every night I was safe in Zane’s arms. Zane was battling with wounds that weren’t visible like my broken bones. He spent every moment he could making sure I was okay, I think to remind himself. His eyes were tortured more often than not, and his clipped phrases and silence came back from a time. But I knew something that never wavered were his feelings for me. For Lexie. I knew he had to fight the rest of his demons off, once and for all, so I just gave him time. Tried not to get pissed off when he treated me like a doll about to break and damn near put a tracking device in Lexie’s car. The one he bought for her.