Page 30 of Hawk's Treat

Everyone cheers.

Later, as the party continues around us, Hawk drags me to a table in the corner and pulls me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me, his hand finding my stomach again.

"I never thought I'd have this," he admits quietly. "After losing my family, after all those years of anger and grief. I never imagined I'd get another chance at this kind of happiness."

I turn in his arms. "We both got second chances. We both rose from the ashes of our pasts."

"You saved me, little sparrow,” he says, “You brought me back to life."

"No," I shake my head. "We saved each other."

He kisses me then, long and deep, pouring every ounce of love into it. When we finally break apart, he rests his forehead against mine.

"Marry me," he says suddenly. "I know you wear my patch, I know you're my ol’ lady in every way that matters to the club. But I want it all. I want you to be my wife. I want you and our kid to have my name."

"Yes," I answer without hesitation. "Yes, yes, yes."

His whoop of joy can be heard above the music. He sets me on my feet, stands up on a chair, and bellows to the entire room, “She said yes!”

Suddenly, we're again surrounded by the club—more backslapping, hugging, hooting, and hollering their congratulations.

As I look around at these people—my family—I think about that terrified girl who broke into the haunted mansion that stormy Halloween night. She was looking for shelter, for safety, for a place to hide.

Instead, she found everything she never knew she needed.

She found love.

She found family.

She found herself.

And she found home.