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Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and ready myself for the crowd about to flood in.

Rob is behind the bar with two new bartenders, preparing. Elsie has taken on a larger role of co-managing Ransack now that Dad has officially retired. He’s finally taking care of himself, and even though he’s under constant medical supervision, he’s been doing better.

The heart attack was a wake-up call, and I’m relieved he’s taking it seriously.

My brothers laugh as they wander out of the back room, stopping at my side. Even Will is smiling.

“It looks good, sis.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“Thanks for helping me do it.”

“You did the hard part.” He rustles my hair, and I push him back, grumbling. “I just helped fill a gap.”

He downplays his financial assistance every time I try to thank him, but without Will’s help, we wouldn’t have been able to save Ransack. The insurance dragged their feet so long that the bank would have foreclosed without my brother delaying it. He kept the bar afloat until I received the payout, and now that Ransack is renovated and the investigation is closed, I can finally relax. And that is, in part, thanks to Zander.

After the kidnapping, we finally came to an understanding. He used his sway with Virgil to get the cops to close the investigation. I visited him at the hospital, and we talked through the problems we’d avoided for a decade. It’s been a long time since we were good for each other, and it was time for both of us to finally put that chapter in the past.

I don’t agree with most of Zander’s views, or what the oil companies still have planned, but I’ve known him since we were kids, and I’d like to think there’s some good lingering inside him.

Only time will tell.

“I hope you’re ready.” Asher nudges my arm.

My brothers meet Elsie at the front door to help her when it sticks. Some things about this place will apparently never change, and I don’t mind it.

As the doors open, the town floods inside, and I can’t help but smile. On the outside, Ransack is just a bar, but it’s also proof of how this town comes together. Everyone who walks through the doors greets me and my brothers. They tell stories of Mom and Dad and what Ransack has meant to them over the years.

Tears sting my eyes by the time Shane finds me. He pulls me close the moment I’m within reach.

“I told you that you didn’t have to wait in line.” I lift onto my toes and brush a kiss to his lips.

“I wanted to experience this like everyone else. To see you in your element.” He tucks my hair behind my ear.

“You don’t have to lie to me.” I quirk an eyebrow. “Alice already told me she was sneaking you guys some of her homemade moonshine while you waited. You were just enjoying the party while we finished working.”

He grins wide. “Guilty.”

I’m still laughing as he digs his fingers into the back of my hair and pulls me in. His tongue tangles with mine, and I moan.

“Mm, peaches. Alice better have saved me some.” I smile.

“She promised she had an extra bottle back home just for you. How are you feeling?”

“Good. Overwhelmed. Surprised. I can’t believe I actually did it.”

“I can.”

“Well that’s because your faith in me is endless.” I brush my hands down Shane’s cut, pausing at the president patch. “How are you feeling about the clubhouse grand opening next week?”

Shane accepted his role as president months ago, but now the clubhouse is finally finished. Steel was here with a few of the guys from Vegas last week to give their official blessing on the new chapter. And next week, Shane and the Ironside Ridge crew will throw a party for the town, making it official that they aren’t leaving.

“I feel like I’m finally doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Grant would have been proud to be part of a club like this.” His smile is sad.

After Shane found out the truth about Grant’s overdose, it took him time to process the chain of events. As much as it hurt Shane to learn how Grant really died, it eased his mind to know his brother was exactly who he remembered all the way to the end. Sticking up for others, protecting people.

I’ll forever be grateful for him.

Maybe Jackson was right about one thing: the universe intervened. Shane’s and my histories intertwined long before we met, and through it all, fate found a way to bring us together.