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Not just for dinner. For everything. For cookie-making, dinosaur lectures, late-night conversations and all the ordinary moments that make up a life.
For her. For Luna. For the family I never thought I'd have.
I look down at the little girl asleep in my lap, this tiny human who accepted me without question, who grabbed my hand and pulled me into her world like I'd always belonged there.
And I realize Terry was right. I was capable of more than I thought. Capable of love, protection and being someone worth keeping.
The noise in my head is completely silent now. Has been since the moment Daisy first kissed me.
And I'm never letting it come back.
This is home. They are home.
And I'm staying.
Epilogue – Daisy
Two Years Later
The flight attendant's voice crackles over the intercom, announcing our descent into Paris, and Luna presses her face against the window so hard I'm worried she'll leave a mark.
"Mommy, look! I can see the Eiffel Tower!"
"That's just clouds, baby," I say, smiling.
"Are you sure? It could be the Eiffel Tower."
Razor leans over from the aisle seat, his hand warm on my thigh. "We'll see it tomorrow, Luna. Promise."
I look down at my left hand, at the ring that's been there for a year and a half now. Simple silver band with a small diamond, nothing extravagant because Razor knows I'd hate something flashy, but perfect because he chose it.
He proposed seven months after we started dating. I thought it was fast. Hell, everyone thought it was fast. Mom pulled me aside and asked if I was sure, if I was rushing because I was scared of being alone, if I really knew him well enough to promise forever.
But I did know him. Knew the way he showed up every single day without being asked. Knew how he'd spent six months learning about dinosaurs just so he could have real conversations with Luna. Knew how he held me on the nights I cried about money, exhaustion or the weight of doing everything alone for so long, except I wasn't alone anymore.
I'd never been surer of anything in my life.
We got engaged at the clubhouse during a family barbecue. Nothing fancy or elaborate, just Razor getting down on one knee in front of all his brothers and their families, asking if I'd marry him. Luna screamed "YES!" before I could even open my mouth, and everyone laughed, and I said yes through happy tears while Eden and Nora and the other old ladies hugged me.
We're getting married next summer. Small ceremony, just family and the club.
A year ago, Phoenix called church and the brothers voted. When Razor came home that night wearing his full patch, the Iron Phoenix rocker across his back, his road name embroidered above it, he'd cried in my arms. Told me he finally felt like he belonged somewhere, like he'd earned the right to call himself part of something good.
The extra income from being a patched member changed everything. I was able to quit my cleaning job. No more late nights scrubbing offices, no more coming home at midnight exhausted and aching. I still work at Frank's Diner during the day, but now it's just one job instead of two. Now I have energy left when I get home. Now I can actually see Luna in the evenings instead of just kissing her goodnight when she's already half asleep.
And the best part? I'm back in school.
Millhaven Community College, three classes a semester, working toward my teaching degree. It's slow going. It will take me another three years at this pace, but I'm doing it. Razor helps with Luna on the nights I have class, makes sure she does her homework, eats dinner and gets to bed on time.
He's so good with her. So patient. Last week she had a meltdown about a math problem, and he sat with her for an hour until she figured it out, never once losing his temper or telling her to give up.
She adores him. We both do.
The plane touches down with a slight bump, and Luna bounces in her seat. "We're here! We're actually here!"
"Easy, baby. We still have to get off the plane and get our luggage."
"I know, but we're HERE. In FRANCE. Where they speak FRENCH and have REAL CROISSANTS."
