The Biker's Fate Chapter 285

Maisie

A little over a year later…

"POPPY, YOU'RE GOING to miss the bus!" I called up the stairs. It was the first day of school… the first day of high school for Poppy, and she was still fussing with her hair in the bathroom.

The doorbell pealed and, since I was right by the front door, I pulled it open.

Lily smiled, looking gorgeous as always. "Hi, Maisie."

"Hey, Lily. Come on in, love."

"Poppy Kenna Mann Wallace, get your ass down here, now," Hatch walked into the foyer and bellowed up the stairs, adding a little bass to his voice for oomph.

She appeared at the top of the stairs and I gasped. No, this was not my daughter. I leaned against Hatch and settled my hand against my chest. She was so grown up. She'd pulled her long, blonde hair to the side and braided it, and wore dark jeans, knee-high boots and a tight T-shirt, not too tight, but tight enough to show off the boobs she suddenly developed this summer… damn it.

"Fuck," Hatch whispered for my ears only. "Go change, baby girl."

Poppy's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Burlap sack. Garbage bag, whatever. But that's too revealing."

She rolled her eyes and giggled. "Oh, okay, Sid. Whatever."

My heart sang in my chest and I grabbed Hatch's hand. Poppy didn't notice as she let out an excited squeak and hugged Lily. They grabbed breakfast (which had been the plan… to eat at our place), then I took pictures (too many according to Poppy's copious amount of eye rolling), and then they were off, walking to the bus stop that was just at the corner of our street. Technically, Lily was old enough to get her license, but Hawk was having none of it, and she didn't seem to be in a rush, so they bussed it.

I watched them through the window and thought about everything that had happened since we bought the house. It had been a magical year, to be honest. Hatch had officially proposed to me in London in front of my entire family (after speaking with my father, who adored him… in fact, my whole family adored him), and he'd done right by me in the ring department. A beautiful two-carat princess cut diamond set in a Celtic knot woven ring. He'd bought the matching wedding band, and he'd also bought Poppy a promise ring which he presented to her on our wedding day, promising to always protect her and cherish her and be her stand-in dad for as long as he lived. I don't know which part of the ceremony I cried more during… him saying his vows… or him promising my daughter he'd always be her stand-in dad. From that moment on, she called him 'S.I.D.,' and it was just as special to her and him as 'Dad' could ever be.

Hatch also had Mack draw up adoption papers which he and I signed after Poppy agreed it was what she wanted. A judge signed the paperwork two days after Hatch and I got back from our honeymoon (Hawaii), so we started our lives in our new home a complete and official family.

Jeremy Marville had bought the company, fired Bill, but kept the rest of the employees right where they were, including Cricket. She even worked her way up to CFO in less than six months after Nicole got herself knocked up (she said it was because she and her boyfriend were always in a state of arousal having all of our products at their disposal…best endorsement ever). Nicole chose not to come back to work, so Cricket took her job and was flourishing. Another testament to the incredible woman Hatch had raised…not that he'd take any of the credit.

Ryan and the kids were doing well. Ryan had asked me if I wanted to read Alison's suicide note… I had quickly declined. I didn't want to know why, because to me the why didn't matter. She wasn't here anymore. Nothing could bring her back and my focus now was to make sure her kids were okay.

We had "family" dinner once a week, a tradition Hatch held onto with his siblings every Sunday, and we kind of rolled Ryan, Merrick, and Grace into the mix. I cherished our huge get-togethers, and they bled into holidays since our house was the biggest and no one had to go home if they drank too much… there was plenty of room to sleep it off.

"Sunshine?"

"Hmm?"

"You got somethin' you need to tell me?"

I forced myself away from the window and walked down the hall to the kitchen. Hatch was standing in front of the recycling bin, his face void of expression.

"What?" I asked.

He leaned down and held up the empty pregnancy test box I'd dumped in there two hours before.

"Oh, shit!" I exclaimed. "I totally forgot about that!"

"Come again?"

"I took a test when I woke up," I said, and headed to our bedroom, Hatch hot on my heels. "Morning pee is the best time to take it, so I took it when I woke up, but then I got distracted with you sticking your face between my legs, and then having to actually get up and be a functioning member of society."

"Are you complaining that I stuck my face between your legs?"

I ignored him as I walked to my bathroom vanity where I'd left the pregnancy test and picked it up. Spinning to face him, I squealed, "It's positive!"

"No shit?"

"We're going to have a baby, Hatch!" I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him.

He grabbed my bottom and lifted me, so I could wrap my legs around his waist, and then carried me back to bed. "You're gonna have my baby."

"Are you happy?"

He kissed me. "Yeah, baby. I'm happy. You happy?"

"Beyond happy. But you're gonna have to get busy so I can have another one," I bossed. "Us old ladies have been talking and we want lots of puppies. We're raising up the next generation of Dogs."

"No one's gonna call my kids puppies, Sunshine."

"Oh?"

"Wolf pack, yeah. Puppies, hell no."

"Then you better howl at the moon, love."

Hatch laughed as he tugged my shorts off and buried his face between my legs. I wove my fingers in his hair. "This is a good start, darling."

Eight months, three weeks later, Parker Connor Wallace arrived healthy and happy with his father's feisty bellow, dark hair, and blue eyes. He was perfect.