“Angel, my life with you exceeded any dreams I had,” Shade told her, brushing her lips with his.

Lily brushed the tears from her cheek then stared down at her wedding ring.

“Did I ever tell you about the day you said you saw me at the ice cream store?”

“No.”

“Beth had picked me up from school that day, I usually walked home, but her client had called and asked Beth to pick up a prescription for her. While they were filling the prescription, she decided to pick me up. As we drove to get the prescription we passed the ice cream store. I suddenly wanted an ice cream cone.” Lily laughed self-consciously. “I don’t even like ice cream. How many times do you ever remember me eating it?”

“None, actually,” Shade said, going back through their years together. Lily nodded at his answer.

“I just had to have it right then.” Lily relaxed against him. “I think it was meant for you to see me that day.”

“Angel, Treepoint is small, and I saw you again at the lake. All I needed was one look.” Shade tenderly picked up her hand bearing his ring. “Besides, I was only slightly interested in you that day,” he teased. “I actually didn’t fall in love with you until I saw you in that pink bikini at the lake.”

They watched as the men gathered to set off the fireworks, sending the children to stand on his porch so they would have the best view.

“They bought a lot.” Lily laughed, commenting on the fact that John, Noah, and Chance had purchased a lot of illegal fireworks. It had taken them over an hour to set them up, and they would be shooting them off when it was dark enough.

“Ridge is just like his dad. He always had to be a show-off,” Shade said wryly as they watched him performing wheelies in the parking lot.

His eyes were caught by a movement at one of the picnic tables. His face went ice cold, and he started to get up from the bench. However, Lily’s hand caught his, preventing him from going to the couple sitting at the picnic table.

“Shade, leave them alone.”

“Hell, no, that shit’s not going to happen!”

Lily shook her head at him. “She loves him. Don’t spoil it for them.”

Shade watched his granddaughter sitting with the president of The Last Riders. He wasn’t embarrassed to admit that Violet held a special place in his heart. She was almost an exact replica of Lily. If he had ever wondered what Lily would have been like nurtured in a healthy and loving environment, Violet had answered those questions. John and his wife had done an excellent job raising their daughter. No one could resist her loving and sweet personality. Evidently, not even the man who had taken over as president.

Looking at the succeeding president, Shade reminisced to that night, so many, many years ago, when Viper, Gavin, Razer, Rider, Knox, Cash, Levi, and himself had sat in that motorcycle bar, planning their own motorcycle club. It had been the birth of The Last Riders and the start of so many memories, both good and bad…

Shade wrapped his arm around the stripper’s shoulder, leading her off the dance floor to the table the others were sitting at.

Taking a chair next to Viper, he sat down and pulled the stripper onto his lap.

The men spread around the table stared at him balefully.

“You trying to get our asses maimed so we can’t go back on duty?” Levi shook his head at Shade.

“What?” Shade asked, lifting the beer the stripper handed him to his mouth.

“You know what,” Viper said sarcastically. “She belongs to those bikers over by the bar. We’re already on their shit list for being in here, anyway.”

Shade shrugged. “It’s a biker bar, and we’re bikers, aren’t we?”

“Occasionally, when we’re not getting munitions thrown at us.” Gavin grinned.

Viper shot his brother a glance. “In a few months, we’ll be riding all the time. I never want to ride in another DPV again. Every time I get out, I feel like my balls are going to fall off.”

“I kinda of like it,” Gavin said, hitting his brother on the back. “Calm down. If Shade starts a fight, we’ll deal. I’m bored, anyway, since he managed to grab the only woman in this dump with a decent pair of tits.

“We ever live to see the end of our tour, we’ll have our own bar and beat the shit out of assholes like us.” Gavin winked at Viper.

“You’re planning on starting a biker club?” Rider grinned, his hand going under the table to the thigh of the stripper.

Shade shifted her closer to Rider. He didn’t want to take the chance he would grab anything that was attached to him.

“Hell yes. Want to join when you get out?” Gavin asked.

Shade hid his smile when Viper rolled his eyes.

“Fuck yeah. Just let me know where, and I’ll be there as soon as I get out,” Rider told him.

The stripper’s head fell back on Shade’s shoulder.

“You in, Levi?” Gavin turned to him next.

Levi watched Rider and Shade with the stripper, shaking his head. “No, Evie and I are getting married when we get out. She’d kick my ass if I tried to join a biker club.”

Gavin frowned. “What about you, Cash?”

“Count me in. I have no place I want to go back to.”

“Train?” Gavin asked, motioning for the waitress to bring them another round.

“I’m with Cash. I haven’t got anything waiting for me, either. Sounds better than what I had planned.”

“What did you have planned?” Shade asked, his hand going to the stripper’s waist and sliding under her see-through top. The men could easily see him playing with her nipple.

“Re-enlisting.”

The men at the table laughed.

“Knox?”

“No thanks. Me and Sunshine are going to buy a house and start having kids when we get out.”

“Shit, you and Sunshine are getting married?” Rider asked.

The stripper was moaning loudly now. Several of the men at the table were forced to shift in their chairs to adjust themselves.

“Shit, quiet her down, Shade,” Viper hissed.

Shade saw the angry glares focused on their table.

Bending down, he whispered in her ear, “Make another sound, and Rider will stop.”

She immediately shut up.

“I wish I knew how you did that,” Levi said.

“What about you, Shade? You going to join us?” Gavin asked.

“I’ll think about it.”

“What’s to think about? Bikes, bitches, and fighting all the time.” Gavin leaned back in his chair. “Viper can be the president; I’ll be his vice; Cash can be his lieutenant; and you can be his enforcer.”

“That does sound tempting.” Shade gave Gavin a half smile. “What about you Reid? You in?”

“Yeah, he had me at the bitches,” Reid laughed.

“Well?” Gavin prodded.

“I’ll give it a try. If I like it, I’ll stay,” Shade told him.

“I’m glad you’re in, Shade,” Viper snapped. “Your first duty as our enforcer is to get us out of here alive.” He stood up as four of the bikers who had been glaring at them started coming at them as the stripper began shaking with her climax.