Jared turned as Enrico spoke. "You have a plan?"
"Yeah, sort of. I know the sister of one of the bikers. Think I can get to her."
Jared frowned because he hated the idea of women getting mixed up in their business and Enrico wasn't exactly known for his gentle touch. Jared didn't have a lot of choice though. He had to keep the legitimate side of the business running and he was too busy dealing with the fallout of Amy’s situation to work on any more problems.
Finally, Jared nodded his assent. "Run your plan through Vince first, but I'm sure he'll be good with it."
"Yeah, he’s not the soft touch you are. He won't mind if I use some biker chick to kill the heart of our problem."
"And that's why I have a sweet thing in my bed and you don't," Jared couldn't help but point out. The guys were always ripping him up for his soft spot toward women and children.
Enrico snorted. "You don't know what I got going on in my bed."
“And I don't want to."
Jared was satisfied that Enrico could handle the Ghosts. The only reason he wasn't running his own crew was out of loyalty to Jared and Vince. Maybe that was his plan. Get rid of the few troublemakers left over from their biker days and then start up his own club. Jared would be happy to back him. In fact, they could use the business. Having a valuable contact on the biker side of things could only help.
Later that afternoon, Jared finished up early, as was becoming his new habit. He dropped off some paperwork at Vince’s office and rode his Harley back home. He’d pretty much given up the SUV to Amy, preferring she have a mode of transportation other than the bus. At first, she refused him, saying that the use of his SUV was too generous. Then he threatened to buy her a vehicle of her own. She’d given in gracefully and agreed to drive the SUV.
When Jared arrived at the house, he found a note on the kitchen counter telling him that Amy and the kids were at the baseball diamond around the corner. The note asked him to come and join them. He grinned and took the stairs two at a time up to the top level. He took a quick shower and then changed into his gym shorts and a basketball shirt. It had become somewhat of a habit to meet Amy and her siblings at the park before supper, where they played sports and got in some exercise.
Jared couldn't help grinning to himself as he walked over to the baseball diamond. His life had become about as perfect as it could be and that was all thanks to Amy. Not just Amy, but the instant family she'd given him. In the month since her house had burned down and her father had been taken back to prison, life had settled into a strangely wonderful routine.
Even Teagan had decided to move in with them, saying that he preferred the space in Jared's basement over his friend's house. Jared got along well with Teagan, probably because Jared was able to understand some of what the boy was going through. It wasn't easy being seventeen, but it especially wasn't easy being seventeen and having an older sister for a mother and a murderer for a father.
Millie and Sarah treated Jared like a combination of an older brother and father figure. Jared embraced the role wholeheartedly, especially enjoying the moments where he got to play with them and be a big kid. He was discovering some pretty cool things that he'd missed out on as a child, like water fights, tea parties, dress-up, and getting his nails painted. It was rare these days for him to have naked nails. He didn’t mind; every time he looked at the shiny paint he was reminded of his instant family.
Jared jogged the rest of the way to the park, eager to spend time with Amy and the kids. When he arrived, he was surprised to find that Amy wasn't in the park. He quickly discovered her siblings though and another surprise waiting for him.
Vince, Jenna and their two kids were also waiting for him. Jared jogged towards them and slowed down when he saw a giant red heart staked out in the ground in balloons. In the middle were the words, "Will you marry us?"
Jared stopped next to the heart, his throat filling with emotion as he imagined all the possibilities. He asked the first question that came to mind, "Where's Amy?"
Teagan nodded past him and pointed. Jared turned to discover Amy walking slowly towards them, her eyes glued to the heart. It was clear from the expression on her face that she had no idea what was happening either.
She stopped next to him and looked up at him with love in her eyes. "Did you do this?"
Jared shook his head. "No, I got home from work and found a note telling me to come here."
"Millie and Sarah said they wanted hamburgers for supper so I went to the store to pick up some frozen patties and buns. Teagan texted telling me to come here before going home."
Jared turned back to look at Teagan, his brow raised. Teagan nodded towards his sisters, who each stepped forward with a piece of paper in their hands.
Millie spoke first. "Dear Jared, we want to thank you for all that you've done for us and invite you to become part of our family. We appreciate everything you've done, and we love you with all our hearts."
Amy sniffled next to Jared and he looked down at her. She was looking at her sisters with an expression of intense love. Jared felt choked up as well.
Sarah stepped forward, her voice quieter than her sister’s, but still strong with conviction. "Amy, you have been everything to us. Mother, father, sister, teacher and more. You've done an amazing job, but it's time to share that responsibility. We would like to invite you to invite Jared to be an official part of our family by marrying him."
Amy lifted a hand to smother the laugh that burst through her lips. She blinked rapidly, but the tears started to flow anyway.
Teagan stepped between his sisters, placing an arm around each one and looking at Jared and Amy. "You two can't keep your hands off each other and you refuse to stop being all lovey-dovey disgusting around us, so we have no choice but to ask you to get married and make us an official family."
Jared felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest and he had to blink back tears as well. He looked down at Amy to see what she made of her sibling’s proposal.
"You guys… this is so sweet… but you can't just propose to him for me." She let out a watery laugh and shook her head. "We've only been dating a couple of months."
"Yeah, but we've known him for like… ever," Teagan said, rolling his eyes. "You two need to quit messing around and go get married."
When it became clear that Amy was going to protest again, Jared took her by the shoulders and turned her until she was facing him. Her face was flushed with embarrassment and he thought he understood. She didn't want him to feel pressured into marrying her because it was what her siblings wanted. But Jared suspected that Amy wanted the same thing as her brother and sisters, the exact same thing that he wanted too.
Jared sank to his knee in front of her, holding onto her hand as though it was a lifeline. She was so much shorter than him that his head nearly reached her shoulders. He was reminded of the first time they spoke to each other, in his driveway, when she came over for a cup of sugar.
"Amy, they aren't saying anything that isn't true. I love you, with every fiber of my being. I love your siblings. I want to marry you." He thought about it for second and then added, "I already have the ring. I was just waiting for the perfect moment, but these guys picked it for me. Will you marry me?"