Avery (The Phoenix Club Girl Diaries #3) - Addison Jane Page 0,92

and a lot of talking, not to mention a clubhouse full of men who had made it their mission to stay close by her whenever possible, the tension in her shoulders always easing when one of them was nearby.

Shotgun, he had become a dad not once but twice in the past few months.

First with Gage, then with Thayleah.

One may have been his blood, but he’d welcomed Thayleah with his whole damn heart, and I admired him every day for wanting to keep her close to Gage and in our family when it would have been easier to let her go.

“What’s going on?” I murmured, brushing my fingers across Gage’s head, unable to keep from touching his baby-soft skin when he was close by.

“Application for Avery Joyce George...” that was me, “… to adopt Gage Hall.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, my hand going straight to my chest as I fought to breathe. “What?” I whispered, looking to Shotgun, who was smirking like he knew he’d got this shit done without me knowing a damn thing about it.

“Everything has been done. You just need to sign the papers if you accept,” the judge announced, a woman in a business suit placing some papers on a table beside me and holding out a pen.

The answer was, of course, yes.

It was always going to be yes.

So I signed, and applause filled the room.

As far as I was concerned, I would have helped Shotgun raise Gage like he was my own anyway while always letting him know about his real mom.

Emma would hold an important place in our home, and I would always treasure her for bringing that beautiful baby boy into this world. Without her, I wouldn’t have him.

“Great,” the judge chirped. “Second agenda, Gage Hall name change.”

“Yes, your honor,” Shotgun agreed, though this time I was simply confused.

“Emma never gave Gage a middle name,” Thayleah explained with a smile and tears in her eyes, though they seemed more happy than sad tears. “She always wanted that part to be Shotgun’s when she finally told him about Gage.”

“So…” Shotgun started, shifting from one foot to the other, “… from now on, he’ll be Gage Micah Hall.”

Micah.

“Like I said before, it’s okay to feel that ache in your chest when you miss someone you’ve lost, but now today isn’t just the day your sister died… it isn’t just your birthday… it’s also now the day you adopted our son. And the day we chose to remember Micah and treasure and honor her and celebrate her life right alongside yours.”

And from now on, we would.

“I love you,” I told him, sinking into his arms.

“I fucking love you, too.”

SHOTGUN

“We appreciate you boys choosing to join us down here in Phoenix as we grow,” I announced, the crowded clubhouse listening in as I welcomed our new recruits. “I can already tell from the way I can see my ugly face in your chrome out there, you’ll fit in fucking perfectly.”

I shook their hands, slamming my palm hard on their backs before handing them their new Phoenix, AZ patches and taking a step back. Seeing Rein and Bandit’s face light up at their new Arizona patches was something that made my chest swell.

The two boys had come to us from the Montana Chapter of the Brothers by Blood. Both looking for a change in atmosphere, and I imagine a change in temperature. They were still young, not been patched long, but they’d both sure as hell done their fair share to prove themselves—Rein’s transfer taking a little longer than we would have liked because of probation orders from his last stint inside.

The kid had a story.

One that not only involved the club ranch in Montana but also the rich streets of California, an overdose, and a horny stepmother. The kid had been through it all and come out the other side with his shit together. If that wasn’t strength, I don’t know what the fuck was.

I was already proud to call him my brother, though I was still going to put him through his paces, just for fun. After all, I had a fucking reputation to keep.

A few years ago when Shake had come to the club looking for members to join him and someone to take the lead into the unknown, I wasn’t sure what the hell this new path would bring. I sure as hell didn’t imagine we’d be growing so fucking big, so damn fast with new applications for transfers coming in every couple of