Watching the little shit who's following my angel Nellie around the beach is really starting to piss me off. The asshole has been chasing after her for the past couple of years, and sure as fuck now he's somehow convinced her to marry him. He's a fucking idiot if he thinks I'm gonna let him get away with an iota of shit or a god damn fuckin marriage. Between Colt and myself, well, we'll knock the stupid fuck into the afterlife.

For whatever reason, my sweet little Nellie sees something redeeming in 'Maxim Volkov', you know what I see? I see a reason to commit murder. Looking over at Colt, he nods and we start to move over to the happy fuckin couple. We're in Hawaii, on a beach, there's a big fuckin ocean out there and this guy is asking for a trip on a boat with just me, Colt and the big bad Pacific.

"Stop you two, right now. Turn around and walk back to me, do not think for a second that you are going to ruin your sister and your daughters wedding. I love you two but you are both being absolutely ridiculous." My sweet Sky looks at us with a kind of scary look on her face, but there is a hint of a smile in her eyes.

"Sky baby, we were just gonna go take him out on a boat, we're gonna go for a little 'night before the wedding' cruise, seriously babe, chill out!" I laugh and act like I'm not planning ways to torture the ass king.

"Mom, dad and I have it all under control, we're cool. Go back and sit with the girls, we'll catch up later." Well, Colt just threw fuel on the fire, telling his mom to sit back with the girls and chill? Shit, have I not taught him anything about calming an irate woman?

"I'm going to ignore the stupidity that just flew out of your mouth son, if you think the two of you aren't obvious as to your intentions with the boy Nell is in love with, than you are more ridiculous than I realized. Colt, Max was your best friend until he started dating your sister. Tucker, you looked at Max as a son until just recently. Both of you grow up, and stop thinking about what happens on the wedding night." She has the freaking nerve to laugh at us as we both cringe at what we're desperately trying not to think of.

"Tucker, we are here with are beautiful family, all four of our children, your brother and his family, and the band, to celebrate the love our daughter has found. Max has been devoted to her for years, he has treated her with love and respect, in fact, I'd go so far to say that he treats her as beautifully as you treat all of us." She reaches over and pulls me toward her, wrapping her arms around me, and holding Colts hand.

"Boys, we love her, we love Max, drop the macho and know that the only person who could possibly love and care for her as much as we do, is Max." I know she's right, but she's wrong too.

"Mom, you don't know all that they went through, Max ..." Colt starts to talk, but is quickly interrupted by his mother.

"No Colt, we aren't going there, that is the past, and we are firmly living in the present. What would happen if I held up the things your father did, before we were together? Don't think I'm ignorant to all that is in the past with Max and Nellie, I'm a realist. I look at them and I see love, a big beautiful love, a love not too different from your fathers and mine. So instead of getting all bent out of shape because Nellie isn't going to remain the quiet sweet girl you've always known..." Colt again interrupts his mother, yet another poor choice by my son.

"If you think Nellie has ever been quiet and sweet mom, then you're the one who's living in a dreamland." Colt smirks, and we all laugh. My three daughters are smart and savage, strong and beautiful, they are without a doubt their mothers girls.

"Fine Sky baby, you're right, let's get back to this party, we'll be good, well, we'll try to be good." I say without any feeling or truth.

"Fuck that dad, we won't kill him, and we'll still love her. Best we can do mom." Colt grabs his mom and swings her around, giving her a loud kiss on the cheek. She laughs and giggles with him, smiling at the both of us, love in her eyes.

My wife has us all wrapped around her fingers, the girls are her minis, Nellie and our younger daughters, Poppy and Rose. Our girls are amazing, and Colt is everything I could have ever wanted in a son. He is as protective over his mom and sisters as I am, and he and the girls know all the shit I went through to get to where I am now. Sky and I decided early on that we weren't going to hide my addiction and fuck ups from the kids, hell, the internet can show it all in full fuckin color. We wanted them to know that addiction is in our family, and we can't shy away from it or the hurt and danger it can cause. So far, I think all of our kids escaped the bogeyman that held me hostage for years.

Watching Colt amble off to hang with his sisters, and the interloper, my wife sighs.

"What are you thinking about baby? You worried about something?" Pulling her into my arms, I kiss her on her cheek, then dropping my nose to her neck I nuzzle into her, breathing deep so her scent fills my body.

"We're so lucky Tucker, Nellie has a good man, you don't have to admit it, but you know it's true. If it weren't I know that he would have disappeared years ago." She drops a soft kiss on my chest.

"Our family is strong, we're good, and our kids are headed in amazing directions, it's been more than 20 years since we got married, and it flew by so damn fast." Looking down, I see her eyes are full of tears, my sweet girl is so sensitive, watching Nellie leave and start her own life is fuckin brutal.

"I've loved you almost my entire life Sky, first as kids and friends, and then as adults and lovers. You've been my heart and my soul 40 plus years now, when I look at you, the memories that race through my head and heart, fuck, I KNOW I'm the luckiest man alive." This woman is my world, the cornerstone for our children, the foundation for our lives. I'm good and solid, the kids know this and count on me almost as much as their mother, but she's our anchor. Somehow I know, in my bones, that when she takes her last breath, she'll be in my arms, and my last breath will follow hers. We'll be living for a long time, decades to go before we finish with life, but my life, is all about this girl.

"I've loved you forever too Tucker, you've given us a beautiful life, you've loved us hard and right, now we're sending our daughter off to have the same kind of love and adventure we've had. I just wish she could do it from our house." She sighs and burrows into me.

"I know baby, we'll miss her, but her adventure is just beginning, hell, our adventure is still going strong!" I pick her up and carry her over to the dance floor, where we join our kids, celebrating our love, their loves, and their futures. Tomorrow we give our daughter to Max, but tonight we dance and sing.

My oldest daughter is getting married tomorrow, I can't believe it's gone this quickly. I remember when her dad and Rach brought the twins home from the hospital, then a few years later, they were mine. It was a harrowing heartbreaking time, but together the three of us did it. Then Tucker started his determined and persistent journey to us, and after a few years, it seemed like he'd always been with us.

His road to sobriety was rough, not nearly as bad as his lost years, but man, some of those times were brutal. I made a choice early on, that if I was going to trust him, then I wasn't going to look for problems in every corner or on every tour.

He never let me down, he never swayed on his path. We've had illness and accidents, loss and sadness, but he's always been my rock, he's always been there. He's dealt with his demons, and will continue to for the rest of his life, but he does it with a clear head, and brutal honesty. Turo is still in our lives, and a couple nights a month he's at our dinner table. He is a valued part of our family, not in a sober companion capacity, just a family member now.

When the twins were 7, Tucker left the band, he was ready for something different and though he still plays on the Clashed albums, and gives them songs, he only does a few concerts in the summers. He wanted to get more into writing and producing for others, he probably has a little musical ADD, he plays so many instruments, he loves all genres of music, and it all takes him to different places in his mind. He says he doesn't miss being on the road, those years after we were married and the kids were in school, we were away from each other for blocks of time, none of us ever got used to it. When he decided to leave the band, I was worried he would miss it, but the opposite happened, he opened up new areas of interest, and new musicians to play with. Clashed will always be his home band, the band where his heart lives, but the others that he works with, he loves them as well.

Poppy arrived when the twins were 9, and Rosie came two years later. Those were some busy and loud years, though I have to say, our lives are still pretty busy and loud. I still work, but I've worked on my own since I left Magnolia, though more often than not, I'll work with Alex and his company. He's stayed a pretty good friend through the years, and he is good about feeding me occasional and interesting projects.

Mostly, I've just loved my life. I love being a mom to my amazing kids, I love my job, and I love my Tucker. Loving Tucker has been some of the most painful times of my life, but honestly those hurtful times were a very long time ago, and mostly in the background of my dusty memory. Loving Tuck, has been amazing and adventurous, always new and thrilling. But it's also comforting and stabilizing, he is always with me, whether physically or emotionally, and I know we will always be each others sun. In the saddest times, Tucker is there to support and love me, in the sweetest times, he's there to share and grow with me, in the happiest times, he's my partner to celebrate and get crazy with. The man is my everything good.

So here we are, dancing with our babies, the night before the first one flies off to her own sun. I know she'll have an amazing life, as will her sisters and brother. I know this because Tucker and I showed them love, taught them how to love and be loved, and they will stand for nothing less than finding and living with their own suns and adventures.

My Tucker, my children, my family, my world ....

The End