by LeAnn Ashers
“YAY! About time!” Gabby cheers from the back seat, and we both pull back laughing.
“I love you too, baby.” I tell Gabby, and her grin widens.
“I know it, Ravis, you tell me every day. I love you too.” My poor fucking heart. This is the life, this is everything.
“I say we go to the beach, what do you guys think?” I say.
Gabby gasps dramatically. “Can we please?” He laughs. “Let’s get to the hotel and change.”
Bailey
Travis and I are under an umbrella watching Gabby play in the sand a few feet in front of us. I feel at peace. One part of me doesn’t want to take that money, but Gabby deserves to have everything in life. I can put her through college. Hell, I can put all of my kids through college. Plus I can open a center for teen moms, so they won’t have to struggle the way I did. It gives me major relief that Gabby will never know what it’s like to go hungry and she has an amazing future.
“What has you thinking so hard?” Travis asks. He is absolutely beautiful in his swimming trunks. His abs, the tattoos going down his arms and sides. Every single woman on this beach has turned her full attention to Travis, and I don’t blame them one bit.
“Can we go swim?” Gabby looks up at us.
“Let’s go.” I stand up, brushing the sand off my legs. Travis takes her little hand and mine, and we walk down to the water. I bend down, splashing water on both of them.
Gabby gasps. “Momma,” she scolds and I laugh. She puts her fist on her hip. “Let’s get her, Ravis!”
I take off running, laughing at the sight of her determined little face. An arm bands around my waist, and Travis throws me out into the water and I land with a splash. I stand up, my hair in my face, and Gabby laughs. “You’re a drowned rat.” I push my hair out of my face, glaring at her.
Travis picks her up and throws her in right next to me. She stands up and gives him the stink eye. “Let’s get him, Momma.” She grabs my hand, and together we run after him. Both of us tackle his side, and we all fall into the water. When we come up, Travis is holding Gabby and we all laugh together.
I notice the looks all around us. What are they thinking? Then it hits me that we look like a family.
“Is my little mermaid thirsty?” Travis asks Gabby.
“A lemonade would be nice.” I snort at the proper voice that she just attempted.
Travis hands her off to me. “What do you want, Momma?” His hand is on my ass. I arch my eyebrows at him, smirking. He is an ass man and, luckily for him, all of my baby weight went straight down there.
“Lemonade is good for me too.”
He walks up the beach to a place where they sell snacks and drinks. “Want to sit down?” She nods and I set her down beside me, the waves hitting our lower half. “Do you miss living here?”
“No, I like Texas better. Ravis is in Texas.” She finds a seashell and turns it over, admiring it.
“I love Texas too, angel.”
A few minutes later Travis comes back and sits down beside me before handing us our drinks. I lean against his shoulder, and he kisses the side of my head.
“I really do love you.” I lift my head and look at him, and he cups my face in his hands.
“And I really love you, Momma.” He kisses me, and I smile against his lips, my hand on top of his on my cheek. He pulls back and starts spreading kisses all over my face. I laugh, trying to swat him away.
“Ravis.” Gabby burrows her way between us, and she looks scared. She points down the beach, and I see my mother standing there with two guys. She is pointing at the three of us. My mouth dries.
“Baby, take Gabby and get to the truck.” His voice is different than the way he usually talks to us. This is badass biker Travis speaking.
I stand up with her in my arms, bend down to grab the keys and my phone, and run up the beach. Travis follows us, and I see a glint of metal before he sticks it in the back of his shorts. He walks to the bathroom; I guess he wants to be away from the view of others. I am shaking so much I can barely hold Gabby up. I put her in the car. “Get in your seat, baby,” I tell her. She scrambles to the back and I lock the door.
A man bangs on our window. My breath stills and terror rides through my body. I don’t want Gabby to see this. I can kick some ass when needed, but I am not invincible, and it’s not easy to take down a man, especially one that size. I scoot into the driver’s side of the truck and put it in drive. I back out of there, not even waiting to see if he gets out of the way. I drive toward the bathroom to see if Travis needs to make a run for it.
Travis
How fucking dare these idiotic shitheads try to stir up shit in front of my daughter?
I stand at the entrance to the bathroom waiting on these fuckers to step inside so I can give them an ass whooping.
Bailey’s fucking mother walks into the bathroom first, a huge smirk on her face like she won something. “I am sure my daughter will hand over all of the money once we kill you, then try to kill Gabby.” Then the men with her step inside, hitting Janet with the door. She falls to the floor. They look down at her for a moment then come at me. I duck and punch. I kick and elbow. I fucking beat the ever-living shit out of them until they are knocked out on the ground next to her. All of this happens in three minutes.
Janet groans, holding her head, and I bend down so I am face-to-face with her. Her eyes widen. “Listen here, bitch, I don’t give a fuck if you want your money—you are not getting shit. I am with the Grim Sinners MC, and do you want war with the whole club?” Her eyes widen again at the name of my MC; we are known worldwide for a fucking good reason. We don’t play. “Good, you get it. This is your only fucking warning.” I stand up. She nods and I walk out of the bathroom.
My first thought is why is Bailey here? Then I see the fucker running down the road toward them. I open the driver’s side door of the truck. Bailey scoots over to the passenger seat, and her face is pale with fear and adrenaline. Gabby doesn’t fully understand what is happening, thank goodness. “Does ordering some pizza at the hotel sound good to you, angel baby?” I ask her.
She smiles. “Can we watch movies too, Ravis?”
The fucker is still running toward us, so I turn the truck around and drive right toward him. I swerve to the side at the last second and open my door. He slams into it and falls to the ground rolling. Then the truck jumps like I hit a pothole. I look back and see him holding his leg. “Damn pothole,” I say out loud.
“That’s a bad word, Ravis.” Gabby giggles.
I grab Bailey’s hand, and I pull her over to the middle seat next to me. “Are you okay, Momma?”
She nods, laying her head on my shoulder. “I am okay, I am glad you’re okay. What happened?” she whispers so Gabby doesn’t hear.
“Your mom hired these guys to convince you to give her the money.”
“I don’t understand how people are like this. I just want to go home.”
I can tell she is deeply saddened by everything, and I can say I don’t blame her. Her mother hired someone to scare and possibly hurt her on top of threatening Gabby, but I don’t want her to know that. She has already been through so fucking much, so much. She needs to live her life peacefully without worrying about shit like this happening.
“Want to head home tomorrow?” I ask Gabby, looking in the rearview mirror.
“Yes! I miss baby Reid and Aiden.”
I laugh. I will have to tell Aiden. “Whatever my girls want.” I wink at Gabby in the mirror, and she giggles.
A Month and a Half Later
I wake up, and the first thing that hits me is that I have not started my period. From the moment Travis and I got home from Hawaii, we have been like rabbits.
You won’t hear a complaint from me. But I cover my face, kind of afraid of what the outcome will be. I want to be a mom—don’t get me wrong—but it’s also scary that I will be doing it all over again.
I look at the clock on the nightstand. It’s ten o’clock in
the morning. Travis left thirty minutes ago to take Gabby to practice. It’s literally just ten minutes from our house, so he will be back soon. I sit on the edge of the bed and rub my eyes.
I hear the door open downstairs, and my heart starts pounding. Do I tell him of my suspicion? Thump, thump, thump. I hear him walk up the stairs, and it's grating on my nerves more and more by the second. He steps into the room looking way too fucking delicious. He is wearing a tight black shirt under his vest and light blue jeans. He looks into my eyes, and I suck in a sharp breath. He still takes my breath away.
We haven’t really been apart since the moment we met, and I couldn’t imagine it being any different. Life is just perfect with him around—he has completed our life. He steps further into the room. I feel like something is wrong.” I can hear the hesitancy in his voice.
I shake my head. “Nothing is wrong, I just realized something.” My hands are shaking, and my insides are quivering right along with it. I am afraid of his reaction. Of course it’s been planned, but that doesn’t mean old habits don’t die hard. “I haven’t had my period.”
His eyes widen and he looks at my stomach. “You mean there could be…”
I laugh, the worry completely gone. “Yes, we need to get a pregnancy test to be sure.”
He puts a finger up. “I have some.” I watch in shock as he opens a drawer in his bedside table and takes out a couple tests. “When did you get those?” I whisper yell, feeling even more foolish for my reaction. He shrugs. “Kind of ever since we decided to try for a baby.”
I take the box, and we walk together to the bathroom. I place my hand on his chest. “Wait here.” He twists his lips, and I know he wants to argue. “Baby, you’re not watching me pee.” He rolls his eyes and sits on the bed. He looks so cute pouting. I shut the door and walk to the toilet.
I pee on the sticks and now we wait. I open the bathroom door and he practically runs inside. He is so cute. I’m starting to get excited. I would love to see him holding our baby. He is so good with Gabby. She loves him, and she has him totally wrapped around her little finger. I catch him daily playing dress-up with her and letting her put makeup on him. He doesn’t care. He will walk around the house with pink eye shadow and it doesn’t faze him. That is a good fucking man.
She wanted a top that had dinosaurs, but it was labeled as a boys’ shirt. She started to put it back, but he told her she can dress however she wants and be whatever she wants to be in life. I wanted to jump his bones on sight, and she grabbed the shirt and hugged it to her chest.
“This wait is fucking killing me.” Travis paces the bathroom, and I grab the belt loop of his jeans as he walks past.
“Give me some smooches, baby.” I pooch my lips out dramatically. He rolls his eyes and kisses me; then he plants kisses all over my face. I bend down trying to escape the onslaught, and he picks me up, nipping at my neck.
“We better check the test,” I manage to get out through my heavy laughter, and he lets me go so fast I almost lose my balance. He grabs the test and stares at it. It’s a digital one that flat-out tells you if you’re pregnant or not. “Travis?” I ask. He doesn’t have any expression on his face.
“Momma,” he says, and I peek over and see it. A big, bold word: pregnant.
I cover my mouth, tears pooling in my eyes. “I’m pregnant.”
He puts the test down on the counter, bends down, and kisses me with so much passion. I grip his shirt, kissing him back with everything in me. He pulls away and kisses my forehead before resting his forehead against mine. I feel him shaking. “We are having a baby,” he says.
All of a sudden he falls to his knees, scaring me. He pulls my shirt, pressing a kiss directly below my navel. I tilt my head back, so emotional, so overwhelmed. “Hey baby, Daddy can’t wait to meet you,” he says, rubbing my sides.
My heart has been shattered into a million pieces—he so sweet and caring and just so kind. I finally look down at him, and he has an expression of pure bliss. He looks up at me, grinning. “Gabby is going to be a big sister, she will be such a good fucking big sister.”
I cup his face in my hands. “She will, and you will be an amazing dad.” I bend down and kiss the top of his head.
“Wait, are you sure you’re supposed to bend?” He stands and picks me up. Let the panicking begin.
“Travis, bending over isn’t going to hurt me.”
He shakes his head. “I am not taking a fucking chance.” He is dead serious. I snort and bury my head in his chest, laughing. I think this is going to be a long couple of months.
“Now I need to give my momma some lovin’s.” He pinches my ass.
“I heard that sex was bad for the baby.”
His face pales, then gets even paler. “But we have been having sex, we need to get you to the hospital.” He looks genuinely scared.
“I was just joking.” I laugh.
He leans back against the counter. “Don’t do that shit to me. I can’t handle things like that.”
“I am sorry, baby.” My phone starts ringing, and I walk out of the bathroom to answer it.
“Hello?” I hear nothing over the line. “Hello?” I hang up and look at the caller ID; it says unknown caller once again. For the past week I have been getting weird calls like this.
“Who was that?” Travis asks. I finally tell him about the weird calls I’ve been getting for the past week.
“What the fuck, why haven’t you told me?”
I shrug. “I honestly just thought it was a telemarketer or something.”
He wraps his arm around me and takes out his phone. “I am texting our tech guy and having him trace the calls.” I hand him my phone and let him deal with that.
“I also need to find a baby doctor. I need to be seen.”
“Go cuddle up on the couch, and I will book your appointment, Momma.” He taps my ass.
“Don’t rush me,” I tease him but I just let him handle it for me. It’s been just me for a long time, and it’s nice to be able to sit on the couch, just relaxing. I turn back at the door. “Thank you, Travis. For being you and for everything you do for Gabby and me.”
“I love you, baby. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you and Gabby.”
“I love you too, baby.”
Travis
“I hope it’s a boy,” Bailey tells me, looking down at her still-flat stomach, “I know Gabby has mentioned wanting a baby brother.”
“I don’t care, I just want him or her to be completely healthy.” I place my hand on her belly. I can’t wait until it is rounded and I can feel the baby inside. Then the day I get to hold my child.
“I wish that I met you years ago and you were Gabby’s dad.”
It fucking kills me that she went through everything she did. That she fed her daughter when she hadn’t eaten in days. Her family was beyond fucking loaded, and she had absolutely nothing. That shit fucking kills me, right down to my soul.
But she did it. I’m so fucking proud of her. She held her shit together and did what the fuck she needed to do.
My phone rings and I look down to see it’s our tech guy, Corey. A moment later I jump off the couch. “I am going there now.” I run to the door.
“What the hell is happening?” Bailey says. She is pale.
“He traced the call and it was from outside Gabby’s gym.” I don’t want to worry her, but she needs to know. “I am going there right now. Press this button here when I leave, and the house will be completely locked down until I am back.” I point to the button and she nods, her arms across her chest.
“I want to go with you.”
“She is fine, baby. I will call you the second I have my eyes on her. I just want to make sure everything is okay.”
Bailey
The wait for them to get home is pure agony.
Although it went against everything in me, I understand why he wanted me to stay here. He will make sure she is safe—I know that right down to my soul.
He finally ca
lls to let me know he has eyes on her and everything is okay. So I stand in front of the window, waiting for them to pull up in the driveway. I still don’t know what happened. Maybe it’s my mom trying to pull something?
His truck turns into the driveway. I go to the security panel and unalarm everything and run out onto the porch. I am shaking. I just want to hold my baby.
Travis gets out and flashes me a smile, trying to make me feel better. He walks over to Gabby’s side of the vehicle, and I see her little feet hit the ground. She runs to me, and I bend down and pick her up, hugging her tightly. “I missed you, angel baby!” I squeeze her, rocking her gently from side to side.
She giggles. “I missed you too, Momma.” She pats my back, like a grown up.
“What do you want for lunch?” I put her down and hold her hand.
“A nap?”
I laugh because that is something not many kids want to do. My daughter has always loved her sleep. “I think that can be arranged, but I need to feed you first.” I open the door and she steps inside the house and runs to her toys in the corner of the room. Travis hugs me to his chest. I close my eyes and breathe in his scent, letting every single worry go. She is here, she is safe, and I am here with Travis.
“We have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow.” He gently massages my back, trying to loosen my tense muscles. I look up smiling, remembering that I am pregnant. “Sounds good, I love how you said we.”
“We are in this together, for everything.”
I am so blessed. I am so blessed with everything that has happened in my life, starting with my daughter.
“Tonight we are having a family barbecue at the club, want to go?”
I think on it for a split second. I would be meeting everyone in the club, which is practically his family. “I would love to.”
“Good, they are going to love you and Gabby.”
Bailey
I am sitting on the couch, waiting until it’s time to go to the club, and Travis sets a box in my lap.
“What is this?”
He waves his hand. “You have to open it.” I lift the lid and push back the paper, and then I see it. There’s a cut with a patch on the back, saying Property of Travis. I look at him in pure shock. This is big deal in the MC world. I mean huge, because this is his way of telling the world I am his. This is like marriage in their world, and he is giving it to me. “Is this what I think it is?” My hands shake as I touch the part of the patch that says Travis.