Smoke (Archer's Creek Book 5)

by Gemma Weir

  Anna’s eyes widen when she sees me approach them, then narrow when Riley moves to my side, never releasing her hold on her sister’s hand.

  “You must be Anna. I’m Smoke, Riley’s boyfriend,” I say reaching toward her and holding my hand out.

  Anna looks from me to her sister then back again, suspicion clear on her face before she takes my hand, and shakes, her grip firm.

  “I rented a car. If you’ve got all your stuff we can get going,” I say.

  “I came straight from the hospital; all I’ve got with me is my purse,” Anna replies and I glance down, noticing the blue scrubs she’s wearing with comfortable looking clogs.

  “Let’s go then,” I say, releasing Riley’s hand to grab the trolley loaded with our bags and head for the car pick-up point.

  The girls sit huddled together in the back, their hands still tightly entwined, and fear etched across both of their identical faces. No-one says more than a few words as I drive as fast as I can without getting arrested, desperate to make this better for Riley. But there’s nothing I can do. Her sister’s fate is out of my control, so I do something that I haven’t done since my mom was sick. I pray. I talk to God or whoever the hell might be listening and I beg for Tiffany to be okay, for her baby to be okay. I plead and I barter and I promise anything I have, anything I am, for them to get through this.

  When I pull into the hospital parking garage, I luck out with a space near the ER entrance and we all pile out. Riley reaches for me, even though she’s still holding her sister’s hand. I don’t pause. I pull her into my side, kiss the top of her head, and then reach over and squeeze Anna’s shoulder too.

  The nurse on the desk directs us to a waiting room on the first floor and we’re silent as we all load into the elevator. When we enter the waiting room, an older man and woman leap to their feet and Riley drops my hand as her and her sister rush to their parents. Her mom pulls Riley in for a hug as her dad does the same with Anna. Riley mentioned that her parents had adopted her and her sisters, but there’s so much love in this room that the small issue of DNA isn’t even a factor with this family.

  Her mom looks in her late-sixties, her frame slim, and her clothes classic and well-tailored. Her father looks older, his hair almost white and his skin wrinkled as if he’s lived his life laughing and smiling. When all eyes fall to me, I try hard not to look uncomfortable. “Hello, Mr. & Mrs. Prince. I’m sorry we’re meeting in these circumstances. My name is Justin Sanchez. I’m Riley’s boyfriend.”

  Both of her parents look at me, taking in my tattoos, my size, and the leather cut I’m wearing that tells the world I’m a member of the Doomsday Sinners MC. I know what I must look like to these people, but I stand tall and proud. I’m not ashamed of who I am.

  Her dad is the first to move. He drops his hands from Anna’s shoulders and steps toward me. “Jared Prince, it’s nice to meet you Justin,” he says, offering his hand to me.

  A little of the tension seeps from me and I take his hand and shake it. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

  When he steps back, he pulls Riley into his arms and her mom steps forward. “Hello, Justin,” she says coolly. “I’m Vivian Prince, thank you for helping my daughter get home.”

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” I say politely. My mom taught me manners. I might be a biker, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand the importance of being polite, even when you’re being judged.

  With a nod, Vivian turns her back on me and pulls Anna into her arms. When both girls have hugged both of their parents, the questions begin.

  “What’s happening?” Riley asks, “Have you seen Chad or a doctor?”

  Vivian lifts her hand and covers her mouth, so Jared steps forward. “We don’t know any more than we did when we spoke to you earlier. Tiff collapsed this morning; Chad called an ambulance and they brought her here. All we know is that they planned to operate as soon as they managed to stabilize her blood pressure.”

  “Where’s Tilly?” Anna asks.

  “Chad’s mom and dad had her overnight, so luckily she didn’t see Tiff collapsing or the ambulance. They wanted to be here, but they didn’t want to upset Tilly, so we’re keeping them updated, or we will be as soon as we hear anything. Graham and Brian are both on their way, but their flights won’t get them here for a few more hours.” Jared says.

  Riley looks to me, her eyes full of tears, and even thought I shouldn’t, I go to her and lift her into my arms. I know she’s in a room full of her family and they can support her, but I want to be here for her. When she buries her face into my neck and wraps her arms tightly around me, I know I’ve made the right decision.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper against her hair, then I carry her to a chair and sit down, keeping her curled into my lap.

  When I look up, all eyes are on us, but it’s her mom’s gaze that’s the most intense. I get the feeling that this woman has decided I’m not good for her daughter already and we only just met. She has no idea who I am, but I get the impression that doesn’t matter to Vivian Prince.

  Inhaling slowly, I choose to ignore her judgment. I don’t know the woman and right now all that matters to me is the girl in my arms and making sure that she’s okay until she can see her sister. Anna drops down into the chair next to me and she reaches for Riley’s hand, holding it tightly. When she looks up to me there’s something in her eyes that makes me think that I have at least one ally in Anna.

  Up close, although Anna looks just like Riley, there are subtle differences that most people wouldn’t notice. Riley has more freckles, her nose is ever so slightly fuller than Anna’s, and while perhaps I’ll see it more when everyone is under less pressure, Anna seems to have less attitude than Riley.

  We wait for almost an hour before a doctor comes into the room. “Mr. & Mrs. Prince?” He asks.

  Riley scrambles out of my lap, moving forward at the same time that Anna and her parents rush to the doctor.

  “Your son-in-law has asked me to update you on Tiffany’s condition. Your daughter was admitted with suspected placental abruption. This means that the placenta has separated from the inner wall of the uterus. We had to stabilize Tiffany’s blood pressure so that we could perform an emergency caesarean section to deliver her baby. We did encounter some complications, but I’m pleased to tell you that both Tiffany and her baby boy are fine and doing well.

  There’s an audible gasp of relief from all of us. Vivian turns into her husband’s chest and Anna reaches for Riley, hugging her close. Standing back, I blow out a relieved breath. This isn’t my family, I’ve never even met Tiffany, but I still close my eyes and look up at whoever or whatever it was that watched over this family today and utter a silent thank you.

  When Riley’s soft body collides with mine, I hold her to me, and when I look up and find Anna standing alone, I reach out and pull her to me as well. Her eyes widen for a second, then she wraps herself into my other side, one arm around her sister, and lets me comfort her too.

  We stay like this as the doctor tells us that as the baby is a little small, they’ve taken him to the NICU so they can keep an eye on lung development and blood oxygen levels. Then he says that Tiffany is in recovery, but that her family can see her for a short visit as soon as she’s more awake. Then he leaves and we’re left to wait again.

  Knowing that Tiffany and her baby are going to be okay, the tension in the room lessens. “Does anyone want a drink, or anything to eat?” I offer, needing to do something other than just sit here.

  Riley and Anna ask for coffees, Jared a soda, and Vivian nothing. Riley’s mom is still clearly unimpressed with my being here, but I nod politely at her and leave the waiting room in search of a vending machine.

  When I’m in the corridor, I take the opportunity to call Park and let him know the basics of what has happened and where we are, then I call Grits and tell her too. She tells me to be there for my woman and I can practically hear the grin in her voice as she calls Riley ‘my woman’. God re
ally must be watching over me because rather than a vending machine, I find a coffee cart and manage to get good coffee for me and the girls, and a soda for Jared.

  Pushing the door open to the waiting room, I find a guy I’ve never met before with my woman in his arms. He looks up at me as I enter, his eyes narrowing, but I ignore him, focusing all my attention on Riley.

  “I got you a coffee, baby,” I say.

  She smiles, freeing herself from the guy’s arms and moving toward me. Taking the coffee, I’m holding, she turns to the guy. “Brian, this is Justin, my err,” she looks up to me again then says. “My boyfriend.”

  I swear to fucking God my heart skips a beat. This is the first time she’s admitted to anyone that I’m her boyfriend, and it feels fucking amazing. I can’t help it, I smile, my lips spreading into a wide, shit-eating grin. It’s inappropriate as fuck, but I just don’t care. If I could kiss the shit out of her right now I would, but I compromise by slinging my arm around her shoulder and kissing the top of her head.

  “Hi, I’m Brian, Riley’s brother, it’s nice to meet you,” Brian says, holding his hand out.

  Lifting my arm from Riley’s shoulders I take his hand, shaking it. “Nice to meet you.”

  We wait again and it’s almost an hour later when a nurse lets the family know that they can go up and see Tiffany. Riley holds my hand tightly, pulling me with her, when I’d planned to let her have this time with her family.

  When we reach the room she’s in, a guy exits and is immediately engulfed in hugs from Riley and Anna. I’m quickly introduced to Chad, Tiffany’s husband, then he lets everyone know that he’s going down to the NICU to check on his son. This heralds more hugs, tears, and congratulations.

  When Chad leaves, Vivian and Jared head in to see their daughter first, while we wait outside. The nurse told us that we could only see her for a short visit as she needed to rest, so after a few minutes the door opens and a teary-eyed Vivian walks out first.

  Brian, then Anna, file into the room next and Riley pulls me as she walks forward, but I stop. “You go on in see your sister, baby. I’ll meet her another time, this is just family.”

  “You sure?” she asks.

  I nod and smile lightly. “Go, baby, do your triplet thing so she can get better quicker.”

  She smiles back at me then rushes into her sister’s room. The last thing I see before the door shuts is the three identical women holding each other like nothing else in the world exists to them.

  Turning from the door, I find Vivian watching me, her eyes narrowed. Jared is walking down the corridor, his cell to his ear.

  “Thank you for getting her home, but you don’t need to hang around if you need to get back to Texas,” She says coolly.

  Does this woman seriously think I’d just leave? “That’s okay, I’m happy to stay for as long as Riley needs me.”

  “She’s with her family now.”

  “I know that,” I say, not giving her anything else, just moving to the side of the corridor and leaning against the wall, my arms crossed as I wait for my girl.

  “How long have you known my daughter?” Vivian asks.

  “I met her the week she came to Houston.”

  “So you’ve only been together for what, six weeks?”

  “No, ma’am, us being together is a recent thing,” I admit.

  “And yet you dropped everything to fly here with her.”

  “Yep.”

  “Why?” she asks, her head tilted to the side as though she’s trying to look into my mind.

  “Because she needed me,” I say simply.

  “Do you have a job?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “What do you do?”

  This time when I answer I make sure I’m looking her straight in the eyes. I want her to know I’m not ashamed of what I do. “I run a strip club.”

  This woman’s poker face is fucking unbelievable, not even a flicker passes over her when I tell her what I do.

  “You’re a member of a motorcycle club?” She asks.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Did you go to college?”

  “I did my first year at Notre Dame on a football scholarship, but my mom got sick so I quit to move home and take care of her.”

  This time I actually get a reaction from her and she opens her mouth to say something, just as the door opens and Riley, Anna, and Brian file out. Riley walks straight into my arms and I hold her close, grateful to have the inquisition her mom was forging interrupted.

  I’d like her mom to like me, but I can’t control other people’s prejudice or judgment and it looks like her mom has decided that I’m not good enough for her daughter before she’s even gotten to know me.

  My sister is okay, she’s okay. Her son is okay. I have a nephew. Justin is my boyfriend. He’s met my entire family and I’m pretty sure my mom hates him.

  I have a boyfriend.

  My mind is swirling with thoughts, but all that really matters is that Tiff and her baby are okay. I’ve never been more scared in my entire life than I was this morning when I felt her pain, and I felt it, I felt it all, and so did Anna.

  But she’s okay, I reassure myself. She’s fine and my nephew is fine, they’re both fine.

  Justin. He has been everything. He got me here, he got me to Tiff, and he’s literally and metaphorically held me up when I was falling apart. No guy I’ve ever known would have gotten on a plane, come with me, held my hand and held my sister while we were scared and upset. Justin did this after us only being together for a handful of days.

  I was so wrong about him.

  The moment Anna, Tiff, and I were together again, even though it was in a hospital room, I could breathe. I need my sisters, we need each other, and we’ve gone too long without being together. We only got to spend five minutes with her, but the moment I walked out of the room, all I wanted was to be in Justin’s strong, reassuring arms again.

  Chad arrives just as we’re all about to leave. “The baby is okay, small, but they said his lungs are really well developed considering he’s eight weeks early.”

  None of us ask to see him. We know that Tiff hasn’t even seen him yet, so we’ll wait to meet him, until she has her moment with him. Both of them could have died today. I could have lost my sister.

  Barely stifling a sob, I bury my face into Justin’s chest and cling to him. How did he become the only person I want to be comforted by in a room full of my family?

  “Mom,” a voice calls and we all turn to look at the man rushing down the corridor.

  “She’s fine, so is the baby,” My mom says to my other brother Graham as he grinds to a stop, panting.

  “She’s okay,” he says, his voice shaking.

  “She’s fine, son,” Dad says, placing his hand on Graham’s shoulder. “She’s just in there.” He points to the door to her room and Graham immediately pulls it open and walks inside.

  Five minutes later, he comes back out and pulls us in one by one for bone-crushing hugs. When he gets to me, he pulls me in, then looks at Justin over my shoulder. “Who are you?”

  “Graham,” I admonish. “This is my boyfriend, Justin.”

  “Boyfriend,” Graham says narrowing his eyes and glaring at Justin. “What the hell?”

  Smacking him in the stomach with the back of my hand, I move away from my brother and wrap my arms around Justin’s waist. I don’t know why, but I feel like I need to show everyone that we’re together, united or something.

  “Tiffany needs to sleep, let’s go home,” my mom says, instantly defusing the tension between us.

  “I should find a hotel,” Justin whispers.

  “No.”

  “Baby,” he whispers again.

  “No, you can stay with me. I don’t want you to go to a hotel,” I cry, gripping his shirt tightly. I don’t know where this clingy neediness is coming from, but I don’t want him to leave me. I need him.

  “You’re more than welcome to stay in the den, Justin; the so
fa converts into a bed,” my dad says, offering my boyfriend a smile.

  “Thank you, but you guys need to be together as a family,” Justin starts.

  “There’s no need for a hotel; you’ll stay with us,” my mom says, using her voice that we all knew not to argue with as kids.

  Apparently, Justin recognized that tone too, because he nods at my mom. As one large group we move toward the elevator, only parting when we get to the parking garage so we can find our respective cars. Both of my brothers got cabs to the hospital, so they climb in with me and Justin while Anna goes with our parents.

  The atmosphere in the car is tense and silent. Me, the youngest of five is in a car with my biker boyfriend and my two big brothers. Fun. Locking eyes with Brian in the rear-view mirror I silently beg him to do something to diffuse the situation and like the great big brother that he is, he does.

  “So, Justin, where are you from?” Brian asks.

  “Born and raised in Houston,” Justin says.

  “So how did you and my baby sister meet?” he asks.

  “Do you remember my friend Rosie from college?” I ask Brian, turning in my seat to look at him.

  “Redhead right? She came to visit one summer?” Graham says.

  “Yes. She lives with one of Justin’s friends, we met through them.” I say.

  When we reach our house, I watch as Justin takes in the large suburban home, almost identical to the ones on either side on it, on our quiet road. We all file out and my brothers grab their bags while Justin grabs ours, following us up the path to our front door.

  The house did originally have six bedrooms, but when our parents realized that Anna, Tiff and I would usually all end up in the same bed, they took down the walls between the three smallest rooms and created one big room that the three of us shared.

  When I push open the door, Justin follows in behind me. I look at the room through his eyes. Three twin beds, pushed along three separate walls. Each area displays the difference in our personalities and styles, our own space, but close enough to the others that we are still together.

  A huge mosaic of photographs fills a section of wall, pictures of us from the age of two, right up to earlier this year; the last time we were all here together. Pictures of us as a family, our friends, our boyfriends, our lives.