Brute's Strength: Riot MC Biloxi #2

by Karen Renee

  He gave me a pointed look. “Normally this day is all about the bride and what she wants. But, I’m here to tell you, sometimes the groom knows better.”

  I laughed. “You guys are crazy.”

  Stephanie grinned. “You catch on quick, Kenzie. But really, normal is boring.”

  Sam nodded. “She’s right. The boys are all in place. We need to move it.”

  Stephanie’s grin brightened into a huge smile. With her beaming face pointed at me, I could see why Sam was bitter he didn’t get to walk Stephanie down the aisle. “So, Brute decided I’m your matron of honor, and I can only hope you don’t mind.”

  I burst out laughing. “Oh my God! No, I don’t mind. Lydia might mind, but she’ll have to get over it.”

  Mom handed me and Stephanie bouquets. “She understood. Hell, she said if she showed up today, you’d definitely know something was afoot.”

  “Sounds like Lydia.”

  Aubrey tugged at Stephanie’s hand. “Look Miss Stephanie! My flower petals have glitter on them!”

  She smiled at Aubrey, and took her hand. “They do. Let’s get going, girlie.”

  Mom put her hands on my shoulders. “I love you. And I love Brute for you, baby doll. He is everything you’ll ever need.”

  I hugged her, fighting tears. “Love you, too, Mom. Thank you for being such a great Mom.”

  She pulled away. “Now stop, or we’ll both be sobbing. I’m gonna go with Gina so I can watch you walk down the aisle and stun the pants off that biker of yours.”

  Mom trotted toward Gina on the other side of the parking lot. They fell in step together, and I was about to tell them the entrance was in the other direction, but Sam put his hand at the small of my back.

  “Where are they going?”

  “That hotel is swanky and gorgeous. But nothing is more gorgeous than the Gulf under a clear, blue sky.”

  I looked up at him. “On the beach?”

  “Absolutely. You need help with your train?” he asked, glancing at my dress. “Oh, it doesn’t seem to have one. Still, you don’t want to get any of that dirty before you say, ‘I do.’ Let me help you.”

  My dress had a plunging lace neckline, and poofed out like a ballgown from the underlying pink tulle. It did drag on the ground. With both hands, I gently grabbed the lace and hiked it up. Sam wandered around me, nodding.

  He grabbed part of the dress on my left side. “Let go, then slid your arm through mine and grab your dress again.”

  I did, and we set off arm-in-arm.

  My nerves were getting to me, and my mouth ran away. “You’re so thoughtful and caring. I can’t believe three other women didn’t stick by you.”

  He chuckled. “Two sides to every story, Kenzie. And I’ve got the one who matters now. That’s what counts.”

  “Right. Sorry, I didn’t mean to say—”

  “Noticed you didn’t finish your bubbly earlier.”

  We waited at the corner to cross Beach Boulevard. “That was just nerves.”

  He glanced at me, his lips tipped up. “Not morning sickness?”

  I looked away. “No. That’s... just, no. Not pregnant.”

  “You’re a shit liar, Kenzie.”

  I glowered at him. “Your son doesn’t even know.”

  His entire face brightened with an enormous smile. “I won’t be the first parent to figure out a grandchild is on the way before the parents-to-be announce it.”

  “Well,” I huffed.

  He patted my arm with his free hand. “This day just got a hundred times better, Kenzie Vaillant.”

  Even as tears gathered in my eyes, I chuckled hearing my new name. “You’re going to make me cry, Gramps-to-be.”

  Eyes straight ahead as we crossed the street, he said, “Long as they’re happy tears, I don’t give a damn.”

  Brute

  BRUTE STOOD ON THE shore next to Har, Roman, and Cynic.

  Tiny trudged up to them. “This might be the Veep’s day, but I gotta say thank you, Prez.”

  “What the hell for?” Har asked.

  The antagonistic look on Tiny’s face made Brute brace for whatever was coming next.

  “For running off to get married.” He glared at Brute. “None of us want to sit out here in our cuts.”

  Cynic leaned toward Tiny. “Get over yourself, asshole. It’s December, for fuck’s sake. The weather’s fuckin’ glorious and it’s not like you’re sweatin’ your guts out!”

  “All right, all right. Just wanted to—”

  “Be an ass,” Roman put in.

  “Sit the fuck down, Stephanie’s making her way down here, so things are getting started,” Har said.

  Tiny went back to his seat.

  Roman leaned his head forward to catch Brute’s eye. “Still time to run, man. I’ll make your apologies—”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Cynic said.

  Har fidgeted and cleared his throat. Brute watched Stephanie walk toward them holding a bouquet of the palest pink flowers he’d ever seen. Her smile made her look like she was glowing, and as she approached she winked. He wasn’t sure if it was for Har or himself.

  Aubrey followed, and he realized Gina had been right. She’d said the downside to springing a wedding on Kenzie was that Aubrey wouldn’t get to rehearse, and an eight-year-old girl would be exuberant about being a flower girl. Rather than walk down the make-shift aisle between the rows of chairs, Aubrey skipped every third step and tossed flower petals with so much glee they were landing on her rather than on the ground around her.

  “That girl’s gonna give you gray hairs,” Joules muttered from his other side.

  He grinned. “Truth, brother. But I’m looking forward to every minute of it.”

  Like Gina, Dad had also been right. Winning Kenzie’s love and her heart had resulted in the bonus of Aubrey’s heart, too. He loved her like she was his own and it was a love he’d never known was possible. He didn’t know what he’d do without those two females in his life, and he was grateful he didn’t have to find out.

  Joules gave a whistle which was the signal to Finn, a former prospect and the only brother to retain his first name as his road name, to start the music.

  He wasn’t sure if Kenzie would like what he selected, but Michael Franti’s “Headphones” blared from large speakers. Dad had angled his body so Brute couldn’t see Kenzie at first. When he did, it felt like a sucker punch.

  Her blonde hair had been artfully arranged on top of her head, which made the plunging neckline of her dress much more noticeable. The lacy gown expanded at her waist into a full ball gown. Even though he was a breast man through-and-through, his eyes kept darting back to the rhinestones accenting her waistline. As stunning as her dress happened to be, her joyous face rooted him to the spot.

  Her eyes were bright, and he realized she was crying. Then again, he’d expected that if she took in the lyrics to the song. No doubt, she was his heaven-sent angel, who made him laugh, cry, and smile for over two years. It was what spoke to him from that song, and told him it was perfect for their wedding day.

  He pressed his lips together as he felt emotion clog his throat. The closer she came, the more it almost hurt to look at her.

  He glanced at his dad, and his smile was as big as Kenzie’s. He didn’t think it could be possible, but it may have been bigger. His eyes went back to his woman, and her sheer happiness made her glow.

  When they were a foot away, Brute stepped forward.

  “Not what we planned,” Joules muttered.

  They had planned to do things semi-traditionally with Joules, a notary who offered to officiate their wedding, asking who gave this woman to be wed and all the appropriate bullshit. But seeing her, he had to have her as close as possible. Now.

  Desperate to kiss her, he settled for planting his lips on her forehead. “God, I fuckin’ love you.”

  “Back at ya, honey.”

  The rest of the ceremony blurred in his mind. He knew he didn’t fuck up his lines, and somehow
, they exchanged rings smoothly. Joules announcing he could kiss his bride broke him out of his trance.

  His hands cupped Kenzie’s cheeks, and he kissed her long and hard. A happiness he had never thought possible filled him the longer he kissed her. The wolf-whistles and cat-calls shifted to grumbles from Har and Roman, forcing him to break things off.

  “I love you, Kenzie Maybelle Vaillant.”

  “NOT BAD, BUT YOU’RE right. Mine are better,” Dad said, standing beside him eating a fried green tomato inside Cora’s Restaurant.

  Kenzie, who had her arms wrapped around his waist, leaned forward. “Did you get us a wedding gift?”

  Brute glanced at her, stunned at such a forward question. But a calculating look crossed his father’s face. “Why do you want to know?”

  She grinned devilishly. “A fabulous gift would be sharing your recipe with us. Or just your son. But you know what they say, sharing is caring.”

  Both Vaillant men laughed.

  “You know, paper is the gift for a first wedding anniversary. You make it that long, you’ll get your gift.”

  Her eyes widened. “Meanie.”

  The song changed.

  “Gina loves this song. I won’t hear the end of it if we don’t dance to it. Congratulations again.”

  Brute wrapped both his arms around his bride and shuffled them both to a secluded corner. “Speaking of wedding gifts, how much longer do you want to stick around?”

  Her eyes widened. “I love this place. I’m all for staying until they kick us out.”

  That meant another two hours, at least.

  Aubrey wandered up to them. “Mom, um... stepdad,” she said tentatively.

  His breath caught at the name. Kenzie moved an arm to Aubrey’s shoulders. “Yes, sweetie?”

  Her eyes slid to the side for a moment. “When are we having cake?”

  He chuckled. Then two deep voices shouted, “Cake!”

  If he had to guess the voices belonged to Mensa and Gamble.

  Kenzie laughed. “I guess pretty soon, or there will be a full-scale riot on our hands.”

  Faith hurried to them. “Aubrey, there you are! I got the DJ to find that shark song you wanted. He’s playing it next.”

  His wife’s eyes bulged at her mom. “You did not.”

  His mother-in-law quirked her eyebrows as if to say ‘and there’s nothing you can do about it,’ before she bustled away with Aubrey.

  She looked up at him. “Let’s leave now. Right now!”

  He laughed. “It can’t be that bad.”

  She gazed past him in thought, then focused on him seriously. “It’s worse than the ‘Chicken Dance.’ No joke.”

  “Baby, there’s nothing wrong with the ‘Chicken Dance,’ so it can’t be that bad.”

  Her laughter cut through the air. She gave him a look. “Obviously, you haven’t heard ‘Baby Shark doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.’”

  She sang the last bit and he shook his head.

  “I haven’t. Strange as it may sound, I’m looking forward to it. I can dance with our girl to that.”

  She slapped her hand to her chest. “Oh my God! I love that you called her that,” she said, as tears sprang to her eyes. “And that will give her just the best memory.”

  He gave her a look. “Babe, you need a drink.”

  She grabbed his hands. “No. I can’t. I wanted to tell you this a few days ago, but then it was only a suspicion and it could have been anything. And then you—”

  He cupped her cheek with one hand. “Kenzie. Spit it out.”

  She smiled. “My wedding gift to you is a test. A positive pregnancy test. We’re gonna have a baby!”

  His hand fell from her cheek, to her shoulders, his other hand going to the opposite shoulder. He leaned down so his face was level with hers. “Are you serious? You’re not shitting me?”

  “Yeah, Sammy. I’m serious. It’s like our first dance song says, we’re gonna have a baby boy. Maybe, since that’s wishful thinking. Bottom line, you’re gonna be a daddy.”

  He chuckled, but he didn’t sound like himself. “God, Zee! My mind has been blown.”

  She leaned her forehead against his. “Good. Because springing a wedding on me, blew my mind a few hours ago, baby. I fuckin’ love you.”

  “Back at ya, babe.”

  She leaned back a touch. “Though, it’s gonna get cramped in the house pretty quick once—”

  “Don’t finish that. You laid a whopper on me. Let’s just say my wedding gift to you is also a whopper.”

  Her head tilted, but before she could ask any questions she groaned and a strange version of the theme from Jaws started. Aubrey ran to the dance floor jumping up and down.

  “I’ll be back, Zee. Or you could always join us?”

  She smiled ruefully. “I’ll watch.” Then her eyes lit up. “No! I’ll grab someone’s cell phone and video it!”

  Not only did he dance with Aubrey to a tune so catchy it could provoke insanity (Kenzie was right, the ‘Chicken Dance’ had nothing on this), but so did Dad and Gina. Toward the end of the song, Dad boogied his way to him.

  “Kenzie give you some good news before this song started?”

  He shot Dad a quick look, but focused on Aubrey who was having the time of her life if the smile on her face was any indicator. The song ended, and before he knew what was happening, Aubrey hugged his hips.

  “Thank you, Brute. I love you!”

  To fight off more emotion, he stiffened, but she ran off. As usual, Dad noticed his tight posture.

  “A great reward, isn’t it?” he asked.

  He exhaled. “Yeah. Now, what do you know about Kenzie giving me good news, old man?”

  Dad laughed while wrapping a playful arm around his neck. “Been around the block more times than you, junior. Upside to picking up the bride is I tried to get a drink in her, but I noticed she tried to hide not partaking. You get to my age, you know that’s a sign.”

  “So?”

  Dad’s trademark devious grin spread across his face. “Since I got the honor of walking her down the aisle, I got to ask her point blank about it. That’s how I know about the good news. Also why I was so fuckin’ ecstatic to walk her down the aisle to you. I mean, I’d have been thrilled regardless, but it damn sure made my day. Same way I saw it make yours ten minutes ago, son.”

  They edged toward the bar. Brute muttered, “Can’t top that.”

  “Come again?”

  He grimaced. “Got a house to show her tonight. She likes it, I’m renovating that shit on my own dime, and we’re living there. That’s nothing compared to giving me a —”

  “Bullshit,” Dad clipped out.

  His eyes narrowed at Dad.

  Dad chuckled mirthlessly. “She’s giving you a child, and that is humongous. But you contributed to that. You’re giving her a house which both of you can turn into a home. And as someone who’s been married three more times than I shoulda been, I can tell you there’s a difference, son.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t quite follow, Dad.”

  “She’s giving you a child. But you contributed. You’re giving her a house... but she’ll contribute to making it a home. Get your head out of your ass. She gives something, you give something. Bottom line, it all balances out, Sam.”

  “Sure as hell hope you’re right, Dad. She’s it for me.”

  Dad clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Can see that clear as day. You’re gonna be fine, Sammy.”

  A chorus of ‘cake’ filled the air, and Brute saw Gamble and Aubrey leading the chanting. He found Kenzie and they cut the cake, though it failed to make him feel any sweeter than knowing she was carrying his baby.

  THE TIME LIMIT HAD passed for their private reservation at Cora’s. Most of his Riot brothers had sobered up enough to get back to the clubhouse where Har promised the party would continue. Dad and Gina had already left, and Faith was taking Aubrey back to Kenzie’s house.

  Brute stood in a corridor leading to the res
trooms, waiting on Kenzie. Lydia had followed her into the bathroom to help her and take care of the gown for Kenzie. Since she hadn’t insisted he wear a tuxedo, he didn’t have to change clothes. Not being able to take that gown off her rankled, but then again, he’d probably rip it if he did.

  She emerged from a bathroom wearing a beige pantsuit and the high heels she’d worn with her gown.

  Maybe because it was their wedding day or maybe because it was just her, but he still wanted to rip her clothes off her.

  She sauntered up to him. “I would say I’m surprised we’re not staying at the White House Hotel, but seeing as you sprang a wedding on me, I can’t even imagine what’s next!”

  He grinned. “Oh, we’re staying here. But the gift I have for you, isn’t here, Zee.”

  Her head cocked toward her shoulder. “Where is it? The clubhouse?”

  “Come on. I’ll show you.”

  Twenty minutes later, they were closing in on their destination. “This isn’t entirely set in stone, so if you got strong opinions, tell me.”

  She waved a hand questioning hand. “Sam, we’re in a neighborhood. I have no idea how this factors into a wedding gift or why my opinion would matter.”

  He pulled his truck into the narrow driveway, and hit the brake so he could look at her fully. “I shouldn’t have done this without your input, but I had to move fast. And, when I saw this front yard, with not one, but two swing sets in it, my gut told me this was it. Like I said, you got strong opinions, it isn’t set in stone. I can bail on it, but I’ve put a contract in on this house because it’s a foreclosure. It’s five bedrooms, but only two baths.”

  “You bought a house?”

  “Contract. Haven’t closed yet.”

  She leaned toward him. “My wedding gift, should I accept it or not have ‘strong opinions,’ is a house?”

  He shot her a sheepish grin. “Darlin’, I really like your place. It’s a great house in a sleepy neighborhood, but I knew I wanted a child. And I know we’d get cramped there.”

  Her eyes lit. “So you bought us... a house?”

  He smiled. “Yeah. But calm down a bit. It’s more of a drive to my office, your bank, and the clubhouse than I’d like, which is a definite drawback.”