by Erin Osborne
Vanish puts his hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down. He knows they’re talking about Emersyn and I have no problem beating their asses and tossing them from the club. I’m in the mood to beat someone’s ass until we get our hands on Jeremy. I’d take one of the members in the ring at the clubhouse, but I don’t want to. It’s not going to be good when I finally unleash the rage I’m feeling.
“What can I get you guys?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“I’ll have a beer and a private lap dance with Sky,” the first man answers me.
“Sky doesn’t do lap dances of any kind,” I inform him, pulling a beer from the cooler and popping the top.
“The hell she doesn’t. This is a fucking strip club and I’ll pay for the bitch’s time,” he demands.
“And we’re tellin’ you, our dancers aren’t required to give lap dances. To anyone,” Vanish says, backing up my statement. “Now, you can park your ass at a table and enjoy the show. Or, we can have you kicked out of here. Permanently.”
“Fuck this. Let’s go. These bitches are all stuck up prudes anyway,” the second man says.
My face is going red as my rage continues to fill me. If I don’t calm down soon, I’m going to have a heart attack. I can’t seem to control it when it involves my girls though. They bring out the side of me that wants to do nothing but protect and love them; the side who wants to ensure they’re happy and safe at all times.
Just before Emersyn takes the stage, my mom shows up. She walks through the front door. Dad doesn’t want her parking out back right now. So, Bounce set up a spot right by the door for her. I’d prefer to have my own truck parked out there, but I don’t want to bring my girl through the club when customers are still here. They’ll know she’s a dancer and try to figure out who she is. I’d rather take every precaution I can when it comes to her safety.
“How’s it going?” Mom asks me, reaching out for the bottle of water as she takes her seat at the end of the bar.
“Okay,” I respond, leaning over closer to her. “She was gettin’ sick earlier when I went to check on her. Said it was mornin’ sickness.”
“She’s right. Morning sickness is a part of the process. She’ll be fine as long as she stays hydrated and doesn’t overdo it,” my mom responds.
Nodding my head, I take the order of a few more customers while my woman dances on stage. I can feel her eyes on me. Emersyn dances on stage and never takes her eyes off me unless one of the customers gets too close to her on stage. That’s another reason we’ve had more members here. No one is going to get to our dancers on stage while they’re performing.
I turn my back when her sheer nightie floats to the floor. The hooting and hollering from the customers show me their appreciation for what my girl looks like. I’ve seen every single inch of her body in ways they’ll only dream of seeing her. I hate that these filthy, perverted men get to see any part of her delectable body. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about it until she can find another job. Dad offered to put her in one of the offices or something and she refused.
Emersyn doesn’t want to mess anything up and is worried about working in an office because she didn’t finish school. She honestly has nothing to worry about because she’s smart as hell and won’t mess anything up. Until she believes it, none of us can tell her that though. Emersyn has been beat down for so long, she is believing it more than us. Especially knowing Jeremy is close to her.
“Colt, you’re not closing tonight. As soon as Emersyn is ready to go head out. Dad doesn’t want her here longer than necessary. Your brother will be here in five minutes and I’ll fill in if he’s a few minutes late,” Mom tells me, setting her phone down on the top of the bar.
“Okay. I’m sorry, Mom,” I tell her.
“Nothing to be sorry about, Colt. Keep our girls safe and make sure she’s okay. She’s got a doctor’s appointment coming up in the next few days. You’ll hear what’s going on for yourself,” she tells me. “Dad’s waiting in the apartment since Zoey’s sleeping.”
Nodding my head, I make my way toward the dressing room. Knowing there are more women in there now, I wait out in the hallway. When Sydney goes to walk inside, I ask her to let Em know I’m waiting to leave. She nods her head and saunters in the room. Minutes later my girl walks out wearing her sweats and one of my shirts. I love looking at her in my clothes. She never looks sexier than in those moments.
“Ready to go?” I ask her.
“More than ready. I’m exhausted,” she answers as I take her bag from her shoulder and lead her out the back door.
Breaker nods at us while I unlock the doors and help her up inside. By the time I get in the driver’s seat, Emersyn is passed out in the passenger side. Her head is up against the window and the water she’s been holding is dangling from her hand. I take it and place it in one of the cupholders, so it doesn’t spill. My girl is whooped and so am I. Right to bed when we get home tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Emersyn ‘Sky’ Wilkes
TODAY I HAVE a doctor’s appointment with the baby doctor. That’s what Colt calls it and I laugh every single time he does. Tonya made sure he had the day off from work and Blood made sure there wasn’t anything for him to do at the clubhouse so he could go with me.
Bounce and Carver will be following us to the doctor’s office because of my asshole ex. I hate these men have to take time out of their day to shadow and follow me because of him. They keep assuring me it’s fine, but I hate it all the same. Hopefully soon I won’t have to worry about that, but I’m not holding my hand on my ass waiting for it to happen.
Colt is bouncing around the apartment as he waits for it to be time to leave. He’s so excited and nervous about going to the doctor with me. I don’t feel anything at the moment. Yeah, I want to make sure the baby is healthy and growing on track. But my morning sickness is starting to kick my ass and I’m exhausted even though I slept last night. It’s a pain in the ass and makes me lack enthusiasm about everything right now.
“Angel, are you almost ready to go?” Colt asks me, coming in the bathroom as I soak in the tub.
“Um, I can be. What time is it?” I ask him, pulling the plug so the water drains.
“It’s almost twelve thirty,” he responds, grabbing a big, fluffy towel for me to step into.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I’d been in here that long,” I mumble.
“Nothin’ to be sorry about. You needed to relax, and you took the time to do that,” he responds. “Mom has Zoey and will keep her until we get back.”
Nodding my head, I make my way into the bedroom and put on a pair of shorts with a large tee-shirt over my panties and bra. Shoving my feet into a pair of flip flops, I head back to the bathroom to brush my hair and toss it up in a messy bun.
“You feelin’ okay?” Colt asks when I emerge from the bathroom.
“Yeah. Just feeling kind of blah,” I respond.
“Do we need to talk to the doctor about this?” he asks, concern lacing his voice and filling his eyes.
“We can. But this is normal,” I try to assure him. “It will get better.”
Colt nods his head and I can tell he’s not completely sure I’m being honest with him about this. I’m sure he’ll ask his mom to back up what the doctor tells him. He’s not a mama’s boy by any means, but he does turn to his parents when he needs advice or to back up something someone tells him. Including a doctor. He’d rather be safe than sorry.
“Are Bounce and Carver here yet?” I question him, grabbing my purse and keys from the table by the door.
“Yeah. They’re waitin’ down at their bikes,” he tells me.
“Let’s head out then.”
“We’ll get somethin’ to eat after your appointment. You didn’t eat lunch and barely touched your breakfast,” he says.
“Anything I want?”
“Anythin’ you want, angel,” he returns, a smile lighting up his face.
We get in Colt’s ne
w truck and he immediately starts the engine and backs out of his parent’s driveway. He points us in the direction of the doctor’s office as I focus my attention out the window. Fields pass by the window until we get closer to town and houses begin to fill the scenery.
Colt rests his hand on my thigh, and we continue the ride in silence. The loud rumble from Bounce and Carver’s bikes are the only noise we hear. We don’t even have the radio on. My eyes close as I lay my head against the cool window and place my hand over Colt’s on my leg.
Before I know it, we’re pulling into the parking lot and he’s turning toward me in the truck. His face is scrunched up and I know he’s concerned because I’m not acting like my usual self right now. Hopefully, the doctor will put his concern and fears to rest when she tells him this is all normal. I’m not unlike any other woman who’s pregnant.
“You ready?” he asks.
“Yeah. I’m not sure what they’ll do today, just want to tell you that. But we’ll have paperwork to fill out since I’m a new patient here,” I respond to him.
“Okay. Whatever we need to do,” Colt assures me, placing a gentle kiss against my lips before getting out of the truck.
He runs around the front and opens my door so he can help me out before locking the truck up. Bounce heads inside the office with us while Carver waits outside. This is what I hate for them. Carver has to sit outside and be on the lookout for Jeremy. I’m sure there’s plenty more he could be doing right now.
We get in and Bounce and Colt take a seat while I head to the desk.
“Can I help you?” a woman asks.
“My name is Emersyn Wilkes and I’m here for my first appointment,” I tell her, offering her a small smile.
The receptionists takes all my information and gets the paperwork we have to fill out ready for me. Once it’s in my hand, she takes my insurance card and ID to scan them into the computer. I’m not worried since Jeremy already found me.
I walk back to the men and notice every woman’s eyes on the two of them. Rolling my eyes, I sit down between them and begin to fill the papers out. Colt leans over and helps me fill out the parts about the father’s side of the family. By the time we’re done filling everything out, the nurse is calling my name.
Bounce stands up as if he’s going to head back to the room with us. Yeah, that’s not happening.
“You’re not going back,” I inform him. “I’ll most likely have to get naked and I’m not gonna have Syd pissed off. You’re waiting out here.”
“Aw, Emersyn,” he says, pretending to pout. “But I’ll be a good boy. I promise.”
Colt laughs his ass off as we head back to the exam rooms while Bounce sits in his chair and picks up a magazine. He may not know why we’re here, but we’ll have to start telling people. Especially whoever is going to be watching over me in case something happens.
The nurse has me step on the scale so she can write down my weight. Then, I’m ushered into the bathroom to take care of business for them. Finally, she leads us into an exam room where she finishes taking my vitals. Before she leaves, the nurse tells me to strip down and put the itchy, annoying, paper gown on with the sheet over my legs.
I quickly undress and Colt looks his fill as I do. What a perv.
“See something you like?” I ask him.
“Every single time I look at you,” he responds, helping me up on the exam table.
Once I’m sitting down, he places the sheet over my legs and lets his hand linger. He looks at all the posters on the wall and I feel him shiver in response to some. I’m not sure what he thought he’d see on the walls, but it’s pictures of women in different stages of pregnancy. Then the ever-present photo of dilation and all that.
“Colt, you know I’m going to be pushing a baby out of me. Are you not going to be in the room with me?” I ask him.
“I’ll be by your side, angel. Told you I’m never leavin’ it. Just sucks seein’ all this stuff,” he responds as a knock sounds on the door.
A woman walks in the door and introduces herself as Doctor Bozeman. She looks over my chart before looking at me.
“It looks as if you’re pregnant,” she says, setting the file down on the table in the room. “When was your last period?”
“It’s been about two and a half months,” I inform her.
“Okay. Well, let’s do an exam and I’ll figure out if I want to do an ultrasound just yet,” she tells us.
Colt pulls the chair over to me and sits down at my head. He watches as the doctor gives me a full exam. I swear he’s going to pass out when she gets to the pelvic exam. Men!
“I think I want to have an ultrasound done. Just to be on the safe side and get a more accurate due date for you,” she tells me. “Do either of you have any questions?”
“I do,” Colt speaks up. “She’s been really tired and gettin’ sick. Is that normal?”
“It’s normal. Her body is going through a lot of changes right now and so she’s going to be tired. That will ease up some as her pregnancy progresses,” Doctor Bozeman answers. “And the morning sickness is also normal. It could go away by the time she’s three months pregnant. Or, it could last a while still. It all depends on the woman and her pregnancy.”
Colt nods his head as he takes in the information. I know it’s done nothing to reassure him that I’ll be okay. Now, he’ll keep an eye on me even more than he already is, and it will have nothing to do with Jeremy being in town.
“I’ll be back with the technician if neither of you have any further questions,” she says.
“Okay. Thank you so much,” I tell her, turning my attention toward Colt. “Are you gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just wasn’t expectin’ all that to happen with me in the room,” he answers.
“Babe, I’m pregnant. She probably figures you’ve seen all of that and it wouldn’t be a big deal,” I tell him, choking down my laughter at his pale face. “You don’t have to come in again.”
“I’ll be here every time. I just know what to expect next time,” he answers.
I lay back when the technician and doctor come through the door. She wheels the ultrasound machine to the side of the bed and begins putting in my information from the chart. Instead of leaving like most doctors do, Doctor Bozeman remains in the room, out of the way.
Before too long, the gel is being squirted on my stomach and I shiver as Colt takes my hand.
“I’m sorry. Even with the warmers, the gel is still cold,” the technician says.
Colt stares at the screen as the technician picks the wand up and places it against my stomach. I hand him my phone and tell him to press record when I nod at him. He looks at me as if I’m crazy but holds my phone up to do as I ask. Soon, the heartbeat of our child fills the room and I nod to him.
Colt pushes the record button as the sound continues to fill the room. I know he’ll want it on his phone and that’s why I asked him to record it. This way he has a reminder of the baby whenever he needs one.
“You can stop now,” I tell him.
He brings his attention to the screen as the heartbeat goes away. With the press of a few buttons the screen switches and we can see our baby. It’s not like there’s much to see at this stage, but it’s something for now. I need the reassurance and I’m getting it.
The technician takes some measurements and then lets us know she’s printing some pictures for us. She doesn’t have to leave the room to get the pictures as the doctor moves in closer to look at the picture she left on the screen. I’m sure she’s getting her own view of what’s going on before the technician gives her whatever information she’ll get.
“Everythin’ okay?” Colt asks her, a frown on his face.
“Yeah. Everything looks good from what I can see. I’ll know more once I get the report. If I see anything at all, I’ll call you,” she assures us.
“Thank you,” Colt says, his voice rough sounding as he accepts the pictures.
“You’re welcome.
I’m going to leave a script at the desk for you. I want you to take the prenatal vitamins every day and come back to see me in a month,” Doctor Bozeman says as she opens the door so the technician can wheel the machine out before them.
Once the door is closed behind them, I get up and Colt helps me off the table. Using the paper gown, I wipe the gel off my stomach and still feel disgusting. It’s as if a layer still remains on your body until you shower and scrub it off. Colt hands my clothes to me and helps me get dressed. He just wants to cop a feel as his hands linger on my skin, making me want him to bend me across the exam table right now. Not that I’ll tell him that.
“Ready to go?” he asks.
“Yeah. We’re gonna have to stop at the pharmacy on the way home,” I remind him.
“We can drop your script off, order lunch, and then head home once we have everythin’. I don’t want to be gone too much longer,” he says.
“I’m good with that. I’ll need a shower after we eat.”
Stopping at the front desk, I get my script and schedule my next appointment. Colt has already hidden the pictures from today, but I’m sure Bounce knows what the hell is going on. For now, I know he won’t say anything. Turning around, I watch Bounce and Colt talking quietly. I walk past them and start to slowly head for the door. I know they’ll follow me out.
We walk to the truck and Bounce talks to Carver while I’m getting in the truck. Colt gets in right behind me and we make the short trip to Main Street so I can drop off my script and then get lunch. I’m hungry suddenly without the nerves in my stomach. We’ve been assured everything is as it should be with the pregnancy and I don’t have to worry as much now.
I’m not dumb enough to think we’re out of the woods yet. Anything can happen at any time in this world. For now, I’m not as nervous as I have been about the pregnancy. We’ll just have to take one day at a time.
“Angel, want to grab somethin’ from the diner? The pharmacy is two doors down,” Colt asks me, bringing me out of my head.
“Yeah. I’ll go in the pharmacy while you go in the diner if that’s okay,” I tell him.