by Sam Crescent
She hadn’t answered the door when he knocked, and he went back in time to the moment his life changed forever.
****
Several years ago.
“Mel, the door’s open,” he said.
Pea hated that he was here, trying to figure out if everything was okay with Mel. He’d not seen her for two weeks at the club, and he missed her.
It was crazy really. Neither of them knew a whole lot about each other, but he did miss her.
At the sound of sobbing, he stopped.
Crying women were not a good thing. Tears were not something he liked to deal with.
He didn’t walk back.
He found Mel on the floor of the sitting room. Paperwork was on the floor in large piles. It didn’t take a genius to recognize the bills that were there. So many of them.
She didn’t even look up at him as she sorted through them.
The tears were dropping onto the paperwork, and she was distressed. He couldn’t stand it.
“Mel,” he said.
She gasped, turning to look at him. Her hands moved to wipe the tears off her face. “What are you doing here?”
“You’ve not been by the club in some time. I was worried, and I thought I’d check on you.” He stepped into the room, and she threw her hands up.
“No, I’m fine. I may be at a party this weekend. I’ve just got a lot of things to organize first. That’s all.”
“This looks like more than a lot. What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing that I can’t handle. I can do this, and help Penny with her math homework, along with keeping a nice home, because that’s what Social Services wants. Well-adjusted people who don’t party, or drink, or have fun. They like throwing words around like failure, debt, unstable, broken home, damage. Have you ever noticed that?” she asked, rambling on. She was on her knees in the middle of the room, looking at him.
He noticed she wasn’t dressed in any sexy clothing. She wore black pants and a plain white shirt that had a name tag on.
“You work at the mall?”
“Yep. I work at the mall. Good caretakers have jobs.”
“Mel, what’s going on?”
She sat back, running fingers through her hair. “My sister is nearly eighteen years old, and I’ve been doing a great job in trying to keep this roof over her head. The debts though, I can’t make sense of them. I have interest coming out of my eyeballs. My parents’ funeral, medical bills just to pronounce them dead. If someone dies in a hospital, funds should cease because they didn’t do their job. They failed, and right now I can’t be that woman at the club. Right now, I’m responsible, so you can leave and find someone else to have a fun time with.”
Pea watched as she looked around at the mess, and he couldn’t take it.
He took over. Grabbing up the stack of paperwork, he ordered her to the kitchen to make him a coffee as he sat at the dining room table with a notepad and a calculator. Ignoring Mel, he went through each piece of paperwork until he was done, and Mel was wringing her hands.
Telling her the figure didn’t help her. She looked ready to crack. “I’ve screwed up. They’re going to take my parents’ home, and I’ve failed my sister.”
He pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her neck. She smelled so good, and felt amazing in his arms. “You could marry me.”
She jerked back, and looked at him. “Marry you?”
“Yeah, you could marry me, and I could help you solve all of these problems.”
“But you don’t want to marry me.”
He shrugged. “I don’t want to see you upset or feeling like a failure. This is a lot to take in, and I can help. I’ve got the money to help. It’s all yours.”
****
Mel hadn’t answered him that day. For a week, she had taken her time to think it over and decide what they were going to do.
All Pea had wanted to do was to help her.
She’d agreed to be his wife, but on the basis that she didn’t trap him in marriage. He was free to fuck who he wanted, and so was she. They’d been younger, and he’d been more than willing to do whatever she wanted.
He had a ring on her finger, and in the past few years he’d grown closer to her.
Staring into her face, Pea knew he’d do anything for this woman. No matter what, he’d protect her.
From the moment he’d seen her on the dance floor that first time until now, he’d fallen for her. Each second spent with her never felt enough, not to him. They were the best of friends, and she really was the love of his life.
Soon she’d be the mother of his kid.
He loved her.
Wow!
He knew he did, but staring at her, he felt those words more than ever before. To many, they wouldn’t believe their relationship, but he didn’t give a fuck.
She opened her eyes and smiled. “Have you been watching me sleep?”
“Yeah, I have.”
The sound of her chuckle brought a smile to his lips. “That’s not creepy at all.”
“Of course not.” He pulled her tighter against him, knowing there was no way he’d ever let her go.
Chapter Six
One week later
Mel stood in the mall as she looked at the different kinds of cribs, strollers, and baby accessories. They were everywhere, and she didn’t have a clue what to actually buy. Biting her lip, she gripped the handle of one stroller and shook her head.
“It’s really not that hard,” Natasha said, laughing. “You look like you’re taking an exam or something.”
“I feel like I am. My kid is going to be sitting in that while I walk around town. I don’t want him or her to you know, feel weird.”
Natasha was further along than she was. Penny moved up toward them, pushing Leonardo in his stroller. “I think you guys are overthinking it.”
“I don’t know, I get what Mel means. Our kid is going to spend a lot of time in these things.”
“Look at the cost of this, and all you do is push your child around,” Mel said. “But, this one is the same price and has a detachable car seat.”
“You really do like to save,” Penny said. “Does Pea put you on a limited allowance?”
“No, why?” Mel looked at how one stroller fit together, but she didn’t like the feel of something. Having a child wasn’t cheap, and she had a feeling she’d be pricing a lot of this stuff up. Maybe if she purchased one second-hand, she’d be able to clean it completely and get it looking brand new.
Ever since she had all that debt from her parents and stuff, she had always been careful with money. She didn’t want to waste any.
“How did Pea take it?” Penny asked.
“He’s looking forward to it. We’ve already moved a lot of stuff out of the spare bedroom to make room for the nursery. He’s painting it this this weekend, I believe.”
“Rage mentioned something about that.”
“Saint’s already done our nursery, but I don’t want to put anything in it in case something went wrong.” Natasha ran her hand over her stomach.
“I’m not going to buy anything,” Mel said. “I got tired of Pea going on about the furniture and worrying about us not having anything when our kid comes along.”
“Have you got an appointment yet with the doctor?” Penny asked.
“Not yet. There’s still time for that, though. I’ll make one.” She hated doctors, and surgeries, and hospitals.
“I’ve already told Saint that I’m going to be on the good drugs that the doctors give us for the pain. I don’t want to be screaming and hurting,” Natasha said.
“I’m thinking a home birth,” Mel said.
At Penny and Natasha’s strange looks, she burst out laughing.
“You’re looking at me as if I’ve grown another head. What’s wrong with wanting to go natural?” she asked.
“It’s going to hurt.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It won’t be that bad. I’ve seen the videos. After the baby’s ou
t, you start to feel okay.”
Penny was shaking her head. “You’re making a big mistake. Really. The pain is like … hard.” Her sister glanced around the store, and then moved closer. “The baby is coming outside of your vagina.”
“You’re so cute when you’re trying to be scary and proper at the same time. I’ll think about it.” She hated hospitals, which was why she wanted to do the home birthing stuff. Of course she had to get that idea past Pea. That was going to be tricky.
She didn’t imagine her husband was going to like any room that she was screaming or giving birth.
“What about a water birth?” she asked.
Natasha shook her head. “All of this talk of giving birth, I can’t handle it. Let’s go have something to eat.”
They left the baby shop, and Mel picked up a catalog. The good thing about shopping online was all the bargains she could find. They found a seat in a fast food joint, and waited for their order to be delivered. Natasha excused herself to use the bathroom.
Their drinks were already with them, and Mel pushed a straw into her strawberry milkshake.
“Why don’t you want to have a baby in the hospital?” Penny asked.
“I just don’t. It’s not really natural, and women have been giving birth at home for a long time.” She pushed some hair off her cheek, recalling the deep scratch that had been fading over the past week.
Tara’s ass had been kicked out of the club. She hadn’t seen the other woman, but Pea had assured her the club had delivered her a warning to get the hell out of Sinners’ Corner.
“But the point is you don’t have to.”
“It’ll save money.”
Penny rolled her eyes. “What is with you saving money? We’re talking about your comfort here. If something was to go wrong, and I’m not saying it will, but you’ve got to be prepared, Mel.”
“I’ll always save money, sweetie. I’ve had a bad experience with that, and I’ll always be frugal. I’ve got a college education to think about now. I want him or her to have the best. I don’t want to be wasting money because something looks pretty, or to save on some pain.”
Her sister wasn’t agreeing with her. “You really need to talk to Pea about this.”
“I will. I promise.”
Natasha returned, and they talked about all of the stuff a first-time mother would need. Penny was amazing, and Leonardo slept through the entire journey. It was clearly too much for him already at such a young age.
Watching Leonardo sleep sent a shot of longing through her. Mel wanted this baby.
On the way back to town, she got Penny to drop her off at the library. She wanted to borrow some books on birthing, and every single process so that she could make a sound decision.
It was late, a little after five, so there weren’t a whole lot of people in the library. She spotted Big Ricky in the back, where his gaze could see the reception desk easily. Mel ignored him, and walked up to the blonde, Prue, as she was typing on the computer.
“Hello, Melissa,” Prue said. Her smile was as kind as her eyes.
She couldn’t help but smile at Prue. She had that way about her that brought out a protectiveness inside Mel.
“How are you doing?” Mel asked.
“It’s been good. I’m not going to complain about a busy day at the office.” For a library it was always good to keep it busy. She’d heard Prue’s fears before when she’d been listening in on a conversation with another woman. If there wasn’t enough activity within the library, they could shut them down and put the funding elsewhere. The day after, Mel had made it a habit to visit the library.
“Could you point me in the baby section? I’m looking on anything from a list of what to call your child, to giving birth, and then aftercare.”
“So the rumors are true?”
“Rumors?”
“You’re pregnant.”
She nodded. “There’s already talk about that?”
“Whenever it’s about the MC, there’s always talk. I heard you killed someone Friday night, or you beat the crap out of someone, or you cut a finger off. I heard it was a party.”
The joke made Mel laugh. “It wasn’t much of a party. Once my sister let the cat of the bag, so to speak, Pea and I had to talk.”
“He didn’t know?” Prue rounded the counter, and got her to follow toward the elevator.
“I hadn’t told him. I didn’t know what to say to him. For some strange reason, ‘guess what, we’re having a kid’ didn’t seem like the right words.”
Prue laughed.
“You’ve not asked if it’s Pea’s?”
“Why would I doubt if it’s Pea’s baby?” Prue asked with a frown.
“I don’t know. It’s no secret of Pea’s and my past lovers.”
Prue shrugged. “That’s your business. I’m not going to judge you. Can I be honest with you?”
“Sure.” Mel had been dealing with a lot of honesty most of her life. Nothing Prue said was going to make a difference.
“I always heard the extended rumors about yours and Pea’s marriage. Was it true?” Prue asked.
“We had an open marriage. We didn’t hide anything from each other.”
“Did it work for you?”
Mel nodded. “It worked for us because it was what we both wanted. Are you thinking of giving it a go?”
“No. It’s just … I guess it gets lonely here a lot of the time. All of the men are taken, and I’m not really comfortable with a lot of people. The guys I grew up with are assholes, so I won’t give them the time of day.”
“What about Ricky? The big guy downstairs?”
“He scares me a lot of the time. He’s always watching. I get the feeling that he’s not all he cracks up to be.” The elevator doors opened.
“Be careful around him,” Mel said. “Pea’s asked me to do the same.”
“Don’t worry. I will. I know you wanted me to agree to have dinner with him, but when he asked, I froze up. I couldn’t do it. He scares me.”
She had felt so guilty for putting Prue on the spot like that. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to do something like that.”
“Here we are, baby section. I hope you visit me with the little guy or girl.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be at the library a lot.”
****
“You do realize this is not supposed to be a club thing?” Vanilla asked.
Pea looked toward his club brothers and laughed. “I didn’t say you had to join me. I promised beers and steak. That was all.” Melissa was staring at different strips of color. He’d purchased six different colors.
“We have to go with neutral,” Mel said.
They didn’t know what sex the baby was yet. He moved up behind her, kissing her neck. “Did you book that appointment like I asked?”
“I booked it.” She told him the date and time, and he promised to be there. He was excited about their child.
“Why don’t you go and make everyone a drink? I don’t want you to inhale the fumes so much. Penny’s brought over some order forms.”
“I told you I don’t want to order from expensive places.”
“For me. Go and look for me,” he said.
“I do a lot for you.” She cupped his face and pressed a kiss to his lips, before leaving them alone.
“You two seem to be hitting it off,” Saint said.
“Yep.” They’d been getting to know each other for years. “She’s scared about becoming a mom. I’ve told her she’s going to be awesome.”
“So is Natasha. I know she worries all the time.”
“Does your woman have sixteen books by the side of her bed with very graphic birthing pictures?” Pea asked.
“Yep.”
“We’re talking about names right now. She wants to name our son Preston.”
Saint laughed. “Really?”
“Yeah. Preston for a boy, and Connie for a girl. The girl’s name is fine, but come on. When was Preston a good na
me?” Pea shook his head. “Then she wanted Jacob, Caleb, or Lucifer. I wouldn’t put it past her to call him that. She thinks I’m the devil.”
The guys began laughing.
“Pipe’s advice to me was just to let our women name our kids. They know what they’re doing, but I don’t see it.” Saint looked at the walls. “Did Mel pick a color?”
“Nope. She can pick our kid’s name. I’ll do the decorating how I see fit. I’m liking the yellow. It’s a neutral color,” Pea said. He also liked how it felt bright in the room. Opening the windows, he made sure there was plenty of ventilation.
The room was completely empty, and he’d peeled off the nasty-looking rose wallpaper.
Grabbing a brush, he dipped it into the yellow and swiped it across the wall, the stepped back. He wanted this to be perfect, and there was nothing wrong with that. At least, he didn’t think so.
“The documents that Shorty and Fly found are false ones,” Saint said.
“You get your contact to look up an Autumn related to the Lorenzo family?” Pea asked.
“Yep, and get this, none exist. We need inside that house, and I want to talk to Autumn,” Saint said.
“Have you asked Ricky?”
“He’s told me that nothing is going on. Just a niece that is visiting. For someone who is just visiting, that is a shitload of security. I don’t like it.” Saint tapped his foot on the floor. “Are we pulling up this carpet?”
“No, why?”
“You’re going through the trouble of making this place look awesome and you’re going to leave an old, musty carpet?”
“He’s right,” Vanilla said, coming in carrying a tool kit. “I suggest we tear this carpet up and clean up the crap before we paint. If you’re going to do the best job for your kid, then you need it to be the best.”
“I’ll get Mel and the girls to go and organize a carpet.”
Ten minutes later, Mel was out the door with a glare. He didn’t want her at home anyway, not with the decorating he wanted to get done.
When Mel pulled out of the driveway with Natasha, Penny, and Sarah, he nodded down the street to a waiting Pipe, who had the furniture he’d gone out on his own to purchase. Mel wasn’t budging on the crib, but he didn’t care what money she wanted to save. His kid would have the best.