“Why didn’t you ever tell him about her coming on to you? You might have saved him a few years with her if you had.”
“I don’t know. I figured I owed him my silence after all he sacrificed for me, you know? He seemed happy with her at first, and I didn’t want to take away his happiness.”
“You’re a good brother too, you know?” I questioned him, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything because Shep came back from the bathroom then.
“Why haven’t you picked a movie yet?” He moved in closer and took the remote control from me. “Never mind, you lost your chance, now I get to pick.” He turned toward the TV and started flipping through the channels, landing on one of the Thor movies as he did so. I wasn’t going to complain about that choice so I settled in and allowed myself to get lost in another world for a time. At least I did until I fell asleep.
I awoke to someone wrapping their arms under my knees and behind my back, but the person didn’t feel familiar at all so I startled and came awake immediately.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Shep’s familiar voice soothed a bit of my initial panic. “I’m just moving you to Kent’s guestroom so you’ll be more comfortable and stop drooling on his butt ugly couch.”
“What time is it?” I managed to ask through my gritty sleep-filled voice.
“It’s late. Kent and I just finished up a second movie, but we both thought you’d be more comfortable in a bed.”
“Have you heard from Smoke or Chief?”
“Not yet, sweetheart. We’ll let you know as soon as we do though.”
“Okay,” I managed to get out as he put me down on the fluffiest damn bed Id ever been on and then proceeded to take my boots off my feet for me. “Thank you,” I managed to get out before I nodded right back off to dreamland.
By morning none of us had heard from either of the guys and I began to worry. It wasn’t out of the norm in the MC life to have them go silent on you, especially when things were going down, but it still sucked to be left sitting around wondering. The scenarios I was coming up with in my head were probably far worse than they were encountering, to be sure. Kent had just knocked on my door when my phone pinged with a message.
Smoke: Sorry, babe. Caught up in club biz, asked Kent and Shep to make sure you get back home ok. Everyone is fine, just stuck doing this thing. I swear I will make this up to you!”
“Come in,” I offered in response to the knock at the door.
He glanced from me to the phone in my hand and tossed me a weak excuse for a smile. “I’m guessing he finally got a hold of you too?”
“Yeah, he did.”
“Shep asked if you’d be okay riding on the back of his bike to get home. If not I can lend you my truck.”
“The bike’s fine. I don’t want to put you out and take your vehicle.”
“It’s not my only vehicle, Poppy. It won’t be any kind of hardship, I promise. If you’re not comfortable riding with Shep…” he let the words hang in the air and I knew what he was getting.
“I’m no one’s old lady right now, so it won’t matter.”
“Are you sure Smoke will see it that way?” He asked.
“I’m sure it doesn’t matter since he left me here without the ride I arrived with,” I spat back without meaning to.
“Shit, my brother is an idiot,” Kent hissed out.
“No, he’s doing what he’s supposed to do. Just because the women know they might get left behind doesn’t negate the fact that it sucks when it happens. Can you let Shep know I’ll be ready in a few minutes? I just want to clean up a bit and then I’ll be good to go.”
“Yeah, I’ll let him know. For what its worth, my girl struggles with my schedule too. Although, at least she knows well in advance what it’s going to look like. I’m not sure I know a single woman who would stick by me in any kind of honest way if I had to run at a moment’s notice though. If you’re willing to do that for my brother, then you have my utmost respect.”
“Thanks for that,” I told Kent before I turned my back to him and walked into the bathroom to go try to tame the rat’s nest that my hair had become while I slept.
Chapter 12
The ride back to Cedar Falls was mostly uneventful, with the exception of the queasiness I kept feeling in my belly. I had asked Shep to pull over twice, because I honestly didn’t think I would be able to keep down the little bit of my breakfast I had eaten before we left.
We had parked in my driveway long enough for me to hop off and give Shep’s spare helmet over to him when he took his own off and eyed me curiously. “I’m not really wanting to leave you here alone. Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”
“I’m positive, honestly, it was probably something I ate, or nerves maybe.” I pulled a face as I said the last, because I knew it wasn’t that. I didn’t feel nervous, just nauseous.
“Are you sure there’s no one I can call to sit with you? If not me, I think someone should be here for a while just in case.”
“No,” I told him definitively. “I promise, I will be fine. I’m going to call Leanne, and have her drop Bubba off for me, so it’s okay. She’ll probably be here with my boy within the hour.”
Shep didn’t appear entirely certain, but a text coming through on his phone sealed the deal. “Damn it,” he hissed out after glancing down. “I need to go deal with this. Promise me that you will text and let me know you’re doing okay?”
“I promise I will update you periodically until Smoke is back even though I think it is entirely unnecessary.”
He grinned at me then. “Good. If I don’t hear from you, I will be back to check in on you, and I’ll be mad enough not to leave until Smoke or Chief get back then.” He grinned at me as he threw his long leg back over his bike. “And no, I’m not afraid of that beast you call a dog either. I’ll win him over to my side when he sees I’m just worried about you.”
“Good to know,” I told him with a grin. “I promise to stay in touch and let you know if I start feeling worse. Now, get out of here to whatever emergency that text was, and focus on that for a bit.” At that, Shep blanched a bit and looked guiltily down at his cell phone.
“Right, see you later, Poppy.”
As I watched Shep pull his red and black Kawasaki Ninja out of my driveway I couldn’t help but compare him to Snake, my soon to be ex-husband’s best friend. The man who still called to check in with me once in a while, making sure I was okay despite the fact that his best friend never did. I had learned, before moving to Cedar Falls, that Snake had a thing for me that he kept in check, and I had apparently been oblivious to for years. That was apparently why he cared so much and checked in so often. I didn’t think Shep was in the same category of holding a torch, but he cared about my well being, because he cared about his buddy. It was endearing and spoke well of Smoke that he had friends both in and out of his club that felt that strongly for him that they would protect and care for what and whom they felt belonged to him.
Once I managed to get back inside I thought maybe some soup would help settle my restless stomach. I shouldn’t have attempted it. The minute I smelled the chicken in the chicken noodle soup heating my stomach turned violent and I immediately had to run to the sink to throw up since it was the closest, easiest to clean spot to do it in. Hell, it had only been a few steps from the stove, and I still barely made it there.
“What is wrong with me?” I questioned out loud as I managed to wash the remnants of my sick down the drain and pull the pot off the hot burner before I heaved again.
I was laying on the couch, nursing my sick self when Leanne showed up with Bubba. “Oh honey, you don’t look so good. What did those boys do to you on that Pittsburghh trip?”
“I don’t know. I’m thinking I ate something that disagreed with me, but to be honest, I was already feeling a little off before I nibbled on my breakfast with Shep, so I think maybe I caught a bug?” I attempted a very defeated, weak looking shrug as Leanne kept eyeing me closely.
/> “Maybe I should take Bubba back home and come back to sit with you for a while?”
“No, really, I’m fine. I just think whatever it is needs to run its course, and I will be better.”
She didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know, Sweetie. I think if Chief or Smoke found out I knew you were sick and just left you like this they’d both have my ass hemmed up with Ghost.” She huffed out a laugh. “Not that I couldn’t turn that to my benefit, but seriously, I would also feel like shit for leaving you to it.”
I waved away her concern. “Seriously, I lived basically on my own for five years in Georgia since Walker never would have bothered to check on me when I was sick. This is nothing, and I know how to use the phone if I get worse. Besides, Bubba will be here to keep me company, and I honestly just think whatever it is needs to run its course. I’m not running a fever or anything.”
“True. I’d be more worried if you were. Okay, well, I’m going to go pick the girls up from school, and take them home, but if you get worse, do not hesitate to call me, okay? I mean it. If I find out you didn’t call when you should have, I will be extremely mad at you!”
“I promise to call, just like I promised Shep. I will keep you both updated. Right now, I just want to take Bubba in the room and crash for a bit.”
“Okay honey, just set an alarm so you can wake up in awhile to text or call us. If I don’t hear from you in a few hours I’ll be pounding down that door of yours.” She giggled at a thought she had. “Well, I’ll have one of the prospects they left behind do that so he gets eaten by Bubba instead of me, but then I’ll come right in and check on you while Bubba’s using the prospect as a chew toy.”
“You are not right,” I told Leanne as she continued to chuckle while bending down to kiss her lips to my forehead. “Satisfied, mom? I told you there was no fever.
“You caught me.” Leanne waved her dainty little hand my way as she walked out the door and shut and locked it behind her.
I ended up taking my nap right there on the couch instead of moving to the bedroom, because the thought of moving made me queasy. I was out for about two hours when Bubba nudged my arm. I tried to ignore him, but he wasn’t having it. When the little nudge on my arm didn’t work he immediately laid his big head across my neck and started a very low-level whining.
“What’s the matter, boy?” I asked as I moved my hand up to rub the top of his head. As soon as I acknowledged him he moved back and wandered over to the backdoor off the kitchen. “Damn, nature calls, huh?” I asked as I slowly rose from the couch, hoping the nausea wouldn’t reemerge.
Thankfully, it didn’t. I was able to go stand outside and enjoy the crisp fall air while Bubba roamed around the backyard looking for the perfect spot to do his business. It had seemed so urgent for him to get out here to do it, but the boy sure was being picky about where he finally went. When he was done, I managed to praise him for being a good boy and letting me know he had to go out, and then we were headed back inside just as a knock sounded on my door. Sadly, as I turned to get all the way inside my kitchen I smacked my boob right into the doorframe, and the resounding tingling painful sensation took my focus off the front door and whoever was knocking and put it on the fact that both my boobs had a weird tingling sensation going on with them.
The knocking persisted and I went to answer my door before I could ponder that any further. “It’s me, if you don’t open up I’m calling a prospect over to break this door down!” Leanne was shouting at me as I approached the door. I unlocked it and opened it to a panic-stricken Leanne. “Thank God!”
“Sorry, Bubba had to go out, we were out back,” I explained.
“You look better,” she told me as she followed me inside. “Except for the fact that you’re molesting your boob.”
I glanced down and stopped what I was doing even though massaging it had given me some relief momentarily. “Sorry,” I whispered sheepishly. “I just smacked it into the back door when I was trying to get out here.”
“Oh, sorry honey.” Leanne apologized while giggling at me so I wasn’t certain her apology was all that heartfelt. I glanced down at my boobs then, realizing I hadn’t even been massaging the one I hit with the doorway.
“It’s so strange, because I bumped into this one, and the other feels almost worst somehow.” Leanne was watching me oddly. Then her eyes rounded wider than I’d ever seen them before she reached out and grabbed hold of my hands and damn near pushed me down to a seated position on my couch.
“Sweetie, when is your period due?” At first, I thought she meant I was probably just sensitive because my period was coming, but then I thought about it, and truthfully I should have had a period already, about two weeks ago. I glanced up and saw a small smile on Leanne’s face.
“No,” I whispered. “I can’t be,” I started to say because I’d been trying for five years with no success, but then I remembered that I’d been trying with a different man. “Oh shit!”
Leanne sat back watching me work through everything in my head with curiosity, but she refused to interrupt until the tears started to fill my eyes. “I honestly don’t know what you’re thinking right now or if those are happy tears or not so happy ones,” she finally admitted.
“I think they’re confused tears,” I told her honestly. “I tried for five years to have a baby with Walker. I’d give anything to be able to hold my own child in my arms, you know? I’m not just talking about biological children either. I just wanted my own family to raise.”
Leanne smiled and nodded her head. I knew from our previous conversation about her deceased husband and their struggles that she knew exactly what that felt like. “But?” She finally asked.
“I don’t know how Smoke is going to feel about this though. We haven’t been together long, and you know, things are so new and I’m still technically married to another man.” I startled to hyperventilate a bit, because everything hit me at once. This was the absolute worst timing in the world for a pregnancy to occur.
“I don’t think you need to worry about Smoke’s reaction. If I know him the way I think I do, he’ll be by your side every step of the way, and he’ll do it gladly.”
“I just don’t want him to feel trapped. It’s too soon for this.”
“According to Ghost the man’s already claimed you with the club, so I don’t think this will make him feel trapped at all, sweetie.”
“I need to get a test. I need to know for sure.”
“Come on, I’ll take you,” she reached her hand out and pulled me up off the couch before grabbing my purse and walking us both out the door.
Chapter 13
The test results were two pink lines. The second one boasted “pregnant” on it. The third had a blue plus sign on it. It was official, sort of. At least the home pregnancy tests all confirmed my suspicions. “How in the hell am I going to tell him?”
You will think of something, sweetie. You just need to decide if you’re going to come right out with it or try to do one of the cute little surprise reveals.”
“I think those are more for established couples that are hoping for positive test results,” I informed her.
She waved off my information. “Nah, I think Smoke would appreciate it. Maybe you could get him a little teddy bear in firefighter gear that says ‘my daddy is a firefighter’ or something.” She clapped her hands together. “That would be so darn adorable!”
I couldn’t help but catch her infectious happiness. “Yeah, that would be cute. Now, if only he’d get back from wherever they went so I could do something like that.”
Leanne screwed up her face in distaste. “I think the same assholes who burned down the warehouse are up to no good. I heard Ghost talking about it before he left. I’m worried about them.”
As she said the words her cell began ringing and she reached into her the purse at her feet to answer it. “Hey baby, everything okay?” She listened a moment, and while I could hear a male voice on the other end I couldn’t make out
what he was saying. I knew it couldn’t be anything good though, because Leanne’s happy mood changed far too quickly to one of fear. “I’m at Poppy’s place with her. The kids are with Lydia right now.” She listened a moment longer. “What? No, she’s fine. Yeah, she just wasn’t feeling’ well and I wanted to check in on her.” Leanne glanced up to me trying to let me know that my secret was mine to tell when I was ready. I appreciated that. “Okay, I’ll make sure we get over there. Uh-huh. Love you too. See you in awhile, baby.” She hung up and let out a sigh that made me feel the tension she was trying to alleviate.
“What’s going on?”
“We need to get you packed up and over to the clubhouse. You can bring Bubba with you. Actually, I think we’ll be glad to have him there.”
“What’s going on?”
“We’re going into lockdown. Something happened, and Ghost wants all the families under one roof until the guys get back. The word is already out. I need to call Lydia and make sure she’s bringing the girls over with her. Then I have to go pack some stuff up for them too.”
“How long will be there?”
“I don’t know, better prepare for a few days at least.”
“Okay.” I got my butt up and moving, getting things that Bubba and I would need for a few days.
When we got to the clubhouse it was already somewhat crowded. I glanced around at all the women and children and wondered where everyone was going to go. I’d seen that there was a space about half the size of the place upstairs, but it didn’t seem as though you could fit enough rooms up there for everyone. With that in mind I turned to Leanne. “Where is everyone going to stay?”
She grinned at me, and pulled at my elbow to get me to follow her. “I guess no one ever gave you the grand tour, huh?”
“I’m guessing not. Chief pointed out that he had a room up there if he needed it,” I mentioned as I pointed to the stairs leading up. Leanne just shook her head.
Redemption Duet (Aces High MC - Cedar Falls Book 0) Page 16