“That’s all she ever wanted,” Snake spoke up, nodding towards where my hand was. “She wanted a baby so bad, and every time I saw Walker running off with another woman I just wanted to put him to ground myself. Don’t know why he was so fuckin’ stupid that he couldn’t see a good woman when she was right in front of him.”
“Don’t know, but I’m thankful for it.”
“Yeah, I guess you are. I’m heading downstairs to grab some coffee. Need me to get you anything?”
I shook my head. “Got everything I need right here,” I answered.
I could have sworn I heard him mumble, “Lucky fucker,” before he left the room, but I didn’t disagree so I didn’t bother to verify either. Instead I just sat there and tried to channel my strength into my woman. Then I got an idea and reached into my pocket for my cell phone.
“I need a favor from Leanne,” I told Ghost.
“What kind of favor?” He asked.
Then I told him my plan. In the end he just chuckled. “Guess we all should have seen this coming. You do realize she ain’t exactly in a position to make anything official yet, right?”
“She will be though, and until she is, I want every fucker out there to know she’s taken. More importantly, I want her to know that she is.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll make it happen, brother. Any updates yet?”
“No changes. She’s still in and out of it from what I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”
“Was Snake there?”
“Still is, just went for some coffee.”
“That going okay?”
I sighed. “I’m sure it isn’t easy for him, but he understands the score anyway.”
“Good, been worried about that one. He went above Sweet, asked for a transfer after she got here. I told him to give her a year, because there was no way she’d be receptive to him, since he was Walker’s best friend there. I knew it would take a little time to put the worst of her memories behind her.” It was Ghost’s turn to sigh. “Some things were never meant to be. I figure, if it had been meant to be, years wouldn’t have been wasted with him watching his buddy fuck her over.”
“Can’t say I’m sad about it,” I told him and Ghost laughed.
“No, I guess you aren’t. You take care of that girl, you hear me? She’s a special one. They don’t come around all that often, not for men like us.”
“Seems you got lucky twice.”
“Yeah, I did, because I’m an incredibly lucky fucker. Don’t think you’re gonna be me though, so you better hang on tight to what you got and never forget how precious it is.” With that, he hung up.
“I know exactly what I’ve got, don’t I, honey?” I asked my still sleeping Poppy. Sitting here with her looking so fucking small and exhausted took something from me. I never wanted to see my woman looking so helpless again. If I could help it, I would make sure nothing like this ever happened again. I should have been home with her. Hell, I should have at least left someone there with her. Something.
“No time for regrets,” a familiar voice called out from the door before he came closer and offered me a cup of coffee I had declined earlier.
“Not regrets so much as learning lessons. She won’t be left on her own from now on if I have to leave on club business.”
Snake chuckled. “If you think Poppy will take well to having a babysitter, then you haven’t really gotten to know her well at all.”
“I know she wouldn’t want a fuckin’ babysitter. That doesn’t mean some old ladies won’t stop by and keep her company, help out with getting her business off the ground up here, and whatever else she might need, especially since she’s pregnant and has my nephew to care for when I’m not around. It’s a lot to take on for one person without help.”
“Well, might not want to let on that the old ladies are following your orders to stop in then.”
I turned narrowed eyes on him. “Unlike in that shithole, backwoods town you live in, the women here love Poppy. I wouldn’t have to order them to do shit.”
To my surprise, Snake nodded his head. “Good. I hated it for her that she felt so abandoned by everyone when everything went down.” He sighed. “Of course, I knew then that she’d never stick around. She’s not one to suffer fake people in her life once she realizes they haven’t been genuine.”
“That why you asked to transfer? You knew she’d never come back there?”
“She’s the reason. The only reason.”
“I want to feel bad for you, but I don’t.” The admission rolled off my tongue before I could pull it back. Snake just laughed.
“Don’t pity me, asshole. I’m the king of bad fucking timing, or luck, or whatever the fuck. Still, I wouldn’t trade her friendship for anything. She’s one of the most decent people I’ve ever met in this life. If it couldn’t be me, looks like she didn’t do too bad with you.”
I wanted to punch him in the face on some level, but I also knew exactly where he was coming from. Before anything more could be said, the door to the room opened and Ghost, Leanne and Brantley came in. Brant looked almost scared as he scanned the room until his eyes landed on me.
“Hey little man,” I called out softly, and he came barreling for me. I snatched him up into the air and then pulled him close for a hug.
“Is Popwee otay?”
“She’s just resting, buddy. Poppy was pretty sick.”
He stuck his bottom lip out. “She needed hews mommy to gets hew betta?”
“Poppy’s mommy is heaven with yours, little man. She just needed to see the doctor for some medicine to help get her better. She’s going to be fine okay?”
“Otay.” I turned to look back at the woman in question, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully now. Brant tugged on my shirt. “I wuv Popwee,” he whispered against my chest.
“Me too, little man. Me too.”
At that moment, I was a bit surprised by the person who came through the door. He cleared his throat before walking over to where I sat next to Poppy with Brant on my lap. He bent down beside me, talking low as he did. “I came to see if you needed any help. I didn’t realize Poppy was sick or that she was the one taking care of Brant all this time,” he told me, though there was no accusation in his tone.
“Someone had to do it, and I work too,” I explained.
Kent shook his head. “No, I know that. I just took for granted that the same people I was blaming for our sister’s death would step up and care for little man there when I wasn’t doing it myself.” He offered a humorless chuckle as he said the words. “I’m sorry, Smoke. I know how much they all loved her and Bender. It wasn’t fair to put that on everyone.”
“No, it wasn’t,” I confirmed. “But they all understood anyway,” I told him as I tilted my head in Poppy’s direction. “Especially her.”
“She’s a keeper,” he told me.
“I know it.”
“Would you mind if I took Brant and spent some time with him today? Maybe we could hang out at your apartment?” Kent asked me.
“How about I give you the keys to Poppy’s place and you take him there and check in on Bubba for us too?”
“You got it. Smoke, I really am sorry,” he offered.
“No need, little brother. I understand too. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay, but I will make it up to you.”
Kent had only been gone a few minutes after leaving with Brantley, when Leanne approached me. “Here’s what you asked for. I got Surfer to find it in your apartment rather than going there myself,” Leanne explained as she put the little white box in my hand. “How long have you had it?”
I smirked at her, because I knew she was wondering when I’d possibly had a chance to go get an engagement ring for Poppy. “I’ve had it for a while now,” I told her, and it was true. The ring had come to me when my mother died. It had belonged to her mother. My grandparents had died together when I was little, but my mom used to always tell me the story of their love. She said it was a thing of
beauty, something meant to last beyond this lifetime and right into the next. Before she died, she put this box in my hands and told me that the woman who would wear it one day would make it obvious immediately that she was meant for it. Julie never had. I knew she would never wear it. The first time I went home after meeting Poppy, I went in search of the ring.
I opened the box, knowing that the room had filled up with more people who had come to wish Poppy well, but not caring that they were all there. I took the ring out of the box and glanced down at it. I’d asked my mother once why the ring had never come to her, and she told me she had a shot at the kind of happiness that ring symbolized, and she gave it up for the wrong man – my father. She told me she’d never regret her choice because it left her with her three loves, but that the ring was never meant for her.
I took Poppy’s hand and slid it on her finger. “You were meant to be mine, Poppy. I knew it from the minute we first met. Everything I’d ever questioned in this life just suddenly clicked into place when I looked into your beautiful green eyes, honey. There was no going back after that. Not for me, and not for you either, because I know you felt it too. I’m not some dumb boy. I’m claiming what’s mine, and I’ll be there to take care of you and all of our children from now until we no longer walk this earth. I’ll be there in the next life too, waiting for you to find me. That’s how sure I am.”
I took the other thing that Leanne had brought for me. My acoustic guitar, a Fender Dreadnought, and started playing one of her favorite songs. I figured if my sort of demanding proposal didn’t wake her, maybe a little music would. I played quietly for a few minutes before the spell was broken. Someone must have accidentally hit the remote control because the television in the room suddenly turned on blaringly loud. “No,” I heard Poppy mumble.
She was coming around, and I wasn’t done talking, despite the noise and shuffling from the people in the room trying to shut the tv off again. I set the guitar to the side and laid my head down next to her own. “As soon as you’re better, we’ll work out a date to go get it done. I’m not waiting anymore on what everyone else thinks is appropriate. Screw them! I already know everything I need to. You’re my woman, you’re carrying my baby, and we’re already a family so nothing else matters. We’ll just be making it official.” I kissed her on the cheek and laid my head down beside hers again, watching her as she fought to wake up. Hell, maybe she was fighting to stay asleep. All I knew was that she was gorgeous lying there in that bed. I brushed some hair out of her face and smiled at her as her eyes opened and her lips tipped up at the sight of me. Someone across the room moved, scraping the chair against the floor and destroying our moment. I wanted to roar and pounce on every last asshole in the room and kick them all out, but I couldn’t move away from her.
She took in all the faces of the people who loved her and had been worried for her. Then she reached up to run her hand through her hair, only she managed to snag some of it on the ring I’d put on her finger. I gently reached out and grabbed her hand to keep her from pulling harder and ripping at her hair. I took a moment to untangle her hair from the ring facets and then I watched as her eyes lighted on the sparkle coming off of the diamond in the center of the ring. Then she took a look around at everyone to see who was in on it, and then back to me. I couldn’t fathom what she was thinking in that moment, but instead of asking about the ring she glanced around the room once more and asked after my nephew instead. “Brant?”
The pallor of her face changed as the blood drained out of it and I watched panic take over. The machine attached to her started going a little nuts as her heartrate increased.
“Shh, calm down, honey. He’s fine.” I soothed, though the words didn’t seem to penetrate whatever state she was in. “He’s okay. He’s with Kent right now. He’s taking care of Bubba too, honey. They’re both fine. Leanne got there not long after your text.”
“The baby?” Her next question shouldn’t have surprised me. She was worried about everyone else first. Typical Poppy.
“Just fine. They brought an ultrasound in, and we all got to see the heart beat and everything.”
“How long have I been here?” I heard the light strings of my guitar being strummed by someone, but I didn’t bother to see who had picked it up as I answered Poppy.
“Two days. Leanne was here with you until we got back. Everyone just stopped in to check on you at the perfect time though since you finally decided to stay awake.”
“I’m so sorry,” she told me as tears began to form.
“You couldn’t help getting sick,” I admonished her.
“But Brant…”
“Stop! You let Leanne know something was wrong, and you did your best. Nobody is blaming you for anything. Brant was obviously worried about you, but he was fine. He just sat there with you until Leanne got there. He wasn’t harmed, and it’s not like you neglected him. You got sick and passed out. That is more my fault for leaving you with him so long with no help.”
“Enough of that shit from both of you,” Chief called out as he put my guitar back down. “Neither of you are at fault. It is what it is. Shit happens, and then we get over it and move on. I’m glad you’re getting better, Sis. You had us all worried! Don’t ever do it again though!” Chief moved to the opposite side of the bed that I was on and leaned in to give his sister a kiss on the forehead before he scrunched up his face and pulled away. “Maybe you should try to get up and get a shower sometime soon though, you stink!” Poppy playfully swatted at her brother, but I could see that even doing that much took it out of her, so I stood and turned to look at everyone who was still gathered in the room.
“Chief is right, Poppy stinks!” Everyone laughed as Poppy attempted to hide her embarrassment underneath a pillow. “I think maybe you should give us some time to get her cleaned up and back home, and then you can all stop in see her.”
“Don’t listen to these brutes, sweetie! You look fabulous, even in your sweat-soaked state. I’ll be around to check in on you as soon as you’re back home, okay?” Leanne asked, finally coaxing Poppy back out from underneath her pillow. “I’m really happy to see you’re feeling better. You scared the daylights out of me when I showed up and saw Snake was pounding on the door.”
“Snake?” Poppy asked. “What do you mean Snake was pounding on the door?
Snake managed to pop back in the room as if he had been summoned. “Ah, she’s finally awake, I see.” He wasted no time replacing Chief’s place on the opposite side of the bed from me. I didn’t miss the lingering glance he gave to the ring that now sat on her finger. Not that I wanted to be that dick, but it pleased me a bit to see the pain in his eyes when he saw it. I needed him to know, in no uncertain terms, that she was mine. Now and forever. That quick flash of pain didn’t stop the bastard from leaning over and kissing my woman’s face though. I growled low in my throat, a warning to the fucker that he was treading on awful thin ice.
“Hey, sweet girl, how you feeling?” He gave her a small smile as she looked between the two of us. “I see you didn’t waste time moving on from Walker.” Poppy did not look happy at his announcement, but before she could rip him a new one, he threw his hands up in surrender. “I’m not judging, you know that. I just didn’t realize you had gotten so serious so fast.”
“Didn’t Walk tell you about his trip here last week?”
Snake shifted uncomfortably then. “He mentioned seeing you, but didn’t go into too much detail.” He turned to me then.
I nodded my head acknowledging the fact that we hadn’t actually talked about Walker’s visit earlier when it was mentioned. “He confronted Poppy before I could make it there. Seemed pretty sure of himself that he was going to sweep in, apologize, and carry her home with him on the back of his bike.”
Snake laughed. “No wonder he came back from his trip and sank into the bottom of a bottle.”
“You knew about his trip, and no one sent a heads up?” I groused.
“Nah, like I said earlie
r, we knew he was going on a trip, only he was supposed to be headed south to see family in Tallahassee. Thought maybe his ma took a turn for the worse when he showed up drowning his sorrows.” Shit, he had told me that. Having my woman lying in a hospital bed was fucking with my mind.
“Is she not doing well?” Poppy asked, seeming genuinely concerned, and pulling me from my own thoughts.
“Cancer’s back from what I hear. Though, I don’t hear much from him directly these days since he seems to think he picked sides between you and him.”
“I’m sorry,” Poppy started to apologize.
Snake simply waved her off. “Nah, don’t you go worrying about that. I just did the right thing when he wouldn’t, and he’s mad about that. One day he’ll realize he’s mad at himself and not me.”
“You came to my house and found me?” She asked, changing the subject.
“I did. I wasn’t sure what kind of support system you had up here, and after I found out about Walker’s visit, I figured you could use a friendly face.” Snake glanced over at me and I just tipped my head the slightest bit to indicate I’d go along with what he was saying. He had come for her, not to check on her. She didn’t need to know that though. “No one answered the door even though I could hear the dog barking and a kid crying inside,” he told her. I wished he had left the last part out. She didn’t need to feel any more guilt over passing out in front of Brant. “I took a look in the window and saw you on the floor.” He put a hand over his chest rubbed where his heart was. “Took at least a year off my life to see that.”
I couldn’t help that growl that his admission brought out of me again. This fucker was starting to get under my skin, and he knew it. “I know she’s your woman, I got that. She’s been my friend for a long damn time now though, so calm down with that growling bullshit. I’m not a threat. She’s never looked at me the way she does you. There’s not a damn thing for you to worry over.”
Redemption Duet (Aces High MC - Cedar Falls Book 0) Page 41