“It’s hard on him, yeah?” Benton says as we watch them.
“It is. But he’d do anything for her,” I answer while leaning my head on his shoulder. “He was the same with my mom, too.”
“I wish I could have seen that. Met her. Asked her for your hand.”
“There’s always my dad,” I mumble.
“Yes, there is. I suppose I do need to ask him.”
“You can ask Travis if you want. He’s more a dad to me than my actual dad.”
“I’ll do you one better. I’ll ask Travis, Ollie, and your father.”
“Oh, ambitious!” I tease.
“I don’t want anyone standing in my way of having you as mine. Fully, truly, mine.”
“I’m yours. You’re my favorite.”
He kisses me. And when our lips meld together, I feel something cold land on my cheek. I open my eyes to see snow falling around us.
“My mom approves,” I say with a smile.
Chapter Sixteen
Benton
“I think I want my brother there as a buffer,” Tatum tells me.
We’re discussing her dad and how I should meet him and ask for her hand. She doesn’t see the importance, but for me, it’s a tradition I’d still like to abide by.
“If that’s what you want, Sugar.” I kiss the curve of her neck where it meets her shoulder. “You always smell so fucking good,” I murmur, running my nose up the side of her neck.
“It is. I think it’ll make it easier if Ollie is there as a distraction from us. Maybe that way Dad can focus on what he perceives to be Ollie’s failures instead of mine,” she says, ignoring me as I run my hands down her hips.
“Neither of you are failures at anything. That’s shite if he thinks that.”
“You haven’t met Adam Duncan yet,” she grumbles, finally leaning back against me. “I shouldn’t care at this point what he thinks, but I do. It’s so stupid.”
“Hey,” I say as I turn her around to face me. With my finger, I lift her chin so I can look at her eyes. “It’s normal to want your dad to be proud of you. And he has every reason to be. It’s his fault if he can’t see how amazing you are.”
She hugs me, snuggling in close. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me for speaking the truth.”
She lets out a sigh. “I need to call my brother.”
While she calls Ollie, I check my messages. I’ve been ignoring all of them since I got here, especially the ones from my own dad. I’m still pissed about him sending Tatum away and keeping from me the fact that I’m going to be a dad. He can stew now himself about me not answering him. Serves the dick right for what he did.
“You, limp dick wimp! Please come with me,” Tatum says into her phone that’s on speaker.
“My dick is anything but limp! That is offensive!” Ollie yells back. “But fine. When are we going to start World War III in the Duncan house?” He sighs.
“Tomorrow? Meet you there at four.”
“Alright. Is Benton ready for Dad?” Ollie asks.
“I’m ready to take care of my family. Tatum and our baby are my family,” I announce loud enough for him to hear.
“Good man. But bring your body armor just in case, King,” Ollie says with a chuckle before he says bye and hangs up.
“You’re my favorite, Benny,” Tatum says, turning to me.
“You’re only saying that because I’m standing up to your dad.” I smile, “But I love you too, Sugar.”
* * *
Tatum and I meet Ollie at their dad’s house the next day. Tension is pumping thick in the air around us. Everything I’ve heard about Adam Duncan is bad, so I’m not going into this feeling warm and fuzzy, but I’m not running away, either.
A tall man who looks a lot like an older version of Ollie answers the door with a sour look on his face. I guess I know where Tatum gets that from. I smirk to myself as we walk inside.
I shake the hand of the man who has brought nothing but turmoil and negativity to his family. I wish I could say I had an ounce of respect for him, but as of now, I have none. The only thing I like about him is that he’s half responsible for making the best woman I’ve ever met.
“Stop being dramatic as usual, Tatum. What’s going on that we need a full family meeting? I’m surprised you didn’t bring Travis to beat me up, too,” Mr. Duncan says as we all stand in the entryway of his house. Way to welcome your family into your home, asshole. Travis isn’t needed. I already want to throat punch him myself.
“Dad…” Ollie warns.
“I already know she got pregnant by not being responsible, like her mother, so what else is there to know?” I don’t miss the dig or the way it makes Tatum flinch next to me. I also don’t miss the way she steels herself quickly to hide how much it hurt.
“Excuse me, Mr. Duncan, but that’s a little uncalled for,” I say, not able to keep quiet.
“Are you taking responsibility for this?” he asks as he glances back at Tatum with almost a look of disgust, and I’m about to lose my fucking mind.
“That’s enough, Dad. Stop being a dick for two seconds. Let’s sit down and have a conversation,” Ollie responds, pushing past his dad to sit down in the living room. I like him a little bit more right now.
Their dad follows him into the room, and Tatum rolls her eyes as she takes my hand and guides me in behind her. We all sit, and the room stays quiet for almost a full five minutes before anyone says anything more.
Finally, I let out a breath. “This is ridiculous,” I start. “Sir, I’d like to marry your daughter. I’m here to ask for your blessing. I love Tatum very much, and I’d be honored to have her as my wife and to raise our child together.”
“Look, Benton is it?” he asks, pausing to make sure he has my name correct. I give him a nod with a raised brow. “I’ve been where you are. I know the guts it takes to do what you’re doing. I had to do it at a much younger age. But you look like you just rode into town with the local Lost Kings MC chapter. How am I supposed to trust you to take care of my daughter when you ride motorcycles for a living?”
“With all due respect, her well-being is always the most important to me. I plan on actually taking care of my girl and treating her the way she’s supposed to be treated. I’m not running. I’m not second-guessing. I’m not just doing what I’m supposed to do; I’m doing what I want to do. And what I want is to wake up every day with this incredible woman. I plan on showing her how much I love her each day so she never questions it. Can you say you did the same?” I challenge him. Maybe it isn’t the best thing to do, but it’s the truth. A truth I say looking him straight in the eye.
I see him work his jaw before saying anything. “Looks like you don’t need my blessing. You already intend to do it your way. I do hope the best for you, Tatum,” he says, looking to his daughter next to me. “You may not believe that I love you and Ollie very much. I may have messed up a lot through the years, but that much is true. But you also chose this life. You chose it when you walked out of my house, dropped out of school, decided modeling was what was best. Now, you’re pregnant. How are you going to model now?” He huffs a laugh at her, and my hands ball into fists at my sides. “Take your biker and go. Don’t come running back to me when things fall apart.”
“You sonofabitch!” Ollie seethes. “Stay away from us. We’re done.” He stands and walks to the door.
I take Tatum’s arm in mine, and we follow behind Ollie. She hasn’t said a word since we’ve been here, and I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. But then she stops and turns to look at her dad.
“You know, Dad, I thought maybe, just maybe you’d be a little bit excited to be a grandpa. I thought you’d want to walk me down the aisle. I knew you wouldn’t like how all of it played out, but I thought you’d care a little bit,” she says as a tear falls down her cheek. “But don’t worry. I won’t ever come back to you for anything. And you sure as shit better not ever expect to come back to me wanting a relat
ionship with me or my family. Have a great life.” She turns and walks straight to the car. Ollie follows behind her, enveloping her in a hug, and I know she’s crying.
As I turn to join them, I hear Adam call my name. I stop and turn my head slightly to see what in the hell he could possibly have to say.
“Take care of her,” he says and almost looks like someone who cares. A wave a sadness washes over his face before he turns and goes back inside.
Shaking my head at this weird-ass day, I turn and go to my girl. Ollie pulls from her and wraps her around me, patting me on the shoulder as he does. We give each other a nod in understanding. He leaves a kiss on her head and then leaves to head home.
Tatum’s cries have slowed, and my shirt is tear-soaked. “Sugar? You alright? You good to get in the car to go home now?” I ask.
“I’m so sorry, Benton,” she says.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. Well, except the fact that I’m freezing my tits off out here.” I feel her let out a little laugh. “Come on, let’s get warm in the car and head back to Travis’s.”
“We need to find a place of our own,” Tatum says after we’re warmed up and on our way back.
“We do,” I respond, nodding my head. “Where do you want our home base to be? I’ll have to travel regardless. You understand that, yeah?”
“I do. But we can come with you, right?”
“Of course, you can.”
“Would you mind if we made our permanent home here, in Graves?”
“I’d live on the moon if it meant I got to spend my life you, Tatum,” I tell her, kissing her hand.
“Thank you, Benny. You’re my favorite.” She smiles while hugging my arm.
“And you’re mine.”
* * *
After the clusterfuck that was the visit to Tatum’s dad, we made quick work to begin looking at places to live. We settled on wanting a condo since I travel so much for work.
Candace, who is a friend of Tatum’s family, called within a week with a few places lined up for us to see. We put an offer down on one soon after.
It’s close enough to Travis’s place and Pretty Girl for Tatum to work there if she wants to. I also like the idea of her being close to them if she needs anything while I’m away.
Since I’ve been here, Travis and I have gotten to know each other fairly well and have a mutual understanding when it comes to taking care of Tatum. She may not think she needs taking care of, but we know she does, in a subtle way.
He’s even let me hang with him at the garage and work a bit when I get antsy sitting still. Which is nearly every day. I like getting dirty in the garage, and the fact that my girl is a door away adds to the fun.
“I’d like to have Pretty Girl added as one of our sponsors for this coming season,” I tell Travis as I help him change out spark plugs on a minivan.
“You don’t have to do that,” he says with a huff, as if I offended him by saying it.
“I know I don’t have to. I want to. You are awesome at what you do. In fact, if you didn’t have a little girl who needed you here, I’d ask you to join my team as part of the crew.”
“Shut up,” he mumbles, shaking his head.
“Why is that so hard to believe?” I laugh.
“What type of sponsorship do you want?”
“Your name added to my leathers and helmet, on our banners and such.”
“Yeah,” he scoffs. “What’s that gonna cost me?”
“Free oil changes and snow tires?” He throws a rag at me. “What? Is that too much?” I ask with a smile.
Chapter Seventeen
Tatum
Candace worked her magic and got us a fast move-in date. It’s a month before the baby is due, and Benton is supposed to be training this weekend but pushed it back to help with the move. I love that man, but I know Matthew has got to be pissed at him right now for missing training this week.
Benton has been going back to Vegas a few days each week to train. I can tell the traveling back and forth is wearing on him, but he says he’s fine. I hope he really is. I don’t want to hinder his racing, and I certainly want him healthy and ready when this baby gets here.
I’m busy making beds and unpacking clothes while Travis, Ollie, and Benton help bring in all the furniture we just had delivered. Bexley is unpacking the kitchen, and I have Penny stocking up the bathrooms. It’s a team effort, and I’m still exhausted.
I lie down to take a break on the bed I just made when I hear Benton come in to check on me. “Whose idea was it to move while I was eight months pregnant?” I ask.
“No ones, Sugar. It just happened that way.”
“Yes, it was. It was your sperm.”
His deep laughter fills the room and makes me smile. “I suppose that’s true. You doing alright?” he asks, rubbing my belly and kissing me.
“I’m alright. Just tired. Which is stupid because I’ve hardly done anything.”
“You’re growing our baby. I’d say you’re doing plenty,” he assures as he looks at me with those blue eyes that hypnotize me.
“How you guys doing?”
“All done. Everything is in and where your sticky notes instructed, my lady.”
“Can you order pizza for everyone? There are drinks in the fridge already.”
He kisses me on the head once more. “Sure thing. You rest.”
And I do. The next thing I know, I’m waking up and it’s dark outside. I reach over and feel Benton next to me in bed, and I relax a bit. I guess I was more tired than I thought.
I close my eyes again with a relaxed smile on my face when I feel a sharp pain hit, and I grab where it came from. It felt like a cramp, but different. I reach for my water bottle I keep close by and drink it down, hoping that will help it pass. I read that dehydration can bring on cramps and Braxton Hicks contractions. I lie back down and try to fall asleep again, but then feel another pain like the one before.
Frustrated, I get out of bed so I don’t bother Benton and go into the kitchen to get more water. I decide to eat a little, too. I cut up an apple and spoon some peanut butter onto my plate to go with it. I’m walking to the couch to sit when another pain hits, this time worse, and I drop the plate, making it shatter at my feet.
I’m cleaning it up when I hear Benton. “Tatum, you alright?”
“I’m sorry I woke you. I had a cramp and dropped the plate. Owned them for a day and already breaking them,” I grumble.
“Let me help you clean up.” He brings over the trash can and helps clean up the big pieces before getting a towel to clean up the rest.
“Ahh!” I yell when another pain hits. I fall to my butt and hold my stomach. Now, I’m not so sure these are just cramps.
“Sugar…” he says with question, thinking the same thing I am.
I nod at him, and within ten minutes we’re in the car headed to the hospital. I know my mom was early with all of us, but I wasn’t expecting to go into labor this early with my first.
Benton is quiet as he drives us, holding my hand the entire way. I’m doing my best to stay calm and breathe, but it’s hard to do when I feel so scared.
We arrive at the hospital, and once I’m checked in to triage, we wait. The doctor on call checks me out and confirms that I am in active labor and we are in for a night. I’m officially admitted and set up in a laboring room.
Once settled there, I have Benton call my family to let them know, and within an hour they’re all here with me. It was especially fun to watch Ollie as each contraction hit and how he had no clue what to do. I feel bad for Bex when the day comes that they have a baby.
Although I’m only thirty-six weeks, the doctors all assure me that everything is going fine and looks normal. Baby seems healthy and ready to meet us.
By the time day breaks the next morning, I’m in full labor and ready to get this show on the road. I opted not to have drugs or an epidural, and right now I’m regretting that decision.
I’ve threatened to cut off my b
rother’s dick if he said one more smart-ass comment, so Bex thought it best for them to wait in the waiting area with Travis and Penny.
“You are doing bloody fantastic, Sugar,” Benton encourages me as the baby begins to crown.
I’m exhausted and hurting and scared, and I don’t know how women have done this for hundreds of years. Why have we done this for hundreds of years?!
The doctor tells me it’s time to push, and while Benton holds one side of my legs and arms, I bear down with a grunt and begin to push.
Forty-seven minutes later, I’m holding the warmest little thing in my arms. I feel like I’m literally holding a piece of my heart as tears stream down my cheeks.
“She is amazing,” Benton says in awe, looking down at our daughter. Neither of us wants to take our eyes off of her.
“Here, hold your daughter, Daddy,” I whisper to him. He kisses me on the forehead before scooping her up.
It’s the sweetest thing to watch this man, this big muscled and tattooed man, holding our tiny daughter in his arms. He’s so gentle with her. You can see the love pouring out of him, and I know then that I have nothing to fear. We’re going to be just fine.
The nurses take her after a minute to get her vitals and clean her up while I’m also stitched and cleaned up.
“Give an extra stitch in there, yeah?” Benton tells the person up in my personal space.
“Our daughter is in the room, you pig!” I tell him through a laugh.
The nurse hands her back to me to try to nurse, and although nothing feels right, they tell me we did alright before they take her to get a proper bath while I go to my room. Benton follows our daughter, and when I get a second to breathe and take in the hugeness that I’m a mom, it hits me how much I wish my mom were here.
“Why are you crying in here by yourself?” Ollie asks as he and everyone else come into the room.
Always Series Box Set Page 45