by Erin Osborne
“I don’t honestly know. When Irish parked, I suddenly got a cold chill down my spine and instantly felt like someone was watching us.”
“But you didn’t see anyone? Anythin’ out of the ordinary?” Grim asks me.
“No. I immediately started looking around and I didn’t see anything. There weren’t any cars sitting around, no one standing on the street, and no one else sitting in the diner.”
“Okay. Well, we’re goin’ to have a short meetin’ to get everyone up to speed. Then Irish will be back up here with you. I’m not even goin’ to leave the house for this meetin’,” Grim tells me. “We’re just gonna be down in the basement.”
Irish kisses my head and then my belly before leaving the room. Sami and Cassidy make their way in followed by Goose. I’m sure that one of the guys wanted her to come in with me so that nothing was heard when the guys meet. Sami puts Cassidy in bed with me and she curls up right next to me placing her little hand on my belly. Cassidy always sits next to me these days holding my belly. It’s cute and I know that Irish has more than one picture of it in his phone.
Sami and Goose try to keep my mind off of everything by setting up a game of Skip-Bo. It’s a long game and I know it will distract me. Even from knowing how long the guys are meeting downstairs. Thankfully, there is only a basement in this house. The rest of it is one floor so I don’t have any stairs to climb. If I did, I’m sure that Irish would be carrying me up and down them. And, I’d really be stuck upstairs alone. As it is, I’m stuck to my bedroom right now.
“Sami, you know, I don’t know that I’ve heard whether or not you’ve seen your bedroom yet. Have you?” I ask her, curiously.
“No. I’ve been in the living room with everyone. Then I was watching a movie with Goose and Cassidy in there. Irish got the biggest tv to watch movies on. I love it!”
“Okay. Well, why don’t you go check out your room while Goose shuffles the cards for me.”
Sami takes off and I know the exact moment she sees her room. Rage recreated the exact image in the picture I took from Sami that day. Goose and I look at one another and start laughing as soon as we hear her squeal in excitement. In no time at all, she’s back in our room and telling me how much she loves Irish and I for giving her the room of her dreams. This is what I want my days to be like. Relaxing and just being with my family.
By the time we’re almost done with the game, Irish is rejoining us. Cassidy is fast asleep with her hand still on my belly. Goose is sitting in a chair by the bed, Sami is sitting at my feet, and I’m curled up at the top of the bed. There’s a card table between us so we can play. Irish climbs in on the other side of Cassidy and watches us finish the game. I end up winning and I don’t know how much of that is because the other two let me win. I’ll never know because they won’t tell me.
“We’ll let you two get some rest. We’re gonna go watch another movie in the living room. Do you want me to take Cassidy to her room?” Sami asks us.
“No. I’ll take her there in a little while,” Irish responds.
The two leave the room and I relax back against the pillows further. Cassidy stirs and rolls closer to her daddy but never removes her hand from me. Irish moves closer to us and wraps his arms around the two of us. Within minutes I can feel myself falling into a deep sleep. I’ve never felt safer and more loved than I do in this moment.
“Whit, I love you with all my heart,” Is the last thing I hear before sleep drags me under.
Chapter Sixteen
Sami
IT’S BEEN ABOUT A MONTH and today we’re all going to surprise the hell out of my mom. Bailey, Irish, and myself have planned a surprise baby shower. She was just allowed off of bed rest because the swelling and headaches have finally gone away. The doctor still doesn’t want her to go back to work, so she’s been stockpiling food. I guess it’s a good thing that they built the shop or whatever you want to call it under Goose’s apartment.
My mom has been on a roll and there’s a ton of spaghetti sauce, chicken ala king, chili sauce, canned tomatoes, and a ton of other foods. I don’t know what she plans on doing with all of this food, but we’re definitely reaping the benefits of it. Keegan is too. She comes over on a regular basis with Rage’s daughter Kasey. Normally it’s to help mom in the kitchen.
“Before anythin’ happens for the baby shower, you wanna go for a walk with me Sami?” Irish asks me.
“Sure.”
I’m hoping that today is the day that Irish tells me what mom and him are having. I haven’t said a word about it because I know there’s a lot that’s been going on. Mom and Irish told me about the feeling mom got, and I’ve had more guys on me whenever I leave the house. Including when I go to school.
“I know you’ve been patiently waitin’ to hear what we’re havin’. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long. I just needed to make sure your mom was okay and things were goin’ accordin’ to plan before I could leave her with someone else for any length of time.”
“I know. It’s okay, trust me,” I tell him, trying to make sure that he knows I’m serious.
“Well, we’re havin’ a boy!” he tells me, pulling the envelope out of the pocket of his cut.
I open it up and see the picture from mom’s ultrasound. Just from looking at it, I can tell that Irish looks at this picture often. It has a worn look to it and I know what I’m going to do with it as soon as my little brother is born. I’m going to surprise Irish and make sure that he doesn’t ever lose the first picture of his son.
“I’m getting a little brother!” I say excitedly. “Instead of him watching out for me, all the girls in his life better watch their asses! Anyone attempts to break his heart, I’ll break their face!”
Irish starts laughing his ass off as soon as I say that. I know he’s going to say something eventually about me saying swear words, but it’s not in front of my mom so maybe I’ll get lucky. Besides, he’s got other things on his mind like planning this baby shower. He’s been a nervous wreck the last few days and I know that she’s noticed it. But, she hasn’t said a word about it to anyone.
“Well, I guess we should head back. There’s still a ton of work to do before your mom can leave the house. And Darcy should be here any minute,” Irish says.
“Are the other clubs coming too?” I ask.
“Of course they are. I think Slim’s club should be here within the hour and Gage’s club left when Darcy did.”
“What’s everyone telling mom?”
“We’re gonna have a cookout to celebrate her gettin’ off bed rest finally.”
“And what about the dress that Bailey and Melody picked out for her?”
“Bailey is tellin’ her that she picked her out a special sundress for today. She deserves to feel special and as beautiful as she truly is.”
Irish always knows the right things to say. Even when we’re having the worst days, he can pick us up with just a word or two. It’s something that Goose is starting to do with me too. He is always right by my side when he knows something is going to be told to me, so he can offer whatever support I need.
As we’re walking back up to the house, I see Goose outside. He’s sitting at the table out back with no shirt on. I can’t seem to peel my eyes off of him and Irish notices. He starts smirking and trying to say something to me, but I don’t hear a single word as I imagine running my hands up and down Goose’s amazing body.
“You know that his birthday is around the same time as yours, right?” Irish asks me.
“No, I didn’t know that. Why wouldn’t he tell me?”
“Probably the same reasons you didn’t tell him when yours was,” Irish replies, leaving us alone and heading in the direction of our house.
Goose watches me as I make my way to the table and take a seat next to him. I know that I’m going to say something about him not telling me when his birthday is, I just don’t know if today should be the day I do that. In a few minutes, I’ll have to head to the clubhouse so I can help with the d
ecorations. Then I’ll have to come back here so Darcy can do my hair and stuff. This isn’t going to leave my mind though, so maybe I should say something now.
“What’s on your mind butterfly?” Goose asks me.
“Irish just told me a few things. One of those I can’t tell you. The other one, I don’t know if I want to say anything to you right now.”
“Why’s that?” he asks.
“Why haven’t you told me when your birthday is?” I ask him.
“Irish told you it’s not long after yours, huh?”
“Yeah. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I knew you’d want to make a big deal out of it and it’s really not needed. I’ve never had it celebrated before, and I don’t see a reason to start now,” he says, shrugging his shoulders to tell me he really doesn’t think it’s a big deal.
“Well, you’ve got another thing coming. This year, we’re gonna celebrate it. Even if it’s just the two of us, or if my mom and Irish are included in that. We will be doing something for you,” I tell him, leaving no room for him to argue.
“Okay butterfly.”
“Now, I’m heading over to the clubhouse. Are you going with me?” I ask, staring once again at his exposed body.
“If you keep lookin’ at me like that, we’re gonna be in trouble,” he says suddenly.
I quickly look away as Goose pulls a shirt over his head. Even though I hate to see him covering himself up, I know that he has to. So, I stand up to put a little distance between us and make sure he knows I’m ready to head on over to the clubhouse. Bailey, Maddie, and Melody are already over there. Skylar is keeping mom and Keegan busy. Plus, I know that Skylar wanted to talk to mom about something. Since Irish knows that I’m heading over to the clubhouse, I shoot him a quick text to let him know we’re leaving and we start walking.
“Do you think your mom has an idea about what’s gonna happen today?” Goose asks on our way over.
“No. We’ve all been pretty quiet about it. Irish is going to be the one giving the surprise away if anyone does. He’s been so nervous about whether or not she’s going to like it.”
“I know I’d be nervous about it too.”
“We’ve never talked about it; do you even want kids Goose?” I ask him suddenly needing to know.
“Eventually I do. As long as you’re their mother,” he responds. “I don’t want to rush into it or anythin’ like that.”
“I was just wondering,” I tell him, making sure that he knows I don’t want to rush into it either.
“I want little girls that look like you,” he goes on.
“And I want little boys that look just like you.”
Goose smiles down at me and I return his smile. He’s told me before that I have a smile just for him. Well, he’s got a smile just for me too. It lights up his whole face making him looker a little younger. His eyes close just a fraction and he tilts his head when he smiles at me.
We continue our walk to the clubhouse and I get lost in a daydream about being by his side no matter what. I want to have everything I see my mom and Irish leading to. They’re together every day and find time to spend at least a few minutes alone. It doesn’t matter what they do, they just take a few minutes for them. They’re adding to our family with a new baby, and eventually I know they’ll get married. As soon as the situation with my dad is taken care of. Goose is the one I want to do all that with. No one else will ever make me as happy as he will. There’s no question in my mind about that.
We’re finally ready to head over to the clubhouse and mom still thinks we’re having a cookout. She has no clue what she’s really about to walk into and I’m glad that no one gave the surprise away. It got to the point that we weren’t sure about Irish spilling the beans, so I called Pops. He, in turn, called Irish and asked him to come to the clubhouse. The rest of us calmed down once he was out of the house and away from mom. I know that Pops was going to have a talk with him too.
“I don’t know why you guys wouldn’t let me make anything to bring over. Skylar, you shouldn’t have to do all the work,” my mom says.
“Don’t worry about it hun,” Skylar says. “We all know you’ve been busting your ass in your own kitchen, which I’m totally jealous of by the way. Have you thought any more about what we talked about?”
“I have. As long as I can still go back to the diner to work then I think I’m in,” my mom says.
“What’s going on?” I ask since I missed the conversation.
“I’ve decided that I want to open a bakery. Part of the bakery I want to have as a store with ready made food that a person just has to heat up and throw together. Since your mom loves to cook and has been preparing a ton of things, I think we could sell that in the store part while I take care of the baking.”
“That’s an amazing idea! Can I help out?”
“Of course!” Skylar says. “It’s going to be completely operated by members of the club. Mainly the old ladies, but the guys will have to do some things too. I think the prospects should have to pull dish duty and clean up whatever other messes we run into.”
We all laugh because the prospects have more than enough to do at the clubhouse. And Skylar hates adding anything on to their already full plates. When it comes to her baking, she’s ruthless and will pull anyone in to help. This is a fact that all new prospects are warned about I guess.
As soon as we get to the clubhouse, Bailey pulls out a bandana that looks like the one Irish wears when he’s riding. I see her stop my mom and tie it around her eyes. My mom is standing there confused as hell, but none of us are opening our mouths right now. This is going to be one hell of a surprise. We just want to make sure she’s sitting before she realizes what’s going on. Irish doesn’t want us to really surprise her at all, but it’s part of what’s going to make this special for her.
“What’s going on?” mom finally asks.
“Just let us get you inside and sitting down before we tell you,” Melody says, grabbing onto one of mom’s arms to help lead her in.
All of the guys are standing in the main room and it’s crowded as hell. They’re not making a noise, so mom doesn’t know that they’re there. Irish is standing front and center so he’s the first person she sees. I can tell it’s killing him that he’s not the one helping her right now.
The main room is decorated in yellows, greens, and whites. There’s streamers across the ceiling, balloons everywhere, two tables loaded down with food we can munch on for right now, and another two tables for presents. Tables have been moved out of the way so that we can play some games Maddie and Bailey came up with. And I know that mom is going to love this.
“Are you ready?” I ask mom as soon as we have her sitting in a comfortable chair.
“I am.”
The women all count down from five and I pull the bandana from my mom’s eyes as soon as we hit one. At this point, we all yell surprise and I can see my mom’s eyes filling with tears. They’re happy tears though and I’m glad that we could pull this off for her.
Irish is at her side as the first tear spills over. He wraps his arms around her and they share a private moment amongst all of us. Soon, the rest of the guys are congratulating mom before making their way outside for the cookout that we really are having. We’re just having the baby shower first.
Wood is one of the last guys to make his way out of the main room. Before he can even make it to the hallway, Darcy runs right into him. Somehow their feet get all tangled up and he ends up falling and landing face first where his face doesn’t belong.
A few of the guys turn around after hearing the commotion and I can spot Crash and Trojan. They’re quickly making their way towards Darcy and Wood. This is not going to be good for Wood when he’s still laying in the same spot. The rest of us are just waiting to see how this is going to unfold.
“Are you fuckin’ serious right now?” Trojan yells out. “What the fuck are you doin’ Wood? And Darcy, why haven’t you pushed him the fuck away?
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Crash is pulling Wood up and walking him out the back door as Trojan helps Darcy back to her feet. I can see that he checks her over before trying to lead her away as well. Darcy isn’t having any of it though.
“You’re not taking me anywhere and you better be leaving Wood alone. This wasn’t his fault. I ran into him and then tripped him somehow.”
“Okay, but he didn’t have to leave his face in your pussy!” Trojan yells out.
“Listen to me once and for all caveman,” Darcy begins. “Whoever I let near there is going to be there. I haven’t let you or Crash there so you have no right to try to tell me who I can, and can’t, be near.”
“Why is it that every time you two are in the same place, this always happens?” Trojan asks, turning away and going in search of Wood and Crash.
Darcy is continuing to yell at him, but her voice is fading away as she’s hot on his heels. We all look at one another and burst out in laughter. Now that we’ve had our entertainment for the day I guess we can move on to the baby shower. Then the cookout later on.
Goose
The baby shower was a huge success. Whitney and Irish got everything they needed and more. Irish, Pops, Joker, and myself carried all of the presents over to their house and put them in the nursery. Whitney isn’t allowed to go in the nursery right now because Irish had it painted and decorated based on what they’re having. Since Whitney doesn’t want to know, she’s been banned.
Now we’re all sitting around one of the picnic tables when Pops sits closer to Whitney. The rest of us are waiting to see what he’s up to. I know that he’s been wanting to bring Whitney and her mom closer together. She’s been allowed out of the rooms in the basement and has her own room. There’s still a guard on her and she’s not allowed near the phones yet. But, there doesn’t seem to be any hidden agenda here. And Pops has been talking to her almost daily.
“Whitney, the choice is completely up to you. I’ve been talkin’ to your mom and I was wonderin’ about havin’ her out here with us today. She’s not made any attempt to contact your dad and I really don’t think there’s anythin’ in the works with her.”