by Addison Jane
His face softened and he gave me a genuine smile. “There’s a long road to go yet. But yeah, looks like we’re gonna have a baby.”
“I’ll be with you all the way,” Kaci said, taking my hand in hers and squeezing it reassuringly. “These things can take time, but whatever happens, we’ll work through it. I’m here for the two of you. You make the baby, I’ll bake the baby.”
I laughed, pulling her close again. I couldn’t describe the emotions running through me in that moment. It was almost as though a weight was slowly being lifted from my shoulders. Or maybe it was just being shifted. I felt a connection to Kaci. She was honest and compassionate and completely unwavered by our connection with the club, which was something I had feared.
When she said she would protect our child like it was her own, that hadn’t scared me, it had empowered me and I believed her.
We were being given a chance, and while there were still a lot of hurdles to jump through and risks ahead of us, I felt like having her there with us would only make us stronger. This may not have been the way we had expected this journey to go, but we would make it work because in the end, it would all be worth it.
Standing in the mirror with only my underwear on, I scrutinized my protruding belly.
Thirty weeks, four days, but I already felt like I was ready to burst. My feet hurt, my back hurt, I needed to pee at least once every hour and these two kids felt like they were constantly trying out for WWF. Elbows, knees, and feet were pushed and jabbed and wiggled into places I’m pretty sure there should never be limbs forced. But fuck did I already love them more than life itself.
I ran my hand over my stretched belly. There were already stretch marks pulling at the sides, decorating my skin with stripes. I traced them softly with the tip of my finger, wondering if they’d be there forever, as a permanent reminder of my babies.
Soon they would be here, crying and eating and pooping, and for a minute I wondered if it would be so bad to just keep them here forever. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for motherhood. It was a daunting task, one that I wasn’t sure I was fit for. Granted I hadn’t exactly had the best role models.
Life in and out of foster care was a scary world. Not knowing what kind of person you would be left with next. Were they sweet—the kind that took in children because she wanted to nurture them and give them a positive shove toward a bright future. Or, were they only in it for the regular paycheck and couldn’t give a flying fuck whether you made it out of there alive, as long as they could buy their cigarettes and vodka every night.
I wanted to be a good mom, strong but fair, protective—but not one of those helicopter parents that won’t let their kids do anything remotely exciting—and nurturing but without stopping them from being their own person.
It was all so much to think about, so much to take in. My head was spinning, my body ached, and I could really go for a drink right now to calm my nerves. But no, couldn’t do that either.
Two strong hands slipped around my body from behind, and I eased my body back in Optimus’ chest, enjoying the way he supported me, taking some of the pressure off my limbs. On a heavy sigh, I placed my hands over his. His rough and calloused hands felt strange on the soft skin of my stomach, but I found I rather enjoyed the feeling.
“One, two and three,” he said, placing his chin on my shoulder. His breath tickled my ear. “All of my babies still together.”
I smiled and rolled my eyes. “There’s still like ten weeks, Op. We aren’t going to be separated anytime soon.”
He chuckled. “Gonna make the most of the time I have where you’re all in one place. ‘Cause once those kids start moving, we’re gonna have our work cut out for us.”
“You’re already thinking of when they’re going to be able to crawl and walk and escape?” I retorted, looking at him through the mirror with a horrified look on my face.
“And when they’re gonna be able to drink, and ride motorcycles—”
I laughed at his obvious assumption. “Oh, I see. You’re assuming these two munchkins are gonna be boys?”
His lips brushed my neck and sent a red hot flush through my body. “Woman, you give me two more girls and I’m gonna go gray before I hit forty.”
Lifting my hand, I brushed my fingers through his unusually long hair. He always kept it cut short, buzzed almost. But lately, he’d let it grow out. I can’t say I minded too much. Finding that I could now tug on it while we were having sex was a whole new experience, and one I didn’t want to lose anytime soon. It made me feel powerful and Op loved when I was demanding.
“Oh no… I think I can see a gray hair.”
I yelped when his lips tugged at the skin of my neck as a sharp sting shot through me, but it was soon soothed as he pressed his soft lips to the sensitive area. “Don’t test me, blackbird.”
A hard kick in my stomach had us both startling and looking down at the round bump.
“Fucking hell, what you breeding in there? Karate kids?” Optimus joked as he rubbed his hand over a protruding knee, or elbow, or something. I watched him smile as it was slowly withdrawn. “That’s my boy,” he whispered.
I shook my head but couldn’t help a grin as this monster of a man eased and soothed his children, even while they were in my stomach.
Optimus was born to be a father—from what I’d heard, he’d had the perfect example of one growing up. I didn’t know much about Dealer, but Optimus once described him like a prickly pear. Tough and thorny on the outside, but soft and sweet on the inside. I really wished I could have met him. He sounded like a great man.
“Come on,” Op urged with a tap on my ass. Which, by the way, I’m pretty sure was getting rounder. “Get dressed and let’s go get some breakfast. I told Harlyn we’d only be a few minutes.”
I snorted as I moved over to the bed and pulled my most comfortable maxi dress over my head. “You know she doesn’t want to sit with us anyway. She’s far too cool for that.” The dress floated down over my bump, accentuating it nicely, with the hem just brushing the floor.
I wasn’t usually the girliest girl in the world. For sure, I liked to dress up and go out, but I would never say that my everyday wear included dresses. Well, it does now. They are by far the most comfortable thing to put on. Those damn stretchy waistband pants they have freaked me the hell out, and getting them off and on to pee was almost as bad as wearing regular jeans.
At this stage, when I needed to pee, I didn’t have time to fuck around with pants. I barely had time to pull down my panties.
“She’s seven, not seventeen,” Optimus grumbled. “She can sit with her father without acting like it embarrasses her.”
Harlyn really was growing up, and flourishing after all the setbacks she’d had. I could tell she was missing her mom, though. The last few months had been a rollercoaster ride of emotions and events. But for now, it was safer for everyone, especially Harlyn, that Wrench and Sugar weren’t here. Optimus was doing what he could to help, but it really wasn’t much. Our job was just to keep Harlyn safe and happy until she could have her mom back.
Op and I loved having her around, she was smart, quick witted and kept us on our toes. She was also super excited to be a big sister and help us care for these two little ones.
“Yes sir, mister president.” I giggled as I left the bedroom with him close on my tail. “You have plans for today?”
He took my hand in his as we headed down the stairs. “I’ve got some shit to sort out with an order that came in yesterday. Wasn’t expecting one for another month, so gonna need to check and see if we have the supplies to fill it or if I need to call Kit and ask for a loan.”
I knew he wasn’t talking about motorcycle parts. The only drugs the Brothers dealt in was Marijuana, and that was because they grew it themselves with many of the boys smoking it themselves. Not all the time, but occasionally at a party someone would light up. Op liked to keep the clubhouse free of hard drugs and shit that fucked with people’s minds and created long l
asting addictions.
He also tried to keep Athens and the surrounding cities almost completely free of drugs like meth and coke and heroin. Drug addicts were unpredictable, and at times, just plain scary. Keeping as many addicts and drugs off the streets was his way of showing respect to the citizens who lived there. His way of somewhat protecting them, I guess.
“When you talk to Kit, can you tell him to get Harmony to call me?” I huffed. “I tried twice last week and she never rang me back.”
I missed my best friend. I knew she was busy, but she always made time to talk to me. My mind told me there was something wrong, but when she was here for Slider’s funeral a few months back, she seemed fine.
We walked into the dining room, grabbing plates and filling them with food. It was pretty sparse at this time of the morning, but we had to get Harlyn to school by 8:00 a.m. and Optimus liked to get an early start most days.
Me?
I would probably drop Harlyn at school and come back for a nap. I shuddered even as I thought it. That’s how exhausted I was. Usually, I’d be finding excuses to go for a run or to socialize, or seduce my man. But at this stage, all I wanted to do was rest. I was running on empty and wouldn’t be able to stop and fill the tank for another ten weeks.
“Morning princess.” Blizzard smiled as I sat down at a table with him, Rose, Jayla and Harlyn. My plate was piled with food and I had a bowl of cereal, half of this I probably wouldn’t eat but my cravings were all over the show at the moment, and trying to find food that satisfied them seemed almost impossible, so I had to improvise.
“Morning,” I grumbled back as I wiggled my body around in an attempt to find a position that was comfortable. “Damn, we need to get better chairs in this place.”
Rose giggled. “The chairs are fine.”
I frowned at her. “They’re so hard, and the back is so straight. It’s like sitting in the electric chair.”
Blizzard smirked. “Because I’m sure you know exactly what that feels like.”
“Don’t mock me.” I sniffed. Spotting the ketchup in the center of the table, something suddenly hit me, an overwhelming need. Reaching over, I flicked the lid off and began to pour it.
“Optimus!” Blizzard called in horror as the red liquid swirled around in my bowl of flaky cereal. “You’re woman is being weird again!”
Ignoring him, I dipped my spoon in. The milk had changed to a dirty pink color but I didn’t care. I shoved the whole spoonful in my mouth and chewed for a few seconds before releasing a satisfied groan. It was the perfect mix of salty and sweet that my body seemed to be crying out for.
“Chelsea, that’s really, really, weird,” Harlyn pointed out, staring at my bowl with wide eyes.
“I’m actually kinda more intrigued to see what it tastes like,” Rose commented, looking at me with her head slightly tilted to the side. “I like both those things, I just never thought of putting them together.”
“It’s fucking perfect,” I mumbled around another mouthful of the strange delight.
Optimus just smiled and shook his head as he took the last seat at the table. “Bro, nothing surprises me anymore. If that makes her happy and feeds my kids, I couldn’t care less whether she puts maple syrup on her eggs.”
I sat a little straighter, looking at the small pile of scrambled eggs on my other plate.
“Now you’ve done it,” Blizzard grunted.
I licked my lips. “Do we have any maple syrup?”
I waved Harlyn off as Chelsea and her got in the car to go to school before retreating to my office. After a quick discussion with Blizzard after breakfast, he confirmed that we just didn’t have the resources right now to supply an order without getting behind on next months.
And I couldn’t risk that.
We had people that we sold to monthly. The respect between us was solid, and they were where my loyalties laid. I couldn’t risk not having product for them and breaking that trust that we’d built up over the years.
I picked up the phone in my office and dialed Kit’s number. “Hey brother.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
“You’re cheery this morning.”
He laughed. “Yeah, it’s been a good week, man.”
“Fucking good to hear,” I responded, unable to help from smiling myself. When the people I cared about were happy, I couldn’t help but be happy with them. “I’m glad you’re in a good mood ‘cause I need a favor.”
He snorted loudly. “Hit me.”
I took a deep breath, hoping like hell that Kit could help me out. These new clients, they could be lucrative for us if this became a permanent deal. But in order for us to do that, we needed time to get more plants ready because right now, we only grew a little over enough to sustain our current partner.
“Was wondering if you have any green to spare,” I explained the situation to him that I was in, and how much I needed exactly.
“Yeah man, I got your back. With Mansel down at the moment, we actually have a fair bit to spare.” Kit had been keeping me informed about the trouble with their shipment going missing and putting Mansel in the hospital. I wasn’t sure what the fuck was going on, but I knew it didn’t sound good.
I blew out a sigh of relief. “Thanks man, I owe you. I’ll send a couple of the boys to get it.”
“Nah, actually, I think we might come for a short visit. Harmony’s been itching to see Chelsea, and we have some news to share with you guys.”
My eyebrows rose in curiosity. “This news the reason you’re so damn chirpy?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“Well brother, you know you’re always welcome here. When do you think you’ll be able to make it? Pretty sure Chelsea would love to see Harm.”
Kit took a moment to respond, obviously working through times and shit. “How ‘bout we come up tomorrow?”
“Fuck man… that would be amazing.” That meant I could get the order to these guys within the time they said they needed it. “Ride safe. I won’t let Chelsea know you’re coming. It’ll be a nice surprise to see her girl.”
“Sounds a plan, bro. Catch you tomorrow.”
With that settled, I went about making the phone call. Letting my contact, Ethan, know that things would be ready for them to pick up in a couple days. He was happy as hell. Eagle had been the one to introduce me to Ethan. The guy was usually a Nomad for a club we were friendly with called the Red Menace MC, and when Eagle went rogue on the odd occasion, it was common for them to travel together. They weren’t a big club, but they lived only a few cities away and we’d had a long positive relationship with them.
I stepped out of my office in search of coffee before I sat down and looked over the books for X-Rated, only to find Ham stomping toward me.
“It’s too early in the morning for drama,” I groaned, knowing there was something seriously going on by the confused look on his face.
“Sorry Prez…” he huffed, “… but I’ve got a girl out at the gate requesting to speak with you.”
I sighed and tilted my head back to look at the ceiling. “Give me strength,” I murmured before following him down the hall and out the main doors.
As we walked closer and I got a better look at the young woman, I knew she wasn’t someone I recognized. This instantly put me on edge. We didn’t get many random visitors from people who didn’t know or weren’t associated with the club in some shape or form. So I was instantly suspicious.
Her hair was long and blonde and she had it pulled to one side so it flowed over her shoulder in effortless waves. She was petite, and if I had to guess no more than five foot two inches, making me feeling like I was hulking over her. She had on jeans and a casual T-shirt. Well, as casual as you could get when your shirt was pulled tight over a pregnancy bump. It wasn’t big, but it was obvious.
“Can I help you?” I asked, keeping my tone very straight forward without being rude. For all I knew she was just looking for directions or was lost, or having car problem
s or some shit.
“You’re Optimus?” she confirmed, appearing to be a little nervous but fighting hard to not crumble. I nodded and she seemed to exhale a long breath like she was relieved. “I need to talk to you, but I’d prefer to do it in private.”
In that moment, Chelsea’s car pulled up at the gate, and I stepped to the side, allowing her to pull through and park her car.
Focusing on the woman once again, I asked, “Where did you get my name?”
Her hand instantly went to her stomach, an unconscious movement, but one that when matched with her next words meant more than I could have ever imagined. “From Slider.”
I looked to Ham who stood silently with his mouth hanging slightly open in shock.
My palms started to sweat as I looked back at this woman standing on the sidewalk, obviously feeling unsure and out of place. She was so innocent and seemed so genuine. I knew I couldn’t turn her away. My respect for my fallen brother wouldn’t let me at least hear her out.
“Come…” I waved my hand for her to follow me, “… Ham will watch your car. Let’s go to my office.” I nodded, her shoulders slumping in relief as she walked inside the clubhouse gates.
Chelsea stood by her car waiting for me with obvious interest in this strange woman who I was allowing onto club property.
I took her hand as I walked past. “Gonna need you for this one.”
She fell into step beside me, leaning forward to peek at the other woman to my right. “Hi, I’m Chelsea,” she offered with a gentle smile.
The smile was returned. “My name’s Piper.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too, finally.”
This confused Chelsea and she pulled back, looking up at me with a questioning frown. I waited until we stepped into my office and offered Piper a seat before I explained to Chelsea the situation. “Piper tells me that Slider gave her my name.”
A tiny gasp fell from my woman’s lips as she settled into the chair next to Piper and I took a seat opposite the both of them in my office chair.