Unexpected Love (South Coast Brothers Book 5)

by Kacey Hamford

  “Mum, can I open my presents?” I smiled at him and nodded my head. He was the only person I needed to be concerned with, he was my world and any other baby that may join us.

  “Flower, can we talk?” Solar asked.

  “Nope. I’m spending the day with my son. It’s his day today and nothing and no one will ruin that.” He placed one hand flat on the kitchen table and leant down to my ear.

  “I’ve set up a surprise party at the clubhouse for him. At two o’clock. If you don’t want me here, I can call for Tyler.”

  “Yes please.” I turned my attention back to Nate and he was all smiles with his new toys. I knew I was probably being too harsh on Solar but he had really upset me last night.

  ***

  Tyler had showed up within half an hour of Solar calling him and we were now standing outside the clubhouse ready to go in. I felt bad that Solar had arranged all of this and now I was ignoring him.

  “Come on,” I said as I pushed Nate in ahead of me. As we rounded the corner into the bar area, everyone shouted out surprise, which made Nate jump. The Prez’s kids and Ashlyn’s daughter ran up to Nate, handing him a party hat and whistle. They all ran off together and I was left standing in the middle of the room.

  “Hey.” I looked to my left to see Eden.

  “Hi, how are you?” I gave her a quick hug.

  “Good, I got to skype with Harry yesterday. He’s having fun at his dad’s place.”

  “I went for a meeting at the school yesterday. I’m going back Monday.”

  “Are you? Maybe I can go back too.” Her eyes lit up with hope.

  “They have Lana doing your job.”

  “Oh, no. Everything is going to be an unorganised mess.” I laughed and we strolled over to the bar for a drink.

  “What do you want?” Missy asked.

  “Missy,” Solar warned her. The usual butterflies took off in my tummy when I heard his gravelly voice, I didn’t even see him approach us. “Be nice.”

  “Sure thing, babe. I had fun earlier.” She winked at him. My head flew around to look at him. Am I hearing this right? Had he gone from being with me to coming and fucking her?

  “She’s talking about when we made a birthday cake for Nate,” he told me, placing his hand on my back. “Missy, cut this crap. Flower is mine and everyone knows it.”

  “She’s not wearing your properties.”

  “Yeah and neither are you!” he shouted at her before storming away.

  “Lottie!” Missy called out. “I’m not feeling well, can you cover for me?”

  “Sure.” Lottie walked in behind the bar. “What can I get you?”

  “Just an orange juice please.”

  “I’ll have a cider, berry, please.”

  “So, Solar said someone will have to be at the school while I’m there. I don’t see why they can’t look out for you too.”

  “Oh, I’m going to talk to Tat about it. Thanks, Jas.” She grabbed her bottle of cider and went off to find Tat. I grabbed my glass of orange juice and drank it in one; I felt thirsty.

  “Can I have another one?” I asked Lottie.

  “Sure.” She winked at me and poured me another drink while I admired the decorations that were for my son.

  ***

  Solar

  Jasmine and Nate had been at the clubhouse all afternoon which was great, I loved having them there, even though Jasmine kept to herself at the bar. The locals were coming in for a party tonight and I needed to get Jasmine and Nate home.

  “Come on, flower. Let’s get you home.”

  “I don’t need your help.” Did she just slur? As she climbed off the bar stool she stumbled into me, I had to grab hold of her waist to stop her toppling over.

  “Flower, have you been drinking?”

  “Yes, but just orange juice,” she slurred again. I picked up the glass and sniffed it; yep, she had definitely been drinking vodka.

  “Did you put vodka in her drink?” I accused Lottie.

  “Just a little bit. She looked like she needed to loosen up a bit.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  “She doesn’t drink,” I bit out at her. “Come on, flower. Let’s go and get Nate and get you home.” I kept my hand at her back and we made our way outside.

  “Oh, Aiden, I don’t feel well,” she complained. I loved hearing my name fall from her lips. After last night, I wasn’t sure if I’d hear that again.

  “Let’s get you in the car.” Once I had her in, I looked up and called for Nate.

  I got us back to Jasmine’s in less time than it normally took, I wasn’t sure if she was going to be sick and cleaning that out of her car would not be a pleasant job.

  “Nate, go and change into your pyjamas and I’ll be in to read you a story in a minute.”

  “Can I play on my tablet for a little bit?”

  “Yeah, go for it, dude.”

  “Thanks, Solar, you’re the best dad ever!” he shouted as he ran down the hallway. Shit, that scared a whole lot of crap out of me.

  “Let’s get you to bed, flower.” She was stumbling so I picked her up bridal style and headed for her bedroom. She just needed to sleep the alcohol off.

  I had managed to get her into bed and undressed, she was in her knickers and t-shirt; removing her bra was a difficult job. How women ever did that trick where they pull it out of one sleeve, I’ll never know.

  “You really hurt me last night,” she mumbled. I sat down on the edge of her bed and pushed her long dark hair off of her face.

  “I know.” I sighed. “You and Nate mean the world to me. Even more after you didn’t judge me for what I did in my past. I freaked out. I guess I had never considered being a dad before.”

  “I’ll never have an abortion.” Her eyes were still closed and I wanted to see the golden hazel colour looking back at me.

  “I’d never ask you to do that. I’m sorry for how I reacted, I was just freaking out a bit.”

  “You called my son an accident.” A lone tear escaped from the corner of her eye and trailed down her cheek. I swiped it away with my thumb and placed a kiss there.

  “I didn’t mean it like that. You know how special that boy is to me. He brought us together.”

  “He did.” She smiled and finally opened her eyes.

  “Forgive me?” She nodded. “Will you wear my properties?”

  “I don’t really know what that means,” she said, yawning and closing her eyes.

  “Get some sleep, flower. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Jono will be here in a minute, if you need anything.” Her eyes popped open again.

  “You’re not staying?” The sad expression on her face was almost my undoing but I was needed at the clubhouse.

  “I have to be at the clubhouse. We have a surprise for Tyler.”

  “Is there a party?”

  “Yeah, quite a big one. If you need me, then call me or get Jono too.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “See you tomorrow, flower. I’ll go make sure Nate is ok before I leave.”

  “Thank you.” I pushed her chin up so she had to look at me, then I brushed my lips over hers. She ran her hands up each of my arms until one was resting on my shoulder and the other was gripping the back of my neck. She opened her mouth up for me and I took advantage and slipped my tongue inside, tangling them together.

  ***

  We were sitting around the large table in church waiting for Tyler to come in.

  “Prez, you wanted to see me?” he asked, hesitantly.

  “Yeah, come on in, boy.” He quickly shut the door behind him and gave me a worried look. I nodded at him, trying to reassure him that everything was ok.

  “Now, we don’t normally do this, but you have earnt it in a short space of time. What you did for Jasmine, by finding her son and rescuing Eden, not a lot of prospects would have taken the initiative. You earned this.”

  The look of shock on Tyler’s face was a picture as Prez handed him a Cornish Crusaders cut.

  �
�Wow, this is great. Thanks so much, you won’t regret it.” He slipped off his prospect cut and tried out his new leather.

  “This is yours too, if you want to give it to Tanya.” Prez handed him over his properties.

  “Ah, thanks, Prez.” He took the spare leather jacket and draped it over his arm.

  “Lets get out and enjoy your patched in party, Pup.” Tyler laughed and shook his head, he knew why he got the road name Pup. He was the youngest one in the club at being only nineteen.

  “Congrats, bro,” I said as I stood up and gave him a pat on the back.

  “Thanks, Solar. Let’s go and have some fun.”

  We were the last two to leave the room and we made a beeline for the bar. There were people everywhere; dancers covered the stage, a game of poker was happening in the corner of the club and the pool room had people overflowing through the doorway.

  “Hey, Solar, Pup. What can I get you?” Cammie asked.

  “Hey, Cam. What are you doing behind there?” I asked her, looking around for her husband, Holes.

  “I just stepped in to help out because it’s crazy busy in here tonight.”

  “I bet VP isn’t too happy about that,” Pup added.

  “Too bad, I’m here to help out my club.” She winked at us.

  “We’ll have two whiskey and cokes please. Doubles.” I smiled at her.

  “Coming right up.” She turned around and grabbed two glasses, her long blonde hair hung down her back and she was in a pair of skinny jeans and a black sparkly top. I bet Holes wasn’t far away with her looking hot like that.

  “Hey, you better not be eyeing up my Old Lady.” Holes chuckled behind us.

  “Hey, I’m taken.” I raised my hands up in defence.

  “Is that so?” He cocked his eyebrow at me.

  “Yeah, I just gotta convince her to wear my properties now.” I nodded at Cammie as she placed my drink in front of me.

  “I’ve not heard you claim her. I’m guessing we’re talking about Jasmine?”

  “Of course we’re talking about Jasmine.” I took a sip of my drink and basked in the heat that coursed through my body. “You’ll all see once my leather is on her.”

  “Tyler?” We looked behind us to see Tanya standing there, rubbing her tummy.

  “It’s Pup now,” Holes said as he flung an arm around Pup’s shoulder, laughing.

  “Oh. It’s just something doesn’t feel right.” She ran her hand over her tummy again.

  “Shit.” He moved out from under Holes’ arm and stepped closer to her. “What is it? You’re not due yet.”

  “I don’t know. I’m getting a pain every so often.”

  “We need to get you to the hospital,” Cammie said as she rounded the bar and wrapped an arm around Tanya’s back.

  “Are you coming?” she asked looking at Pup.

  “Of course.” I squeezed his shoulder.

  “I’ve got Jasmine’s car. I’ll drive.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  We all hurried out to the car and within an hour we were at the hospital and Tanya was in a room, hooked up to a load of machines. She’d had a few tests and shit done, now we were all waiting on the results.

  “How you feeling?” Cammie asked her as she sat on the side of her bed. She was lucky that she got a private room. It had a small sink in the corner and a TV on the wall, a large chair was beside her bed that currently had Pup in it, and Holes and I were leaning against the wall. We both stood up straight when a doctor came into the room. She was an older lady with a few streaks of grey hair; she was plump and short.

  “Well, Tanya, everything seems to be ok. The baby’s heartrate is normal and so is yours. He is moving around as much as he should be and you’re not dilating. Make sure to keep drinking plenty of fluids and get some rest. Come back if you experience any more pains.”

  “Thanks, doc,” Pup said, climbing to his feet.

  “No problem.” She smiled and left the room.

  “Let’s get back to the party.” I smiled, rubbing my hands together. I needed another drink. “I’ll meet you at the car.”

  As I exited the hospital, I dug my phone out of my pocket and sent a text to Jono.

  S: How’s everything?

  J: Good, man. All quiet.

  I sat in the car and started the engine, I drove around to the entrance so they didn’t have to walk far. Holes and Cammie came out first, he had his arm over her shoulders and was whispering in her ear, her face was glowing with a beautiful smile. Tanya and Pup came out next holding hands and she was babbling to him too, he didn’t really look interested and I wondered what was going on between them.

  “We all good?” I asked once everyone was settled. Holes was in the front with me and Tanya was in the middle between Pup and Cammie.

  “Yep. Let’s get back to the party. I need to dance with my gorgeous wife.” Holes looked over his shoulder at Cammie and threw her a wink.

  We arrived back at the clubhouse and there seemed to be even more cars than ever surrounding the place. Someone called Holes over to have a chat with them and I followed Tanya, Pup and Cammie to his room. I lingered in the doorway and watched as Pup fussed over Tanya, she was soaking up the attention.

  “Come on, Pup, this is your party,” I called out.

  “Aren’t you going to stay with me?” Tanya asked, grabbing hold of Pups hand before he got too far away.

  “I’ll stay with you,” Cammie offered, walking further into the room.

  “No, thank you. I want Tyler with me, it’s his child.”

  “Pup,” I added.

  “He’ll always be Tyler to me,” she sneered at me.

  “If you want to live here, you live by the rules of the club. This is Pup’s patched in party and he has to make an appearance.”

  “He’s right. The Prez will think I don’t appreciate it,” Pup added. “Plus, the doctor told you to rest. You should try and sleep.”

  “Can you give me a minute with my boyfriend, please?” she snapped, looking at me and Cammie.

  “We’ll see you out there, man.” Pup nodded and Cammie and I left the room and walked down the hallway to the party.

  “Somethings not right...” Cammie started to say. “I can’t help but think she faked the pain to keep Pup close to her.”

  “Yeah, the same thoughts entered my head.”

  “What do we do?” she asked looking back down the hallway when a door opened and closed.

  “Keep a close eye on her.” Pup walked down the hallway and Cammie disappeared off to find Holes. “You ok?”

  “She’s crying. Says that she should leave as I don’t want her or the baby.”

  “Do you?”

  “I want to be part of my son’s life.”

  “And her? Boyfriend?” I rose my eyebrow at him.

  “Yeah, we’ve never spoke about getting back together. She must have just assumed that we did.”

  “You fuck her since she’s been back?” I knew the answer to this as Tanya had already told me and Jasmine.

  “Yeah.” He sighed and rubbed his hand over his short blond hair. “She’s still hot and well, she was there. God, that makes me sound like such a jackass.”

  “I think you need to be careful, man. Else you’re gonna wake up in ten years’ time and realise that you’ve been living a life that you never really wanted.”

  “I need to get drunk,” he stated and waltzed off towards the bar.

  Chapter 19

  Solar

  The Prez slammed the gavel down and the room silenced.

  “Now, I know it’s been a couple of months since we’ve had any new leads on this Harold guy and we’re all getting a bit frustrated. We have a new lead, he’s been spotted by one of the many cameras that Toes has set up. We’ve got a trail on him.”

  “Finally. What’s next, boss?” I asked, listening intently.

  “We hunt him down. We go tonight. Solar, Tat, Iron, Holes, Pup and Steve. Meet here tonight at eight.” He slammed the
gavel down and I shot to my feet and out of the clubhouse door.

  Jasmine and Eden went back to work nine weeks ago and every day, either Jono or Steve would wait outside the school keeping an eye on things. I didn’t trust the fact that this Harold guy had people watching them.

  Jasmine still hadn’t agreed to wear my properties but we were fast becoming a small little family. I stayed with them every night, unless I was needed on a run or a job, and knowing that they depended on me made me happy. A couple of times, Nate had slipped up and called me dad and the second time it happened, I loved how it sounded. It was safe to say that I had definitely handed my balls over to Jasmine on a plate. She was my entire world and I was falling more and more in love with her every day. It was an unexpected love.

  “Hey, Eden.” I shot her a chin lift as I strolled past her desk and down the hall to the classroom that Jasmine taught in.

  “You know you’re not supposed to be in here,” she whisper-shouted after me.

  “I’ll be quick.” I threw her a wink and she shook her head at me before settling back down behind her desk.

  I strolled right in through the door that was red and numbered ‘three’ with Ms. Bolt on the outside. It was a picture to see, Jasmine had her long dark hair tied up into a bun, leaving her neck bare. She wore a navy skirt, low black heels and a cream blouse that stopped at her elbows. She was sitting on the front of her desk and she was reading to the class.

  Her head turned towards me when she heard the door open. Once she saw it was me, she jumped up from her relaxed position.

  “Aiden, what are you doing here?” I turned to look at all the small school children looking at me and nodded my head to indicate we should step outside. “Um… Kate, please can you carry on reading. I’ll be back in just a second.” She placed her book in front of a small child and she carried on reading to the class.

  Once we were standing outside the classroom, I brought her closer to me and kissed her. We heard giggles inside the classroom as Jasmine had left the door slightly open.

  “You know you shouldn’t be here.”