Phoenix’s Plight by Tiffany Casper

 

“It’s always brighter in the morning.”

- June

 

Chapter 19

June

It was the next day that a bouquet of white roses had shown up at her office. When she had seen the delivery man carrying in the bouquet, she just knew.

“Yes, can you tell me where I can find June Jennings?” the man in the white uniform asked.

When her manager pointed to where June sat, she stilled.

As the man approached her, all of her coworkers stared at her while they continued taking calls.

She had signed on the e-tablet. The card had read simply, ‘I’m sorry’.

June had tuned off her station because she was about to go on lunch. So, she picked up her phone and called him. When he answered on the first ring, he sounded as if he was eager to simply hear her voice.

“The flowers are beautiful, and if you’re really sorry, then I want you at my place tonight with Chinese food. You know what I like. I’ll see you later.” She hung up her phone and got back to work.

The moment she pulled her car into her drive, she was actually shocked.

There the man was, in all his glory, with a bag of Chinese food and two other bags sitting beside him on her front steps.

She swallowed down the fear that he would turn his back on her again.

Exiting her Jeep, she grabbed the flowers that had come with a beautiful vase.

If Heathen really was as sorry as he said, then she wanted to preserve some of the flowers and make a picture out of them to hang in the baby’s nursery.

When she walked up the stairs, she saw the haunted look—and was that regret?—on his face. The man looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

“I’m sorry,” Heathen said.

June couldn’t stand it another minute longer.

She sat the flowers down and then threw her body at his. He caught her and pulled her body up against his ever so carefully.

How a man his size was able to be that tender, she didn’t know, but she thanked the heavens above that he was tender with her.

“I’m sorry too.” The wetness from her tears trailed down his neck.

“You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart,” he murmured in her hair.

As they stood there, she felt the wind caress her arms and like he knew, he hurried her inside where it was warmer, using the key she handed him to unlock her front door.

Once that was done, he picked up the bags and the flowers, carried them inside, and sat everything on the island.

“Sit down, baby. I’ve got this.” Heathen pushed her to the couch and handed her the remote. “Find us a movie, baby,” Heathen directed as he went to the island and dished out the Chinese.

As soon as he handed her the cartons of food, he grabbed the two bags he brought with him and handed them to her.

“What’s this?” she asked as she smiled tentatively.

“Check it out.” She tried to read the emotion on his face, but it was difficult.

The moment she saw the little onesies, she threw her hand over her mouth and smiled.

“Johnny . . .” She felt tears on her cheeks.

She went through the bags and found four onesies and three blankets.

“Those okay?” Like he had to ask? He was nervous, biting his bottom lip.

“Johnny, anything you buy is perfect.” She sighed as she looked at everything.

The smell of the food caused her baby to roll in her belly. It was starving too.

June sat the bags aside and then kissed his cheek. They both dug into their Chinese as the movie began to play.

After she ate, Heathen grabbed her legs and pulled off her heels.

When she noticed that he saw how swollen her feet were, he turned, pulled her feet in his lap, and rubbed them.

“I’m going to ask you for a pedicure next time,” she teased with a wink, then she sighed.

“Pick the color.” The light in his eyes made her heart lurch with happiness. “We okay?” he asked her, still biting his lip.

She felt like the sun had risen again.

“Yes. Long as you stay and talk to me and never walk out on us, Johnny.”

“Never. Long as I live. I don’t make promises lightly, babe. You know that.” And she did. If Heathen was anything, he was a man of his word. Fuck, she loved him.

But the moment she heard his phone ring, she knew he would never put her before his club.

She grabbed the remote and paused the movie.

He moved one of her feet and pulled out his cell as he checked the caller, then he answered the phone, with it between his shoulder and his ear as he pulled her leg back in his lap and continued her foot rub.

The words that came out of his mouth shocked her straight to the fucking core. “Sorry, but my woman needs me.”

She watched him as he listened intently, “Yeah. He can handle it. Just make sure Skinner goes all out.”

That was when she heard a deep voice and figured that it was Powers on the other end of the line.

“Yeah, she’s doing good. Still sore.” She knew that he had been talking about her and the fact that the President of the MC cared about her meant a lot to her.

But the fact that she meant that and much more to Heathen, yes, that meant the most to her.

That. Meant. Everything.

She pulled her feet from his lap and received a scowl from him, but it left as soon as she curled her body into his. His arm went around her waist and hauled her even closer to him.

“Yeah, if she’ll come, we’ll be there for the party.” He had absentmindedly been running his other hand on the side of her hip. It was still sore, even four weeks later, but the pain had lessened by the day.

Then, when he hung up the phone and placed it back in his pants pocket, he pulled her back into his arms and started the movie that she had paused.

For the first time in her life, someone had put her first. She didn’t even hide the Cheshire cat grin that broke across her face.

“Care to go to the doctor's appointment with me tomorrow?” she asked as she laid in his arms.

“You couldn’t pull me away, babe. Nowhere else I’d rather be.” And to prove that, he sent a text to Powers, telling him that he was unavailable tomorrow.

The okay he received caused a huge grin to form on her lips.

As the ending credits rolled across the screen, the two of them had fallen asleep together.

“Now that I see the size of the father, we need to do measurements and we’ll need to change the delivery date to occur closer to your thirty-week mark,” her OB/GYN said as she stared at Heathen’s size.

Dr. Chase had been a miracle worker for June. She had held her hand when they’d given her the news that she was pregnant.

The doc wasn’t looking at Heathen with desire in her depths, thank God. She didn’t want to have to change OBs.

Since June was small and Heathen was large, they had also agreed to have biweekly appointments.

“Let’s do this,” she said as she placed the gel on her belly followed by the doppler.

The moment Heathen saw his children on the ultrasound, his hand tightened around hers.

Wait . . . there were two?

“Two?” June asked with shock on her face.

“Two?” Heathen aloud with her.

Almost at the same time.

“Wow. Twins. Congratulations. I love twins. They’re measuring at twelve weeks and they’re growing right on schedule.” She was eleven weeks officially.

Dr. Chase measured them some more, making sure they weren’t too big for the time frame.

June wondered aloud, “How come at the hospital when I was shot, we didn’t hear or see the second baby?”

“Because of the location most likely. It’s missed more times than not until you are farther along,” Dr. Chase said with a grin.

“At your next appointment, we should be able to see the sex, if that’s what you two want?” She looked at the two of them expectantly.

June looked at Heathen and nodded.

“Yes,” Heathen said aloud for both of them.

As they exited the doctor’s office, Heathen kept her hand in his, as his other hand held Baby A’s picture, while June held the photo of Baby B.

When they got in her Jeep, they swapped.

“Care if we tell the brothers?” Heathen asked her with a smile that was reserved only for her.

“Let’s go.” June smiled as she texted the girls in a group chat and had added Shiloh to the mix.

They had all agreed to be at the clubhouse in twenty minutes.

She was finally able to say that she had some damn good friends.

The moment Heathen pulled into the main yard in front of the clubhouse, you could already hear the music blaring through the speakers.

They walked hand in hand into the clubhouse, with everyone who was important to them standing or sitting in attendance.

As they made their way to the middle of the main room, Heathen had spoken to Powers and asked him to grab something from his room.

As soon as Powers made it back to Heathen, he spoke to the crowd.

Powers’ voice boomed through the main room. “Listen up! Today, we get to welcome the newest official member to Wrath MC.” When Powers finished, he nodded to Heathen.

“I had this property kutte made weeks ago, but I had been holding out and waiting for the right time. The right time should have been when she said she loved me, but I had my head up my own ass.” Everyone chuckled and laughed. “I’m not doing this today because of the news we just received. I’m doing this today because surrounded by our friends and family, this makes it the perfect time.”

He wrapped an arm around June and hauled her close. “June, will you be my ole’ lady?”

“As if you have to ask,” she answered sweetly, and he saw all of the love in her heart through his own eyes.

All around them, laughter flowed freely.

He held up her kutte, which read ‘Property of Heathen’ on the back of it, as she slipped her slender arms through the holes.

“And today, we received some other news,” he started as he placed one of his hands on her belly.

“Some of you already know.” He glanced at the women. “But what none of you know is that we aren’t just making June part of our Wrath MC family.” He smiled as he pulled out the sonograms. “Please welcome Baby A and Baby B.” Everyone had looks of surprise on their faces, and then they had to cover their ears at the loudness that broke out.

Rounds of congratulations poured throughout the room.

“Lil, Powers, Shiloh, and Skinner, can y’all come here please?” June asked the group.

Heathen didn’t know what she was about to do, but it shouldn’t have surprised him what came out of her mouth.

“I think I speak for the both of us here. Y’all are our family, so, we would be honored if, Lil, you and Powers would be godparents to Baby A. And Shiloh and Skinner, if y’all would be godparents to Baby B.”

Lil hauled off and hugged June. Both their pregnant bellies made the hug awkward, but it worked. 

“Was this her idea?” Skinner asked Heathen.

“Yep. But I couldn’t agree more.” Heathen nodded to Skinner.

Then Skinner hugged June and said something in her ear that caused tears to pool in the corners of her eyes. “I’m fucking honored. Thanks, sis.”

“I’d be fucking honored. But I want to be called Aunt Shiloh,” Shiloh said with a huge ass grin.

“I’m honored, brother,” Powers said to Heathen, and then he looked at Lil. “Appreciate it, little sister.” He kissed the top of her forehead.

A round of shots and two glasses of water filled the hands of the members of Wrath MC.

“To Heathen and June,” Gage started the round of toasting.