Blood & Bones: Ozzy by Jeanne St. James
Chapter Sixteen
“No work this weekend.”
That was what Ozzy had said late Friday night after closing her laptop on her. She had been in the middle of working on the website for Crazy Pete’s.
They had gone there last Saturday morning and she’d met the club’s president and vice president in the empty and quiet bar.
Of course, Ozzy came along.
Or more like it, she went with him, since he insisted they take his “sled.”
The more she hung around them, the more she picked up on the biker terms, like their name for a motorcycle. They had their own language…
Ol’ lady.
Sweet butt.
Prison bids.
Pigs.
House mouse.
Those were only a few of the terms she’d learned over the past two weeks. Occasionally she had to ask Ozzy what something meant. Most times she could figure it out on her own.
It only took her a couple of hours to build a one-page website for the MC. She kept it simple and to the point like Trip wanted. Besides that one, the site for Dutch’s Garage was now live, too.
She was still working on Crazy Pete’s. They’d headed back to the bar that night for her to take pictures once the place was hopping and she also snapped a few of the band playing on stage. They’d taken time to speak with the manager, Dodge, and also Stella, before shooting a game of pool, when once again Ozzy beat the pants off her without any shame.
Stella voiced some concerns about Shay building an events page with upcoming bands, pool tournaments and the like, worried it would be difficult for her or Dodge to keep it updated. Shay assured her that she’d make it so it was easy to do. Once the site was done, she planned to carve out a few hours to spend with Stella, teaching the MC prez’s pregnant wife how to do just that.
Dealing with Stella had been great. The heavily-tattooed woman was outgoing but also very kind. Shay quickly realized the woman had a lot more patience than her “ol’ man.”
Once she was done with Crazy Pete’s site, she would move on to the rest of the simpler sites. Then the last one she would tackle would be for the motel. She’d been working on it in small chunks due to the complexity of setting up the online reservation system. She also planned on making sure the motel was listed on sites like TripAdvisor, Travelocity and any major travel site that had to do with booking motel rooms.
During the summer, Ozzy said the motel was usually booked solid. Mostly with tourists and hikers visiting the PA Grand Canyon and out-of-town visitors for events like graduation at Manning Grove High and also nearby Mansfield University.
However, Trip stated he wanted to draw more traffic to the business in the off months. She assured him that the right website for the motel would bring in more than enough “scratch” to pay for all of the work she was doing.
He only cocked an eyebrow at her but didn’t argue.
Trip had done most of the talking during their meeting at the bar. By the end of it, Shay was more curious about Sig than she was when she first sat down with them. Before the meeting, Ozzy told her they were half-brothers but warned her that they both had short fuses, which they inherited from their late father, Buck.
On Sunday, Ozzy’s plan was for them to spend time out at the farm getting to know both the Fury brotherhood and sisterhood after the club’s run. Where, he stated, her ass would be planted on the back of his sled.
“Do you normally take a woman along on your runs?”
“Nope.”
“Then, why me?”
“Why not?”
While that was a good comeback… “What makes me more special than anyone else you’ve ever been with?” He never hid the fact that he’d had a lot of women in his bed. And out of bed, too. She was aware she was just one of countless.
Did she have a problem with that? No, because she had no right to be. Plus, in the last two weeks, she’d been the only one in his bed. To her, that was all that mattered while she was staying with him. Who he slept with before her wasn’t any of her business and neither would be who he slept with after she left.
“You gotta ask that, then…”
“Then?”
“Then you don’t see what I see,” was his answer.
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I see you for who you are, not who you think you are.”
“How is that not the same person?” she asked.
“You tell me.”
The man could be rough around the edges—though, she knew he tried to smooth out those edges around her—but he had a heart of gold.
“You know, you want me to be who I am, but I want you to be who you are, too. There’s absolutely no reason you need to walk on eggshells around me. I’m not going to run away screaming if you show me your true self.” Or at least, she didn’t think she would. Who knew? Maybe he had some sort of deep, dark secret that would scare the crap out of her.
“Showin’ you my true self.”
She made a little noise.
“Look,” he raised his arms up and straight out to either side, “I was tryin’ not to overwhelm you all at once, but you wanna know who I am? This is who I am… I love pussy and lots of it. I smoke, get stoned, drink a shitload and curse even more. I don’t take any fuckin’ shit. I only give my loyalty where it’s deserved. Also ain’t gonna back down from a fight or watch what I say, worryin’ about hurtin’ anyone’s feelin’s with my words. Also don’t let anyone fuck me over and get away with it.”
Also don’t let anyone fuck me over and get away with it.
That made her wonder who had fucked him over and what he’d done in response. “You missed something.”
“What?”
“You don’t like commitment.”
He dropped his arms but didn’t respond. His expression had turned into a stone mask.
“This is what I’ve discovered about you in the last two weeks… You’re forty and never had a serious relationship. You have the itch to hit the road again, to go back to what you call being a nomad. You really don’t like being tied down to a business like the motel but you’re doing it even though you’d rather not. You yourself said your home is your sled. That ‘home’ has two wheels on it and is easily moved.” She sucked in a breath to bolster herself and finished up with something he would not like. “Truthfully, I think you’re scared.”
He scowled. “Of fuckin’ what?”
“Of losing your freedom. Your ability to just pack up and leave whenever you want. Even if you don’t do it, with the way things are now, you know you can.”
“Been livin’ here for three years.”
“Three years is just a tiny blip in your lifetime, Ozzy. What’s stopping you from hopping on your sled tomorrow and leaving?”
“Nothin’.”
“Right. What if you had an ol’ lady and kids? Or even just an ol’ lady? It wouldn’t be so easy then, would it?”
“Not lookin’ for that. Like my life just fine the way it is.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Ain’t got shit to do with commitment.”
She raised her eyebrows at him, then sighed. “Anyway, my point is, I know who I am and I will always work on improving myself. It’s been a slow go but I’m getting there.” Even in only two weeks, Ozzy had given her a turbo boost toward that goal. “But I still don’t know why I’m special enough to go with you on Sunday’s run when you’ve never taken a woman with you before.”
“Reilly.”
She frowned. “You had a thing with Reilly?”
He shook his head. “Fuck no. She’s like a little sister to me. She’s been on the back of my sled durin’ a run.”
“Anybody else? Like with someone you’ve had lots of that sex with that you love so much?”
“On a club run? No.”
“I’m not a part of your club like Reilly is. I’m an outsider. So, again, why me? And not only taking me on the run, but you want me to hang with your club… your family. Why? I might only be here another two weeks, if that. Because of the long hours that I’ve been putting in, I may get done ahead of schedule.”
“And that’s the fuckin’ reason why you’re takin’ the weekend off. You need time for you. You need time to relax. Nobody’s gonna ride your ass if you take the whole fuckin’ month to get the job done. Hell, nobody’s gonna ride your ass if it takes you more than a month.”
“The sooner I get it done, the sooner I get paid.”
“You’re workin’ that hard just ‘cause of scratch?”
She fought the roll of her eyes. “What else would I work for? I’m not some trust fund baby. I don’t have a lot of extra cash lying around. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid.”
“Don’t gotta work seven days a week.”
“No. But you make hay while the sun is shining. Right now, the sun is shining and I need to make enough hay to put some away for those rainy days.”
He blinked, then a slow wicked grin crossed his face. “Now you got me wantin’ to roll you in the hay.”
At the time, she had huffed out a laugh and shook her head. But she didn’t reopen her laptop and they spent the rest of the night getting sweaty between the sheets.
The man was right about one thing for sure. He loved sex. No one could argue that fact.
She would miss having it with him when she left. She didn’t remember having this much sex once she and Darren had gotten married. Did he become bored with her right after they said their “I dos?”
In the end, Ozzy was stubborn and determined enough to get her to take the weekend off, so she had. And, if she was being honest with herself, she loved every freaking second of it.
But she still had no idea why he thought she needed to get to know everyone in his club so well.
Yes, they were sleeping together every night. Yes, she had given up her motel room and was temporarily staying in his apartment. Her excuse was that it was more convenient and she wouldn’t be taking up a room that could be earning the motel money. But, no, she didn’t plan on sticking around once her work for the club was finished.
Ozzy hadn’t pushed her to consider Manning Grove as a more affordable option for a place for her to live, but he did drop hints about it. Often.
Did he want whatever they currently shared for the past couple of weeks to continue? He hadn’t come right out and said that, either.
He didn’t seem the type to be looking to settle down, which was why she said to him what she did.
Maybe he wouldn’t admit it but he did have a fear of losing his freedom. Of becoming a stone stuck in a crevice and could no longer roll out of town at any moment.
In contrast, he hadn’t left her alone since the day after her class reunion. He was always by her side when she went to deal with any of the club members. They ate every meal together. For the most part, they woke up together and fell asleep together. They even showered together most days.
She swore she spent more time with him in the last two weeks than she had with Darren in the last six months of their marriage.
Or maybe even that last year.
As soon as her husband had become scarce… working late, numerous company dinners, golfing with his boss every Sunday—using any and every excuse under the sun—she knew something was up.
It didn’t take long to figure out where Darren was supposed to be wasn’t where her husband actually was. Especially that day in the marriage counselor’s office. That had been the final straw for her.
When she confronted him about if he was having an affair, he didn’t even bother to deny it.
He also didn’t bother to fight for them.
A sure sign that counseling would never have done any good since both parties needed to want to work on their relationship.
Now that she thought about it, Darren leaving might have been the best thing to happen.
If he hadn’t, she never would’ve pushed herself to come to her class reunion.
She never would’ve met a biker named Ozzy.
She would’ve missed out on these last two weeks. Time she’d never forget.
She also wouldn’t be hanging out with an MC.
And, with the heat from the end of August day slowly dissipating as the sun dipped lower in the sky, she wouldn’t be sitting under a pavilion after a long motorcycle ride with that MC, drinking wine with a whole bunch of super friendly women who had been nothing but welcoming and warm to her.
They made her feel like one of their own right from the get-go.
She was slowly learning everyone’s names. She had already met Jet and also dealt with Reilly, Cassie and Stella. But before the run she had been introduced to the rest of the ol’ ladies: Jemma, “Red,” Chelle and Reese.
After the run, once one of the ladies carried out two boxes of wine, they all broke away from the guys to drink under the pavilion and socialize. That was where she met Saylor, Rev’s younger sister and Cassie and Judge’s house mouse, who helped care for their daughter, Daisy. Moments later, Tessa had wandered over, pushing a stroller with a baby that had to be at least a year old.
The little one was so cute, but Shay almost choked on her wine when she read Dyna’s little T-shirt.
Silly Baby,
Boobies Are
For Grandpa
Once she recovered, she realized Dyna had been the abandoned baby Ozzy had mentioned. Her father was Cage and her “mother” was Jemma. Tessa, Shay was told, was Trip’s younger sister and also a house mouse like Saylor.
“So tell me, does everyone who has kids automatically get a house mouse?” She had no idea how any of that worked. It was like an MC had their own culture. She found it fascinating.
Stella snorted softly and shook her head. “Only if we want one and can find someone willing to do it.”
“And someone we can trust,” Cassie added. “We lucked out with Saylor because she’s Rev’s sister and needed a place to land. The timing was perfect and so is she.” She shot a big, genuine smile over at the house mouse who shrugged. “Daisy loves her and Saylor has a lot of patience with her, which,” she leaned forward and said as if it was a secret, “is needed with my hell-on-wheels daughter.”
“Where is Daisy?” Reese asked, glancing around for the little girl.
“Spending the weekend with my sister and her husband,” Cassie answered.
“I only came over here to grab Saylor and tell you we’re taking off for the rest of the day,” Tessa announced.
“‘Taking off’ as in going somewhere?” Cassie asked with a frown.
Saylor nodded. “We’re headed to the mall.”
“Is Maddie going with you?” Chelle asked, her forehead wrinkled with what looked like concern.
Tessa nodded. “And Josie, too.”
“Just the mall?” Jemma asked.
Tessa shrugged. “The mall first, then we’ll grab dinner and maybe go to Crazy Pete’s later.”
Stella made a sharp noise at the back of her throat. “You know I don’t like you girls going there when me, Dodge or Trip aren’t there.”
“We’ll be fine,” Saylor said with a roll of her eyes.
“I’m sure you will, but Trip won’t like it, either,” Stella informed her.
“Well, then good thing Trip is my brother and not my father,” Tessa replied with a touch of snark. “I’m also an adult, something he seems to forget.”
“He doesn’t forget. You know how protective he gets.”
“Well, he can quit it, the Shirleys are gone.”
Stella’s spine snapped straight. “It’s not just about the Shirleys.”
Shay wondered who the hell the Shirleys were and why the club would be worried about them.
“There will be four of us.” She turned toward Reilly. “Five, if Lee comes along.”
Reilly didn’t seem to be expecting that invitation. “Umm…” She glanced over her shoulder toward The Barn, then turned back to the president’s ol’ lady. “I could go with them if you want me to, Stel.”
“You’re asking the wrong person,” Stella told Reilly with a raised eyebrow.
Before Shay could hear an explanation on what that meant, they were interrupted by one of the men. Shay realized he was the first person of color she’d seen as a club member. She glanced at his name patch and saw it said, “Castle.” The front rectangular embroidered patch under his name identified him as a prospect.
“Was told to come over here and check on you ladies. Make sure you don’t need nothin’.”
The man was huge and had to be well over six feet tall with a deep voice to boot. He was light-skinned, had beautiful dark eyes and had a neatly trimmed goatee. And, no surprise, tattoos covered his arms.
“We need you,” Stella began, “to go ask Trip if you can accompany the girls tonight.”
“What?” Saylor shouted as Tessa groaned.
Stella gave the younger women a look that spoke volumes. “I said what I said.”
Shay rolled her lips under at both Saylor and Tessa’s horrified expressions.
Stella ignored their outrage and said to Castle, “They want to go to the mall, dinner and then to Crazy Pete’s. I don’t want them going alone.”
“We won’t be al—”
“So, go ask Trip, please,” Stella finished, cutting off Saylor.
Castle stared at her, struggling to keep a straight face. He was probably as horrified about accompanying women who were in their early twenties to the mall and the bar as much as they were.
But from what Ozzy told Shay, a prospect couldn’t say no. They were to do whatever a patched member or ol’ lady told them.
Stella started to get up. “Or do I need to go find him myself?”
Castle jerked into action. “Gonna go ask,” he muttered, spun on his boot heel and used those endlessly long legs to take him across the courtyard to The Barn. He was probably cursing to himself, wishing he hadn’t been sent over to check on the sisterhood.
“All hail the queen,” Reese said under her breath with a chuckle.
“We’re not going to go now,” Saylor stated with a huff.
“Yes, you will,” Stella said. “You won’t even notice him with you.”
“How can we not? He’s like six-foot-four! And he’ll be wearing his cut and… and…” Saylor let out a frustrated scream.
“Then, fine, don’t go,” Stella said with a shrug.
“I’d feel better if Castle went with you girls,” Chelle added, clearly trying to be helpful. “I’m sure Trip won’t mind if he doesn’t wear his cut so he doesn’t draw attention to you ladies.”
“Umm. He’s six-four,” Saylor reminded her. “Built like a brick house and, if you haven’t noticed, he’s Black. And he’ll be hanging with four single white girls at least ten years younger. I think that alone will draw some attention. Especially around here,” she finished on a hiss.
Shay guessed northern PA hadn’t progressed as much as it should’ve since the time she moved away.
“Just think of yourself as a celebrity with a bodyguard,” Jet added, fighting her smile. “But, truthfully, I also think it’s a good idea Castle go with you ladies. I’m sure he’ll be loads of fun to take along.” She took a long, dramatic sip of her wine that had been served in red Solo cups with one pinky out as if she was drinking tea.
Shay covered her mouth to smother her laugh. She didn’t think that would help with the drama.
A resigned Tessa shook her head and then turned to Reilly. “Are you coming?”
“I would love to,” she said, extracting herself from the bench of the picnic table she was sitting at.
“Make sure you check with Rev first,” came the warning from her older sister, Reese.
Reilly’s green eyes went wide. “Do you check with Deacon whenever you go do anything?”
“I let him know where I am, yes. You know why.”
Shay was dying to know why. What subject were they skirting around?
Before the curiosity got the best of her and she could ask, Stella got a text. Everyone went dead silent and stared at her while she read it. “Trip said Castle’s going with you. He won’t wear his cut. He’ll sit in the parking lot at the mall, he’ll stay out of your way during dinner and sit at the bar while you ladies are at Pete’s. But,” she lifted both her head and a dark eyebrow, “he is going.”
Poor Castle! He’d probably rather get run over by a bus.
“Whatever,” Tessa grumbled. “I guess it’s better than sticking around here all night.”
“Okay, we’re out of here,” Saylor announced, clearly not a happy camper about the whole situation.
“And don’t you dare try to ditch him,” Stella warned.
Saylor sighed and turned to Reilly. “Lee?”
The blonde nodded and got up. “I just need to stop in The Barn really quick.”
Saylor shook her head and Tessa rolled her eyes.
“I’m never letting a man dictate what I do,” Saylor said more loudly than necessary.
“They don’t dictate—”
Stella raised her hand to cut off Cassie. “Don’t even bother to explain it. They only hear what they want to hear.” She turned to Tessa. “Do you need money?”
“Why would I need money? Jem and Cage pay me so well.” Tessa’s words were dripping with sarcasm.
“I guess Cage gave you a raise, then,” Jemma said dryly. Dyna stood on the ground in between her mother’s feet while Jemma held her little hands to keep her from trying to waddle away.
Shay had no idea if the baby could walk on her own yet since she didn’t know much about babies. But Jemma was holding onto her tightly as if the baby could suddenly do a two-hundred-meter sprint like Usain Bolt at the Olympics. Whether the baby’s escape would be successful or not was another story.
“Tessa, stop your damn whining. It’s getting old. Trip didn’t have to take you in, but he did. You could’ve stayed with your mother,” Stella said with annoyance. “If you don’t appreciate what you have here, you could always go back there.”
Tessa’s mouth flattened out. “I can’t go back there and you know it.”
Stella tipped her head. “Then stop complaining.”
“Let’s go,” Tessa said sharply to Reilly and Saylor before stalking away.
Dyna watched her go and her bottom lip began to tremble as Tessa got further away. Jemma leaned over and kissed her forehead. “You’re not old enough yet to go hang with the girls, Monkey. And when you are, just warning you now, your daddy will send someone even bigger and meaner than Castle to go with you.” She laughed.
“Isn’t that the damn truth,” Stella said with a sigh. “I sure hope this baby is a boy because if we have a daughter…” She left it at that and shook her head. She glanced in the direction Reilly, Tessa and Saylor disappeared. “I love those girls, but, holy shit, sometimes I think they forget how good they have it here.”
“Will you get a house mouse once the baby is born?” Shay asked her.
She nodded. “We would like to. We have plenty of room in the farmhouse and we’re both so busy, for obvious reasons, so it would be nice to have help. Especially since Trip wants two.”
“Boys,” Reese added and rolled her green eyes.
Stella laughed and placed a hand on her small, but still noticeable, baby bump. “Yeah, right. Two boys.” Like Tessa’s, her words were also heavily laced with sarcasm. “We just need to find the right house mouse.”
“I guess it’s like finding a nanny,” Shay said.
“Yes, but without the huge price tag of a nanny,” Red, whose real name Shay found out was Autumn, said.
The nickname made sense since her hair was definitely the color of flames, but Shay thought her real name was so pretty. Ozzy had told her that Sig had given her that nickname right after they first met and now almost everyone used it.
Apparently, Autumn didn’t mind.
“How about you?” Shay asked Reese, who appeared to be about five or six months pregnant.
The attorney, who was maybe a couple of years younger than Shay, shook her head. “With the way Deke and I go back and forth from our place in Mansfield to the apartment above the bunkhouse, I think it would be somewhat awkward to have another adult living with us. The apartment’s only one bedroom and it’s small. Plus, there’s a really good daycare a few doors down from my office. Worse comes to worse, on days it’s needed, Deke can keep the baby with him at Justice Bail Bonds.”
“Yep,” Jet cut in. “Now that I joined the crew, I can handle most of the skip traces so he can stay home and play Baby Daddy.”
Shay turned toward the former cop. “Did your family have a problem with you giving up your badge?”
Jet shook her head. “They just want me to be happy.”
Shay stopped her question, “And are you?” from tumbling out. That wasn’t her business. But to go from being a police officer to being with a biker who’d been arrested numerous times was quite the turnabout.
If her law enforcement family was fine with it, then they were very accepting.
“Sooooo…”
All heads snapped toward Cassie.
Before any more words escaped her, a few of the women gasped.
Shay was certainly confused on what that was about.
“I knew it!” Stella yelled, a huge smile on her face. “You haven’t touched your damn wine!”
Cassie returned the big smile. “Well, we weren’t expecting your news to come so soon. And we definitely didn’t expect Reese to be the first one knocked up… But…”
“That’s wonderful,” Red said softly.
Everyone’s excited chatter died down and eyes turned toward her.
Their reaction was a bit… strange.
It was like a wet blanket thrown on a fire.
Shay felt so out of touch with the undercurrents between the group of women. They didn’t treat her like an outsider but she felt like one because she didn’t know everyone’s history. It felt like being dropped off at someone else’s family reunion.
Maybe Red had lost a child or had a miscarriage. Miscarriage was so prevalent in the first trimester. But even though miscarriages were common, it still had to be devastating.
Shay didn’t even know the whole story about Red but whatever it was, she still felt for her.
“Please never temper your reactions because of me,” Red went on to say. “We did what was best for Levi and I have no regrets.”
Jet got up and went over to her to give her a hug. “Believe me, my family loves you for it. And you know you can see him at any time.”
Shit. Shay was quickly getting an inkling about what happened but not the whole story. She’d have to ask Ozzy later.
“I’m happy for you, Cassie,” Red said with a soft smile. “For all of you ladies when you have good news. Congratulations. I’m sure Judge is thrilled.”
“Love you, girl,” Cassie said, blowing her a kiss. “And yes, he is. I hid the positive pregnancy stick under his pillow. I struggled not to blurt out the news.”
“Did he find it right away?”
Cassie’s cheeks turned red. “Umm. No.”
The ladies laughed.
The blonde cleared her throat. “But soon after.”
“At least you got a chance to surprise him. Trip was following me into the bathroom almost every damn morning, waving a stick at me to pee on. I couldn’t even pee in peace.”
“He had to have spent a damn fortune on tests,” Reese said with a laugh.
“He did. I swear we now have a closet full of them. So, if anyone else needs one, we got you covered.”
“Not me, thank goodness,” Chelle said with a laugh. “Three kids is enough. Especially with two in college right now. And one hopefully heading there in the next few years.”
“Has Jude mentioned wanting to go to college?” Jet asked.
“Not yet. But I’m dropping hints whenever I can. He’s got time. But I want to make sure his grades are good now so if he decides to go, he’ll have no problem getting accepted.”
“Does Shade want him to go?” Red asked.
“Shade wants Jude to have a better life than what he did.”
“Well, Shade has you now. And the girls. And Jude. It can’t get better than that.”
Chelle smiled at Red. “He’s definitely surrounded by people who love him. And all of you, too, of course.”
“And now so is Jude.”
Chelle nodded. “I feel for that kid but love him to death. He’s fit into our family seamlessly.”
Shay was so lost. “Did you and Shade adopt him?”
Chelle hesitated before saying, “No, he’s Shade’s son but we now have custody of him.”
She’d met Shade. She’d also met Jude. It didn’t seem possible that Shade could be Jude’s father. Unless she was misjudging their ages. Jude had to be at least thirteen. And Shade couldn’t be more than thirty, even though Chelle was older than Shay. Shade had to be a kid himself when he fathered Jude.
“Sooo,” Stella started, pulling everyone’s attention to her, off of Chelle and back to Cassie. “Does Saylor know? Is that why she was a bit salty?”
“Not yet.”
“When are you going to tell her?”
“We’re trying to find the right time. I’d hate to lose her, especially now. But Daisy is a lot of work for her and adding a baby on top of her responsibilities…”
“I mean,” Stella started, “she’s not going to be doing it by herself and you can bring the baby to the crematorium with you.”
“That’s true,” Cassie said. “It’s nice to have that option.”
“Judge will definitely be hands-on,” Reese said. “And, hell, maybe Deke and Judge can turn the bail bonds business into a day care!” She laughed but Jet groaned loudly.
“I want to catch bad guys, not change poopy diapers!” Jet complained.
“I’m kidding,” Reese assured Jet. She lifted one eyebrow. “Or am I?”
“How about you, Shay? Do you have any?” Stella asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Do you want any?”
“I’m thirty-eight so my window of opportunity is getting narrower. But really, I haven’t decided. I’m just thankful I didn’t have any with my ex-husband.”
She was glad when none of them tried to dig deeper.
“You don’t need a husband to have kids. There are other options if you really want some,” Reese reminded her.
“True.” She shrugged. “But if I am going to have any, it would be nice to take that journey with someone I love.”
Murmurs and head nods came from the women.
“Let me tell you, I know you’ve only been staying with Ozzy for the past two weeks, but take it from me… Never in my life would I have thought a biker could be a great husband and father. I knew nothing about them before meeting Judge and, holy shit, he’s the best man I’ve ever been with in my entire life. He scared the shit out of me at first, but once I looked past the surface…” Cassie smiled.
“Same,” Reese said softly.
Red smiled. “For me, too.”
“And me,” Jet added. “However, I will freely admit Rook is an asshole.” She shrugged. “But he’s my asshole and I’ll keep him.”
All the ladies laughed.
“Hell, I knew what they were like and Cage, while he, too, can be an asshole, is nothing like the Originals,” Jemma confessed. “Thank fuck.”
“Same,” Stella added. “I remember the Originals. Sometimes I wish I didn’t. And Trip pushed me to the point where he almost broke me. Now I see why, and while he still has issues, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather call my partner in life and the father to our children.” She placed a hand over her belly and smiled.
“How about you?” Shay asked Chelle.
“Shade came to me with a lot of secrets. Some he still hasn’t shared with me and many he hasn’t shared with anyone else. But… my girls fell in love with him right away. Plus, watching him with Jude melts my heart. The man might be broken, but even broken things have beauty and value. They just need the right person to appreciate them.”
“Shit,” Stella said softly, wiping at her eyes. “Damn pregnancy hormones.”
“Tell me about it!” Reese exclaimed. “Reilly thinks an alien came down and switched out her sister.”
They all laughed.
“That’s one of the things I don’t look forward to, the emotional roller coaster for the next few months… But the sex!” Cassie bugged out her eyes.
“Oh, the sex!” Reese practically yelled. “I didn’t think I’d want it while pregnant. I can’t get enough.”
“I’m sure Deacon is happy about that,” Shay teased her.
“All I have to do is send him a text and suddenly he’s standing in front of me naked.” Reese laughed. “I learned not to text him unless it’s in a place where he won’t scare off people or get arrested.”
Cassie laugh-snorted. “I’ll have to try that.”
“Speaking of happy…” Stella turned to Shay. “Ozzy seems pretty happy. We were worried about him there for a little while.”
Shay frowned. “Why?”
“Oh, let us tell you a little story,” Stella started.
