Death Lords Motorcycle Club: Annie, Michigan, and Easy (The Motorcycle Clubs Series) (17 page)

I straighten and pull her against me. Stiff and uncooperative, she stands like a board in my arms. I try to soothe her, rubbing my hands over her back. “I hear you. We’ll work all of this out. I swear. We’re a team and we’ll make decisions as a team. I love you, baby,” I whisper into her hair and those words are enough to make her melt.

“I’m just worried,” she mumbles into my T-shirt.

“Worry about our kid inside you and let Michigan and I take care of the rest. Can you do that?”

She sighs, big enough that I feel the vibrations. “I can try.”

“That’s all I’m asking for.” I sit down in her now vacated chair and settle her on my lap, cuddling her close. She’s going to need a lot of loving over the upcoming months. I don’t want a second to go by without her knowing that she’s all that I’ll ever want.

As I’m holding her, I punch in Michigan’s contact on my phone.

He answers immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“Dude, are you sitting down?”

“Asshole, I’m driving.”

“You better pull over.”

“Seriously?”

“As serious as a heart attack.”

I press mute while Michigan pulls over. “Here’s what you should be worrying about.”

“What’s that?” An adorable furrow appears in the middle of her forehead. I press a kiss on the wrinkles.

“Michigan’s not going to want you to do anything, maybe not even walk. That’s what you’re going to have to worry about.”

The furrow gets deeper as she scrunches up her nose. “Do not like.”

I chuckle but Michigan interrupts with a sharp “What the fuck is going on” in my ear.

“Our baby is having a baby.”

“What?” he yells. I hold the phone away from my head so my eardrum doesn’t get blown out.

“Yeah, Annie is pregnant. That’s why she’s been puking up every day.”

“I thought it was supposed to be morning sickness.”

I raise my eyebrows in question toward Annie. She shrugs. “It can be in the morning, all day, all night or not at all.”

“You hear that?” I ask.

“Yeah.” He sounds stunned. “Thanks for telling me to pull over. Good call there.”

“Thought so.”

“Shit.”

Annie looks worried but I wink at her. This is Michigan. He can’t believe it when good things happen to him. The day he patched into the Death Lords, he walked around shaking his head and saying “goddamned” all day.

“Shit,” he says again and this time it’s all wonderment. “I can’t fucking believe it. Can you feel anything? Like is the kid moving? Do we know the sex?”

“No, she looks like she’s not even eating enough, let alone pregnant.” I have to hold up my arm to fend off an indignant slap by Annie.

“Holy shit. Fuck. I gotta get home. Why does the thought of Annie knocked up make me harder than hell?” He doesn’t wait for an answer but plows ahead. “Go home. Feed her. Put her to bed. Jesus. Should she even be walking? Make sure you carry her. Holy shit. What a fucking amazing day.”

He hangs up before either Annie or I can say another word.

“Is he upset?” Annie asks worriedly.

“Nope. Actually, yeah, probably. He wants to be home, making sure you aren’t on your feet and carrying anything heavier than a feather.”

“This is going to be bad, isn’t it?” She covers her face with her hands.

“Not for me.” I grin. The fireworks between the two of them are going to entertain me for months. “But let’s get some food in you. You’re eating for two now.”

“
H
ow are you feeling
?” Easy asks for the tenth time in the last ten minutes.

“Don’t you have to go to work?”

“No. Michigan and I usually do deliveries together but we’ve worked it out so one of us can be around.”

Meaning they think I need constant protecting. What I
need
is to start my job at Judge’s custom auto shop as soon as possible. The nurse practitioner had given me a huge box of vitamins and instructions on how to combat pregnancy nausea, including drinking Coca Cola and wearing motion sickness bands. After Easy thoroughly embarrassed me about asking how much sex I could have (no hanging from the ceilings, she’d said very seriously) and at what point we’d need to stop (apparently up until the day I gave birth), he hustled me to the drugstore where we proceeded to order a million more vitamins and then buy every pregnancy related item he could find. If he thought I was going to use the plastic spoon advertised to collect my pee, he had another think coming.

“I think I’ll walk over to Judge’s and see if I can’t get started.”

“What?” Easy explodes. “You can’t walk over there! It’s clear on the other side of town. Plus, there’s no need for you to work. You’ve got a baby cooking in there. I don’t think you should be around paint fumes and gasoline.”

I leave him ranting in the kitchen to get dressed although I wondered what an office person at an auto shop wore. Overalls? I don’t own any of those. I have my skinny jeans and tight T-shirts that the guys had bought me at the Harley store in Minneapolis and a small selection of ugly tan and denim skirts with church appropriate blouses.

I opt for the jeans and tight T-shirts. Michigan and Easy rode Harleys and Judge’s business was all about motors and engines and tires. Harley wear had to be appropriate. The jeans fit fine and as I pat my flat stomach, I’m weirdly disappointed. If I do have a baby inside me, I feel like I should show—immediately. I want to run out and buy maternity jeans and tiny little clothes. I guess that’s how my excitement is manifesting itself, whereas Easy is going a little crazy trying to wrap me up in bubble wrap.

He likes to joke that Michigan is more protective but the truth is that they both can go overboard. I wish I had started working before we found out. That way the fight wouldn’t be as hard and while it’s going to be a fight, it’s one I’m going to win.

I can’t cave to them now or I’ll never have any independence. Straightening my back, I march out of the bedroom to find Easy on the phone with a pen in his hand.

When he spots me, he waves for me to stop and then says into the phone, “Thanks for all that, Mom.”

I pick up my purse from the entry table and slide it onto my shoulder. There are a pair of gray flats and a pair of black boots. Boots seem better suited to a garage. I turn around to retrieve a pair of socks. Easy follows me.

“Where’re you going?”

“To work.” In the dresser, I find a pair of thin white socks and pull them on.

“Should you be wearing jeans?” he questions. His feet are shoulder width apart and his arms are crossed in what I suppose should be a menacing and intimidating pose but I’m too annoyed to be cowed.

“Yes and I swear, Easy, I will leave this house and go live in Pippa’s trailer out in the country if you and Michigan are constantly going to question what I eat, what I wear, and whether I can work.” I push by him and step outside.

“Can we come to a compromise?” he asks. I stop on the porch and look at him warily. He raises his hands in a gesture of surrender. “No tricks. I’ll drive you over to Wheels Up if you agree to call the doc and ask if it’s safe for you to work there.”

I twist my lips as I consider his request. It’s not that it’s unreasonable, because I don’t want to expose the baby to unhealthy fumes, but I also want to nip this
let’s negotiate every little thing
attitude in the bud before it evolves into
you can’t do anything without my permission.

“I’m agreeing to this only because I would’ve done that anyway,” I finally concede.

“Great. Let’s get in the truck.”

“What about Amber?” I tip my head toward his motorcycle sitting in the drive.

“Oh no.” He shakes his head and backs up. “We’re not riding on the bike.”

“Seriously? No riding on the bike the entire time I’m pregnant? That’s like eight months of being in the cage.”

My use of the biker lingo makes one side of his mouth raise in a half smile but he still denies me. “No.”

“Fine, I’ll ask the doctor about that too. Anything else you’re afraid for me to do?”

“The list is endless, honey, and since I don’t want to start a fight in our front yard, I’m going to zip my mouth shut and help you into the truck.”

I have to laugh at that. We could keep arguing but my attention is pulled away when a strange car pulls up to the curb. Out of the driver’s door appears a tall, blonde woman. Even from twenty feet away I can see she’s beautiful with an enviable figure wrapped in a short skirt, a blousy top that falls off one shoulder. She smiles at us over the roof of the car and waves gaily, like we’re old friends. Is this one of Easy’s old girlfriends? I straighten and step closer to Easy.

“You know her?”

He slides a reassuring arm around me. “No idea. She looks familiar though.”

“Ugh, from a mash or something?” Not an old girlfriend, but club butt which might even be worse. I rub my hand over my stomach thinking today is not a good day for me to meet some woman that Michigan and Easy shared.

He squints. “Nah, I don’t think so. No sweet butt would have the balls to show up at a Death Lord’s home. That is not okay and would probably get someone banned.” He steps forward, pushing me behind him in one move.

She walks up the drive and as the distance between us closes, I see that she’s older. Her face is thin and there are small lines at the corners of her eyes. She’s very well maintained and reminds me of the pastors’ wives from Minneapolis. There’s an expensive look to her as if she gets her hair cut every month at a high priced salon. Her curls are expertly done and frame her face in way to soften the hard lines that age and dieting has brought on.

Easy must look better the closer she gets because her gaze is stuck on him. The hungry look in her eyes makes me stiffen and I erase any distance between Easy and I as if by my physical proximity I can somehow ward off any interest she might have for him. The possessiveness that the two men show for me starts to make sense to me. I wish I’d sucked a visible love bite on Easy’s neck to mark him as my own. Her gaze finally moves to me and her broad, dentist-perfect smile falters with the middle of her lips flattening out momentarily as I stare stonily at her. She rallies though, stopping about six feet away.

“Honey, don't you know who I am?” She lifts her hand and smooths some of her hair back.
Honey?
“It’s me. Your mother.”

If I was a fainting sort, I probably would've keeled over right then and there but since I'm not I slump against Easy. “It's been a long time…Mom.”

The last word sounds weird on my lips. I haven't had much occasion to use it and I can't remember the last time that I used it to address her specifically. The few conversations I had with her on the phone have not prepared me for this meeting.

“Ms. Bloom, I’m Easy.” He reaches out his left hand while his right tightens around the curve of my shoulder in silent support.

“Easy? That’s an interesting name.” She’s returned to smiling effortlessly although who wouldn't smile at Easy. He's gorgeous and generally is full of good humor although I know him well enough to see that his greeting is one of wary politeness rather than a full welcome. She takes his hand in both of hers and squeezes. “You’re with my daughter?”

“That’s right.”

“Is this new?” She leans around, still holding Easy’s hand in hers. “You didn’t mention it the last time we spoke.”

“That was three years ago.” I’m uncertain how to respond and look to Easy for help. He gives a minute shrug and pulls his hand back. He waits for me to make the next move. Am I going to turn around and walk back into the house and rebuff her? Or will I accept this out of nowhere attempt to reconnect?

“So new then. Well, I’m glad to meet you, Easy. Annie, do you have a hug for your mother?” She raises her arms uncertainly and it’s that hint of vulnerability that has me lunging forward into the hug I haven’t felt for a decade. It’s almost like hugging myself. She’s tall, like me, and I don’t have to bend to hug her like I do with other women. She and I are almost the same height. Her floral perfume is heavy, though, and its rich scent brings a wave of nausea. I swallow hard to keep back the tears and bile, afraid of the strong emotions that her appearance is generating.

“I’m on my way to work,” I blurt out. It’s just really too much. Hearing that Father is out on bail and then having Mom show up out of the blue? Learning I’m pregnant and I don’t know which one of my lovers is the father? I have a sudden need to escape.

“Where? I was over at the church this morning and Mrs. Oak said you’d left.”

The mention of the church and Father is too much. I turn Easy with a panicked plea. “I have to go to work now.”

Part of me wants to go right back inside, crawl into the big bed and hide under the covers until it all goes away—the pregnancy, my father, my mother's re-appearance.

“All right, baby,” he murmurs and gives a quick rub over the hand that I have clamped around his biceps. To my mother he says, “I got to get Annie to work here. Why don’t we all have dinner tonight. Where are you staying?”

She flashes us another brilliant smile. “I thought it would be lovely to stay with you. That way Annie and I can reconnect. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, dear?”

Easy interprets my wide eyed distress perfectly. “Sorry, we’re in a state of construction and I don't feel right about leaving you home with all those tools around.” The lies roll off his tongue as liquid as melted butter and just as smooth.

“Oh I can’t imagine that would bother me. I came from a farm and before that I was in the commune. I’m know my way around tools.” She winks at us.

Holy crap, is my mother flirting with Easy? That seems wrong in so many ways. Plus there’s nothing about Mom that says small town farm girl anymore. That’s been polished away. Easy runs a quick look over her and shakes his head. “Sorry, wouldn’t feel right about that. I’m going to run Annie to her job and then I’ve got my own stuff to see to.”

I don't even ask Easy what it is that he supposed to be doing today. I’m just grateful he's getting me out of there.

Mom looks flustered. “I haven’t checked in to any hotel.”

“You could look into Bright’s Motel. It’s on the edge of town. We’ll give you a call at 6. What’s your number?”

Mom reels it off. After Easy repeats it, we all stand there watching each other. Finally, she gives us a tight smile and turns to get into her car. Only when the taillights of her rental are out of sight does Easy place a hand on my back and direct me to the pickup.

“You okay, baby?”

“That was weird, right? Her showing up and wanting to stay at the house?”

“Nothing about your home life has been normal,” he points out.

“I wonder why she’s back now.” I press a protective hand over my belly. “I’m going to be a good mother.”

“Don’t doubt it.” He opens the door and holds out a hand to help me up into the cab.

“I’m not going to walk out on my kid. I’m going to be there for every recital and practice and game.” I stop talking and turn my head away. Crap, I’m so emotional over everything right now.

“I know you are. And Michigan and I are going to be on either side of you. You aren’t in this alone.” He strokes a finger down my cheek and then gives me a hard pat on the ass. “I’ll ask my grandma if she knows why your mom is in town. If there’s gossip, she’ll have heard it.”

The mention of his grandmother brings a smile to my face. I swing into the seat and buckle up. He takes it slow, probably in deference to my pregnant state. Usually he peels out of the driveway as loud and proud as possible.

Easy’s grandma helped us get together and while there were others in the town who thought my household arrangement was scandalous, Easy’s family took it in stride. His grandmother went so far as to seek me out at the coffee shop one day and tell me that Easy had always marched to his own drummer and that she’d never seen him happier.

That was in stark contrast to the reception I had gotten at the bank. I’d gone in to see if I could recover the money that my father had stolen from me but the bank officer looked at me like I was some kind of leper.

One of my old classmates, Sarah Ellerby, ended up helping me. She told me I could sue Father for fraud, but the idea of testifying against him in court had my stomach in knots. It was bad enough I was going to have to do that for the criminal proceeding. Airing out all my dirty laundry at one time seemed overkill. Might as well leave some part of my life as a mystery so that the town had something to speculate about.

It isn’t as if I don’t want justice, it’s just that it is all cascading at once. I was prepared to testify but I’m not prepared to sue Father for fraud, deal with my mother, have a baby and set up a household with two men.

Actually, the last one is pretty simple. Having Easy and Michigan to lean on is a relief. Out of all the changes in my life, that’s the best one and if I have to deal with all the rest to keep those two, it’s all worth it.

We arrive at Judge’s garage in a short time. Easy helps me out and I follow him into the corrugated steel and concrete building that houses Judge’s custom car and bike business. Judge intimidates me even though Michigan and Easy are as tall and muscular; there’s an air of command around him that they don’t have. My former boss, Pippa Lang the head librarian, has no problem handling Judge. In fact, she’s constantly challenging him, and when I worked at the library, that often ended with them locked in her office or making a trip downstairs to the basement. She’d come out flushed and he looked satisfied.

I guess if you’re sleeping with Judge, you have a handle on him in more ways than one.