Highway Don't Care (Freebirds) (27 page)

  The drive was a scenic one, and I promised myself we
would come out here more often.  She enjoyed the ride, as well as the
familiar landmarks that she hadn’t seen in so long.

  We agreed that Mineola would be the place to go and spent
the afternoon walking around downtown.  We ate in a small restaurant
called Armadillo Willie’s.  It was definitely a redneck
establishment.  They were very proud of their tin cups and plates, as well
as their eclectic menu.

  They offered “Armadillo Eggs” which were nice ways of
saying bull balls.  They also offered squirrel, possum, gator, and
venison.  I decided to go wild and try some of the gator while Ember stuck
with the old-fashioned hamburger.  Apparently, she had her first bout of
queasiness, and just thinking about anything other than a burger made her
stomach churn.

  The ride back to the cabin was beautiful with the sun
setting in front of us, and the love of my life at my back.  I pointed out
deer every couple of miles, and laughed at the squeal of happiness she would
let out when she saw them. 

  Our next two days were spent reading, exploring, and
making love.  Our nights were spent playing cards, laughing, talking, and
making love.  Tomorrow was back to the real world.  Too bad we weren’t
aware that very soon, something so terrible was going to happen that would make
us long for those two days back, just to know what goodness felt like.

  Darkness was about to ascend on our world, and we needed
something pure to hold on to.

Chapter 14

Why would you want to marry me anyhow?

So I can kiss you anytime I want.

-Sweet Home Alabama

Ember
 

  We pulled up to Free, him on his bike, and me in my
car.  Instead of pulling around the garage to the houses in back, he pulled
up to the bay door and shut the bike off.  I pulled up next to him, and
got out with brows raised.

  He’d then taken my hand and led me into the office, and
then out into the garage.  All the lights were off, which was
exceptionally unusual because normally at this time of day air wrenches were
singing, tools were being dropped, hammers were banging, and a loud blaring of
rock music played in the background.

  None of that was happening today, which was downright
freaky for three in the afternoon.

  “What’s going on?”  I asked curiously.

  “Ember Leigh Tremaine, will you marry me?”  Gabe
asked into the darkness.

  “I already said yes, weirdo.  Why do you think I’m
still wearing the ring?”

  His laugh vibrated off the skin of my neck when he said,
“I mean today, right now, as a matter of fact.”

  At that statement, the lights flipped on blaringly
bright, and I was presented with our  friends and family in the
shop.  It was decorated in skulls, red, and black, just like I’d always
wanted.

  I turned from all of our friends staring expectantly at
me back to Gabe, and then threw my arms around his neck.

  “Of course, you didn’t even need to ask.”  I said
right before I kissed him.

  “You’re supposed to kiss after you say, “I do!”” 
Jack yelled from across the room.

  “Let’s go.”  He said against my lips.

  And so, we were married.  By Elliott at that. 
Apparently, Dougie had dared him at one point to get licensed to be an ordained
minister, and Elliott wasn’t one to pass up a challenge.  Max had somehow
pulled off getting a marriage license without the both of us present (Which was
illegal since blood tests were involved, as well as both of our signatures, but
hey, who was I to say anything here?) which made it all legal in the eyes of
the state.

  I got married in jeans and a t-shirt.  The only
thing missing were my parents, but I knew they were watching me with smiles on
their faces.

  Max walked me down the aisle.  He held on to me
tight, and gave me a bear hug before releasing me to Gabe’s arms.  I
ignored the “fuck up and die” look he gifted Gabe with, and smiled at Elliott
who’d winked at me.

  The ceremony was short and sweet.  Everyone cracked
up each time Elliott said something minister like.  Cheyenne and Blaine
were at my side crying their eyes out.  Not sure why though, because there
was nothing to cry about here.  I was almost as happy as I could be; the
only thing that could make it better was if my parents were alive.

  We spent the afternoon eating, dancing, laughing, and
carrying on.  Kids ran around at our feet laughing and playing.  I’d
shared a dance with my husband, brother, and then every member of Free after
that.  I also might have slow danced with Cheyenne and Blaine, but I’d
never tell.  By that night, I was so tired that Gabe ended up giving me a
piggyback ride back to our place.  He dropped me on my feet right at the
door, and then picked me up bridal style.

    I looked into Gabe’s eyes as he carried me
through the door to his house.  They were soft and warm, full of love, and
I never wanted to look anywhere else.

  “I love you, Gabriel.  This was the best day of my
life.”

  “It was a pretty perfect one for me, too.  Thank you
for saying yes.”  He smiled.

  “Anything for you.  Anything.”

  Unlike a normal wedding night, we spent the next few
hours sorting through the enormous amount of baby paraphernalia.  Gabe
installed the car seat with only a little guidance from Sam.  I sorted out
the spare room, shoving all of my belongings out the door and into our room to
sort through later.

  “What’s in that box?”  Gabe asked as he came into
the room.

  “All the newborn stuff you had to have.” 

  “I can’t wait for the baby to wear it.  We’re gonna
have to add on to the house like Sam did so we can have another room. 
There’s not enough room in this place.”

  “Gabe, honey, Cora won’t be able to fit into any of this
stuff.  You bought it for no reason, and some of this is even for a boy!”

  His gaze looked at me until the confusion that was on my
face registered with him.

  “You do realize that we’re having another baby,
right?”  He asked carefully.

  The light bulb went off in my head and I started
laughing.  My brain was stuck in Cora mode, not on our own baby.

  “Gotcha.  Sorry, not sure why that didn’t register
with me.”

  We spent the rest of the night unloading, putting away,
and organizing.  This wasn’t the ideal wedding night, but it was perfect
for us.

Ω

  Gabe was looking a little green as we pulled into the
daycare Cora attended.  His face was a little pale, and his breathing a
tad fast.  The hand that I had a hold of with my own was clammy. 

  “Gabe, it’ll be just fine.  Take a deep
breath.  Don’t let them see your nervousness or they’ll think you can’t
handle her.”

  Nodding, he visibly toned down the terrified look, and a
blank mask replaced it.  We pulled up to the Audi that The Moran’s were
standing beside, and shut the truck off.  From their faces, I knew this
wasn’t going to go down easy.

  We both got out and walked to the front of the truck.

  Sidney spewed acid first, “You can’t have your whores
around Cora.  According to Texas law, you have to take her by yourself if
I’m uncomfortable with the girlfriend, or I can refuse to give her to you.”

  “Actually, Ember is now my wife, so that law wouldn’t
apply in this situation.  Anything else?  Is she already inside, or
what?”  Gabe asked calmly.

  She looked ready to chew nails when she heard that juicy
tidbit.  I tried looking into their Audi, but the windows were newly
tinted, and so dark that I wasn’t able to see in anymore.

  “I’ll pay you a million to sign your rights away.” 
Mr. Moran spoke evenly.

  “No.  Now where is she?”  Gabe replied.

  I watched them volley back and forth until finally I
couldn’t handle it anymore.  Pulling out my phone, I sent a text to
Cheyenne who would send in backup.  We knew they were going to try
something, so it came as no surprise when they started with bargaining, and
then turned to threats.

  “You’ll never find business in this town again.  I
could put that biker club of yours underwater in two seconds flat.  Are
you sure you want to do this?”  Mr. Moran seethed.

  Gabe visibly got his temper under control before he
replied, “Listen, I just want my daughter, nothing else.” 

  They didn’t get a chance to reply before two police
cruisers pulled up alongside our cars and got out.  Luke, stepped out of
one, and a handsome red head stepped out of the other.  Both of them were
drool worthy in their KPD shirts and black cargo pants.  They looked like
total badasses.

  The redhead flashed a blinding smile in my directions,
and two twin dimples popped out on each cheek.  He looked too cute! 
He was stocky, about Gabe’s height, and had muscles bulging.  What was
with all the men in my life lately?  They all looked like they competed
for body building competitions.

  The red head surveyed the situation before asking, “What
seems to me the problem here, gentlemen?” 

  Apparently, the women didn’t count.  But then again
I wasn’t the one in a hostile position.  Gabe and Mr. Moran were. 
Sidney stood at the door to the Audi like she was a sentry sent to guard the
gates of hell.

  “This, this vagrant is trying to take our
daughter.”  Sidney spit as she curled her nose in distaste.

  “Gabe didn’t realize you were a vagrant.  When did
that happen?”  Luke queried.

  “I’m just trying to pick my daughter up.  We just
got visitation scheduled, and this is the first day that I am supposed to get
her for the weekend.  I have the papers right here if you need to see
them.”  Gabe said as he handed over the papers.

  The red head took them, read over them quickly, and then
passed them to Luke.  Luke read over them quickly, and then handed them
back to Gabe.

  “Looks like he has the law on his side, Mrs. Moran. 
Where is the baby?  According to the papers, he gets her until Monday
morning.”  Luke said evenly.

  “He can’t have her.  According to the law, if I feel
uncomfortable with his girlfriend here, I don’t have to let him have
her.”  Sidney said rudely.

  She was really quite dumb.  There was no such law,
but I wasn’t about to get into the middle of this.  I didn’t want it to
look like I was trying to hurt this situation.  I wanted to be the silent
support that Gabe needed.  Every instinct in my body was telling me to
open my mouth and let this woman have it, but I held my tongue, because I
wanted that little girl just as much as Gabe did.

  “Actually, Mrs. Moran, there is no law against a
girlfriend living with him.  Although, they were married yesterday, so
it’s a moot point anyway.  Now, this is a court order, so if you refuse to
give the child over then we will be forced to arrest you.”  Red head said.

  I really liked this guy.  I’ve never met him before,
but I knew I would like him just by that little speech alone.  It also
didn’t hurt that he was hot. 

  “This is outrageous.  He wasn’t even there for her
birth or the last year and a half of her life.  She doesn’t even know
him.”  Mr. Moran said.

  At that comment, I lost my will to stay quiet.

  “Listen here buddy.  That wife of yours,” I said
pointing at Sidney accusingly.  “told Gabe while he was deployed that she
aborted his baby.  Then she broke up with him.  How was this his
fault that he’s not spent the first year of his child’s life with her?  He’s
done everything he could in the last week to gain the right to see her. 
He’s known for a week.  Does that sound like someone that didn’t want to
be in his child’s life?  He was devastated when he learned she aborted his
child.  Devastated.”

  By the time I was done, I was in tears.  Fucking
hormones.

  Mr. Moran stood there in shock, as if he wasn’t aware
that was what really happened.  Which he probably wasn’t.  Sidney was
a devious bitch, by the look on his face the light finally came on, and he
wasn’t too happy with that dear of wifey of his.

  “Cora is in the daycare right now.  We’ll be back
Monday morning.  Please call if you have need of anything.”  He said
stiffly, and then got into his Audi.

  I also didn’t miss the look he passed his wife, which had
her scrambling to get into the car before he took off.

  A smile broke out over my face, and I jumped up and down
while clapping my hands.  Then I threw my hands around Gabe’s neck and
jumped up and down while hugging him hard.  Then repeated to Luke.  I
might have done it to the red head, too.

  “Let’s go get her!”  I screeched.

  I was to the door and inside by the time Gabe caught up
with me.  The woman at the counter smiled warmly, and then asked for our
ID’s to verify our identity.

 “She’s in the toddler room eating her morning snack. 
It’s down this hallway second to last door on your right.  Would you like
me to take you to her, or do you think you can find it?”  The worker
asked.

 I gave her a bright smile and shook my head.  “No, I
think we can find it.  Thank you!” 

 We opened the door to the toddler room and saw two tables
with chairs built into them filled with toddlers.  They were all eating
what looked like toast, but it was all chewed and slimy, so it could have been
anything at that point.

  I immediately found Cora.  She was the only girl who
had black curly hair and olive-toned skin.  She was dressed in a pink
solid shirt with black leggings.  No shoes.  Her face had remnants of
her snack sticking to it, and she was drinking from a green plastic sippy cup.