CHAPTER EIGHT
Mouse
I had returned from another long run. This one to South Carolina then down into Florida to drop a big shipment with another MC we worked with. They would handle distribution from there.
I wasn’t all that familiar with this club, but Axe said that he trusted them. So what else could I do but put faith in the fact that the mother chapter’s Prez knew what the fuck he was doing?
That didn’t mean that I spent the whole time down there laughing it up and not watching my back.
The ride back home was going to be long and since we didn’t set out until late afternoon, we decided to stop and grab a motel room for the night. It would have been stupid to push through with as tired as we all were.
“You ever think about kids?” B-ry asked from the other bed. As I looked at him like he had two heads, I started to think that I’d picked the wrong person to share a room with.
“Uhhhh…” I replied because I didn’t really have an answer for that. Or if I did, it wasn’t something I wanted to think about right now.
He didn’t seem fazed by my lack of response.
“You think I’d make a good dad?” he asked, his focus dead set on whatever image was lighting up his phone.
I could have been an asshole and given him a sarcastic answer that was meant to be a joke. Or I could have spit out reassurance right away.
But that wasn’t me.
So the seconds ticked on as I really thought about it.
B-ry wasn’t soft by any kind of means. No matter how you looked at it, he was big and gruff and hardheaded. He was thick and at times, terrifying. I’d seen what he could do to a man when he wasn’t happy.
On the other side of the coin, B-ry was protective, loyal, and cared about those he held close. He’d die for any one of us.
Then I thought about how he was with Laurel. How she’d gone through all that shit and the way that he refused to leave her side even when she tried to shut him out.
He said nothing as I processed it all. I think by now he knew me well enough to know I was getting my thoughts together. That or he was so lost to whatever the fuck was on his phone.
“Yeah, I do,” I finally said.
“Yeah?” he asked with a tinge of hopefulness in his tone.
“Yeah,” I repeated with a nod. “Any man that will protect his brothers the way you do, would do the same for anyone he loves. You love Laurel with everything and you’d do anything for her. I’ve seen it. I can see you being the same with a kid.”
He let out a sigh of relief like the weight of the world just fell off his shoulders.
And that was the moment I got it just a split second before he turned his phone to me and confirmed my thoughts. I only caught the brief flash of a positive pee stick but that was all I needed to see.
“Laurel’s pregnant.”
“Holy shit!” I said as I jumped off the bed with genuine excitement for them both.
He got up and we embraced in a tight man hug. I patted his back a few times and then we release to take our positions back on separate beds like it had never happened.
“She’s going to make a great mom,” B-ry said as he smiled to the universe.
I’d seen Laurel with Chry even if I’d tried my hardest to stay in the background when Ingram was at the compound. I had no doubt about that statement. Laurel definitely had the mother vibe. Not just with kids either. I had witnessed many times when she’d see someone lost or confused and she never hesitated to slide in there and help out. It didn’t matter how simple it was, she was there for each and every one of us. After all, she’d been the only one to get through to Blade when he’d gotten fucked up and almost died on us. Months and months of physical therapy and there was Laurel, taking care of his dog and driving him back and forth to his appointments.
Blade wasn’t an easy one to be around, that was for sure. But Laurel never let his asshole attitude get to her.
Thank fuck that shit was behind us and the brother had definitely earned his patch. Blade was moving around and back at the tattoo shop doing his thing. I only caught a glimpse of pain on his face every now and then when he rode for too long or when it got super cold.
The next day we rolled out and B-ry seemed to have a permanent smile on his face. I was happy for the guy.
