Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Rebel
“Thanks for driving us, Paul,” I say as we head to the hospital. “She’s been sick since the night of our wedding and hasn’t been able to keep anything down.”
I’m sitting in the back with Holly leaning against me. She’s so pale and while I don’t know how it’s even possible, she’s lost even more weight since we got married five days ago.
He looks in the rearview mirror as I speak, merely nodding at my words. “Esther said something wasn’t right and that she has her suspicions but wouldn’t tell me what they were.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, I smirk because I have my own ideas about what’s going on with my wife. I tried mentioning it to her once and she was so adamant that it couldn’t be possible, I decided to keep it to myself.
“I don’t think this is necessary,” Holly grumbles. “It’s just a stomach flu or something, is all.”
“Most of those resolve in a few days, pumpkin,” Paul gently tells her.
“Whatever,” she grouches, crossing her hands across her chest. I kiss the top of her head and grin at Paul who merely shakes his head.
In no time at all, we’re pulling into the doctor’s office and after Paul gets my chair out of the back of the truck, I transfer over then motion for Holly to climb onto my lap. She huffs and rolls her eyes but does it which has Paul chuckling as he follows us inside.
“There’s no way I’m pregnant,” Holly tells the nurse who is holding out the cup for her to give a urine sample.
“Mrs. Sherman, the doctor wants to rule everything out, including a possible urinary tract infection, so you need to provide us with a sample,” the nurse reiterates, having already told her twice.
“Ugh, fine. I hope I can squeeze out enough seeing as I haven’t been able to hold down anything for almost a week now,” Holly says, grabbing the cup. Giving me a glare, she stomps off to the restroom while I look at the nurse.
“It’s possible she could be,” I admit. “The night before my accident we had sex.”
“Pregnancy is always a possibility unless you’re abstaining from sex,” she replies. “I’m sure it’s been a lot with everything you’ve obviously gone through as well.”
“She’s been a saint through all of it,” I admit. “She never left my side when I was in the hospital, then was with me in rehab every single day.”
“You’ve got a good woman,” the nurse says as we see Holly exit the restroom. She still has an obstinate look on her face, but it clears when she sees me.
“Okay, where to now?” Holly asks.
“You’ll be in Room Three,” the nurse announces. “Follow me.”
“How did this happen?” Holly murmurs, looking down at the paperwork the woman at the checkout handed her as we leave.
“I know your grandmother taught you about the birds and the bees,” I tease.
She huffs out a breath and stares at me. “Really? You’ve got jokes?”
“Honey, this isn’t a bad thing,” I remind her. “The girls are gonna be so excited, don’t you think?”
A look of wonder crosses her face at my words as she nods. “They really will be but who knows what they’re going to request.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Well, they’re too young for us to explain that whether it's a boy or a girl depends on you. Not wishes to shooting stars, or prayers, or anything else,” she replies.
As I help her into the truck, Paul is there to make sure I transfer safely, then he gets my wheelchair into the back before he slides into the driver’s seat and buckles up.
“Everything good?” he finally asks once we’re on the road toward home.
“Pappy, you’re going to have a new great-grandchild in about six or so months, give or take,” Holly replies.
His smile splits his face almost in two as he says, “Well, I’ll be. Your grammy was right.”
“Grammy knew?” Holly asks.
“She suspected that’s what was going on,” Paul replies. “But she also took into consideration how emotional you’ve been too.”
“Shoulda just asked Grammy I guess,” she murmurs, making me chuckle. She mock glares at me then states, “You know I’m gonna get as big as a house. I did with both girls.”
“And I’ll enjoy every single minute, sweetheart,” I tell her.
It’s not long before we’re home and once the girls are back in their playroom, I watch as Holly tells Esther our news.
“Did you already make an appointment with the obstetrician?” Esther questions.
“The doctor sent over a message. I’m just waiting on a callback to get one scheduled,” Holly replies. “I guess I’m gonna have to stop waitressing now.”
“Babe,” I growl out. “It’s not like we’re hurting for money.”
“I know, but gosh, I enjoy doing it. Plus, I’ve been tucking the tips aside for Christmas like I did last year,” she admits. “Morris is gonna miss me.”
“Morris will get over it,” I retort. “My wife isn’t going to be hauling trays of food and alcohol all over the damn place and risk her health or that of my baby’s.”
“Caveman,” she grumbles, grinning at me.
“Maybe so, but I’m your caveman,” I remind her, leaning in to kiss her nose. “Now, how about you go and rest for a bit. Your grandfather’s gonna run me out to the clubhouse since we have a meeting.”
She yawns then says, “I guess I could do with a nap.”
“Anything else?” I ask Ash, who’s been holding down the fort while I’ve been at home healing.
“Naw, Pres, all the businesses are making bank, and we’re on target to do the renovations of the one we want to open once everything’s done,” he replies.
“Gotta say, I appreciate all of y’all pulling more weight since this shit happened,” I tell my brothers as I wave down at my chair.
“Pres, we’re a brotherhood, remember?” Prophet asks. “Now, how about we get you back home so you can check on your wife and the girls.”
“Those girls are something,” Data adds. “May need to consider buying or investing in a firing range and ammo store, Pres.”
Laughter reverberates around the room as I flip off my IT guy. “Fucker,” I growl out. “They’re not dating until they’re at least forty, so I should be okay.”
“How’s Holly feel about that?” Prophet asks. “Because I don’t foresee that happening, Pres.”
I shrug then reply, “She’ll listen to reason, I’m sure.”
“Should we start a betting pool?” Ash asks the other brothers.
“Might not be a bad idea, I’ve been looking at some modifications for my bike,” Psycho replies.
“Pres, hate to say it, but I think you’re screwed. We’ll start looking for a storefront we can convert to an ammo store that has land for a firing range,” Fox, the club’s SAA states.
“Fine, whatever. Anything else?” I ask, gavel in hand. I’m ready to get home to my girls and see how my ol’ lady is feeling. Thankfully, the doctor did call in a prescription for anti-nausea medication so hopefully she’ll be able to keep food and fluids down. My biggest concern, of course, was she was getting dehydrated, and she is a little bit, but the doctor knows Esther and told Holly that her grandmother has all the tricks to keep us from having to take her to the hospital
“No!” is yelled out in unison so I quickly slam down the gavel then wait until the room clears before following Prophet and Ash outside. Paul dropped me off but left when the brothers told him they’d get me back home. I think they secretly are hoping that Esther is cooking so they can stay for dinner.
Assholes. Of course, I think that with a grin on my face because they’re loyal as hell and some of the best men I’ve ever known who’ll always have my back, as well as my family’s. What more could I possibly ask for?