6. Most Important People
Chapter 6
Most Important People
Simone
By the end of January, I was nine weeks pregnant according to my doctor’s calculations. Morning sickness had set in with a vengeance.
I still hadn’t told my parents yet.
Since I was on a probationary period at work, I hadn’t informed anyone there about my situation either.
Alexandra had done the impossible and kept my news to herself. Then again, the semester was in full swing, and she had very little time to gab with anyone back in Jacksonville. For that matter, she’d struggled to keep her gym dates with Ines. Turned out Ines was an excellent accountability partner though, and she wouldn’t listen to Alexandra’s excuses.
The two of them had left earlier for a Saturday morning run. They’d invited me along, but I barely had the energy to run to the bathroom some days. I wasn’t going to risk it.
I heard a knock at my door and made my way there. “You forget your key?” I asked, as I lowered my eye to the peephole.
I blew out a sigh at the sight of Jordan on the other side of the door.
I’d given myself away, so I opened the door.
“Jordan. Do you need something?”
He dragged a hand down his face. “I, uh,” he trailed off as he stared at me. “You look ill.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve felt better.”
His eyes widened. “You aren’t contagious are you? I’m traveling next week and—”
As tired and nauseous as I was, I slipped. “Not unless you sprout ovaries and a uterus.”
It took him a moment to catch my drift. “You’re pregnant?”
I watched as he worked through a mental calendar. His deer-in-headlights expression shifted to outrage. “That was fast. Is it mine? It’s only been—”
My temper flared and I crossed my arms on my chest. “It’s been almost two months since we split, but well over three months since we had sex, Jordan. So, it isn’t yours.”
“Then whose is it?” he demanded.
My eyes slid to the side. “It doesn’t matter.”
He crossed his arms. “If it’s one of my friends it does.”
With a scoff, I shook my head. “He’s not a student. He was just visiting town, back in December. Why are you here?”
He lowered his arms and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t know if you got any of my mail. I’m expecting a check from my dad.”
“Sorry, haven’t come across any of your mail. I’ll ask Alexandra when she gets back if she’s seen anything, but I know she would have told me.” I tilted my head. “You could call and ask him to resend it.”
Jordan’s lips curled. “I don’t want to call him. He’d probably insist I meet him at Bike Week or some shit, since that’s coming up.”
“In March, but he wouldn’t make you wait that long, would he?”
He shrugged. “It’s just four weeks away, and it wouldn’t surprise me. Mom said he came looking for me back in December.”
My head reared back an inch. “Oh. Maybe he was the man Ines saw… though she said he wasn’t wearing a cut.”
Shaking his head, he sighed. “Yeah. I don’t know and I don’t care.”
“But you care about his money?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
He rolled his eyes. “It’s complicated. Take care, Simone.”
Alexandra bustled inside with flushed cheeks and her hair falling out of her ponytail in whispy fly-aways. “Ugh. The way you’re looking at me, I have the lion’s mane going on, don’t I? There’s a hot guy moving in downstairs, he said hey, and of course, I look like Simba’s older sister.”
I chuckled. “No. You look fit as a fiddle.”
She gave me some side-eye. “You look even more exhausted than when I left. What gives?”
“Jordan dropped by.”
She aimed wide eyes to the ceiling, then leveled her gaze on me. “Every time his name comes up, I say the same thing these days. Are you shitting me?”
I laughed. “I shit you not, girlfriend.”
“What the hell was he doing here? You didn’t have a quickie with him did you? I hear pregnant women get really horny.”
My lip curled. “No. I didn’t even shake his hand. He came looking for a check his dad sent him. You didn’t find any mail addressed to him in the past few weeks, did you?”
She dipped her chin and arched a brow. “No, but if I had, I’d have set it on fire.”
“Alexandra!”
“What? He had that shit planned back in December, and I don’t care that you gave him the benefit of the doubt, I bet if I befriended Tennyson, I’d get the scoop.” A calculating look hit her eyes. “I should do that any damned way.”
I pitched my voice lower to get her attention. “No, that’s a waste of your time.”
“You’re right. So… Jordan needs dear old dad’s help with money?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Sounds like it.” I dipped my chin to give her a pointed look. “You know it’s not exactly cheap to go to school here.”
She gave me a sassy head tilt. “Oh, I do know. I busted my ass to get scholarships to afford it. Did you tell him you’re pregnant?”
My head tipped to the side. “It couldn’t be helped. He noticed I’m a little green in the gills.”
“Really?”
I shot her a small smile. “He can be observant, Lex.”
“Did he offer congratulations?”
“No. In fact, he wanted to know if it was one of his friends… I shouldn’t have told you that. Only gives you more fodder.”
She grinned and pointed a finger at me. “Damn skippy. Only someone ready with their rebound would immediately assume you turned to one of his friends. I’m sweaty and sticky, so I’m hitting the shower.”
On Sunday evening, Alexandra went to the library. I curled up on the sofa with some ginger ale and my cell phone debating making a call.
Ever since I moved to Gainesville, Mom and I had a standing date to talk every Sunday night. My hesitation stemmed from the fact I felt like this was an in-person conversation, but not knowing how Mom would react – I might be better off going the cell phone route.
The phone vibrated, and then rang, Mom’s name on the display – she’d beat me to the punch.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, sweetie. How are you?”
“I’m good.”
She asked after Alexandra, and I kept it to the bare basics.
“A little birdie—named Abby, by the way—tells me that you had a… tryst.”
A sneak-attack, that figured.
I rolled my eyes. “A ‘tryst,’ you and the romance novels, Mom.”
Her tone became dry. “That should be us and the romance novels, and stop changing the subject. Jordan dumped you and you had a one-time-only thing with someone?”
This seemed as good a time as any to lay it all on the table.
“Yeah. Are you sitting down?”
She chuckled. “Yes, but why?”
I took the deepest breath. “Because, I found out yesterday that I’m pregnant.”
She chuckled again, but cut it in half. “You aren’t joking.”
“No, I thought about waiting to come home and tell you, but—”
“Have you told the father?” she asked.
I hesitated. “We didn’t exchange numbers.”
“Well, surely you can look him up.”
After a long blink, I said, “He was from out of town – hell, I don’t even know where he’s from, just that he said he’d never be back here again. Not to mention, the only name he gave me is Steel. I don’t know his first name, and as common as that surname is…”
I trailed off and the ensuing silence from Mom scared me.
Finally she whispered. “Okay, I can understand how that’s challenging.”
“Challenging?” I croaked.
She gave a long sigh. “Simone, the hotel didn’t just take his credit card on a single name basis. Somebody there should be able to help you look him up.”
That wasn’t a bad idea, but my every instinct said it would be a waste of time.
“Mom, it was over a month and a half ago. I’ll be lucky if they still have those records.”
“You won’t know until you go ask.”
I frowned. “The hotel isn’t just going to hand out someone’s name to me. Besides, he wasn’t the only businessman staying there that night, I’m sure.”
Mom’s tone shifted. “Sweetie, you can’t tell me you don’t remember the room number, and I know you recall the date. It was the last day of the semester.”
Shit. She had me there.
She continued. “Your father will want to know you put in the effort, Simone.”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure the hotel will have a cell number for him.”
“You don’t understand, Simone. He has a right to know, and frankly while your dad isn’t going to care that you’re preggers, he is going to care that this man doesn’t know, because you and your brother are the most important people in the world to him. More than the brothers, more than his Harley, and… more than me.”
“Not more than you,” I scoffed.
Her tone softened. “If you and I are both in line to take a bullet, he’s saving you, not me, sweetie. And I’d want it that way. Try to find this man. He decides to ignore you or not believe you, then fuck ‘im. But you gotta put in the effort.”
I shook my head. “They’re going to protect his privacy.”
Her tone became sly. “Rumor has it you met at the bar downstairs. The bartender might have some info.”
I sighed. “Seven weeks is a long time, Mom, but I’ll go by there tomorrow. See what I can find out.”
“Good. I would have you talk to your dad right now, but he’s in Memphis on club business until Monday. Call on Tuesday, so I can be there for it.”
I nodded. “Okay, Mom.”
The next day, I took an early lunch and went to the Pi House. If the same bartender wasn’t there, then I’d hit the front desk. For some reason, I thought I might have better luck with the bartender… on the very slim chance he was still working there.
In theory, Mom’s idea was great, but in reality, it was ludicrous and even more embarrassing than telling people I’d had a one night stand.
As luck had it, the bartender from that night stood behind the bar drying pint glasses.
He grinned. “Good afternoon. Does today call for Jack Daniel’s Honey?”
I grimaced. “Unfortunately, I can’t have that for a few months.”
Understanding washed over his face, and his smile faltered. His flirty tone went flat. “Oh.”
“Yeah. As if that isn’t enough, I’m trying to get in touch with that man. You wouldn’t happen to have—”
He held up a hand. “We can’t give out that information.”
I knew it .
I gave him a jaunty grin. “Are you sure you can’t make an exception?”
He shook his head. “Been in this situation before, ma’am. Made the mistake of trying to get the info from the front desk in the past. The information isn’t available.”
I settled on a bar stool. “All right, well, I guess I’ll have a Sprite and two slices of pizza. One cheese and the other with ham.”
While I ate my lunch, I used my phone to scroll through apartment listings in Jacksonville. Alexandra would be bummed about me moving out, but things were shaping up such that I knew this was the right decision.
The IT firm I worked for had offered me the chance to start working remotely now that I’d completed my first month. I’d jumped on that idea and even asked if they cared if I worked from Jacksonville. Since they had a small office there, they were cool with that.
I loved Gainesville, but I didn’t see myself raising a baby here on my own. Plus, there were far more people in Jacksonville willing to help me if or when I needed it. Another bonus was that I could see my usual OB/GYN.
Tuesday evening, Mom called.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, there. I have your dad right here, I’m going to put you on speaker.”
Great.
“Jacqueline says you have big news.”
As fast as I could, I told Dad I was pregnant.
“You don’t know who the father is, Simone? I’d heard you’d met someone right after that asshole gave you the run-around. Jacqueline said you had a name for him… she thinks he’s a biker.”
I gave a rueful chuckle. “No, Dad. He isn’t a biker, I’d spot that a mile away. It’s his last name. Lots of men go by their last names as nicknames and stuff. It’s just a name that’s good enough to be a road name,” I semi-lied.
Everything about Steel had screamed power and leadership, but he wasn’t wearing a cut and no way would a president of a club be at that bar not wearing his—
It hit me.
That bar didn’t allow colors.
Shit.
“You need to get in touch with him, honey. He has a right to know.”
I nodded. “Totally agree, Dad.” Embarrassment flooded my system. “But I don’t have his number – as humiliating as that is. Mom told me the same thing, but the hotel doesn’t give out information like that.”
“You…” he trailed off. His lengthy sigh didn’t quite sound like disappointment…but it wasn’t too far off. “You need to try to find him. What’s his name? I can help you.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “It’s a common last name, Dad. But since you’re determined—”
I heard his phone ringing in the background. It was Blood’s ring tone.
“I have to take that. We’ll talk more about this in person, Simone.”
Alexandra trudged out of her room. “That sounded like a fun convo.”
I leaned my head back on the couch. “Yeah. What are you doing this weekend? More fitness with Ines?”
“No. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, other than study.”
I leaned my head up. “I’m headed to Jacksonville to apartment hunt.”
“You’re moving?” she asked, sitting down next to me. The disappointment in her eyes brought on the guilt.
“Honey, you’re not gonna be able to study with a newborn in the apartment. I hate that I have to move, but my instincts tell me that’s the smart thing to do.” I gave her a quick hug. “And I’m not moving immediately. As crazy as rent prices are, I’m going to scope out places and figure out my budget and stuff like that. Do you want to come with… or do you need to stay in town?”
“Oh, I’m coming with you. I love touring houses and apartments.”
Alexandra had insisted on driving us to various apartment complexes so I could ‘weigh my options.’ What I hadn’t realized was that she’d planned for Jasmine and Aunt Abby to meet us at her parents’ place afterward.
It didn’t feel like an ambush until they insisted we sit outside by the pool and they proceeded to hound me about who Steel could possibly be or how I could contact him.
I drove my fingers into my hair at the sides of my head. “What? It’s not like I had sex with Steel from the Devil Lancers. This man wasn’t even wearing a cut, and he didn’t have long hair or anything.”
Abby’s expression turned wary. “He’s always been clean-cut-ish. You’re right, though, it’s crazy to think he’d be there. The man hates Florida. Hell, he spent all of Biketoberfest looking like he was constipated.”
“You’re a nurse, you think everyone looks bound-up,” Aunt Mallory said.
Abby shook her head. “No, this was different. He frowned the whole time. There’s no call for that shit when you’re so close to the beach, easy access to great food and better music, plus all the hot bikes and even hotter women. That man can’t stand Florida and he lets everyone know it.”
Mallory gave a slight nod. “That’s true. Plus, what business would he possibly have in Gainesville? A trip to God’s country is always fun, but I trust Simone’s gut.”
“Not God’s country, that’s three hours away in Tally,” Abby muttered.
“Aren’t there any pictures of this Devil Lancer president?” Alexandra asked.
I gave her a look. “How many pictures are there of my dad floating around?”
“True, true.”
“Where is the Devil Lancer mother chapter?” Jasmine asked.
I scoffed. “Why? You think I should just drive there and ask Steel to step outside?”
Jasmine shrugged. “Why not? My mom would do something like that.”
Abby laughed. “You’re assuming she could get in the damned gate, and Trixie did shit like that years ago, Jazz. Things are different now.”
Jasmine stood up and dropped her beach towel from her waist. “Are they though?” she muttered that question and ran to the pool, executing a perfect cannonball into the water.
Just watching her made me yawn.
How could a group of cells the size of a lime suck so much of my energy?
Next to me, Aunt Abby asked, “You’re coming to Bike Week, aren’t you? It’s the first year you can do everything since you’re twenty-one.”
I gave her a lop-sided smile. “Except I can’t, not really.”
Alexandra rubbed sunscreen into her arms. “You gotta go. Who else is gonna hang out with me and Gabriella?”
Aunt Mallory swallowed a sip of white wine. “Just go Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.”
I shrugged. “I’ll think about it. Aunt Trixie isn’t wrestling this year – that’s what made it worthwhile.”
With her hands on the pool deck, Jasmine heaved herself out of the water as though doing a push up. She beamed at me. “I’m taking her place. That’s reason to go right there!”
Uncle Cal had come out to grill chicken and steaks. I snuck back inside because the scent of the raw chicken turned my stomach.
Abby stood at the counter chopping tomatoes for a salad, a huge wooden salad bowl sat next to the cutting board. “I’m glad you came inside.”
“You are?”
She dumped some tomatoes in the bowl and leveled her eyes on me. “I’ve been thinking about what I said.”
I grinned. “You say a lot of things—”
“Ha ha. I might have said it was unlikely to be Steel with the Devil Lancers in Gainesville, but I remembered something about him.”
I leaned against the counter with my forearms resting on top of it. “What about him?”
She stared at me for a beat. “He has a thing for younger women.”
“Really?” I asked, my tone dry.
“Don’t be so skeptical. I’m just saying – you’d be right in his wheelhouse.”
I raised my chin in an exaggerated nod. “That doesn’t make me feel any better. What’s your point?”
She grabbed a cucumber and cut off the ends. “Jasmine was right. Except instead of hitting their compound, we’re going to find their campsite.”
My eyes widened and I straightened from the counter. “That’s worse than Jasmine’s idea.”
She shook her head. “No, sweetie. It’s smarter because women all come and go at rallies.”
I shot her a pointed look. “Not with Riot patches, they don’t.”
Her head wobbled side to side. “Not usually, but I’ve been to their area before. If I go with you, it’ll be fine.”