Chapter 36
thirty-six
DANE
THREE MONTHS LATER
Owen pushes up from his belly, supporting his head as he grins at me. “I’m gonna come get you,” I say, and he does that shrill laugh that lifts the mood of everyone in the vicinity. Not that there’s anyone else around.
It’s a rare peaceful weekend. Despite quite a few heated reminders of who the clubhouse belongs to, my brothers were given their orders to be out of the building so the old ladies can “douse the whole thing down with bleach and holy water.” A few of the men took off to spend a few days at the New Orleans chapter, grumbling at being put out. No complaints from me. I get to stay at home with my little buddy.
Darcy insists it’s way too early, but Owen is already trying to creep, pushing himself forward with his foot. I wipe off the ever present drool with his bib and shamelessly hold his favorite toy just out of reach. “Come see Daddy,” I tease.
Ever a child with a mind of his own, Owen rolls over on his side, straight to Gris-Gris, and blows raspberries.
Curling his muscled body around the baby, Gris-Gris starts to lick at Owen’s arm, complete adoration in his eyes.
“He’s not yours,” I remind Gris-Gris.
The Rottweiler huffs out a deep, contented breath, completely ignoring me.
If he wasn’t so good with my kid…
As much as it kills me, I know it’s reciprocated two fold. Gris-Gris doesn’t like to leave Owen’s side. He spends work days sulking at Darcy’s feet until it’s time to do the run to daycare.
It grates my patience like a pumice stone on plastic.
They play together, the dog tossing around a toy in his mouth to entertain Owen. All I can do is watch, loving the peaceful moment with my happy son. Owen still glowers when he’s miffed, just like his Mom, but for the most part we got lucky. The only time he’s ever really raised hell is when he’s teething.
Despite Dad and Yogi’s warnings, parenthood came instinctively to me. You feed them, comfort them, keep their routines, and put them to bed. Raising Owen is a fuck ton of work, but Darcy and I love every second of it.
The next kid is probably going to be a hell raiser.
Owen starts to rub his eyes, his lips turning into a pout, his feet kicking a mile a minute. I lift him off the floor while Gris-Gris looks on, worried the baby’s upset. “It’s bedtime,” I say to Gris-Gris.
He clunks along, following us into the nursery. He sits on his hind legs, waiting patiently as I slowly rock Owen to sleep in my arms before placing him on his back in his bed.
“Watch,” I order. With the same attention he gives any other command, Gris-Gris slides onto the dog bed next to the crib, but sticks his snout into the flat rungs of the crib, sniffing at Owen before lying down. It gives me peace knowing that Darcy, Couyon, and myself are the only people he’ll allow in Owen’s room and the jury’s still out on Couyon.
I’m crossing into the den when the front door to the house slams shut. Darcy marches my way with quick steps, lips pursed. She catches my eyes, then narrows hers into tiny slits.
Pretty sure she’s pissed at me.
Pulling something out of the back pocket of her jeans, she throws it at me. It’s a direct hit to my forehead, but I’m able to catch her weapon as it falls.
“Hey,” I snap, rubbing the spot.
Hands folded at her chest, Darcy demands, “How did you do it?”
“Do what?” I ask before finally looking down at my hands. A white rectangular plastic with a little window in the middle. My heart thunders in my ears as I read eight little letters.
Pregnant. I can’t help it. Blame it on the adrenaline pulsing through my veins at warp speed, but I smile, even though I know it’s going to put me deeper into the dog house.
“Oh don’t go smiling all happy with yourself,” Darcy snaps. “I want to know how the hell you did it.”
“I told you I was going to do it,” I point out.
“And then I realized the pills looked and tasted different. So I’ve been switching out the fakes for a real prescription someone picks up for me in Houma every month.”
“Like I said, Sugar, if you refill your birth control I’m going to get rid of it.”
Two months ago, I found a full packet of birth control hidden in the trash and did some investigating of my own. Meadow has been helping switch the fakes for real pills. So I doubled back and switched them again.
Darcy always tries to be one step ahead of me, but I’m already two paces ahead of her.
Eyes blazing at me, she accuses, “Don’t you realize we’re going to have two kids under two?”
I don’t try to hide the massive grin on my face when I answer, “I know. It’s going to be great.”
“You are unbelievable,” she mutters.
I look for any hint of the scared little rabbit I first met, but only find my furious old lady. Even better.
She lets out a dark, ironic laugh. “You know what, you did tell me. I should have gotten an IUD.”
“Would have just pulled that out and came inside of you.”
Way wrong thing to say, because her face turns cold. “You are un-freaking-believable, you know that? You’re not even sorry.”
“Nope.” My hands roam over her body and I squeeze her ass. “I’ve wanted this since the moment I met you.”
In retrospect, this might have been a miscalculation, because a searing white pain suddenly hits my groin. I drop to the floor and cover my dick, breath caught in the wave of agony.