Chapter Nine
Meadow
W alking to the shop with Colt by my side should have me filled with anxiety, but knowing we've found our way back to each other has a sense of peace flowing through me. We make small talk for a bit, but we are also comfortable in the silence we share. It isn't until we're walking down Main Street that the reality of introducing him to the girls sets in, along with my nerves.
"Okay, so I should probably warn you that you're about to walk into the lion's den." I nervously play with the rings on my hand as I avoid Colton's eyes.
"Meadow…"
I finally stop my fidgeting when his hand gently pries mine apart and links our fingers together. I suck in a breath as he raises them to his lips and gently kisses the back of my hand. A shaky breath escapes me as Colton sweetly smiles down at me.
"I'd be a little worried if I walked into those doors and was welcomed with open arms. These are your best friends—who are like your sisters—and your daughter, and I'm the guy who knocked you up. I know I'm going to have a lot to prove, but I'm up for the challenge."
Staring into Colton's eyes, I can tell how sincere he is. With a deep, centering breath, I push open the front door of the shop and smile when I see my girl sitting at the front counter.
"Hello, my sweet daughter."
River puts down the book she's reading, and looks up at Colton and me with a critical eye. "Hi, Mom and Mr. Harding." Her brows furrow.
"You can call me Colton or Colt if we're outside of school. Or if you want to stick with Mr. Harding, that's fine too. Whatever you're comfortable with."
"Hmm, I think I like Colt. No offense, but I'd like to differentiate your two roles in my life."
"None taken. And whatever you need to do to feel comfortable, I'm okay with." He turns to me as if he made a mistake, before rushing ahead. "I mean, as long as you and your mom are okay with it."
"I'm fine with that, Colt. You two have your own relationship outside of ours. I want it to be as natural as it was before this bomb dropped." I run my hand over my small baby bump.
"So, what is your relationship? Are you two dating, or?" Leave it to my girl not to hold back her curious nature.
"Well, I—" Colt's bumbling and blush are adorable, but I can't let him suffer for long.
"Yes, we are." I know I told Colt we need to take things slow and get to know each other, but I don't see why we can't do that while we're together .
The smile that spreads on Colton's face is worth me springing this on him. He tugs me close to his side, letting go of my hand so that he can put his arm around me, then places a gentle kiss on my forehead. I can't stop my sigh as I sink into his embrace.
"Hmm, you might be more like your mother than you realize, punk. I think that gut of yours might be right." Wren's voice sounds cynical even though I can tell she's being sincere and complimenting River.
I look up to see Colt smiling down at me.
"Ready to introduce me to your friends, Dow?"
Nodding, I turn towards Wren and tug Colton over to meet her.
"Wren, this is Colton. Colton, this is Wren, one of my best friends and the owner of this shop."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Wren. Meadow spoke highly of you, your business, and your work ethic when we first met."
"Did she, now? Funny, since today was the first day she ever mentioned you." Wren releases Colton's handshake and crosses her arms, one brow raised as she gives him shit.
"Wren…"
"Well, it is. It's not my fault you kept your interlude hush hush."
"Oh my god, Wren. Leave them alone." Daphne blushes on my behalf as she hip-checks Wren on her way from the hallway into the lobby.
"Hi, I'm Colton. You must be Daphne. It's a pleasure to meet you." He reaches out a hand, not even giving me a chance to make the introduction this time.
"Hi, Colton. So nice to meet you as well. "
"So, what brings you two in? I honestly didn't expect to see you." Wren wiggles her eyebrows at us, which makes Daphne and Colton blush, me groan, and River mimic puking.
"Child, I love you, but please don't make that noise," I beg as my stomach rolls.
"Sorry, Mom."
"Are you okay? Can I get you something? Do you need to sit down? Have you been getting sick often?" Colton has me turned towards him as he assesses me from head to toe.
"Calm down, Colt. I'm fine. I don't need anything right now. I've been super nauseous, but I've only thrown up a handful of times, so I suppose I'm lucky. Although, hearing my lovely daughter mimic the sound is not helping me." I mock glare at River, who throws her hands up in surrender.
"I said I was sorry."
"I know. I'm just teasing. Colt and I were actually coming to see if we could steal River to go get some food at The Tavern if we aren't too busy here and she’s up for it."
"I mean, you know I won't turn down food, especially Mav's."
"I'm cool with it. You know the brainiac had all of my admin shit done in the first fifteen minutes she was here and the schedule squared away for the week, so it's not like she really has to do anything other than answer the phone or wait on walk-ins. Besides, we close in a little bit, so it's not like we'll have much foot traffic anyways." Wren shrugs.
"Great. You ready to go now, sweets?"
"Sure. "
"It was nice meeting you both. I'd love to get to know you and for you to know me better. Maybe we can do dinner sometime? If you have significant others, they could join us."
"Fuck yeah. Brooks will love having another intellectual around." Wren raises a fist to bump Colton's while Daphne backhands her.
"Hey, what about Ezra? He's no slouch," Daph defends.
"Honestly, he's probably got the prof in the brains department," River teases, knowing she can bait Wren.
"Hey, punk. Just because you two speak your weird techy language does not mean Ezra is smarter than Brooks."
"Alright, kids. We can fight about this later," I dive in or else River and Wren will keep going rounds.
Who would've known that, even though River hasn't had any siblings up to this point, she'd still learn how to fight like she does with her pseudo aunt, who acts more like a teenager than she does half the time. It should drive me nuts, but I love that Wren can bring out the kid in River and make her act her age. Half the time, I think she does it on purpose just to make sure River remembers that she is still a kid.
We say goodbye again, hug a million more times, then finally head out of the shop and down the street to The Tavern to get some grub. Not only is the beer delicious, but Maverick is a genius with food and has tons of vegetarian options available. He even makes his own veggie burgers that are to die for and sells them to me so I can make them at home. Although, if this pregnancy is anything like the one with River, and breakfast was any inclination, I don't know if I will be sticking to my vegetarian diet .
Making our way into the bar, we find a table off to the side and settle in. Our server comes over, and gets us started with some drinks and appetizers, while we decide what we want for our meals.
"I've only eaten here a handful of times, but it's always blown my mind. What are your favorites?" Colton looks at us expectantly.
"I love anything Maverick makes. I'm really not a picky eater at all. I usually get some kind of meat while we're here since Mom's a vegetarian. She'll buy it for at home for me, but I know she hates the way it smells and hates cooking it, so I usually stick to eating it when we go out or at school."
"That's super considerate of you, River. So, I'm assuming you've had their burgers?"
"Oh, yeah. Maverick did one over the summer that had some kind of Cajun seasoning, with a creamy goat cheese and homemade hot pepper jelly that was to die for. Add in his homemade potato chips and ranch, and I would've been happy to eat here every day."
"That does sound really good. I wonder if it's still on the menu," Colt muses as he flips through his menu, searching for the burgers.
"It's probably up on the chalkboard if it is. These have what Mav offers year round, but then he does seasonal menus that are displayed throughout the bar." I point to a large chalkboard behind the bar, where Mav puts his latest creations.
"How the hell did I miss that the last time I was in?" Colt flares his eyes, making me wonder if this “last time” was when he was here with me.
"Maverick also has a really good veggie burger that Mom usually gets. He spoils her and lets her buy the patties to take home and make them. "
"Hey, perks of being friends with him and working on his ink." I wink at my daughter.
"That's pretty cool. I'm sure you have a lot of interesting stories from your years of being a tattoo artist. Is that what you've always done?"
"That's what I've done to pay the bills since I learned about tattooing and started my apprenticeship in college."
"Mom's a master crafter. She can pretty much make anything. She made all of our jewelry. And I don't just mean stringing beads on the wire. She handmakes the beads with clay and glass. She also makes a ton of our clothes, grows most of our food, and makes all of our soaps. I've been trying to get her to open an online shop for years, to sell her wares, but she hasn't taken the plunge yet."
"You made all of these?" Colton's voice sounds amazed as he plays with the beads on my bangle.
"Yep. It wasn't hard. I've been doing it since I was little. Everyone had a job on the commune when I was growing up. I have always helped in the garden since I have a green thumb, but my mom also saw early on that I was a creative. She introduced me to all sorts of media and encouraged me to explore art. I used a lot of my skills to sell trinkets and whatnot at vendor fairs and craft shows."
"That's really impressive, Meadow." Colton smiles as he continues to examine my arm full of bracelets.
"That's not even the half of it. An art professor saw her stuff at one of the shows and paid for her to go to a very exclusive art camp one summer, where she won a full-ride scholarship to attend the Maryland Institute of Art." River proudly beams at me .
"Wow. That's a very prestigious art school and a very impressive accomplishment. I'm curious, how did you like those classes versus coming from the commune, where I'm assuming you were homeschooled?"
"Yes, I was homeschooled. The only classes that were truly overwhelming for me were the gen eds that all schools require. There were so many students in those classes, and it was so regimented. My first year was a struggle in terms of acclimating, not to mention that I was younger than most of the students and very different from them."
"You were younger?"
"Mom's not quite as smart as us, but she's pretty close."
"River, nobody is as smart as you," I admonish, but she can't be deterred.
"She took 28 credits in the first semester of her freshman year, to prove that not only did she belong but she could handle the course load. She had to have special permission to take that many classes, but the dean was willing to test her abilities to see if they matched her standardized test scores. She passed that semester with a 4.0 GPA, even with finding out she was pregnant with me."
"Damn, Dow. That's insane." Colton stares at me wide eyed as I try to hide my embarrassment.
I've never loved being in the spotlight for my brain. Sure, it's great being smart, and able to know how to manage money and be a responsible adult, but I value kindness and being a good person over how smart a person is. It's why I try to instill so many of my beliefs in River. Her big brain is amazing, and I know she's going to do wonderful things someday; I just hope she uses it for the good of many instead of the good of a few .
I'm about to shift the conversation when I'm saved by the waitress delivering our food.
"I've got two of your orders, and Maverick's coming with the third. When he found out it was for you, young lady, he took over and said he has something special for you." The waitress winks at River, who blushes furiously.
My girl is a little foodie and isn't afraid to try anything. When the big bad biker, Maverick, found this out, he spent an entire evening picking her brain about what she liked and what she would love to try. He was putty in my daughter's hands, and now, I'm pretty sure my girl's got a crush on the man who loves nothing more than spoiling her with his culinary excellence.
Colton and I both got burgers. He got the one River was telling him about while I got a rise & shine veggie burger with bacon on the side. I'm just about to take a bite of my burger, but I can't help but stare at Colton's. Why my body craves meat while I'm pregnant is beyond me, but I'm really regretting my veggie burger.
Eyeing me staring at his burger, Colt pulls my plate to him. He cuts both our burgers in half, adds bacon to the veggie burger, gives me half of his and takes half of mine, then slides my plate back. Picking up my veggie burger, he takes a big bite then sends me a wink.
With teary eyes—because why wouldn't I cry when the man is sweet and gives me the food he was so excited for?—I pick up the half of the burger Colton gave me and take a huge bite. The flavors hit my tongue, and instead of being repulsed like I normally would be, a moan falls from my lips.
"Holy shit. Why is this so good?" I mumble through a mouthful of food, right as Maverick makes it to the table with River's plate .
Staring at me as I devour a burger that is not the veggie one he always makes me, Maverick raises a brow at me in question. Grabbing a napkin off the table, I wipe the grease from my mouth as I swallow my bite.
"I'm sure this is very strange to you, but when I'm pregnant, I can't seem to get enough." I hold the burger up and shrug.
Maverick's eyes go wide as I inhale another bite. It's hard not to laugh as his eyes bounce from the burger, to my stomach and back, before they finally settle on Colton. He crosses his arms and glares. In this moment, I get what the Wilson sisters mean about Maverick and his role as the protector.
"Maverick Sanders, do not look at Colton like that. This baby may not have been planned, but he is a good man and is going to do right by all three of us," I huff out, snapping Maverick's attention back towards me.
"Fucking hell." He runs a hand down his face as River and I laugh, and Colton relaxes beside me. "You better treat them both like the queens they are, you hear?" Maverick nods to me and River as he stares down Colton.
"Don't worry. I will. I know what a gift Meadow and River are, and I'm so fucking excited about this baby. They're safe with me. I promise."
"Good. Keep it that way," Maverick grumbles as he storms off.
"So, what are the chances that we'll make it through the whole meal without one of the Wilson sisters showing up?" I tease as I look at River.
"I'd say it's very likely all three will be here before we finish," River states matter-of-factly .
"Umm, who are the Wilson sisters again?"
"They're our friends. Maverick is married to Spencer, the oldest. Then there's Chayse, who is married to Cash, and last is Emerson, who is hell-on-wheels and married to Axle. They're all pretty badass in their own respect, and they welcomed Wren, Daph, Riv, and me with open arms when we moved here."
"Hmm, I'm excited to meet them."
"You say that now, but when they descend—along with my aunt Wren—chaos usually ensues. They're wild." River's eyes widen.
I laugh, knowing how rowdy our group can be, especially for my little introvert. "I mean, she's not wrong, but Riv's also an introvert at heart. Usually, she and Daph seek solace in the corner while the rest of us let loose. If we hurry up and eat, we might be able to sneak out before they get here and head home to watch a movie or something. Would that be okay with you, Riv?"
"Sure. Maybe I can show Colt my robotics project from camp."
"Is that the one that won you the scholarship?" Colton's eyes light up.
"The one and the same."
"I'm game. Eat up. I can't wait to see it." Colt shovels a bite into his mouth, making River and me laugh.
If he were any other man, I'd think he was just trying to put on a show for River. But as we continue to eat, I watch her light up as he asks her questions about the project and him smile as she gets animated about a subject she loves.
Before tonight, if someone had asked me if I was happy with my life, my answer would have been yes. But sitting here, seeing my daughter warm up to the father of my baby, I know now that there was something— or rather someone—missing for a while. I'm not sure what our future is going to look like, but if it's nights like this, I can't wait to experience all the many more to come.