Chapter 18 #2
Toxic’s eyes lit up and Priest let out a curse.
“If you teach my girls to toss a grenade, Toxic, I swear to Christ I’ll sneak into your room and castrate you one night.
” He was grumbling at his brothers, but there was a spark of excitement in his eyes.
“A man ought to be able to teach his own daughters how to shoot.”
I shook my head in disbelief as they called the kids over again. “Smoke-”
“Don’t worry, Wildcat. They’re perfectly safe.
Priest is going to turn all those kids into sharpshooters.
Each of those guys has skills that’re going to improve their abilities.
But most importantly, they’re going to teach them to respect the weapons and what they can do.
None of these kids will accidentally shoot anyone, or anything.
First rule of guns, Dani. Never point it at something you don’t want to kill. ”
I swallowed hard as he turned me around and led me away. “Can you just shoot out into the desert like that?”
He stopped and we turned again so that we were facing the group. His strong arm appeared in my peripheral and his hand in front of my face as he pointed. “See how the ground slopes up over there? It makes a natural berm, a backstop for the bullets. We use it to practice all the time.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks for showing me.” It made me feel a little better now that he’d taken the time to explain the guys’ skill level and experience. It would be some time before I was really comfortable. I jerked against him as they began shooting again.
There was one man per kid, helping them to handle the weapons, teaching them the proper way to shoot. I knew that if my baby ended up growing up around these men he, or she, would end up learning the same.
“You scared?”
Arms wrapped around me again. I leaned back into the comfort of his embrace. “Guns make me nervous.”
“You ever held one?” I shook my head in answer and he grunted in my ear.
“They’re usually scary to those who have no experience with them.
Once you have the baby, I’ll teach you to use one.
I don’t want you around the gunpowder, or lead.
Guns lose their mystery once you know what you’re doing with them. ”
Before I could respond, he took my hand and had us moving back toward the clubhouse. There was about to be a lot more gunfire and I could tell he wanted me inside the building. I wasn’t sure whether the noise would be harmful to the baby or not, so I didn’t give him any more resistance.
* * *
As soon as we stepped inside he let out a chuckle. All the old ladies, and Sylvia, were sitting around the tables. Gwen had a bottle of whiskey sitting in front of her and she looked miserable. Her head popped up as soon as we walked in. “Please tell me it’s almost over?”
“Sorry, Gwen, it’s just started. They’re in good hands,” he added when Jenny and Susie let out long sighs.
“Dani,” Kit said, waving me over. “Just the woman we wanted to see.”
Smoke narrowed his eyes on his sister. “Not for the drinking, I hope.”
Kit rolled her own and shook her head. “You think we’re stupid, Big Brother?” She waved her hand at him as I sat down at the table next to her. “Go away. This is women’s business.”
Smoke looked amused, but he left us alone. I glanced at her curiously. “What sort of business?”
“Well, we’re having a joint baby shower for Seek and Sloane,” Kit told me.
“And we weren’t sure if you’d be offended if we made it a triple baby shower,” Daisha added.
“Or if you’d be upset if we didn’t include you in that one and did one for just you,” Tori piped up.
“I suggested we just ask you which would make you feel more included,” Jenny said, her eyes straying toward the door when more shots rang out. The building muffled most of the sound, so the mothers were starting to relax a bit.
“That’s so sweet. You don’t have to-”
“Don’t,” Seek said, rubbing her belly, “even finish that sentence,” she warned. “You’re getting a baby shower either way.”
“We’re happy to share the day with you,” Sloane told me, her voice and smile soft.
“But,” Seek cut in, “if you do your own, there will be two days of cake.” She grinned. “I tried to convince Sloane that we could have more cake if she had her own party, but she wants to do it together.”
We all laughed, and Susie turned to me. “So what would you like?”
“I’d love to have a joint shower with you two,” I told Seek and Sloane.
“Great!” Kit said, “It’s only a few weeks away. Gotta do it before this one pops.”
Seek grimaced. “I don’t think I like that term. Too…destructive sounding.”
I relaxed into the conversation and laughed along with everyone else.
It was so easy to be friends with these women.
I’d seen all of them continuously over the short time I’d been here.
Something told me we were going to be inseparable by the time I went to leave.
I hoped that meant I could remain friends with them once I didn’t need Smokehouse’s protection anymore.
“What are you doing this Saturday?” Sylvia asked. The older woman was gorgeous, and though Smoke had explained what sweet butts were, I knew she wasn’t really one of them. To the guys, she was an honorary old lady. She just didn’t have her old man yet.
“Nothing. I’ll have some homework to grade, but it doesn’t take long,” I told her, but everyone was watching me.
“You’re coming with us then,” Jordan demanded.
“Where?”
“There’s a Baby, Kids, & All Things Pregnancy Expo happening,” Gwen told me. “It’s going to be so much fun and we’re all going. It’s happening Saturday and Sunday.”
“You have to come,” Daisha pleaded.
“That sounds great. I’d love to,” I assured them.
“Who’s going to wheel me around the Expo Center?” Seek grumped.
“You still have time left to go. That baby isn’t done cooking yet,” Jenny said, patting Seek’s bump.
“It’s too late for some of you,” Seek warned, “but for the rest of you, don’t have babies with these bikers. You’ll end up with a kid measuring in the ninetieth percentile and let me tell you, it’s uncomfortable.”
I laughed, then widened my eyes. “Oh wow, imagine whoever has Hellfire’s baby?”
The table went silent as they thought about it, then there were groans and laughter. The man was a veritable mountain. There was no way his kids were going to be small.
“He needs a tall woman,” Gwen said, a slight smile on her face.
“One built sturdy,” Susie added.
“With long, dark hair and gorgeous eyes,” Jordan continued, a full evil grin on her face.
My brows drew together. Looking around, I saw I wasn’t the only one confused about Jordan’s last comment. A few others were watching her curiously, but she and Gwen seemed to be sharing an inside joke.
“Enough of all that,” Kit said, looking flustered. “We’ll leave here at ten. That’s a full hour after the event starts so hopefully we’ll miss the crowds of slathering pregnant women.”
“Hey!” Seek commented.
Sloane just laughed. She was showing now as well, though Seek definitely had the title of ‘the most pregnant’ out of this group.
“I might have to bring a puke bucket with me to make it through the event,” I said with a sardonic smile.
“Oh, morning sickness getting you?” Seek asked. “You should have said something. Here.” She reached down into the backpack at her feet and pulled out a container. “Eat these.”
I looked down at the bag in my hand and frowned. The label boasted that the drops inside were a natural way to reduce nausea. “Thanks, but what are they?”
“A miracle,” Seek replied. “I was skeptical at first, too, but they really do work. You can have them, I have like fifteen more boxes upstairs.”
“Sorry,” I said with a laugh. We shared a moment of commissary for how awful the vomiting portion of pregnancy was.
“Some people say it stops in the first trimester,” Seek said.
“Fucking bullshit. I’m still throwing up.
Thankfully, it’s usually only once in the morning now, though.
And some people,” she gave Sloane a jokingly belligerent look, “have nothing but beautiful skin and a glow.” She sighed and looked down at her belly.
“I don’t have a fucking glow, that’s for sure.
” The women cooed over Seek and her belly, making her laugh.
“You’re not sick at all?” I asked Sloane.
She shrugged. “Not yet.”
“Lucky,” Tori said. “I was so sick I thought I wasn’t ever going to eat again.”
That started up a conversation from those who’ve had kids about what their pregnancies were like.
These women had a way of chasing off worry.
There wasn’t time to think about what was going to happen in court with my mom, sister, and Fremont.
What the outcome for the guys would be. None of it. It was all swept away in happy chatter.