Chapter Twelve
Kytten
“I asked Rose to be my old lady. Any objections?”
The phone was quiet, just like the room we stood in. No one said a word, and I squeezed Cash’s hand. He let me go, opting instead to pull me against him with his arm around my shoulder. I knew it for what it was. A claim in front of his brothers.
“None from me,” Banshee said.
“Me either,” Win confirmed. I hadn’t met him yet. He was at the ranch helping Banshee protect Aspen.
“Thanks.” Cash disconnected the call and put it back in his pocket. Looking around the room, he asked again, “Any objections?”
Brothers shook their heads, murmuring their nos. Everyone looked at Thorne. My brother stared back at me for a long moment before he finally moved. He walked slowly toward me, brothers parting like the Red Sea.
When he stood in front of me, my neck craned up. He was so tall, and I wondered if our father was tall like him. I would have to ask Dr. Dunaway if he had any pictures. I would like to see what my father looked like.
“Is this what you want, Rosebud?”
I looked up at Cash, his expression blank. In that moment, I knew he needed to be claimed as much as I did. I looked back at my brother, who I had been separated from for ten years, and I rolled my lips between my teeth. I was having trouble saying the words.
My eyes filled with tears, and I got angry. When would I be able to feel without crying?
And why was I crying?
Because I realized in that moment that Cash meant more to me than my brother did. I would be devastated if Thorne voted against Cash.
“This is what I want.” I choked the words out so quietly that I wasn’t sure he heard me.
Thorne looked at Cash. His vice president. He squared up to him, all hundred and fifty pounds of him. My brother wasn’t muscular like the others in the club. He was tall and fit, but he was lean, and once again I wondered if he was built like our father.
“If you hurt her, VP or not, I will fucking kill you.”
“Thorne,” I hissed.
“She’s my life, Mimic. I would kill myself before I would willingly hurt her. In any way.” Cash’s voice was firm and left no room for argument. Except Thorne apparently didn’t know when to shut up.
“I’m not worried about you hurting her physically. I know she can kick your ass.” Thorne looked back down at me and smiled.
It was the first smile I had seen from my brother since I had found him. Even the first night, when he told me I was the best birthday present ever, he didn’t smile.
I threw myself at him as brothers snickered around us. Everyone congratulated Cash and hugged me. Every brother in the club, except the two that weren’t here, pulled me in for a hug and kissed the top of my head.
“Can we go now?”
“Ryder,” Ellie snapped.
“I’m hungry,” he said, wrapping his arms around Ellie.
“Me too. Let’s go,” I agreed, pulling back from my brother.
Cash held out his hand, and I took it. He squeezed it tight, and I squeezed back. I never wanted to let it go.
“Stop it. My stomach hurts,” I pleaded with Ellie as she told me another story of how Ryder would piss off Cash regarding Rachel.
Stories about Rachel and Cash didn’t bother me; in fact, I loved hearing them.
Jealousy was something I knew well. We had a close personal relationship.
But I wasn’t jealous of what they had. I envied it.
I wasn’t a replacement for Rachel. I wasn’t taking her place; I filled a spot she left open for me.
The amount of fun I had with Ellie, Ryder, and Cash was something I wasn’t sure I had ever experienced. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed so much.
Ellie shared stories of college with Sypher and Dante. Cash regaled tales of what it was like prospecting for the Silver Shadows, and Ryder introduced us to Diamond Creek residents before the club had moved in.
I shared what I could. I had a few stories of when Thorne and I were kids. But I didn’t want to bring the mood down, so I listened more than I talked.
The bell over the door jingled and when we looked over, Cash groaned.
“Why weren’t we invited?” Blade asked as he led Beck over and pulled a chair for her to sit in. I quickly pushed Cash out of the booth and gave her my spot instead. I couldn’t see her sitting on those uncomfortable chairs as heavily pregnant as she was.
“How much longer do you have?”
“About a month. As soon as we hit May, I am doing all the old wives tales to get this baby out,” she whined.
“What are they?” I asked. I knew a lot about pregnancy and had delivered a baby once. But folklore wasn’t my thing.
“Things like eating spicy foods, driving down bumpy roads. Lots of sex.” Beck chuckled, and Blade spoke up, “Damn right.”
“Then the last resort is castor oil.”
“Oh, that’s not an old wives tale. There is science behind that,” I offered.
“What science?” Ryder asked. I could tell he was skeptical.
“Um, it’s a bit graphic, but if you really want to know,” I hedged.
“I want to know. I’m not far behind Beck,” Ellie insisted.
“Well castor oil gives you the shits. And when you have the shits, your bowels release the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is the hormone that makes your uterus contract.”
Ryder, Cash, and Blade stared at me, their mouths hanging open. Ellie and Beck seemed intrigued. “So, it works?” Ellie asked.
“Not always. Your body still has to be ready. Otherwise, women would be constantly going into labor when they get a stomach bug, which can happen.”
“So you mean, if I drink castor oil I will get the shits and it might not even work?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Well, we can scratch that off the list. I’m not going through the shits without a guarantee.” Everyone at the table snickered and laughed.
The bell over the door jingled again, and Jack and Sam entered. “What the fuck?” Jack called out.
“Jackass!” the woman behind the counter yelled, and Jack winced.
“Sorry, Joellen!” Jack narrowed his eyes at the table. “You guys know I don’t like being left out!”
Sam shook her head and smacked the back of his head. “I told you they were on a date.”
“Without us,” he whined.
“Sit here, Sam.” I jumped up from the booth and made room next to Beck. Instead of grabbing a chair, Cash pulled me down on his lap.
“I think we need another table,” Ryder said.
“Make that two,” Blade countered as the door jingled again, and Gunner and Ghost walked in with Haizley and Dr. Jefferson.
Joellen, the woman who yelled at Jack, hurried over. “If you had called ahead, I could’ve put you in the back room,” she huffed as Gunner and Ghost grabbed another table and pulled it over.
“We didn’t know,” Cash told her as he glared at the newcomers. “Sorry, baby.”
I turned to look at him. “For what?”
“Our double date turned into a... I don’t even know what you would call this.”
“A sextuple,” Jack offered with a grin.
“Jackass,” Cash muttered, and I laughed out loud. I was having fun. I didn’t even mind having Dr. Jefferson here.
“There will be no tupling of sex tonight,” Gunner growled.
Haizley rolled her eyes and pulled her chair closer to the table. “You guys can sit on that side. I want to be close to the girls.”
Ryder stood from his spot next to Ellie and gave it to Dr. Jefferson before grabbing a chair and sliding it up to the table next to Blade.
The three pregnant women sat on the cushy booth seats with Dr. Jefferson. Haizley sat next to her, and I was on Cash’s lap next to Sam. He had decided I wasn’t sitting anywhere else.
The young waitress’ eyes bulged when she saw how many people had joined us. “Don’t worry,” I told her. “These boys will all tip big.”
“Who says?” Ghost asked. Dr. Jefferson leaned forward and peered at her old man. “I’m just kidding, princess. No need to give me that icy stare.”
“Then don’t say stupid things.” She smiled through her words and then sat back. The girls all laughed, and I smiled. It was a bit overwhelming having them all there, but it felt a little like a family.
“You okay?” Cash whispered. I nodded, unable to put my feelings into words, but content to let them wash over me while I was safe in his arms.
She took the extra orders, and we asked to have ours held until they were all done. We talked and laughed. Never had I experienced anything like this. As I looked around the table at the people that surrounded me, I felt a sense of belonging.
Something I never quite got from the Nyght Nymphs. I loved them all, don’t get me wrong. But we all had our demons. And they had a way of keeping us from getting too close.
“Have you decided on another name yet?” I asked Sam when the laughter died down.
“We have. We decided on Josephine.”
“Ahh, I love that,” Ellie cried. “Rosie and Josie.”
“You’re really naming one of the babies Rose?” I asked quietly. Not quiet enough, though, because everyone at the table stopped talking while they waited for Sam to answer.
“Yes. Mimic told us all about his little sister.” I huffed at the little part. But Sam just smiled and continued, “When we were discussing names, he suggested Rose. And Jack and I agreed. We let Charlie pick the other baby’s name.”
“Really?” Blade asked. “How did you not end up with Rainbow or Unicorn?”
“Well, we gave her the names we liked and let her have the final say. She can’t wait for them to get here,” Sam boasted.
“How much longer?” I asked, my eyes on her belly. I saw the movement under her shirt and lifted my hand, before realizing what I was doing and snatched it back.
“It’s okay.” Sam took my hand and placed it on her belly where the babies were moving around. It was such a weird feeling, but magical too. These three women were creating life.
“Three months.”
“Huh?” I asked, not paying attention.
Sam giggled and said, “How much time we have left. Three months.”
“Oh,” I said, pulling my hand away, embarrassed that I had been so focused on another woman’s body.
“You want babies, Rose?” Cash whispered in my ear so no one else could hear.
“Maybe someday.” But I wasn’t sure about that. I had never really thought about having babies until I talked to Ellie the other day, and she told me about all the emotions she dealt with.
I couldn’t think that far into the future. I needed to concentrate on the now.
“He isn’t here to fucking babysit you, Dante. Stop worrying.”
We all looked up at Sypher’s voice. We hadn’t heard the jingle of the bell over the talking and laughing.
“What are you guys doing here?” Ghost asked. “Where’s Dani?”
“She is spending some time with Auntie Amber.” Sypher smiled. “We heard there was a ruckus at the diner, so we decided to come check it out. Seems to be date night tonight.”
“Join us,” Beck offered.
“Yeah, we can squeeze two more in. But Dante has to sit down here with us,” Dr. Jefferson said.
“Why?” Sypher asked.
“Because we like him more.” She smiled at Sypher, who glared at her, but there didn’t seem to be much heat behind it.
“Aww, Danny, I still love you!” Ellie called out from the corner.
I smiled at their banter, and Sam pushed Ellie to tell me the story of how Ryder met Sypher. Ryder rolled his eyes while Sypher grinned and the whole evening was spent getting to know the other old ladies and some of Cash’s brothers.