CHAPTER 30
Kaya
When Maverick and I got back to the apartment last night, we had some sweaty alone time before crashing—hard. It’s been a crazy few days and we needed it, but today isn’t going to be any better.
After spending the morning texting with Gretchen, I’m more worried than ever that she might not come back.
Her mom is driving her crazy, but she mentioned again about the possibility of transferring permanently to Ohio.
I honestly don’t know what the hell I’ll do without her.
I know I’m entirely too dependent on my best friends, but when you have no family, that’s what they become.
The prospect of losing one of the two closest people to me is absolutely terrifying.
“You good?” Maverick asks as we walk toward the clubhouse door.
“No,” I pout. “I really don’t think she’s coming back.”
“It’s been two days.”
“I know. But you don’t understand. Her mom drives her nuts. If she’s still contemplating staying there after spending two days with her, she might really mean it.”
Maverick pulls the door open for me but says nothing.
I’m sure he’s sick of hearing about it by now but that’s too damn bad.
He wanted more and this is me being more.
I need to vent about one of my besties taking off to Ohio, especially when I’m knocked up and she’s the only other person that knows about it besides Sophia.
Once inside I give Mav a kiss and head off to the kitchen.
I feel like I should get a gold star for getting through another morning without puking.
On the ride here I started to get nervous that not puking might mean that there is something wrong, but then my stomach got a little twisty which oddly, made me feel better.
As soon as I walk into the kitchen, a tall skinny gray-haired woman turns to me.
“You must be Kaya!” I stop as she rushes toward me with her arms open.
“It’s so nice to meet you, honey. I’m Deirdre.
” She barely gets the words out before she has both of her arms wrapped around me in a tight hug.
I can’t even hug her back because my arms are pinned to my sides.
“My God, woman, let the girl breathe.” Lexi chuckles.
“You stop! I’m just so excited to have some new blood around here. If I knew leaving was all it would take to get some more old ladies around here, I would have taken off years ago.”
Sophia is smiling brightly at the woman. “Kaya, this is Bunker’s wife.”
“So nice to meet you. I kept hearing about you and… Ratchet?”
Deirdre nods. “Yeah. Ratchet and Carrie’s son, Blake and his wife just had their fourth child.
He was born premature so we decided to fly out and help.
Him and his family live in Oregon. Well, this poor little guy just had one problem after another.
He was on oxygen for the first month and couldn’t leave the hospital.
When he finally did come home, he ended up with RSV, which landed him right back in the hospital.
So, what started out as a two-week trip ended up turning into three months.
Carrie is actually still there. She wanted to give it another week or two to be sure he was going to be ok.
They have no other family out there and with three other little ones at home, they really needed the help. ”
“That’s so nice that you all were able to stay for such a long time.” Sophia says.
“It’s what you do for family, darling. I’ve known Blakey since he was born. He calls me Aunt D just like a lot of these other boys do.”
“That’s what all mine call her.” Lexi says.
“Grayson too,” Deirdre grins at Sophia. “I’m so glad our boy finally found someone. How are you and the twins getting on?”
Sophia’s eyes light up at the mention of Emily and Joey.
“Really good. We’ve fallen right into sync with being a family.
My sister lives with us too and she adores the kids.
” She turns to me. “They started calling her Aunt Ry.” Sophia pouts her lip out in a happy sad way, like she might burst into tears just thinking about the cuteness.
Deirdre beams. “Oh sugar, that makes me so happy! I’ve been praying he would find the right girl. He deserves it after what that bitch did to him.”
Lexi scoffs. “Let’s not even bring her up today.”
Deirdre claps her hands once. “Agreed. Let’s get cooking. I want to make my tortellini salad and my baked beans.” She raises her eyebrows up and down and I decide that I officially love this woman.
“We’ve all missed your baked beans, girl!” Lexi says. “But, don’t forget, after what happened yesterday, we decided to just order a lot of the food.”
Deirdre waves her off. “Deuce is still grilling up burgers and hot dogs, so I’m still making my beans. And who doesn’t love a good tortellini salad? With these boys, it will all get eaten eventually.”
Lexi and Deirdre zip around the kitchen like they are doing a coordinated dance.
When one goes left the other goes right.
One reaches up while the other goes below.
They move around each other carrying paper products, large bowls, platters, and utensils like they’ve done it hundreds of times before.
“How long have you known each other?” I ask.
“Oh shit, I’ve known little Lexi here since she was about nine. And before you ask, yes, she was a spitfire then too.” Deirdre laughs.
Lexi bumps Deirdre with her hip as she opens a large pack of napkins. “Yeah, she started coming around chasing after Bunker when she was nineteen and he was twenty-eight.”
“Guilty!” Deirdre says. “The guys used to give him shit about being a cradle robber, but the truth is, I went after him. He could have been forty and I wouldn’t have given a shit. I knew he was my guy from the moment I saw him.”
“That’s so sweet.” Sophia says with a sparkle in her eyes. “Do you two have kids?”
Deirdre shakes her head. “Nope. I’ve always been happy with the club being my family. Lexi gave me six kids to love on and Jackie had Gabriella and Grayson and of course, Deuce gave us Leo and eventually Lucy. I was thrilled being the auntie.”
Lexi grins. “When they were little, it was a madhouse in here. The kids weren’t here all the time, but when they were, it was crazy.”
Deirdre looks at Sophia. “And now we have Em, Joey, and Brewster and whatever other kids are added to the crew.”
Sophia turns to me with wide eyes. Fuck.
I hope she doesn’t give me away. I don’t want anyone else to know before I tell Maverick.
Thankfully just then the kitchen door opens and Hannah comes in, but to my dismay, Arianna saunters in right behind her.
Shit. Shit. Shit. I feel my face heat and suddenly the need to get the heck out of here takes over.
I grit my teeth and scowl at Sophia, hopefully conveying to her to shut the hell up. A guilty look washes over her face. I paste on a smile and turn to Hannah. “Hey girl!”
Hannah runs over and gives me a quick hug. “How’s your arm?”
“It’s fine. Hurts a little, but for an explosion injury, I give it a ten out of ten.”
Arianna cracks up. “Guess it could have been a lot worse.”
“Yeah, a shard to the eye would have sucked. I’ll take this,” I wave my bandaged arm, “over that any day.”
Lexi and Deirdre eventually kick us out of the kitchen so they can focus on the baked beans, tortellini salad, and party prep. The four of us go out to the firepit while some of the guys are setting up tables and chairs in the yard.
We got lucky that the weather is cooperating.
Early Spring in New Jersey is hit or miss, but we ended up with a sunny day and mild temps, which is a huge win.
We sat around at the firepit for a few hours laughing and joking and thankfully not talking about babies or any future Carnage members we may make.
“So, were you close with Grayson’s sister? What is she like?” Sophia asks Hannah.
“We got along really well, but she’s about four years older than me and Rebel.
Not a lot older but when we were in tenth grade and she was in college, it felt like a lifetime.
She’s great—smart, driven, a little sarcastic, and really sweet.
She always made sure to include me on stuff since I was an outsider back then.
Now she’s a nurse down in Florida in an assisted living community. We still text each other regularly.”
“A lifetime? Think about our age difference.” Arianna laughs. “I was probably nine when she left for college and didn’t really see her much when she came home on breaks. I feel like I hardly know her.”
“Does she ever come home now?” Sophia asks.
Hannah’s brows scrunch in thought. “She came home for Christmas two years ago and for Easter last year. Quick visits though. There’s a lot of tension between her and her brother and between her and Jackie. I don’t think they ever got over the way she left.”
“Geez. The Carnage tea is just spilling all over.” I look to Sophia. “Who else do we want to know about?”
Sophia stands. “Nobody right now because I need to pee.”
“Oh my God, so do I!” Hannah jumps up and the two of them head inside.
Arianna eyes me. I tilt my head to the side. “Yes?”
“Well?”
I glance around to be sure no one is nearby. “It’s positive, but you can’t say anything. I haven’t told anyone but Sophia and Gretchen.”
Arianna sits back cooly and crosses her legs. The action makes her appear older than eighteen. She has an easy confidence about her. “Don’t worry. I said I wouldn’t say anything and I meant it. It will be nice having another baby around. I used to love holding the twins when they were babies.”
“I haven’t told Maverick yet.”
“Do you think he’s going to be cool with it?”
I shrug. “I’m honestly not sure. We only really just started so kids aren’t something we’ve talked about at all.”
“Well, if he’s not, we’ll just have to kick his ass.” She smirks.
I chuckle, but my brain is stuck on him not being okay with it.
I honestly think it’s the main reason why I keep holding back with telling him.
Everything is going so well between us right now.
We have been opening up more and actually talking and I’m afraid to lose that, and well, to lose him.
I’m falling for him faster than I think is normal so imagining him walking away is enough to shatter my heart while it still beats in my damn chest.
I purse my lips and give Arianna a smile, quickly swallowing down the thoughts. Worrying about it now isn’t going to change anything. I will tell him when the time comes and whatever will be, will be.
By the time Hannah and Sophia wander back outside, I’ve managed to get myself completely under control. The four of us spend the next hour chatting by the fire as a continuous flow of people show up.
Once everyone gets back from the hospital the party picks gets going.
There are quite a few people I don’t know and at least one other club here called the Graveyard Saints.
Maverick made it his job to stay right next to me after they all started arriving.
It seems to be a common theme because Grayson is stuck fast to Sophia as well.
The mood is a bit more somber than a normal party with Tank in the hospital and the threat of the two Bad Blood guys lingering around us, but overall, it’s a good time.
By ten o’clock I have a killer headache and my arm is throbbing so Maverick and I decide just to spend the night in his room as opposed to going back to the apartment. He brought me some Tylenol and helped me clean up my arm before we climbed into bed and passed out.