"I've never seen Meredith like that before," Bianca told Jagger as they drove to the clubhouse."She was in a bad spot after she was raped, but since then, I've never seen that blank stare in her eyes. Back then I was newly patched, so I wasn't privy to everything that was going on, but I can remember Tyler bringing her to the clubhouse. For months afterwards, she had this blank stare that could see straight through you—even when she seemed happy. It was like there was a part of her that would check out and go to this place where she wasn't sure how she felt about anything." He shook his head. "I saw that today, and the thing is, I don't understand it. She and Tyler have wanted this for a long ass time.""I imagine she's scared," B speculated. "I mean, think of it this way. Say you were never able to get pregnant, they told you everything was fine, but for years, you weren't able to have a child—never even got pregnant. Out of the blue, she's pregnant. I'm just saying if it were me
Halloween in South Central Kentucky could be a crap shoot. Sometimes it was so hot that parents worried about heat stroke. This year, it was very cold and none of them could believe that it was snowing."I'm not sure if we should get her out in this." Meredith frowned as she glanced at Tyler. Addie was cute as a button in her Elsa outfit. Frozen was very popular in their household, even though it was a few years old."We'll take her to the clubhouse and she can show off to everybody, and then we'll see how it is. I think Roni and Rooster are takin' Carter to the church. They're doing it inside, and we've done some protection stuff for them before, so…"Her head snapped up. "You did protection for a church?""What?" He shrugged. "They had vandals who thought it was cute to spray paint on the side of the building.""I swear, you never cease to amaze me." She laughed as she helped Addie get her shoes on."I've done lots of things in my life," he told her plainly. "But the chur
"If people could see us now," Rooster mumbled as he, Tyler, and Liam got all the kids situated before they went inside the church."They can." Liam smacked him on the shoulder. "It's not like we have the cloak of invisibility around us.""Look at that Harry Potter reference." Tyler whistled between his teeth. "Doin' a little reading, huh?""Cut the shit. You'll be doing a lot of reading yourself. More than likely princess books. At least my daughter is tomboy through and through." Liam laughed. The ladies had been tapped to work the concession stand the church was operating for the night, so that left the men to take the kids around and get as much candy as they could. "If anybody hands out those piece of shit, black and orange wrapped taffy ones, we avoid them at all costs," Rooster instructed, grabbing Carter's candy bucket."A-fuckin'-men," Liam agreed. "I cracked a tooth on that shit last year and had to get a crown. What we want are candy bars and sweet tarts. Love the
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you home?" Dalton asked Mandy as they lay in bed together the next morning. "It's not that big of a deal, and I would man up for you to do it."She smiled at him, biting her lower lip. "As much as I would love for you to, I don't want to get into it with anyone, and I don't want any questions about where I was last night. Layla's been out here with Deacon before, so she knows where we are and to keep her mouth shut. I trust her.""I do too." Dalton leaned over, kissing her softly. He ran his fingers through her hair, still not able to believe he was here with her, like this. He had morning stubble, something she'd never seen on him before. Normally he was always clean-shaven and it made her feel special that she'd been able to see this side of him. It made her excited about graduating high school and moving on with their lives."Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her, quietly."I'm fine." She nodded, feeling her face heat up with a b
"Fuck, its cold." Tyler breathed heavily into his hands as he and Drew stood outside one morning in November. He stomped his feet against the hard ground, trying to warm them up. They were about to start their warm up run, before they would move it inside to where the old boxing ring was still erected. "C'mon, me and Mer have an important appointment this morning and I can't be late," he told the teenager as he started them off on a jog."Oh yeah?"His smile was huge. "We get to find out what the baby is today.""That's exciting." Drew grinned back. "I remember when mom found out about Tatum. We were all pretty pumped, although I can admit to you that at the time, I had wished it was a boy.""Understandable," Tyler told him as they ran along the property of the compound. "Is something weighing on you? You haven't been as talkative the last few days."It had been on Tyler's mind to wonder if he should ask Drew if something was wrong, but he hadn't wanted to pry. "It's stupi
"Oh my God, Tyler. Are you okay?"He came to with Meredith and Ashley standing over him. He was lying in the floor, his back pressed against the hard tile. "Did you hit your head?" Ashley asked, as they helped him sit up."No, I'm good," he did his best to reassure them, but he still felt a little faint.Meredith did her best to keep the smile off her face. "You're good? You passed out."It all came back then, they were having a boy. He wasn't sure why that affected him in such a way, but the room swam again, this time not as a bad. "It was a shock," he tried to explain."This isn't unusual," Ashley explained to the both of them. "Let me go get you some peanut butter and crackers, you'll feel better once you have something in your stomach."They were left in the room alone as the technician went with her."Are you sure you're okay?" Meredith asked as she had a seat on the examination table. "You went down like a pile of bricks.""Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair
"What the hell is going on?" Tyler asked again, this time not nearly as nice."Let's take it inside the office," Travis said, marching towards it. Liam followed and Tyler looked around. "Why are you coming too? Did you have a hand in this?""Stop jumpin' to conclusions and let us talk to you," Liam told his friend, pushing him through the office and shutting the door.Meredith had a seat and motioned for Tyler to do the same. Nothing would get accomplished if he stood there, arms folded across his chest, attitude in full effect. "Did you know that Stephanie was Addie's aunt?" she asked quietly, throwing a pointed look at Travis."What the fuck?" Tyler glared at his two brothers, walking up to Liam and getting in his face. "You knew that and you didn't tell someone? That woman was living at CRISIS, around Meredith every goddamn day. Addie was there with her sometimes. What the fuck were you thinking?""I'll accept a lot from you, my man," Liam told him. "But get outta my
"Liam!"He glanced up from where he sat at the head of the table in the clubhouse. He, along with Tyler, Jagger, and Layne, were working out the new protection runs for the month of December. They were about to get much busier than they'd been in a long time. The men had been in the middle of deep conversation when Denise came storming in."Hey, baby." The smile he gave her was uncertain. He was completely unsure as why she would be so pissed off."Don't baby me!""You pissed?" he asked, not because he was stupid, but because he was curious. He wasn't ready to argue with anyone tonight, especially his wife."What was your first clue? I found this," she reached into her jeans pocket and produced a ripped empty condom wrapper, "in the truck.""Oh damn." Tyler chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. He sat back to watch whatever this was unfold. He had a very good idea of whose it was, but he wasn't about to mention names."That ain't mine! We don't even use condoms, we'
The temperature in the cab of the truck was downright frigid as Remy drove to Tyler's house to drop off Addie first. Tatum refused to meet his gaze and that flat out pissed him off. If she was going to give herself to another man and then have the balls to sit in front of him like this, she should at least have the decency to meet his eyes when he looked at her."Am I going to have to explain to Tyler why I'm dropping you off at one in the fucking morning?" Remy glanced in the review mirror of the truck, looking back to where Addie sat in the extended cab."No," she shook her head, looking about as tired and unhappy as he felt. "He's at the clubhouse. He and Mom had planned to stay and they took Caelin with them."Well, thank God for small favors, because the one person besides Liam he didn't want to face off with tonight, was Tyler."You're lucky I don't call him and tell him where the hell you've been. How could you let her go up there with him?" he questioned her, the irrita
Tatum's heart beat through her chest as she followed Gavin upstairs to a much quieter part of the house. Her mouth was dry – the result of her nerves, or the alcohol she'd consumed – she wasn't sure which. Her hand gripped Gavin's tightly, but she knew it wasn't because she was excited, it was because she wanted to yank on it, and stop him from leading her into the empty bedroom. Part of her wanted to put a stop to it, the other part wanted to go through with this so she could throw it in Remy's face. Those stubborn traits she'd inherited from her dad were alive and well tonight.She glanced over her shoulder, spotting Addie pulling out her phone and making a call. The worried look on her friend's face told her all she needed to know. Addie was probably calling in reinforcements and her time had suddenly become very limited."You feelin' good?" his deep voice questioned in her ear, causing her hair to stand up and goosebumps to appear on her arms. This time it was different than wh
Remy was in a piss-poor mood, had been since the night of the Christmas party and everything that had gone down with Tatum. He bit off the head of anyone foolish enough to ask if he was okay. He'd been eating lunch by himself, and overall had been a miserable fucking loner. Even right now, while everyone else was partying their asses off, his big date was being in the gym and beating the ever-loving shit out of a heavy bag. It was the only thing that seemed to calm him the last few days.Hearing his fists connect with the bag felt good, even if it was muted by the gloves he wore. His arms burned, his shoulders and back ached, his chest heaved, and sweat poured down his forehead and into his eyes; making them sting. The sting felt good though, because it distracted him from the guilt he felt for the way he'd treated Tatum. And that guilt was pressing down on him like he was trapped under a thousand-pound boulder.He'd felt every emotion on the spectrum since she'd walked out on him
Tatum's blue eyes took in the party-goers around her. In different parts of the room, she could see members of her graduating class, some kids that were now seniors, and a few college kids. God, this had never been her thing, she'd never found high school or college parties worth anything to her. She could see everything that went on at them and more, at the club parties. Plus, this was a mob mentality – everyone here went along with everyone else, and it was so boring. Nobody had any individuality. Normally, she'd have tossed the invitation in the trash can and not even thought twice about it. She would have spent the night at the club's New Year's party and have an actual good time with her friends and family.Tonight though, she was on a mission."Do you see anybody?" Addie asked as they surveyed the room.Tatum took a drink from the bottle of Strawberry Boone's Farm she carried in her hand. It was the bottom shelf stuff, guaranteed to get you loaded in the least amount of tim
Tatum had never felt anything like the all-consuming lust that blasted through her as soon as Remy grabbed her hip and pulled her deep into his body. She'd thought she had but damn, she was wrong. Her fingers grasped at his shirt, trying to ground herself in the feelings, when she felt his bare palms slip up under the hem of her dress. The sharp intake of breath, and the way he nipped at her lip indicated he'd discovered she'd worn a thong."Fuck, Tate," he moaned as he pulled his lips from hers.She almost cried as he abandoned her lips and smeared his mouth down her neck. She felt the sharp nip of his teeth down to the core of her body. It caused her nipples to tighten further against the lace of strapless bra, and before she knew what she was doing, she was rubbing up against him."Please, Rem," she gasped out when she felt one of his hands on her ass venture back over her hip, and closer to the wetness and heat she felt between her thighs."Has anybody touched you?" he grow
He knew the second she walked in, just like he'd known when she'd entered the bakery. Even seven shots of Pappy in, he could feel her, he knew she was there by the way the hair on the back of his neck stood up, the goosebumps he got on his arms and the way his dick stirred to attention. He wasn't sure what kind of hold Tatum Walker held over him, but it was strong, maybe dangerously so, like some sort of Jedi Mind Trick he'd never be able to resist. And dammit if his hand didn't shake as he took his next shot."Too much for you?" Drew asked as he noticed the slight tremble of the other man's hand.How did he tell the man sitting beside him, he was hard up for his little sister? Easy. He didn't."Nah, I'm good, but I gotta hit the head. Be back."Plan number two when plan number one didn't work? Run and hope she wouldn't follow. As much alcohol as he had consumed, he wasn't sure he could push her away this time. After all, he was only a man and he wasn't immune to the way she lo
He should have brought a date. Those were the first words Remy thought when he walked through the door of the clubhouse. It hit him like a ton of bricks, and all he wanted to do was turn around and head back to Cash and Harper's. Normally, he lived at the clubhouse, but he'd had dinner at their place tonight. He could relieve the babysitter watching Maddy, and he wouldn't have to worry about keeping his guard up.Couples were paired off, which meant anyone without a plus one would be inevitably thrown together. Looking up, he saw mistletoe was hung randomly around the room. Shit. Since he was the youngest, he seemed to be one of the few without a woman on his arm. Sure as the world turned, he'd find himself thrown toward someone tonight.Gazing around the room, he didn't see Tatum and for that he was extremely thankful. He'd been able to avoid her since the day at Harper's bakery, but it'd hadn't been easy. Not that she'd gone out of her way to be around him but they were in the sa
Remy told himself to slow down as he grasped her neck, hauling Tatum closer to him. He cautioned his lust-drunk body not to make a fool of itself. He warned his libido not to let this go too far. They were in the middle of the bakery, in the middle of downtown. Anyone could walk through that door from some dumbass off the street, to her brother, to her dad. But he couldn't stop, couldn't force his hand not to trail down her body and grasp her tight ass in his fingers. He wanted desperately to pull her lower half into his, wanted to shove his thigh between her legs and feel the heat he knew would be there. His tongue was forceful as it made its way into her mouth, testing how far she'd let him go.Turned out she'd let him go as far as he wanted to.His brain tried to warn him that this was progressing too quickly. It was getting too out of control, too fast. If he didn't watch it, he'd be picking her up and putting her ass first against the nearest wall. He was losing his mind, losi
Son of a bitch. Something in the way Tatum's gaze met his made him think he'd said those words loud enough she could hear them. But fuck, she looked amazing. Even more than she usually did. Tatum had been gorgeous for a long time, but with her hair in this new cut, she looked sexy, and almost… sophisticated. But this was Tatum. She'd never fully be a lady, not really. She didn't do dresses unless she had to, she didn't do caked on makeup, and she could hang with the guys – no matter how raunchy it got."Do you like it?" She asked again, this time looking much more unsure than when she'd started out. Very slowly, she ran her fingers through her hair, giving it a tousle.Remy cleared his throat, not sure how honest he wanted to be, but at the same time knowing he couldn't help but be honest. If he lied to her, she would know, and it would do nothing to help the situation they seemed to always find themselves in. The two of them always seemed to be either pushing or pulling at each ot