He was quiet as I left the room, shutting the door behind me as I went. Hawk was standing in the hall outside my office, my briefcase and jacket in his hands and an impatient look on his face that I’d always thought added to his sex appeal. “You done now?”
I grinned up at him before standing on tiptoes to kiss him. My sexy, growly biker melted against me for a moment, kissing me back. When I pulled away, however, the scowl was back in place. “Now, I’m ready.”
He drove us over to Doc’s office, his eyes darting from one mirror to the other, making sure no one was following us. Before the Morgans had conspired with Santino’s people to take me, I would have laughed at how paranoid he was. Now, I was glad for it. Those fucking Italians had turned me into a nervous wreck lately.
It was almost closing time for the private practice, and the waiting room was empty. The receptionist waved us on back, and we were greeted by Doc’s only nurse, Wendy. “Hey, guys. How are you?”
“I’m actually feeling a lot better,” I assured the cheerful nurse. “Like I told Hawk countless times over the last few days, it’s only stress.”
Wendy gave me a quick appraisal with her eyes, and a frown wrinkled her brow. “It hasn’t been that long since we saw you for a follow-up after your sepsis, Gracie. But I can tell just from looking at you that you have lost some weight.”
“Weight she didn’t have to lose in the first place.”
I shot Hawk a look that told him to be quiet, and surprisingly, he did. Wendy made me stand on a digital scale and shook her head when she saw I was fifteen pounds lighter than the last time I’d been there. In an exam room, she took my temperature after putting an automatic blood pressure cuff on my arm and a heart rate monitor on my middle finger.
“No fever, and BP and heart rate look good.” She scribbled the numbers down and stepped back. “Doc will be right with you.”
When we were alone in the exam room, Hawk was anything but idle. He grasped my hand, playing with my fingers as he paced in front of the exam table I was sitting on. “Please relax. I’m fine. I swear.”
“You don’t know that, and even if you did, you wouldn’t say anything.”
“I do know it,” I argued. I tightened my fingers on his and tugged him toward me. I knew that if he didn’t want to be moved, he wasn’t going to shift so much as an inch, but he came willingly to stand between my legs. Stroking my free hand over his jaw, I repeated what I’d been telling him for days now. “It’s only stress. I’m perfectly fine. There’s no need to worry about me.”
Releasing my hand, he cupped the back of my head, pulling it back so that he could look straight into my eyes. “I worry about you every minute of every day. Whether I’m with you or not, I worry about you. It’s not just you being sick, it’s about you being you. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I’m fucking terrified that something is going to fuck all of that up.”
“Nothing is going to take me away from you. Ever.”
His olive-green eyes darkened, and he lowered his head until our lips were almost touching. “Marry me, Gracie.”
If the heart monitor had still been on my finger, it would have made an angry noise because right then my heart was beating so wildly it felt like it might burst. I sucked in a soft gasp and tried to make my voice work. “I-is that a question or a demand?”
“It’s whatever the fuck it needs to be that will make you say yes,” he gritted out, and I realized he was holding his breath, waiting for my answer.
“Did you honestly think I would say anything but yes?” I teased.
“I’ve had nightmares about it, so yeah, actually, I did.” He still hadn’t released his breath, though. “And you haven’t said yes yet.”
“Yes, Hawk. Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”
He groaned like I was torturing him and caught my mouth in a deep, hungry kiss that left us both breathless. I felt him shudder as I kissed him back, my fingers tangling in his shirt as I held on for all I was worth.
The exam room door opening was the only thing that pulled us apart several minutes later. Hawk reluctantly lifted his head and turned to glare at Doc. “Fix her,” he commanded. “She says she isn’t sick, but I know better.”
I hid my grin as Doc walked fully into the room, shutting the door behind him. Doc had been taking care of me for a few years now. He knew me well considering he’d not only treated me when I’d had a concussion but had also taken over my care after I’d gotten home from the East Coast a few months back, having been in the hospital with sepsis.
His concerned eyes went from the looming biker to me and shook his head. “What’s been going on, Gracie?”
“I’ve been nauseated the last week or so. It’s just stress, though,” I laughed, but when the doctor didn’t laugh in return, mine died flat. Of course he would be on Hawk’s side, dang it.
“She hasn’t been eating, and she’s been throwing up randomly throughout the day,” Hawk filled in when I didn’t. “She’s been stressed before, and this didn’t happen.”
“Well, let’s have a look, okay?” Doc stepped forward and gave me a full exam. Checking my ears and eyes, looking at my throat, and listening to my heart and lungs. He had me lie back and listened to my stomach for a moment. With a shake of his head, he pulled my shirt up and pushed my dress slacks down a little. When his cold hands touched my stomach, I let out a small hiss, but when he pressed down on my lower abdomen, I groaned in discomfort.
Beside me, Hawk’s hands balled into tight fists, but he remained mute as the doctor finished up and then stepped back to wash his hands. “Gracie, when was your last period?”
“Oh…” I thought back to when my last period had been. “Um, I can’t honestly remember. I’ve had a lot on my plate lately, and I haven’t kept up with it like I should.”
“I’m going to have Wendy do a pregnancy test, but I think it’s safe to say that you’re most likely pregnant.”
All the air rushed from my lungs with a whoosh. I hadn’t been expecting that to be his diagnosis, but now that those words were suddenly a glaring neon light, I felt stupid for not having thought of it myself. Weren’t women supposed to know—or at least freaking suspect—when they had life growing inside of them?
I chanced a glance at Hawk to determine his reaction. His face had gone pale as a ghost, and the look in his eyes was shell-shocked. “You…” He cleared his throat. “You’re sure?”
Doc shrugged. “I can’t say one hundred percent for sure until we do the test, but my professional opinion is that, yes, she’s very much pregnant. She will have to have an ultrasound to determine how far along and get an accurate due date, but I would say Gracie is between eight and nine weeks at the least.”
Hawk turned away, effectively blocking out the doctor and me. Doc shot me a grim smile, promised Wendy would be in to take care of me, and then made a quick exit. I stared at Hawk’s back, unsure of what to say or do. Hell, I was just as shocked as he was.
Wendy opening the door less than a minute later saved me from the tension that was rolling off Hawk, and I was all too happy to take the cup she offered and go into the bathroom to pee in it. After putting the little cup in the cubby so the nurse could use it for the pregnancy test, I washed my hands but didn’t leave the bathroom. Instead, I just stood there, staring at myself in the mirror.
My face was just as pale as Hawk’s, but my eyes looked bright. With what, though, I didn’t know. Excitement? Was I excited to be pregnant? Not particularly. I had so much on my plate at work, and if Jenkins did run for mayor, I was going to have twice as much. Being pregnant wasn’t going to make my workload any easier. If anything, it was going to get in my way a whole heck of a lot.
But I wasn’t particularly unhappy about it either.
My hands covered my lower stomach where Doc had pressed and made me so uncomfortable earlier. Was there really a baby in there? A part of Hawk and me that was growing and waiting to take the world by storm as soon as he or she t
ook their first breath? Did I want there to be?
Yes. The answer floated through me without hesitation. Yes, I wanted there to be a baby. I wanted this part of the man I loved growing inside of me.
With that thought, I opened the bathroom door and went back to the exam room where I’d left Hawk. As I closed the door behind me, he lifted his blond head, and I was glad to see that most of his paleness had faded. “You okay?”
I shrugged. “I was about to ask you that.”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” he asked with a frown. “You said yes to marrying me, and Doc just said you’re probably pregnant. I’m on top of the fucking world right now.”
“Really?” I asked weakly, tears surprising me as they leaked from my eyes.
He groaned at the sight of my tears and pulled me into his arms. “Really, baby. I’m so fucking happy right now, but I’m scared too.”
I didn’t ask why, because I was scared myself. Anything could happen between now and the time our baby was born, and after having Tanner and Warden taken from us the day before, I was even more scared. Not for me, but for Hawk. What if the next time they tried to take out one of the MC guys, they targeted the MC’s VP?
There was a light tap on the door. Hawk turned me in his arms as Wendy stepped in, a beaming smile on her face. “Well, it seems someone is going to be busy in a few months. Your pregnancy test was positive, hon.” She handed over a slip of paper. “Doc said to have these filled today. They’re prenatal vitamins. Take them before bed because they might upset your stomach, and you’re already nauseated as it is. Also, I’ll make an appointment with the OB-GYN that Doc suggested. He said that he was Raven’s doctor, so you’ll be happy with him.” Her laughing eyes lifted to Hawk. “Or at least, Daddy here will be. I’ll call you when I have the date and time.”
Out in the car, we sat there for a long while just looking at each other. We had lost two people the day before, but this baby was proof that life goes on. I took Hawk’s hand and placed it over my lower stomach. “I don’t want to tell anyone yet. Not until we see the OB-GYN and find out how far along we are.”
“Whatever you want, baby.” His fingers stroked over my stomach through my shirt, his look of shock replaced with one of awe now. “I’m serious. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
“I have everything I want,” I whispered.
Chapter Sixteen
Rory
IF I HAD BEEN EXHAUSTED after my initial meeting with my father that afternoon, I was dead on my feet after the second one. My dad was an emotional vampire where I was concerned because I felt like I had zero energy left by the time I parked Raven’s car in the clubhouse parking lot. I wanted to fall into Matt’s bed and sleep for a week.
But with the emotional exhaustion also came a feeling of vindication. That first visit may have been a score for Derrick Michaels, but I had come out the winner. Matt was safe from my father’s manipulations, as were the rest of his MC brothers. Or at least, from the mayor. Royce Campbell was still going to be hanging around, and because my second meeting with Dad had just been him, me, and Mr. Jenkins, I doubted the creepy DA even knew what was going to happen in the coming weeks. If Dad wanted the money I had offered him—offered, because blackmail was a criminal offense, as Mr. Jenkins had explained to my father—then he wouldn’t say a word to anyone. Ever.
The way I saw it, this was a win-win for us all. My father was getting the money he had always been itching to get his greedy hands on, and with it, a shot at the governor’s mansion. I was getting my father out of my life for good, hopefully giving Creswell Springs a fighting chance with a new mayor, and keeping Matt safe. All at the same time.
Mr. Jenkins had tried to convince me to keep a little of the money for myself—if you could say a million dollars was a little. I didn’t want anything to do with that money now, but he had insisted that my mother would have wanted me to have something out of all of this. A million dollars was probably chump change to my father now that he was getting so much more, but for me, that money would go a long way. I was set for life with it to fall back on if I ever needed to.
At least, financially.
My heart was still feeling bruised and achy.
A tap on the window had me jumping with a start, and my eyes lifted to find Raven standing beside the driver’s door, her brows lifted in a silent question. Somehow, I found the energy to give her a tight smile as I climbed out of her car and handed over her key fob. “He won’t be bothering anyone again.”
That only had her brows lifting higher. “Do I need to get Bash and Spider to hide a body?”
“Not this time,” I said with a wink.
She didn’t look convinced. “Well, that’s about the only thing I can think of that could keep that dickhead from bothering us again. If he’s still breathing, then he’s still going to cause trouble.”
I pressed my lips together. For now, the only people who knew what was going on were my father, Gracie, and Mr. Jenkins. The fewer people who knew about what I had done—and what the mayor of their small town was doing—the better. I figured I could trust Raven with this, but ears were everywhere, and I didn’t want to chance any of it getting out.
Shrugging my shoulders, I turned for the back door that led into the kitchen. “You’ll just have to trust me on this. My father won’t be anyone’s problem from here on out. And if by some chance he is, then he would only be slitting his own throat.”
As I entered the empty kitchen, Raven hot on my heels, the smell of something delicious made my stomach grumble loud and painfully. It reminded me that I hadn’t eaten all day, and I was freaking starving.
“Matt came looking for you about two hours ago, but I told him you were running some errands for me. Bash called church, and they’ve been in there ever since,” the MC queen informed me as I crossed to the stove to lift the lid off one of the four huge pots of chili.
At the mention of Matt, my gut twisted, and I rubbed my hand over my stomach as the ache seemed to linger. “Thanks,” I muttered. “Is there anything that I can eat right now other than this chili? I forgot to eat earlier.”
“I’ll fix you a sandwich if you tell me what the hell happened today,” she offered.
“Or I could fix my own sandwich,” I countered, and she blew out a frustrated sigh as I pulled out meat and cheese from the fridge.
I didn’t even bother with bread. Just wrapped some deli meat around a few slices of cheese and started eating. Food didn’t help the gnawing ache in my stomach, but at least it shut the damn thing up. As I ate, Raven remained quiet, glowering at me. Having her look at me like that made me nervous. I had never seen it with my own eyes, but I’d heard plenty of rumors of how good of a fighter she was.
And how bloody she had made plenty of the sheep—and anyone else—who dared to step out of line.
“Your face looks drawn, and your eyes are red-rimmed,” she observed. “Tell me what happened? I can help you, Rory.”
I stuffed the last of the meat and cheese into my mouth and wiped my fingers on a dish towel. “All right, fine. I want to ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest with me.”
“I’m all ears.”
The deli meat was suddenly sitting heavily in my stomach, and I forced myself to ask the question I already knew the answer to. “You know Stephanie Campbell?” She nodded. “Did Matt sleep with her?”
Raven’s lips pressed together in a straight line, but I could see the truth before she even opened her mouth. “That isn’t any of my business.”
“Meaning you don’t know, or you’re not willing to tell me.” I nodded, not in the least bit stung at her refusal to speak against her cousin by marriage. “You’re loyal to Matt, so I understand. No hard feelings. I already know the truth anyway.”
“Rory…” she started, but then she closed her mouth and shook her head, as if thinking better of it. “That was years ago. You weren’t even here, so why does anything that happened with that bitch matter?”
/> I didn’t know how to answer that. She was right. I had been gone, but in my heart, we hadn’t been broken up. Matt had told me over and over again that it was the same for him. That no matter how long we were apart, to him, I was still his. I belonged to him.
But if that was how he saw it, then he hadn’t belonged to me.
And that was what was killing me.
I had always trusted him. When we had first gotten together three years ago, I hadn’t questioned his fidelity to me once. Since we’d been together again, I had still felt that loyalty. Had been so sure that he would never look at anyone else, let alone touch them. It was the in-between time, when we had been separated, that had jealousy clawing at the walls of my mind.
If Matt hadn’t told me he considered us still together while I had been away from him, maybe it wouldn’t have bothered me so much. But he hadn’t. And he hadn’t remained loyal to me during our time apart.
Out of sight, out of mind.
“Look, Steph Campbell is a whiny little bitch. She has nothing on you. All she ever does is run her mouth and go crying to her precious father whenever anyone so much as looks at her wrong. After I beat the snot out of her and that idiot friend of hers a while back, she learned to stay clear of us. Don’t worry about her. She’s not worth your time.”
“You fought with Steph and Casandra?” I asked, but the puzzle of how Royce had pictures of the two girls beaten bloody now made sense.
She shrugged. “One of them called me a sheep in my own bar. It didn’t end well for them.”
“I can only imagine,” I said with a smirk. For some reason, knowing that Raven had shelled out a beating to Steph made me happy as hell. I grabbed a water out of the fridge. “I need a shower. Dealing with my corrupt and dirty father has left some grime on my skin.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what happened with him today?” she called after me.
“Maybe one day,” I shot back, hiding a small grin when I heard her exasperated mutters to herself.