I laugh because I know he saw Ally yesterday when she visited. Ever since she’d got married, it has been a competition with the men in my family to see who she visits the most. “I’ll tell her,” I shout back and get in my car just as Mum hotfoots it back to hers.
“See ya, Da.” She waves as she gets into her car. I wait for her to reverse and start down the road before I follow. When we get tothe main road, Mum turns left towards Fitheach, and I turn right towards Feannag. I used the excuse of giving Abby my CV when I already did that last week, and I know she is away with Reaper today and that Ally will be alone. I need to speak to Ally, and I’d rather do it without an audience.
It doesn’t take long for me to reach Feannag and park in front of Ally’s office. Getting out of my car, I lock it and walk to the door that clicks open as soon as I get to it. Ally must have been watching the monitors. Following her attack, Dad and Sam ensured security measures were in place to make her feel safe and secure at work. Although, my sister is much different now from the person she was after her attack; we have Sam to thank for that.
Pushing the door open, I walk in and ensure it closes behind me and that the lock engages.
“I’m in the kitchen,” Ally calls out.
“Coming,” I shout back, taking off my coat and hanging it on the pegs in Ally’s office. Winter has barely begun, and I’m sick of it already.
Running my fingers through my curly hair, I take a deep breath. I’m not sure why I’m so nervous. My sister is the last person who would ever judge me. Shaking my hands out, I turn towards the kitchen. Ally is at the counter making a pot of tea. She turns her head and grins at me. “Hey, little sister. Grab a seat. The tea is nearly ready, and there’s some chocolate cake from Maggie in the tin.”
Walking over to her, I wrap my arm around her and give her a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks. You know I can’t say no to Maggie’s cake.” Releasing her, I sit at the table and pull the cake tin towards me and cut slices for each of us, setting them onto the plates Ally had put on the table. “No Sam?” I want to know when she pulls out a chair.
“Nope.” Ally shakes her head before continuing. “He’s out on a measure-up for an outdoor area for a client. It’s just us two for a little while.”
I love my brother-in-law, but I’m glad he’s out. It means I’ve got Ally to myself for the next little while, and I can get her opinion.
“Here.” She hands me a mug of tea and pulls her plate closer. Picking up her fork, she takes a bite of cake and closes her eyes. “Yumm. Maggie’s cakes are always so good.”
Picking up my fork, I take a bite of mine, and I have to agree. I’m not sure what Maggie puts in her chocolate cake, but it always tastes amazing. We finish our cake, chatting and catching up on news since I last saw her, which was only a few days ago.
“So...” Ally pushes her plate away, picks up her mug of tea, and eyes me over the rim. “What’s going on?”
“Ugh!” I run my hands through my hair, trying to collect my thoughts, wondering how to go about telling her. I nibble on my lip for a minute as I think. Ally waits patiently for me to get to the point. Wrapping my hands around my mug, I look at my sister and say, “Do you remember in November when we weresupposed to meet up for dinner and drinks in Southampton and then you and Sam couldn’t make it?”
Ally nods. “I remember we had an order that was supposed to be collected in the afternoon, but there was an accident on the M3 and they were late getting to us.”
“I decided to go for dinner anyway as I was already out, and our table had been booked.” I stop for a minute. “That night, I met someone, and we spent the night together...” I look at Ally, but there’s no judgment from her. She continues to gaze at me, waiting me out. Taking a sip of my tea, I roll my lips nervously before continuing. “We used condoms, but I guess one must not have done the job because I did a few tests this morning.” I stop talking as I put my hand in my pocket and pull out the pregnancy test I’d kept. I put it on the table in front of her so that she can read the results.
She studies it for a minute before she looks at me with a wide smile. “You’re pregnant?”
Blowing out a breath, I nod, shakily replying, “I am.”
“Oh, Jeanie.” Ally grasps my hand. “It’s going to be okay. Do you know what you want to do?”
“I’m keeping my baby,” I reply adamantly.
“Of course,” Ally replies, as if she knows that I wouldn’t make any other choice. “What about the father; does he know?”
“That’s where it gets complicated,” I tell her. “We didn’t exactly exchange information that night. Only first names. I’ve made a list and thought you or Sam might know who he is because he is definitely a biker.”
“You do know how many bikers there are in the UK, right?” Ally laughs with amusement. “We don’t know all of them. Was he wearing a cut?”
“Nope.” I shake my head and pull the notebook out of my bag, find the page with all my notes on, and hand it over to Ally.
She reads it, and I know as soon as she sees my note on his abs because she smirks and side-eyes me. Chuckling, I take another sip of my tea and wait her out.
“The only MC I know about in the Southampton area are the Queens Wraiths, and they are American because they are part of Cash’s MC.”
I slap a palm to my forehead. “Of course,” I mutter. “I’m an idiot. Why didn’t I think of them?”
“He may not be one of them,” Ally cautions, “but they’d be a good starting point. I can get Sam to find out if any of them are called Bolt if you want?”
I shake my head. “No, I’d rather go and see if he’s there. I think it’s better if we keep this to ourselves for now, especially if he’s one of them. He deserves to know about this baby before anyoneelse.” Ally raises her eyebrows at me, and I wave my hand dismissively. “You don’t count. You’re my sister.”
Ally laughs, and I grin back at her. “You know dad is going to freak out having both his daughters knocked up by bikers and giving birth within weeks of each other,” she says casually.
