“Well, neither did you, and youwantedthis shower.”
I kiss her quickly, then get out and dry off as fast as I can. I throw on a pair of shorts that I grab from my dresser, then get the baby. I try to soothe her, but she’s hungry—that much I cantell. We’ve learned what her cries mean, and this one definitely means she’s hungry.
When Anastacia is awake, she likes to feed her herself, so I do my best to occupy Dorothea while she finishes up.
The rocking chair in the corner of the room barely fits my ass, but I carefully sit on it and rock, running my finger along Dorothea’s chin and cheeks.
“You are the sweetest little baby,” I tell her softly. “You’re so beautiful, and so sweet. And you’re going to grow up to be amazing just like your mama.”
Her crying lessens, but she’s still upset. I keep talking to her, hoping my voice will soothe her at least a little. That’s what I live for now, after all.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Grizz
Each time we come to the clubhouse, Anastacia gets more and more comfortable.
Since I met her, she was eager to move forward and go on with her life. She hasn’t said it, but I see her hesitance when it comes to the club, and I can’t blame her for that. But she’s never refused to come. She trusts me, and so she’s learning to trust them and the whole thing—club business. She doesn’t understand it, which a lot of people don’t, but I’m going to teach her by showing her what we do and what a real club looks like. I can’t begin to explain how much I love seeing her with my brothers. It makes me love her more, and somehow this club too.
She tends to gravitate toward Snapper, though he always looks like he wants nothing to do with her. I know it’s bullshit, and I know he has a soft spot for her and Dorothea, even if he won’tadmit it. Lucian is trying to help him with that, and I think one day, Snapper will soften on the outside. If only to Anastacia and Dorothea. Maybe when she starts to walk or talk and goes to him first. Or maybe that’ll freak him out and he’ll pull away even more. Thinking about a drooling baby running toward him probably gives him nightmares.
Anastacia chats with Cora a lot, especially now that she’s further along in her pregnancy and loves talking about it. Anastacia likes being helpful, and they are always talking about babies and schedules and even birth… which was a horrifying experience, if you ask me. I feel bad saying that, but damn… it was rough. Anastacia remembers it differently, which I appreciate. I don’t want her having bad memories around our baby, and not that it wasbad, it was just… a little horrific. But I’ve overheard her and Cora making plans for play dates already, and I can’t help but smile over that.
Of course, Kelsey and her chat too, but she usually stays with Tommy, getting to know every one of the guys a little better. Anastacia branches out while we’re here, talking to those she doesn’t see every day. Kels and her already have a relationship; she’s working on building that with others.
Tommy was officially made our newest prospect and he’s been doing great. He’s paying extra attention to what everyone is doing, watching and learning. The guys are all glad to have him here. With all the plans we have for the future of this place, we need more upstanding guys like Tommy around. Those who don’t mind helping out, getting their hands dirty, and doing some good.
Shark has been lenient about him and I doing stuff in shifts, that way someone is always with the girls. He’s told Coyote only what he needs to know, and thankfully he hasn’t said shit. Had this been a few months ago, he’d have demanded to know what’s going on and threatened to boot me if I didn’t listen. He reallyseems like he’s figuring his shit out, and the club is going in the right direction.
“I have news.”
Glancing to my right, I find Snapper with his typical serious expression. I can’t help but laugh.
“Oh yeah?” I grab a beer from the cooler, popping the top to take a swig.
His eyes narrow slightly. “I know where Gunner is.”
I swallow, but start to choke, and do my damn best to not spray beer everywhere—especially out of my nose. That shit hurts. And if I get it on Snapper, he’ll have a fit.
“How?”
“I have my ways. What is the plan?”
“We bring him to the cabin. I thought you knew this.”
“Yes, but when? How?”
“Is everything there that we talked about?”
“Yes.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek, when Anastacia’s laughter floats above the rest of the noise. I look over at her. Lucian is laughing too, staring down at Dorothea who is in his arms. It’s been a great day. Spam, Ghost, Tank, and Noah spent the morning in the kitchen cooking everything to make sure we’d all have a good dinner—and we did. Good food, good company, and lots of laughs. Perfect fucking day.
“Where is he at?” I ask.
“He’s been frequenting a bar in Den Harbor.”
“Frequenting?”
