“But how did Thorn or even Hawkeye earlier know to make it virgin?You didn’t ask for it,” Andy asked with narrowed eyes.
Taylynn lifted one shoulder and let it fall.“Raven told a couple of the guys a few weeks ago but asked them to keep it quiet.Hawkeye was one of them.”She winced as she looked at Andy.“Then he talked to all the guys who work behind the bar.He told them we were trying to get pregnant and to be safe, all my drinks going forward were to be virgin, no matter how I ordered them.The whole club is so protective of all of us, they never questioned it.”The grin she’d been holding back earlier broke free.“I couldn’t keep the secret any longer.”She reached across the table, took Delilah’s hand and squeezed it.“I know this will be hard for you and I’m sorry.Tell me if there’s anything we can do to make it easier for you.”
Delilah didn’t say anything but nodded, a solemn look on her face.Tania could tell there was something she was missing but she wasn’t going to ask.Not now.She’d ask Smokey about it later.
Talk turned to what they should do in the common area to make at least part of the room safe for kids.Taylynn and Andy on their phones, looking up different things being suggested, though Tania didn’t know why or if they were ordering them.She was just enjoying being with people she could call friends and cutting loose a little.She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cut loose like this.
Wait, yes she could.It had been the night Carter was conceived.
Chapter Twenty-One
Smokey emerged fromthe command center intent on finding Tania and seeing what she knew about the money, if anything.He also needed to find out what else she could tell him about the piece of shit she married or any of his family.
Why had her parents kept a portion of her inheritance for themselves?That part bothered him more than the rest.The rest he could understand, not that he would do anything like they had, but he understood the motivation.But to steal from your own child?To sentence them to a life of abuse and pain like Mr.Bussard had by basically paying that fucker to marry her.
Had they pushed through a quick wedding so they could get their hands on it?Was that why they’d pushed her to get married so quickly?
He heard giggling and dismissed it as coming from the mama’s room and continued for the common area to find Tania.But the giggling and laughter got louder as he got closer to the common room.And it wasn’t just women.There were a couple of men’s voices mixed in as well.He stepped around the corner and stopped, staring for a moment.Tania, along with all three of the club’s current old ladies were sitting in a booth in the corner, arms waving, talking and laughing.
There were no men with them, so where had the men’s laughter come from?He scanned the room and found Dagger sitting at the bar, watching them.He could tell from the way the club’s treasurer sat, that he was keeping an eye on them, not just to make sure they stayed out of trouble, but to make sure no one bothered them.Several other of his brothers watched the girls as well, most with tolerant smiles, a couple with scowls.Smokey made mental notes of those who were unhappy.Or at least more unhappy than usual.The last thing any of them needed was one of their brothers causing problems.
“How’s it going?”he asked Dagger as he stepped up to the bar next to the treasurer and waved at Thorn behind the bar for a drink.
“Good.They started out talking about books and forming a book club, then Taylynn told them she’s expecting, and it devolved from there.”Dagger shook his head.
“Raven’s expecting?Why didn’t they tell us?”Smokey frowned and turned to look at Dagger.Dagger shrugged.
“How much have they had to drink?”Smokey watched the group of girls as one of them said something and the others fell over giggling.“Is Taylynn drinking too?”
Dagger shook his head, “Not as much as you’d think from watching them, and no.When she made her announcement one of them asked.Apparently, Raven enlisted all the bartenders to make sure her drinks are virgin.”
“Hmm,” Smokey said, turning back to watch the women.
A few minutes later Raven came in, put his hands on his hips and scanned the room.When he spotted the women, he headed in their direction.After a few greetings, he held out a hand toward Taylynn, once he pulled her to her feet, he tucked his woman under his arm and turned to face the rest of the room.Smokey suspected what was about to happen, but kept his mouth shut as he watched his president and the woman who stood by his side.A woman they all knew was more than strong enough to stand by his side while they dealt with all the shit that sometimes came with the lifestyle they’d chosen.
A sharp whistle from Raven had the chatter in the room dying down as brothers and the one prospect in the room, David, turned to see what was going on.When they had everyone’s attention, Raven spoke.
