“What can I get for you ladies?”he asked.
“I want a daiquiri,” Taylynn said, then pointed one finger at Delilah next to her.Jordon didn’t say anything, but she couldn’t help but wonder if the woman was really drinking while pregnant.
“I’ll have a margarita,” Delilah said.
“Frozen right?For both of you?”David asked.Both women nodded, Taylynn’s head turning to look at Andy.
“I’ll have a Hell’s Half Acre,” Andy said, then turned to look at Tania.Tania turned to look at the toddler playing with wooden blocks in a play yard a few feet away.
“Give me a hot chocolate.I’d like a drink, but I need to stay present so I can keep an eye on Carter.”
“I’ll keep an eye on the kid too, so how about I spike that with some Baileys?It will help you unwind just a little, but won’t make you unreliable if something happens?”David offered.
Tania stared back at him with narrowed eyes for several seconds, then nodded.“All right.I’m in.”She turned to Jordon.
Jordon looked around the table, down at the baby, then to David.
“Can I get one of those hot cocoas too?”
“Spiked?”
“Please.”
“I’ll be right back with those,” David turned and headed for the bar.
“You’re drinking?”Andy asked, her gaze on Taylynn, clearly thinking the same thing Jordon had earlier.
Taylynn rolled her eyes.“No.Watch.He’ll bring me a virgin one.No one is going to serve me anything they don’t think I should have.”She sighed.“I almost had to stab Hunter this morning when he got between me and the coffee pot.He’d read somewhere that pregnant women should avoid caffeine.Probably just read a headline and not the whole article.Anyway, he decided to take it upon himself to make sure I didn’t hurt my baby with one cup of coffee a day, which is perfectly safe!”she snorted.And when she spoke again, she’d calmed a little.“Anyway ...he figured out real quick not to get between me and my coffee.”
“Did you do it or did Raven hand him his ass for crossing you?”Tania asked.
“Both,” Taylynn said before burying her face in her hands.“I didn’t mean for him to get in trouble, I just wanted a cup of coffee.”She lowered her hands after a moment.“Raven is not tolerant of anything that upsets me lately.And I’m feeling far more emotional than usual.This is a recipe for disaster and I’m not sure how we’ll get through it.I don’t doubt that we will, I just wonder how.”A tear streamed down her face.Andy reached across the table and covered one of Taylynn’s hands with her own.
“You’ll get through it.We’ll be here to help, all of us will.You know that.”
Taylynn nodded.“I know,” she sniffled, then wiped a hand over one cheek, then the other.“I better dry this shit up or he’ll be out her yelling at you all.Then your men will get involved.I don’t want to deal with that mess.Plus, Carter doesn’t need to see it.”She turned her gaze to the kid still playing contentedly, smacking blocks against each other then stacking them and knocking them down again as he laughed.
Jordon watched the way the four women interacted.It was nothing like how she and her brothers got along, but closer to her and Marci.Maybe she wouldn’t feel so out of place if she moved out here with Spider.
“You must think we’ve lost our minds,” Tania said, turning to her.“We haven’t but I understand why you might think so.I’m so glad you guys decided to come back for the weekend.I was glad to finally meet Fletch.”
Jordon frowned.She’d thought all these women had been around a while.Why hadn’t she met Fletch?Tania was with Smokey, and Carter was clearly his, so how had Tania not met Fletch?
“Tim—I mean Smokey—and I have only been together for a couple of months.”She glanced down at her son, then back to Jordon.“Well, this time.Smokey didn’t know about Carter until then either.I didn’t tell him I was pregnant.It’s a long story, but I was—no, stillam—married to someone else.Fletch has been handling the paperwork for my divorce.It’s good to meet the man who’s helped me so much.”
Jordon blinked.Clearly Tania was going through something but as curious as she was, Jordon would never ask.It wasn’t her place.Maybe later, if the two of them grew closer, then she would find out, but for now, she let it go.
A moment later, David came back, a tray balanced precariously on one hand.
“Here you are.A virgin daiquiri.”He set the first drink down in front of Taylynn, then continued, giving each woman what she’d ordered, ending with Tania and Jordon and their hot cocoas.“Anything else I can get you?”
“We’re good for now,” Taylynn said after glancing at each of the girls.“We’ll let you know if we need anything else.”
He nodded, turned, and went back to whatever he’d been doing.
“Told you,” Taylyn said, lifting her drink in Andy’s direction before taking a sip.“Raven told the prospects weeks ago that we were trying and not to give me anything with alcohol, but not to advertise it.I haven’t had anything with alcohol since I found out.”She smoothed one hand over her belly again.“I wouldn’t do anything to harm this little one, not if I can help it.”
“I didn’t think you would,” Andy said, “Which is why the way you ordered surprised me.I should have known Raven was way ahead of us all.”
