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“Tell your mother no.”
Sutter immediately replied, “I’d rather tell you no.”
As Elle played referee with the feuding males, Goldie smiled at me.
Knowing what she needed, I said, “We’ll drive up tomorrow. I don’t want you to miss out on ribbing your VP over his condom failure.”
“Judas,” Zodiac hissed at me. “I’m trying to win an argument, and you go stab me in the back.”
“You weren’t winning shit,” I said immediately. “Stop wasting oxygen and give your woman what she needs.”
“Yeah, jackass,” Goldie added while rubbing her baby bump. “Don’t let your road captain show you up like this.”
“All this effort just to torment Rock Savo?” Zodiac whined.
Elle jumped in to explain, “Rock hates girls, and he might have a daughter. We must know more. Please, don’t make me ditch you and go on my own.”
“Don’t threaten me, Elle.”
“I’m taking the boys with me. You can have the house to yourself,” Elle said and knelt next to Trent, who toddled between his parents. “Do you want to see your mama’s VP squirm?”
Trent clapped his hands, winning a head shake from Zodiac.
“Your kid isn’t loyal to you,” Goldie mocked, making me chuckle.
Zodiac decided to focus his irritation on me since he didn’t have the balls to truly take on Elle or Sutter. No matter his bitching, Zodiac knew Goldie and Elle would always be members of the Crimson Guard. If drama was brewing in Little Memphis, nothing would keep them away.
GOLDIE’S EPILOGUE
Lars Billy Lacroix was born screaming like his mama. Labor was so much faster and harder than I expected. The only way to feel better was to scream like I was on fire. I hollered with every push, even when the nurses encouraged me to zip it. Nothing anyone said could quiet me down. Lars entered the world with the same affinity for noise.
Looking like an itty-bitty York, our son was noisy as fuck. He made sounds even when asleep. Once we were home from the hospital, York ended up moving our boy out of our bedroom to his nursery to allow me to rest at night.
Lars might have looked like his handsome daddy, but he definitely wasn’t the strong, silent type. He hid none of his feelings, and, oh, boy, did he have feelings!
Though I worried about my ability to handle motherhood, I loved spending my days with my baby. Lars was an interesting little guy. His hearty laughter never failed to crack me up.
As much as I adored my brown-eyed butterball, Lars favored York. If his dad left the room, he’d pout. Once York returned, Lars smiled as if a miracle had taken place.
Loving her grandmother role, Jessica found Lars to be fascinating. She often pushed his stroller around the retirement facility to show him off to her “gray-haired gal pals.”
My parents stayed busy from traveling to visit their grandbabies. By that point, Boone and Nova had moved into their new home in the Sleepy Eye Community, where my parents had a dedicated guest suite.
At our place, they slept in the third bedroom. A little part of me had already begun to worry about space issues since York and I planned to have a second child.
Despite struggling with traveling so much, Yarrow was crazy about Lars and Willow. Her heart beat differently around innocent people like Duffy or children.
My dad had endless patience with Lars whenever they visited. My son loved sitting on his grandpa’s lap. Wherever Blackjack went, Lars wanted to go, too.
I couldn’t deny I’d lost my edge. As much as I loved the Crimson Guard, I lived in a different world from my clubmates. I rarely got to ride my motorcycle or party with the foxes. My days revolved around my beautiful baby, his handsome dad, and our devoted dogs.
But the foxes remained a big part of my life. Vanessa and Ojai had worked together to paint cool motorcycle murals in the nursery before Lars was born. On the phone, Sabrina walked me through cooking new meals. Dali and Jas rode to Baton Rouge to help me work on my lawn in the spring. They were the ones to come up with the casita idea.
“You have a big backyard,” Jas said, looking around the fenced yard.
Dali nodded. “Why not stick a little house back here for your parents and guests?”
“That way, you can use the third bedroom for the next baby,” Jas said before frowning. “Wait, how many kids do you plan to have?”
