Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
My face flamed, and I was stunned speechless.
They had heard the entire thing!
Turning my own death ray stare at Gabe, I found him contemplating the rafter’s in the ceiling. I let my eyes travel down his t-shirt covered chest, down to his jean-clad package. This was one of those times where I was supposed to let it go. Unfortunately, my mouth didn’t agree with my mind.
“Well.” I drawled, “I never got him out of me long enough to measure him. My Gabe has some stamina. I did measure him with my fists and mouth though, how big would that make him if he takes up both fists and some of my mouth?”
They all looked thunderstruck.
Poor Max’s face was bright red, eyes squeezed tightly shut. Blaine’s mouth was hanging open, and Gabe was close to crying he was laughing so hard. Albeit silently. It was the type of laugh when you were laughing so hard no sound came out.
Cheyenne came unstuck first.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Come on, let’s go measure.” She said grabbing onto my arm.
I shook her off, and turned back to Gabe.
“Knock it off, you big galoot.” I said to him.
He straightened and wiped the tears that were running down his cheek.
“What do you think of these?” I asked Gabe as I turned around and lifted up my shirt.
“That’s fucking sweet!” Blaine yelled.
“I thought so, but does the gun look that noticeable? I don’t really want anyone to know I’m carrying it.”
I felt Gabe’s hand on my back as he traced the outline of the gun.
“Pretty nifty little contraption. How does it feel?” Gabe asked.
“Can you run around in it without it falling out?” Max asked.
“Do a couple of rounds of the parking lot and come back.” Sam said.
Rolling my eyes, I took off across the lot, did two loops, and then came back to the garage. All the while, the gun stayed in the correct position at the small of my back.
“Feels good. No slipping or anything.” I said to the group as a whole.
All the men were studying my back as I looked over my shoulder.
“Where did you find these at?” Cheyenne said, “Do they make them in maternity sizes?”
“Amazon, and no probably not.” These are stretchy though. Might try them on later and see if you like them.” I said to her.
Nodding, she made a loop around me, and I decided I’d had enough attention for the moment. Clapping my hands and turning around, all eyes went to my face.
“Now, what’s for dinner?” I asked.
“We could go out. We haven’t done that in a long time.” Blaine suggested.
Nodding my head, I concurred.
“Sounds good. As long as we go somewhere that will let me wear these shorts, we’re good.”
Everyone had something to say about the shorts again, but I went to Gabe and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.
“Love you.” I whispered into his ear.
He leaned back and took my face into his hands.
“Love you more.” He said gruffly.
Ω
We were all sitting around the table at Bodacious, a local BBQ joint, when the woman in the photo finally clicked on where I knew her from.
“Motherfucker!” I said when it finally registered.
Turning to Gabe I asked him, “What does Sidney look like?”
“Tall, brown hair, skinny. Dresses like a high society princess. Why?” He asked perplexed.
“Cheyenne, do you remember the lady that came and picked Story up?” I asked.
“Tall, brown hair, stuck up.” Cheyenne supplied.
It was all starting to fit together. Story thanking “Sid” for the lift as the door closed. Why the woman looked so freaked to be at Free. Then another sinking feeling started seeping into my chest, and burrowing in until I couldn’t get the thought out of my head.
Jesus Christ. That woman had a baby. Oh my God. No.
“Can I talk to you a minute?” I whispered to him.
His eyes studied me for a moment, and noted the change that had come over me. Standing up, he grabbed my hand and lifted me out of my chair. Guiding me outside, he took me to the bench that ran along the front and side of the building. Taking a seat, he pulled me down next to him, and waited for me to tell him what was wrong.
“Gabe.” I said and swallowed thickly.
How do you tell someone you think he has a kid out there that he’s never met?
“What?” He asked evenly.
He could sense something was wrong, but he had no clue. This was going to be one hell of a bombshell.
“Last month, when Story was picked up, it was by a woman named “Sid” who I swear on my life looks like the woman who was in the Army Ball photo of you and her that I saw in the closet. She looks exactly like her, just a tad older.” I said.
His mouth opened and then closed.
“But she used to live in Michigan. Why would she be here?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but that’s not all. She also had a baby with her. It looked to be about a year and a half old. She looked just like you, and seeing her was what made me ask you about kids later that day. She made me want to have one that would look just like you, just like her.” I whispered.
Gabe sat in stunned silence.
He sat there so long, that I was beginning to get worried.
That is until he exploded. I watched the seat where he had been sitting not even seconds before, and then turned and watched him as he stalked to his bike, started it with a roar, and tore out of the parking lot. Without his helmet even strapped to his head, I might add.
Going back into the front door, I made my way back to the tables that we’d pushed together. My food still sat half eaten on my plate, but I had no appetite what-so-ever. Even looking at it made me want to puke. Looking around at the curious faces, I finally settled on Max.
“I’m gonna need a ride. Gabe needed a minute.” I said to him.