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)
Deciding to leave them as they were, I got dressed, turned off the lights, and curled onto my side next to him. My heart swelled in my chest, and I didn’t think I’ve ever felt so full. Now if we could only get our other little one here happy and healthy everything would be perfect.
Ω
The joke was on us. Cheyenne and I had never been to a bike rally before. It rather reminded me of a rock concert. There was a large open area, and every square inch of that area is a mass of people, bikes, booths, food, tents, and porta-potties.
It took only one look for Cheyenne, Blaine, Janie, the twins, Cora and I to get right back into the Suburban and head back the way we came. There was no way that was a small child friendly place. You would have to have eyes on them 24/7. Otherwise, you could look away for a mere second and they would be gone.
Gabe and Blaine didn’t quite understand why we refused to go, but after Sam explained the problem in man terms, they conceded the point. Once the bike was off loaded, we were off. Trailer and all. Cheyenne drove, and we only ran over four curbs by the time we made it back to the hotel.
The weekend ended on a high note with Free raising $98,000 from the chopper they made for Dougie. Tears sprung to my eyes when I heard the news. College was an expensive endeavor, and we wanted Kayla to get her life started right when she came to be an adult. Dougie would be so proud of these men. Just as I was.
Chapter 15
Ever notice how sometimes you come across someone you shouldn’t have fucked with? That’s me.
-Gran Torino
Ember
“Are you sure?”
Gabe was speaking to someone on the phone while he twirled a piece of my hair around his finger. His arm rested across my stomach that was still quite small for my seventh month of pregnancy. Really what it looked like was I gained weight, and was packing around a muffin top. I could still fit into all of my jeans, as well as still wear all of my t-shirts; I just looked fatter in them.
I was told that some women just don’t show the same way as other’s do. Our boy was growing well, and exceeded all expectations at each sonogram.
If Cheyenne and I stood next to each other, you’d never be able to tell that I was pregnant, and just a month behind her.
Gabe’s tone of voice had gone from lazy happiness to tense readiness when he heard what the person on the other end of the line had to say.
He eased my head off his lap before standing up. “We’ll be there in ten. Is she alright?”
I got off the couch and hurried to our bedroom to get some shoes on. I was in my usual of yoga pants and t-shirt, so I was ready as soon as Gabe hung up the phone.
“That was Sidney. Cora was at daycare when she fell and hit her head on a metal toy. They think she needs stitches, and she can’t go pick her up. We’ve got to go get her and take her to the ER.” Gabe said as he jammed his feet down into his boots.
“Not that I’m complaining about this, because I’m actually really happy she called us instead of someone else, but isn’t this a little out of left field? I mean, in the last three months since you found out about Cora, when has she ever done anything to help us?” I questioned.
“She must really be in a bind to call me. I’m just glad I know beforehand, and not this weekend when I go pick her up from school and see the cut.”
I nodded in agreement, and waited for him to finished lacing his boots.
We were out the door minutes later and headed to Cora’s school. Pulling out of Free, we were minutes from Cora’s daycare, just about to pass an intersecting street when the blue car pulled out in front of us. We didn’t have enough time to stop.
When you hit someone, time seems to slow. You know you’re going to hit them. You know that it’s going to hurt. You have just enough time to brace yourself before the collision happens.
Gabe’s truck hit the blue car with the ferociousness of a train barreling into a stalled car on the tracks. He had no time to brake, only enough time to throw his arm out, pushing me back against the seat.
The sound of crunching metal, popping, and hissing filled my ears. The airbag blew out, cushioning my head and chest. The powder burned my eyes and face, but that was the least of my injuries. My legs were numb, and everything hurt so bad that I passed out from the pain.
I woke sometime later with the sound of voices filling my ear. Tuning my head, I got my first good look at Gabe. He was still in his seat, head slumped forward, chin resting on his chest. He had a thin line of blood running down his temple. I looked for signs of breathing, and saw his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm.
Some of the tightness eased from my chest, but not all of it. It returned the next second as I watched Gabe’s door being pulled open, followed by a man with tattoos on his face, neck, arms, and hands cut his seatbelt with a knife and yank him out of the car. He fell to the pavement with a hard thump
My door yanked open the next second, and they did the same to my seatbelt. They were able to hold me up though. The jostling of my body sent pain radiating up my right leg and left arm. Nausea rolled over me and I threw up all down the shirt of whoever had a hold of me.
A blow to my face knocked me back into unconsciousness. Just as I passed out, I heard the OnStar come on and ask if we were all right.