Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
But they were a great bunch of men who’d lay down their life for anybody worthy just like the rest of them. Man, woman or child.
“Baylee, this is Stone. He’s the president of the Alabama chapter of the Dixie Wardens. Stone, this is my old lady, Baylee.”
Stone held out his hand and Baylee reluctantly held out hers. When Stone had Baylee’s hand in his, he brought it to his mouth and gave it a kiss. Even though it was an innocent gesture to most, it was a test for me. Stone was doing it to see what I would do. Stone knew it’d piss me off, and he wanted to see if I’d actually say anything, or play daddy’s little diplomat like I’d always done.
Well, he was in for a rude awakening. Baylee came second only to my son, no matter what. My father was nowhere near first in line anymore. My duties were important to me but I wasn’t going to take anybody, even the president of another chapter, disrespecting me.
“Stone.” I warned through clenched teeth.
He chuckled. “Good to see you found one that means something to you boy.” he said as he dropped Baylee’s hand and stepped back.
Baylee was confused by the interaction, I could tell, but I wouldn’t explain it to her now. Not in front of all of them.
“Alright, well we’ve got a doctor’s appointment to get to. Check you guys later. You know where I’ve got y’all booked, right?” I asked as I got Baylee settled on the back of my bike.
While waiting for him to reply, I extricated myself from my cut and handed it to Baylee.
She clutched it tightly to her chest like I’d just given her a lifeline and watched as I stripped out of my sweatshirt, and then gave that to her as well.
“Put that on.” I demanded as I took my cut back.
“Thank you.” She whispered.
“Yeah, at the Horseshoe. Thanks. That’s one of our favorites.” Stone said dryly.
Stone didn’t gamble. He said it was a waste of money. But there were really no other places other than the flea bag hotels in downtown that didn’t have any gambling at them.
“I could’ve booked you at the Budget Inn.” I offered wryly.
Stone waved me off and mounted his bike.
With a signal of his hand, the other men with him started their bikes, and one by one, they left the parking lot and headed for the interstate.
“You ready?” I asked once the last one had left the parking lot.
She nodded, spread her legs a little wider, and patted the seat between them. “Always.”
***
Baylee
I felt better than I had in days.
Sebastian was asleep on his stomach in bed next to me, dead to the world. After escorting me to my doctor’s appointment, we went to the warehouse where his office was located, and he continued to make arrangements for some annual party they had every year.
He’d been on the phone from the time we’d entered his office to the time we’d left, four hours, later to go pick Johnny up from daycare.
He’d spoken to some barbeque joint to deliver over a thousand dollars’ worth of meat the day of the party. Then he’d made arrangements with some man to bring wood. Some woman to deliver kegs. Another man was to bring a bounce house to entertain the kids. Hell, he’d even had someone scheduled to come DJ.
I’d asked where they were planning to have it, and he’d told me at the warehouse
He’d explained that it was big enough to house a small circus once they rearranged and pulled in all the bleachers. I hadn’t been aware that the bleachers were retractable, but he’d told me they’d had them installed for that very purpose.
I hadn’t had the desire to ask Sebastian how a club that wasn’t doing anything illegal could afford something like that when most of their members were public servants in some capacity. I wanted to keep my illusions.
I knew they weren’t completely legal in everything they did. There was no way they could be. I was just glad he let me in where he could.
“Can’t sleep?” Sebastian rasped from the bed beside me.
My eyes, which had been staring at his chest blankly, snapped up to meet his. “No.”
He rolled over onto his back and held his hand in the air, waited, and laughed when I crawled into his embrace readily.
“I missed you.” He said, kissing the top of my head lightly.
“I missed you more. Like crazy bad. The past three days have been horrible.” I sighed, running my nose along the smooth skin of his chest.
“Is that why you can’t sleep?”
I hesitated before answering, and then let it all pour out of my in a rush. “I’m scared to death to be pregnant. I’ve learned a lot of bad shit about this disease I have. Childbirth is risky in the first place, then you add into the equation my disease, and I’m looking at a very high-risk pregnancy. Then, the doctor tells me I can’t even take my ADHD medicine, and I’m so nervous I can barely see straight.”
Sebastian hesitated for a few long moments before addressing my concerns.
His hand, which had been curling around my shoulder went to my hair and started sifting through it. “Have you ever been off your ADHD medicine since you were in your teens?”
“No. The meds have changed, but I’ve been on some form or another ever since I was young. Why?”
“What makes you think that you’ll have a hard time handling stuff now? And if you do, why is it that big a deal? You’re with a man that loves you. Your boss at work will understand. What will it hurt if you’re are still affected but off of it? From what I can tell, the only real things I can see that you have trouble with are boredom, lateness, and you space out from time to time. Multitasking isn’t a problem that I’ve seen. You juggle everything very well that I have noticed. Why don’t you just take it one-step at a time? Plus, it won’t be forever. It’ll be another seven and a half months. That’s doable.”