Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“He’s fine?” I ask needing to hear him say it again.
He nods, and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Kid is okay and will be back tomorrow.
Emmalyn releases her grip on me long enough to walk Kincaid outside. I fall unceremoniously into a chair, suddenly feeling exhausted. I don’t think Kincaid would lie to me, but I still feel like he’s not being one hundred percent truthful. The sinking feeling in my gut has changed from worry to a sense of foreboding, as if things will never be the same again.
***
“Hey,” I hear Em’s soft voice say as I feel a gentle shaking of my shoulder.
I open my eyes, realizing quickly that I had fallen asleep on the couch while waiting for her to return from outside.
I wipe away a tear that has begun to roll down my cheek.
“None of that,” she says with a slight chuckle. “You heard Diego. He’s going to be fine.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
She shakes her head in confusion. “Your eyes were red and puffy. It’s worse than Diego let on isn’t it?”
She shakes her head and lowers her eyes to her clasped hands. “It’s not that,” she says softly.
I wait for her to speak, and each second that ticks by seems like years.
“We decided we were going to try to start a family. It,” she pauses and tries to hide her pain. “It just didn’t happen this time.”
“Oh, Em,” I say wrapping her in a hug. “Was this the first month you tried?”
She nods and wipes the tears from her cheek. “I mean, I shouldn’t be upset. I know these things take time, but I was hopeful.”
I have no clue what to say to her. This isn’t a situation I’ve ever been involved in. The only people I knew of that had gotten pregnant were high school girls, and they were upset that they were pregnant, not that they weren’t.
I don’t want to tell her everything will be okay because neither one of us knows that for sure. “Maybe next month?”
She smiles weakly. “Maybe next month,” she concedes.
“And just think,” I say with a light laugh, “tons more practicing between now and then.”
She laughs and wipes the last tear from her face. “Could you imagine a baby around this house of bikers?”
“Honestly, no I can’t,” I say.
“I bet they’d all turn into the big softies we know they are.”
I smile wide. “And Snatch can teach it boy-band songs!” She releases the last of her sadness, and we begin to talk about what life would be like with children around.
I want to ask her about the club girls and some of the not so appropriate behavior for children that I’ve seen, especially in the kitchen in the morning, but I don’t. That’s a bridge they’ll have to cross when and if a baby is even here.
I don’t have an issue with children, but being only seventeen, almost eighteen, they are nowhere near my radar.
“So, Kid is okay?” I ask once again just to verify.
“Yeah. The hospital called some line set up for the members to get ahold of the guys here and left a message. The doctor told Diego he hit his head pretty hard, but he seems okay for the most part.”
“For the most part?”
“Diego said he seems a little confused, but the doctor assured him that it’s normal with a head injury like he has,” she explains.
I have to focus on the fact that he’s alive and will be home tomorrow. Everything else I will take as it comes. If I have to play nurse until he’s one hundred percent, then I guess that is my cross to bear.
I give Emmalyn one final hug and get up from the couch.
“What do you plan to do?” Em asks reaching out for my arm before I can walk off. I shrug because I don’t have any plans. I never have any plans. “Wanna watch some TV since both our men are gone?”
“Our men?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t know about that. He hasn’t made any type of declaration.”
“Oh please,” she says lacing her arms through mine. “You know as well as I do that Kid is totally head over heels for you.”
I huff out a laugh. “Well, at least I only have a handful of days before he can finally put into action everything I’ve been begging for.”
Emmalyn stops in her tracks. “We need to plan a party.”
“We do not need to do that,” I say.
“You only turn eighteen once,” she says.
I shake my head and begin walking toward my room. “You only turn every age once, Em.”
“We totally have to have a party for you!” I ignore her for the most part; then I hear her whisper. “Just leave it up to me, Khloe. This will be the best birthday party you’ve ever had!”