Travis (Grim Sinners MC Book 3)

by LeAnn Ashers

  “Yes, it’s yours.” He is on his knees in front of me, watching my reaction.

  “Want to put it on me?” I take the vest out of the box. He takes it from me and I turn around, putting my arms through the holes. I close my eyes and it’s really real.

  “You look fucking amazing,” he growls in my ear, grabbing my ass. I turn around and kiss him, both of my hands gripping his shirt. This is a moment I will never forget, another huge step in our lives together. I kiss his cheek. Then I rest my forehead against his chin as a song comes over the radio. He gathers me more tightly in his arms, until my toes are on top of his. He takes my breath away as he slow dances with me right there in the living room.

  I feel a hand on my leg. Gabby is standing next to us. Travis bends down and picks her up, and we all dance together. This is something that I hope Gabby will remember when she is older. One day she is going to fall in love, and I want her to fall in love with someone who will treat her the way he treats me. I want her to have the best in life. I don’t want her to know the struggles I have had.

  Once the song is over, I step off his toes.

  “I got you something too, Gabby.” He sets her down on the couch and hands her a box that is a bit smaller than mine.

  “Thank you, Ravis,” she says before she opens it. My daughter would be happy to accept a banana. She opens the lid and pushes back the paper. It’s a little vest just for her, and it says: Travis’s baby girl. Oh my goodness. I shake my head in disbelief at how amazingly perfect he is. I know that I am repeating this over and over, but it’s true.

  “Oh Ravis, I love it! We will be matching.” She jumps off the couch holding the vest, and she puts it on before either of us can help her. She claps her hands together, spins in a circle, and grins at both of us.

  “You look beautiful, baby.”

  She flips her hair over her shoulder. “I know.”

  I snort and burst out laughing. I love her confidence. Travis shakes his head, grinning, before grabbing his keys off the coffee table. “You guys ready to go?”

  “I’m ready.”

  Gabby jumps up and down. “Me too! Will there be kids to play with?”

  Travis pulls at one of her curls. “Yes, there are a bunch of littles.”

  I’m kind of in awe of the huge difference I see in her. When we first arrived, she was so scared of everyone she hid behind my legs, but she was never scared of Travis. She took to him immediately, and he did the same with her. Travis and Gabby established an amazing relationship before he and I did. He was a father to her from the start.

  We get to the clubhouse and pull around to the back. There are quite a few people and a bunch of motorcycles all over the property.

  I see Adeline and Smiley and Wilder and Joslyn, and I immediately feel better. Lane is here too, and I meet his wife and their daughter, Tiffany. Some of the members of the Devil Souls MC are also here today. Aiden comes out of the large building holding baby Reid. My hands are immediately itching to hold him.

  Travis sets Gabby down, and she takes off screaming, “Baby Reid!” Everyone’s attention turns to Gabby then to us. Adeline smiles and waves, motioning us over. Travis’s hand is at the small of my back, leading me to everyone. They all have smiles on their faces, making me feel welcome.

  This is his family. What if they don’t like me? What would that do to Travis? I close my eyes, trying not to let the insecurities in. You’ve been doing so amazing with your anxiety, no need to backtrack.

  We approach Smiley and Adeline. Smiley is holding baby Noah and Remy in his arms. Adeline steps forward and hugs me. “So glad to see you!” She takes Noah from Smiley.

  I have to take a second to admire Smiley. He has aged well. I don’t mean to look at another man, because Travis is the hottest thing ever, but Smiley is totally hot too, with that silver fox thing going on. Smiley smirks at me like he knows what I am thinking. I feel my face getting hot, and I turn around to check on Gabby, who is sitting in a chair next to Aiden, holding Reid.

  Travis takes me over to Lane, and I smile at the woman standing next to him. She is very beautiful. “Nice to meet you, I’m Amelia.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too.” I smile at her and she returns it. It’s a real smile, something that no one in my family possesses. I wish so much that I had a family like he has. I know most them aren’t blood, but the bonds of love and loyalty are there. Blood isn’t always thicker than water. Oil and rubber are a bit stronger than all of that.

  “Tomorrow night we are having a girls’ night. The ole ladies from both MCs are getting together for a night of fun,” Amelia says.

  “Go, baby. I will watch Gabby. We can go have a night out ourselves, food and maybe a movie.”

  Amelia grins ear-to-ear, making me feel like I am going to be in all kinds of trouble. “We will be by to pick you up at eight.”

  “My poor ovaries!” a lady says, and I turn around to see an ole lady in the Devils dramatically fanning her face, looking at Aiden holding his son. A man walks up to her, whispers in her ear, and grins wickedly. I laugh under my breath. I need to be her friend.

  I decide to take the initiative, so I walk over to her. “Hey, I’m Bailey.”

  She grins at me, and I can tell right away that she is major trouble. “I’m Jean and this hunk of hotness is my baby daddy.” Smack! She doesn’t even jump; she pretends that he just didn’t smack her on the ass. I laugh at their playfulness.

  “Are you up to no good again?” A woman with eyes like Lane’s and Smiley’s walks up. I know that this is Smiley’s daughter, Shaylin, the Grim Sinners princess. He used to be the president of the Grim Sinners, before he handed the role to Lane. Most of the older members have retired. They are still around, of course, but they have let the younger generation take over.

  “I am always up to no good,” she says, and her man sighs and walks away. She laughs. “It’s so easy to get him riled up.”

  Shaylin rolls her eyes. “We all know, Jean.” She looks at me. “Bailey?”

  I nod, smiling. “That’s me.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too!”

  “You going to the girls’ night?” she asks me.

  “Yes! I will be there.” I am excited. I have never had a proper girls’ night. Having a baby at eighteen years old changed a lot of things for me. She is my life, and that is something I will never regret. I do wish it could have been different though.

  “Let the men babysit and raise hell,” Jean gloats, looking back at her man, who completely ignores her. She turns around, sighing. “I do love him.”

  “Mommy!” Gabby is running in my direction with a ton of kids.

  “Yes, baby?” I bend down to her level.

  “Can I have a sleepover sometime and invite my friends?”

  I look at the crowd of kids behind her and, without hesitation, I nod. She screams and starts bouncing around. “I just have to tell Ravis!” she says before taking off at a full sprint.

  He bends down in a similar fashion and grins before winking at me. I put my hand over my heart. “Girl, you’re one lucky bitch. He is beautiful, and the way he is with your baby is perfect,” Jean says, and I agree with her wholeheartedly.

  Adeline pops out of nowhere holding baby Reid. “All of our men are like this. We are all blessed.”

  “Can I?” I ask her and she hands Reid to me. I snuggle him and breathe in that baby smell. Travis’s eyes darken as he watches me with Reid, and I know he is thinking of me and our future baby. Sometimes I forget, and then it just hits me that I really am pregnant. That I will have a baby, Travis’s baby. That’s a lot to take in. My life has changed so completely, but I don’t want to think about it too much until I see the doctor tomorrow.

  “You guys ready to eat?” someone yells and everyone starts making their way to a huge table filled to the brim with food. My mouth waters at the sight of ribs, steaks, and rolls. They have all the good stuff, and all of my manners
are about to go out the window while I dive face first into the ribs. I have not had ribs in years, back when I was home with my parents, actually.

  “Baby, come here.”

  Gabby runs over and I hand her a plate.

  “Do you know what you want?”

  She looks at the food. “Just a cheeseburger.”

  I reach over and grab a burger for her, and I set it on her plate with some fries. “Do you need me to help carry?”

  She shakes her head. “I am going to go with my friends.” She runs off, two fries slipping over the edge of her plate.

  Travis is standing next to me, filling his plate with ribs. Our minds are on the same track. I grab half a rack of ribs; then I find a picnic table to park my butt on. Travis sits next to me, and he has twice the amount food that I do. He sets down packets of wipes on the table. “You are the real MVP.”

  He smirks at me. “Baby, if you don’t get dirty eating ribs, then you’re not doing it right.” I grab a rib and take a huge bite. I close my eyes and moan. I know I may look like an idiot, but I don’t have it in me to care one bit. Travis and I bond over ribs. We don’t speak, but we wipe the barbecue sauce off each other’s faces; that is true love.

  Later that evening, as daylight is waning, we spread out a blanket on the lawn for the fireworks. Aiden left because he didn’t want the loud noises to scare Reid. Gabby is sitting in front of us with Tiana, Shaylin’s little girl. They are pretty close in age. Gabby just turned five, and she is a year or two older. She is currently taking apart a toy car and showing Gabby how to put it back together.

  “That’s awesome! I’m good at flipping.” Gabby, being her dramatic self, runs along the field and starts performing back flips. She is really amazing; it catches me off guard a lot of the time, honestly. She has scared me ever since she took the notion to start jumping off of things and flipping in midair. She runs back and plops her butt right down. “See!” She grins, so happy with herself.

  “Good job!” Tiana says and I cover my mouth so I don’t laugh. It’s so funny to hear kids acting beyond their age.

  I look at Shaylin, who is sitting next to me with her man, Butcher. He is huge, and he looks mean. It’s so wild so see them together, because they are total opposites. I have heard rumors that she’s just as vicious as he is. I sure never want to find out. I do have a side of myself that has a major temper, but it’s more a protective instinct.

  The fireworks shoot up in the air, and I look up at the sky. Travis holds my hand and, as a family, we celebrate our first fourth of July together.

  Bailey

  We walk inside the bar and instantly start screaming as we see the Devil Souls girls. There are a few of them I haven’t met yet.

  Joslyn is sticking to my side, and I am very thankful because I’m still getting used to everyone. These ladies are so different from the women I am used to, who are catty and two-faced. They seem genuinely nice.

  We all sit down at a huge round table in the back. It’s big enough for everyone but small enough that everyone can talk to each other.

  “Hi! To those who haven’t met Bailey yet, she is Travis’s old lady,” Joslyn says.

  I smile at the ones I haven’t met. The lady closest to me speaks first. “My name is Kayla, I am the VP of the Devils Ladies.” She smiles and leans back so I can see the next lady. I know who she is immediately. Her smile is like her mother’s.

  “Your mom is Adeline?” I ask before she can speak.

  She laughs. “Yeah, that’s my mom. Pretty great, isn’t she?”

  We all nod. “You’re very lucky,” I say. I would kill for my own mother to be like that.

  “My name is Alisha, in case you didn’t know.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Then the only girl I haven’t met, who is closer to my age than some of the others, speaks up. “I’m Paisley. I am Liam’s old lady and Torch is my dad.”

  “It’s nice to meet you all.”

  “SHOTS!” Jean screams and a few waiters hustle over. I cover my mouth so I don’t laugh. The waiter goes around the table taking orders. I shake my head and ask for water. I notice all of the girls’ eyes are on me. Uh oh.

  Once the waiters leave, in sync, all the girls scoot closer to me. I lick my lips, trying to pretend that I don’t notice.

  “Uhh, girl,” Jean says, her eyes narrowed on me with that mom look.

  “Okay, I just found out yesterday that I am pregnant, but that’s not one hundred percent certain because I am going to the doctor tomorrow.” Much to my surprise they stand up, screaming, and run straight to me. Congrats are offered by everyone, along with hugs and belly touches. Such amazing women.

  “Travis will be such an amazing dad.” Joslyn grins at me. I know she and Travis are pretty close friends, because he and Wilder are close.

  “He already is, he is so perfect with Gabby.”

  They all aww and I grin at their reactions. Jean sighs the loudest, putting her hand over her heart. “Nothing hotter than a biker being a dad.” That is so true; it seems like all of these guys are great dads. They are very present and involved. I love that.

  Randall was never really a dad. He is just a sucky individual. Until I met Travis I never realized how poorly I had been treated by him. I let way too much stuff go because it was just easier. That should never have happened.

  All of the ladies talk about their jobs, kids, and whatever they want as the drinks are being passed around. “What do you want to do?” Kayla asks me. “Besides being a kick-ass mom. That’s a job in itself.”

  I’m going to be opening a couple of homes for single mothers, especially teenagers. So they can have help being independent.”

  Joslyn hugs me. She knows this means a lot to me. I never want another soul to go hungry so her child can eat, the way I did. I was so desperate to get her some formula I went door to door asking if I could cut people’s hair for just a few bucks. That hurt my pride so much, but that didn’t matter when it came to my daughter.

  “You were a single mother, weren’t you?” Alisha asks me.

  “Yes I was, my parents kicked me out once they found out I was pregnant. All I had was a small bag of clothes and one hundred dollars. It was very hard.” I am not ashamed of my past. I survived and now I am thriving.

  “So proud of you, girl.” Amelia hugs me and I hug her back. This feels so amazing, just to talk and be myself with these girls.

  “Thank you all so much.”

  “You guys ready to dance?” Jean slams her glass on the table and jumps to her feet, dragging Shaylin with her. We all laugh and follow her. Jean is buzzed already, but I think she started drinking before she even got here.

  There are some MC guys stationed across the bar, discreetly watching out for us. I know the MC worries about keeping everyone safe first and foremost. Travis kind of explained to me that they and the Devils have made some enemies because they take down a lot of bad guys. Plus, although every girl here can handle herself—I know I can—going against grown men isn’t the greatest idea.

  I am standing back from everyone, keeping an eye out. They are throwing back shots left and right, loosening up and dancing. Jean is swaying around like the tall balloon man you see a lot at car dealerships. I laugh when she bends back so far and then snaps forward.

  Joslyn is still close by. I feel very protective of her. She is so sweet and kind—I know she doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. I feel like she has been through a lot, but she is always smiling. She’s a very strong woman who has been dealt a shitty hand. She walks over to me. “I am going to the bathroom.”

  “I will come with.” As we wade through all of the grinding bodies, I notice one of the MC guys and he nods. He has a prospect patch on.

  As we take turns in the bathroom stall, I have a feeling something is not right. When I step out of the stall, Joslyn is standing in the corner, pushing away a man who is right in her face. First off, where the fuck is the prospect? Isn’t this his job? Wait unti
l I get a hold of that fucker!

  I grab a beer bottle. “Hey, fucker.” He turns around to face me. Eww, he is gross. He’s wearing a stained white shirt and smells like he has taken a beer bath.

  “Leave her alone.” I tell him, my voice strong. She is shaking and that just makes me ten times angrier. He can tell that she doesn’t want him to be all up in her face. Why the fuck do some people think it’s okay to harass others?

  Joslyn ducks out from behind him and starts in my direction, and he grabs her arm. She winces and I jump into action. I punch him in the face as hard as I can. I hear something crack in my hand, and I ignore the pain. He stumbles back, letting her go. I kick him in the stomach, and he falls back on his ass. Then I smash my beer bottle against his head, glass shattering everywhere. He hits the floor with a thump, his eyes rolling back in his head, knocked out.

  Joslyn is staring at me with wide eyes. The other girls are standing behind her, grinning. Two of them are holding phones, probably taking a video. “Damn, girl. I didn’t know you had a temper like that,” Shaylin says.

  I shrug. I don’t lose my temper often, but I have momma bear branded into me.

  “The guys are on their way,” Amelia says.

  “Ours are too,” Kayla says.

  Joslyn pales slightly. “I am sorry for ruining girls’ night.” It’s comical the way everyone’s head snaps in her direction at once.

  “You didn’t. I always love to see a good fight,” Shaylin tells her.

  Joslyn looks better. I try to take her hand, but I almost hit the ground at the pain. I look at my hand. It’s completely swollen and already bruising.

  Jean pops out of nowhere. “Oh damn, I think you’ve broken something.”