“Shadow and Otter are comin’ in a couple hours so you can leave early.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
She sighed. “They don’t need to do that, Rabbit. I’m good.”
“One week, baby. You agreed to take it easy for one week.”
Cocking her head, she sassed, “Technically, you dictated, and I just didn’t agree or disagree.”
“Well, I’d appreciate it if you’d humor me.”
“I want a bath and foot massage,” she bargained. “Or no deal.”
I chuckled. “I can make that happen, Parker. You just let me know in which order you require them.”
She gripped my cut and stood on tiptoes to kiss me. “Deal.”
I grinned and took her home.
* * *
Parker
I arrived home to find my mother pacing the hallway, waiting for me. “Mom. Everything okay?”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d check in.”
I glanced at Rabbit who unlocked the front door, then disarmed the alarm. My mother never just popped by.
We walked inside and Mom set her purse on the console by the door.
“Tea?” I asked.
“Yeah, honey, that’d be great.”
“I’ll make it,” Rabbit offered. “You guys talk.”
“Thanks, baby,” I said, and led Mom to the sofa. “You sure everything’s okay?”
“Yes, of course.” She smiled, squeezing my hand. “You just had a scare a few days ago and I wanted to get eyes on my baby.”
“Thanks, Mama. I’m good. I promise.”
“Daddy said you’re thinking of adding a store?”
I nodded. “It’s an idea I’ve been tossing around. It’s a lot of work, but if Stevie takes it on, she’ll be closer to home, and I’ll have more reach.”
“Can you afford to lose Stevie?”
“Rabbit’s got a few guys we’ve been training and they’re doing well, so if I’m going to do it, now’s the time to jump in.”
“It’s all so exciting,” Mom breathed out.
“And scary.”
“Oh, pish,” she hissed. “You so got this.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, Mama.”
Rabbit arrived with two mugs of tea, setting them on the coffee table. “I’m gonna let you two talk. Got a couple calls to make.”
“Okay, honey. Thanks for the tea.”
“Don’t leave without saying goodbye,” he said to my mom.
“I won’t sweetheart,” she promised.
He walked back to our bedroom and closed the door, and I grabbed my tea, sitting back down facing my mom. For the next hour, we caught up on life, the universe, and everything in between.
By the time she left, I could barely keep my eyes open, even though it wasn’t even dark out. Rabbit forced me into bed, and I was pretty sure I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Parker
Two months later, Stevie and I left Dice and Bucky at the shop and drove across town to check out a possibility for a new store. It was five minutes from Stevie’s townhouse, and she’d seen the FOR LEASE sign on her way home from work the week before, calling the agent immediately.
“Holy crap, Stevie, this place would be perfect,” I breathed out as we parked in the back.
“Right? And I think we can get them down on the rent. It’s been vacant for a little while.”
I smiled. “What made you come this way?”
Stevie typically went past the Savannah Mall on her way home, and this location was a couple of streets off her beaten path.
“I had to pick up that cake Mom ordered for my sister.” She pointed to the east. “It’s two doors down.”
“Which would be great for us. Folks could grab a cake from them, and flowers or balloons or whatever from us.”
Stevie nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”
We made our way to the street and went in through the front door. A woman about our age walked out from the back and smiled. “Hi, you must be Parker and Stevie. I’m Stephanie Finn. It’s lovely to meet you.”
We shook hands and then she walked us through the space. As we walked through the shop, my stomach began to roil, and I couldn’t stop myself from doubling over when a sharp pain shot through my abdomen.
“Jesus,” Stevie whispered. “You okay?”
I shook my head, lowering myself to the floor. “Call Rabbit.”
* * *
Rabbit
“Baby?” I said into the phone. “How’s the space?”
“It’s actually Stevie.”
“What’s wrong?” I demanded, heading for my bike.
“I...don’t know,” Stevie rasped. “Parker’s in a lot of pain and can’t get off the floor.”
“Fuck. Call 9-1-1.”
“We have, but Parker wanted me to call you.”
“You at the property by the mall?”
“Yes.”
“I’m on my way.” I hung up and raced for Parker, arriving just as they were wheeling Parker out.
“Parker!”
“Sir, you need to step back,” an EMT warned.
“She’s my wife.” I forced my way to her side and took her hand. “Baby?”
She gripped my hand and pulled the oxygen mask off her face. “Everything hurts.”
“Okay, baby, we’re gonna get you to the hospital.”
“Don’t let go.”
“Never,” I promised, climbing into the ambulance with her. I fired off a text to Doc to meet us at the hospital, then one to Mouse to sort out getting my bike back to the barn, never once letting go of Parker’s hand.
We pulled into the emergency bay and I walked beside Parker as we headed inside. A nurse arrived to get information from Parker and in the middle of the nurse starting an IV, Parker let out a terrifying whimper. “I’m wet.”
The nurse pulled the sheet back and I forced back a curse. There was so much blood.
“No!” Parker cried. “Oh my god.”
“Okay, honey, I’m going to get the doctor,” the nurse said, and stepped out.
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Shh, baby, it’s okay.”
“I’m losing another baby.”
“It might not be that, sweetheart. Let’s just see what the doctor says.”
I was pretty sure my words didn’t register. She was sobbing too hard, and I felt impotent, unable to ease her pain.
“Hey,” Doc said, pushing his way into the room. “I told the staff I was gonna look at you, is that okay?”
Parker nodded, sobs still wracking her body.
Doc washed his hands, then pulled on gloves and went about examining my wife. I continued to hold her hand and attempted to distract her as Doc poked and prodded her.
“Right,” Doc said, and settled the sheet back over her. “It’s another miscarriage, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. I’m going to give you something for the pain and we’ll just have to wait it out.”
Parker nodded again but didn’t say anything.
“Once you’re in the clear, I can take everything to the lab for testing if you’d like.”
She looked up at me and I stroked her cheek.
“We’ll talk about this later,” I said, and Doc nodded.
“I’ll get you some morphine.”
“I’m sorry, Zane,” Parker whispered once Doc left the room.
“Baby, you’ve got nothin’ to be sorry about.”
“Can you call my mom, please?”
She released my hand, refusing to take it again and I my heart raced. “Yeah, Pebbles, I’ll call your mom.”
“Now?”
“I need to make sure you’re okay first, so when Doc gets back, I’ll call your mom.”
Tears slid down her cheeks. “Okay.”
We didn’t have to wait long, and when Doc walked back in, I took a moment to make the first call.
* * *
Parker
I was released the next day and chose t
o go to my parents’ place, rather than back to the duplex. Stevie was going to watch the shop for the week, and I planned to figure out exactly what to do about my stupid body. Rabbit had not been happy, but I needed space, so he finally agreed to let me go.
“What can I get you?” Mom asked as she forced me to sit on the sofa in the family room, covering me with a blanket.
“Nothing, Mama, I’m okay.”
“Do you want to fill me in on why you’re here, instead of at home with your husband?”
“Not really.”
She sat beside me and took my hand. “Baby girl, you cannot shut that man out.”
“I’m not shutting him out. I just need time.”
“Which is code for shutting him out,” Mom said. “What’s really going on?”
“He should be with someone who can give him everything he desires,” I rasped. “Not saddled with someone with a barren womb.”
“Honey, he loves you. You’re what he wants.”
“I don’t agree.”
“You’re not really considering leaving him, are you?”
I shrugged. “He deserves more.”
“Well, that’s disappointing.”
“It is,” I said. “I should have shut this—”
“No, you misunderstand,” Mom interrupted.
“Huh?”
“I didn’t realize I’d raised a selfish, entitled brat.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, totally shocked by my mother’s tone. She’d never spoken to me like this before.
Ever.
“How dare you put that boy through all of this. You’ve both lost babies, and all he needs is you, and you’re not giving him that.”
“He deserves better.”
“He deserves you!” she said in exasperation.
“I can’t give him what he wants.”
“Cheese and crackers, baby girl, you already have!” she snapped, as she stood.
“I—”
“You’ve had everything you’ve ever wanted, Parker. That doesn’t negate how hard you work, or the fact that you’re a darling, sweet, and funny person, but this is the first time you’ve had real adversity in your life and you’re running away.” She shook her head. “I’m so unbelievably disappointed right now. I love you. You’re one of my favorite people on the earth. That won’t change. But I do hope you’ll pull your head out of your butt sooner than later.”
With that, she walked out of the room, leaving me to my thoughts.
Which were now in turmoil... more so than they had been.
I didn’t quite know what to make of all of this because my mom was always my biggest champion. We’d never had anything close to this kind of conversation before and I felt the walls closing in around me.
The pain was too much and I was exhausted. I curled myself into a ball in an effort to ease some of the tiredness, only managing to fall into oblivion.
* * *
Rabbit
I’d given Parker two hours of space, and I was now over it. I had been sitting in her parents’ driveway for almost ten minutes, hoping to god they didn’t try to stop me from seeing her, because I really didn’t want assault on my record. But I’d made the decision that she was coming home with me, even if I had to handcuff her wrist to mine.
Taking a deep breath, I made my way to the door and knocked, rather than ringing the bell. Parker’s mom answered quickly, pulling me in for a hug. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to come out there and retrieve you.”
I smiled sadly. “Was trying to figure out how far I was willin’ to go to bring her home.”
“You’ll get no pushback from us, honey. You two should be together. She’s in the family room.”
I nodded and headed that way, finding Parker curled up in a protective ball, asleep on the giant sofa. Jesus, she looked so sad, even in her sleep. I dragged my hands down my face and watched her for a few minutes. I couldn’t wake her. She’d gotten no sleep last night, and I’d know, I hadn’t either, so I sat back and waited. Waited for her to wake up and come back to me.
* * *
Parker
I woke with a start, disoriented and sad.
“You okay?” Rabbit asked, and I turned toward the sound of his voice and sat up.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m your husband, where else would I be?”
I rolled my eyes. “You should be finding someone else is what you should be doing.”
“I’m gonna forget you said that, Pebbles. If you’re feelin’ better, I’m gonna take you home.”
“Rabbit—”
“Yeah, baby?” he interrupted, his tone one of controlled irritation.
“I am broken. Barren. We will never have children. You want children—”
“You want children as well, Parker.”
“Yes, and it sucks that all of this is transpiring, but since I am the problem, it’s important you find someone who can give you everything you need.”
“Okay, so you think that because you’ve had two miscarriages, that I should just forget about you and go find someone who won’t have any miscarriages?”
“Yes,” I said, carefully.
“Right, so what if I don’t love them?”
“Well, you should find someone who you love, obviously.”
“I love you.”
“But I’m broken!” I growled.
“Oh, I see, so if I were broken, you’d leave me?”
I gasped. “What? No! I’d never—”
“But you expect me to leave you.”
“You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Neither have you!” he bellowed. “Jesus Christ, Parker, I’d sooner cut off my dick than think about leaving you.”
“Well, please don’t do that,” I mumbled.
He took a deep breath and held his hand out to me. “Come here.”
I slapped my hand in his and let him pull me onto his lap. God, it felt good and I couldn’t stop myself from burrowing my face in his neck. “I never want you to resent me.”
He gave me a squeeze. “The only way I’d ever resent you, Parker, is if you walked away from me. From us. I love you more than anything in this world, and it has nothing to do with your womb.”
I snorted quietly. “I want babies.”
“And we’ll have them. It just might not be the way we think and that’s okay.”
“I’m not ready to adopt.” I sat up and met his eyes. “But I can’t deal with losing another one.”
He sighed. “We’ll take precautions then, baby. When we’re ready to talk about adoption, then we’ll do that.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“You gonna come home with me?”
“Yes.”
“No more talk of leaving me, beautiful, got it? Ever. You come home with me now, we’re in it for the rest of time.”
“The rest of time is a long time.”
“Yeah, well, it’s that or nothing. But you’re on notice that nothing isn’t an option.”
I blinked back tears, leaning down to kiss him. “Okay.”
He stroked my cheek. “I love you, baby. Please don’t ever doubt it.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I admitted. “I just sometimes wonder if it’s misplaced.”
“Which is fuckin’ idiotic,” he ground out.
“So Mom told me.”
“She did, huh?”
“She actually told me to pull my head out of my butt,” I admitted. “I’ve never heard her say ‘butt’ before. I was too shocked to laugh.”
Rabbit chuckled. “Well, now that it’s out, let’s figure how to keep it there.”
I dropped my forehead to his. “Okay, honey. I’m sorry.”
“Forgiven.” He kissed me gently. “Let’s get you home.”
I climbed off his lap and we made our way into the kitchen where my mom was already cooking something out of this world.
In the end, we stayed for dinner, and then I let Rabbit take me ho
me, promising never to leave him again.
Parker
A few weeks later, I was in my shop, my life back on even ground. Renovations had begun on the new space, so Stevie was splitting her time between the stores, and I was training two more recruits to work with her.
Rabbit hovered again, but not overly so. He’d gone back to working with Doom in his body shop, but matched his schedule to mine so we were off on the same days, then he took Wednesdays off at the shop to work with me. This wasn’t a permanent situation, but I loved it all the same.
It had taken me a little time, but I was finally able to put myself in Rabbit’s shoes, and lean into the fact that he loved me just as much as I loved him. He’d proven time and time again he was here to stay, but for whatever reason, I had had a hard time believing it.
I was in the believing camp now, though. Finally. And things were blissful.
Plus, today was Wednesday, so Rabbit was with me, and he made sure we stole moments of making out throughout the day.
I was at the front counter, arranging vases of roses, when he walked toward me, sliding his phone into his front jeans’ pocket.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
He nodded. “All-hands for church tonight. Figured we’d stay at the barn. Willow offered to cook. Full disclosure, she offered you up, along with Jasmine and Olivia.”
I chuckled. “That sounds good. I should probably think about leaving some clothes there, huh?”
“Yeah, baby, you should,” he said, leaning over the counter. “We’ll have time to stop home later, but that won’t always be the case.”
“I’ll pack some things up tonight.”
“Sounds good.”
The bell on the door rang, indicating someone was walking in, so Rabbit grinned, and walked away. The rest of the day was surprisingly busy, considering it was the middle of the week and there weren’t any holidays coming up.
We closed up at six and headed to the duplex where I packed enough clothes to last me a week, along with my skincare routine, extra makeup, and the laundry detergent that didn’t bother my sensitive skin. Luckily, I had extras of everything, so should a zombie apocalypse hit, I could hide out at the barn for an extended period of time.
“You got everything?” Rabbit asked, picking up my heavy bag.
I raised an eyebrow. “I need to be prepared.”
“Did you pack something sexy and a pair of heels?”
Hacking the Biker's Code Page 11
