Passion, Vows & Babies_Unbearable

by Kristen Hope Mazzola

  Sitting in the kitchen a few weeks later, watching Bear cook bacon with his apron on, I read a headline that made my stomach flip and my heart race: Local Lawyer Found Guilty of Double Homicide. I feverously read the article that told about the tragic, brutal murders of two men a few years prior. The men were assumed to be affiliated with illegal activity that had put one of Jasper’s clients away. I was shocked that the forensic evidence was what put him away.

  I read a sentence out loud, “The overwhelming amount of concrete evidence was the undoing of the defense in this case. Finger prints, hair samples and matching shoe prints are just the tip of the iceberg of what the prosecutors nailed Keen with.”

  I waited for Bear to react, say something, turn around, anything – even a freaking grunt would have sufficed – but her just kept humming away, frying a few eggs in a pan.

  “I can’t believe that is all worked out like this.” I mumbled to myself.

  Bear put a full plate of bacon down in front of me, smiling. “I told you that we would take care of him. Now eat your breakfast.”

  With a kiss on my forehead, Bear took his seat across from me.

  I folded up the paper, and started to cut up my fried eggs. We sat in silence, eating our delicious breakfast, for a few minutes.

  Bear’s phone vibrated across the wood table. He took the call quickly.

  “Yeah?” he answered. “Weston, I have been waiting for this call. I’ll be at the shop soon.”

  After hanging up, Bear turned to me. “How about we finally take your bike out for a spin?”

  I bounced a little in my seat. “Ahhhh! I would love too! I miss riding a lot.”

  Bear shoved away from the table. “I’m going to get dressed. I have to do a quick tune up on my buddy’s bike and then the three of us will go for a ride this afternoon. How does that sound?”

  I hopped up, kissing Bear on the cheek as I struggled to wrap my arms around his wide frame. “Fucking amazing!”

  I drove Bear’s truck to Wheeler’s overly excited to finally be able to ride my motorcycle again.

  Right as I pulled into the lot, Bear walked over and opened the drive’s door for me.

  “Hey, darlin’.” He grabbed my hand and walked me over to a who looked to be in his early thirties with tons of tattoos and a kind smile.

  “Weston, this is the girl I was telling you about, Scarlett.”

  Weston shook my hand, saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Scarlett. I have heard many good things about you.” He turned to a young woman that was standing a little behind him. “This is Aspen, my wife.” She was stunning with gorgeous curves and beautiful blond hair.

  She waved hello to me as we were introduced.

  “Y’all ready to hit the open road?” Bear asked.

  I squeezed his hand a little. “I am so excited.” My Royal Enfield Thunderbird was waiting for me just a few paces away.

  Bear started to walk over to my bike, about to get on. I grabbed his hand. “Can’t you take your own?”

  His eyes got a little wide. “Ugh, I guess.” He held my helmet out for me, digging the keys out of his pocket. “It’s not often that our old ladies drive their own bikes, sweetheart. I’m sorry for assuming.”

  I took a deep breath. “I just want to drive her. I know that you getting on the back is not going to happen.” I laughed a little thinking of how goofy Bear’s giant ass would look on the back of my bike behind little ol’ me.

  He scooped me up in his arms, kissing me quickly. “I am going to get so much shit for this but fuck it. I’ll ride bitch only this once.

  Bear set me down on the front seat of my bike, climbing on behind me.

  “I think you got that a little wrong there, Bear.” I heard Jaxon call from inside one of the garage bays.

  “Suck your pie hole, dickwad. At least I have an old lady that can drive a bike.” Bear’s words made my lips erupt into a smile.

  “Bear, I fucking love you!” I turned and yelled as he put his helmet on.

  He wrapped his arms around my small waist before kissing the back of my neck. “If this isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”

  Epilogue

  Bear

  It had been a little over three years since I found Scarlett left for dead on the side of the road. It had been just about the same amount of time since I got the nerve to ask Scarlett to be my old lady, and there I was rocking our newborn son in my arms as she slept peacefully in the hospital bed right next to me. We were in the same hospital where it had all begun, starting the next chapter of our life.

  I never imagined my life would take a turn like this that night when I started CPR on a complete stranger, but I wouldn’t have changed any of it for the entire world.

  “Ask me a question,” I heard her soft voice call over to me from the bed.

  “How did I get this lucky?” I asked before kissing my son’s soft hair.

  “Because Gunner Beringar had to be born.”

  “How’d my sister talk an outlaw into being with her crazy ass?” I turned to see Liam’s tall frame in the doorway. He was wearing his uniform, probably having come straight from the airport.

  “What the heck are you doing here?” Scarlett shrilled as she nearly leapt out of bed.

  “You shouldn’t have used Bear’s phone to call me way back when—we’ve been talking behind your back for years now.”

  It wasn’t the first time Liam had come home since Scarlett and I had been together, but it was the first time we had been able to pull off a surprise visit so flawlessly.

  Scarlett, Liam, and I were all crying. The only one in the room that was keeping his cool was the baby. Go figure.

  “Can I hold my nephew?” Liam cradled my son in his arms as I crawled into bed with my girl.

  “I don’t know what could make this any better,” Scarlett said, speaking too soon.

  Right as I was about to answer her, Raine, Ryder, and their baby boy, Abel, tiptoed into the room. “Got room for a few more visitors?”

  Raine bounced over to us, throwing her arms around both of our necks.

  “Bear!” Scarlett cried. “Please tell me this is the end of the surprises.”

  I kissed the top of her head. “This is the last of the surprises I have up my sleeve for now, but I cannot promise that I will ever stop trying to surprise you, making you happy, or carrying you up the stairs for the rest of our lives.”

  The End.

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  Don’t miss out…

  on all the other stories available in the Passion, Vows & Babies Kindle World!

  All I Want by Elle Christensen

  Born in the Storm by M. Stratton

  Cherry Picked by Kristen Hope Mazzola

  Claim Me, Baby by Heather Stone

  Do Not Disturb by Layla Frost

  Feed Your Soul by Rochelle Paige

  Love, Doctor by M.C. Cerny

  Mixed Into Love by Rochelle Paige

  No Regrets by HJ Bellus

  One More Night by Sarah O’Rourke

  Only You, Baby by Vicki Green

  Perfect Strangers by Madison Street

  Reluctant by Allyson Lindt

  Save Me by Tia Louise

  Surviving Harley by K Webster

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bsp; Wedded Lies by N Kuhn

  Wedding with a Baby Bump by Heather Hiestand

  They’re all crossover stories with characters from the Sex & Vows and/or Yeah, Baby series by Fiona Davenport.

  Want more of the Unacceptables?

  Unbearable is part of Kristen Hope Mazzola’s Best Selling Noir & Vigilante Justice Romance series, the Unacceptables MC Standalone Series. Don’t miss out on the other heart revving stories in this series!

  Unacceptable

  It’s finally my time.

  Time to escape from my mother, her crazy antics and questionable morals. I'm getting the heck out of Dodge, leaving the trailer park, to make something of myself. Everything was fine until I walked into The Unacceptables' bar and met Abel Hellock. With his gorgeous muscles, tattoos, motorcycle and perfect smile, my knees quaked. My life was about to be sucked back into the seedy underbelly I fought so desperately to climb out of.

  Everything was fine until I met my step-brother for the first time.

  Unspeakable

  It's finally my time...

  Everyone has their damn breaking point, why did the president of my MC's daughter have to be mine? She was everything I wanted, and nothing I could have. Being a prospect was hard enough. Living with my father that I had only known for a few years wasn't making life any easier. And there I was, ready to jeopardize it all for love. I went to Vilas to figure out where I came from, little did I know that I wasn't just going to be passing through. This life was pumping through my veins my whole life, I just didn't know it until I walked into the Unacceptable's bar for the first time.

  Raine Hellock was my kryptonite and come hell or high water, I was going to figure out how to make her mine.

  Unbreakable

  The life I live is a dangerous one:

  I am the wife of an outlaw.

  The daughter of the Unacceptables' President.

  But it's finally our time. Time to truly start our life. With our first baby on the way, Ryder and my life could not be more perfect.

  The club is doing well and the family is stronger than ever. But, is it all too good to be true?

  After all, I am their kryptonite and they will stop at nothing to protect me and my child. Can Ryder and the rest of his club be enough to keep us safe?

  Untouchable

  The life I live is a dangerous one:

  I am an outlaw.

  A proud member of the Unacceptables MC.

  Our club is a family and we will do anything to protect it - and I mean anything.

  The dust was finally settling from our last war. I was sober, the MC was healing from our loss, and life was getting back to normal. But regicide cannot go unpunished.

  And when a newcomer arrives and threatens all that we hold dear...well, he better watch his back, because...

  I am Trent Laurence.

  I will stop at nothing to protect what I believe in.

  *Note: All romances in the Unacceptables MC series are intended for ages 18+ due to sexual situations, language, and adult content.

  Cherry Picked

  A Yeah, Baby & Shots On Goal Crossover

  By Kristen Hope Mazzola

  Sneak Peek

  Cherry Picked is also part of the Fiona Davenport Passion, Vows, & Babies Kindle World!

  Chapter 1

  Chase

  This is it.

  The beginning of my life.

  Lacing up my skates in the locker room was nothing short of incredible—incredible, but intimidating as fuck. I was the smallest fish in a pond full of ravenous beasts that would tear me limb from limb in two seconds flat if given the chance. I was the rookie in a winning franchise—the winning franchise. I had wanted to wear that red, white, and blue jersey from my favorite team since I first started learning to skate, and there I was in my dream locker room. I had to prove my worthiness to men that, not too long ago, were my heroes. Now they were my teammates, rivals, enemies, and biggest supporters. It was all too surreal to glance around and see legends like Gavin Hayes and Will Crosby getting ready for practice only steps away from me.

  Get a damn grip, man.

  Keeping my cool was proving harder than I had ever anticipated. I was star-struck and needed to rein myself in. I had been the best of the best in my old league, and that confidence needed to be displayed, needed to shine from deep within my core and not let intimidation snuff out its light. I had to prove myself, and acting like a gushing fanboy wasn’t going to get me anywhere—in reality, it would probably land me with my ass being handed to me on and off the ice.

  “Ready, rookie?” Brayden Cox slapped me on the back as he walked by—THE fucking Brayden Cox.

  What in the ever-loving fuck?

  Is this real life?

  I barely choked out, “Yeah, sure,” before he was out the door, walking out into the barn.

  My mind tripped back to when I was in high school, only a few years before, picking my number for the varsity team. Sixty-eight was what was stitched onto my back; Cox’s number was my lucky number. I just really couldn’t believe he was my teammate. Now I had to find luck in eighty-six, the good old reverse trick. I couldn’t help but be curious if he knew I had donned his number as a tribute to how much he inspired me while he was a rookie for this same team. I remembered watching the game with my father and brother the night Gavin Hayes got his first hat trick and how well Brayden had assisted him in that victory. It was still one of the best games I had ever watched, hands down.

  The cold air hit me hard as I followed my new teammates into the rink for the first time. As the distinct aroma of my new home wafted into my nostrils, my lungs filled with excitement. This is going to be incredible. I could feel the bitter chill digging deep into my bones as reality started to sink in hard. I had made it. I had actually done it. I was a professional hockey player for the National Hockey League. Who would have thought a little boy’s fantasy could actually turn into reality? This shit is what movies are fucking made of.

  Well, my life wasn’t exactly movie material. I came from middle-class American suburbia in Alabama. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, the complete Suzy Homemaker package, and my dad was a hardworking foreman for a construction company, grit and muscle to the core. I had an older sister who was a resident at Flushing Hospital, and a younger brother still in high school back home.

  It was nice that my sister, Hannah, was in New York too; it made the big city feel a little smaller at times. Even though our schedules conflicted most of the time, it was comforting to have family close by.

  “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t fucking take—don’t forget that, rookie,” Hayes snarled at me right as the blade of my skate crashed into the freshly Zambonied ice.

  Rookie—my new name. I wasn’t Chase. I wasn’t Harding. I was Rookie. It was my new identity, and I had to own it and prove it wasn’t a slanderous nickname but a badge of honor.

  After I got over the initial shock of actually being on the ice with my new team, practice went like normal, nothing to write home about. It was harder and longer than I was used to, but I was stepping up my game and I knew that the tougher practice was, the better I would be for it come game time. It was amazing skating with guys who were so much better than me, and I could already tell I was going to really learn a lot from the team.

  It wasn’t until we headed to hit the showers that I actually felt like an outcast and then completely welcomed within seconds. It wasn’t for my performance, and it wasn’t because I was a newbie. It all started with a book.

  “Nice slap shot,” Crosby complimented as he walked passed me as I pulled my practice jersey over my head.

  “Thanks man.”

  He nodded. “First time my hand has hurt that bad through a glove from practice in a while.”

  After stripping off all my pads, I grabbed my bag to pull out a new pair of sweatpants and a tattered copy of And Then There Were None fell onto the floor at my feet.

  “Aw, did the little boy drop his boo
k? Fucking nerd,” Edouard Gagnon said in his thick French accent, snickering like a schoolyard bully as I snatched the tattered book and threw it back into my duffle for safe keeping.

  Before I could even think about defending myself, Cox flew to my side. “Don’t act like a prick because Harding actually finished high school and can read something other and Clifford The Big Red Dog.”

  Edouard bowed up and was about to get into Brayden’s face when Gavin stepped between them. “Cox, cool it, bro. We all know how much you love protecting the new guys, but Harding has to fight his own battles or he will never learn how to on the ice.” Gavin hooked his arm around his brother-in-law’s shoulder then turned to the instigator. “And as for you, Gagnon, the rookie made seven more goals than you did today during practice. That’s what you should be focusing on, not that he enjoys reading.”

  Gavin winked at me before slapping Brayden on the shoulder. “Don’t forget Myla and I are coming over for dinner tonight. You better shower—I don’t want to have to smell your swamp ass while I’m trying to enjoy my food.”

  The fact that Brayden Cox and Gavin Hayes were family made the team feel a little bit more homey, and it was something I really appreciated. I remembered when they used to go at it on the ice, barely acting like teammates, and now they were like the fucking Bash Brothers from the Mighty Ducks.

  Gagnon shot me a dirty look and I just shrugged, hung my pads up in my locker, and grabbed fresh clothes from my bag. I wanted to defend myself, but I felt like it would be a waste of breath. If all they had to pick on me for was a murder mystery and being the new guy, I was sitting pretty.