by K. J. Dahlen
Melora smiled. “Yup, Sam and I are getting married.”
Cassie and Deke, Peaches, Iceman and Mountain all joined them and admired the ring.
“When is this happening?” Mountain asked his daughter.
“Well, Sam wants to get married before the baby is born but I don’t think we have time. Dr. Peters told us the baby could come early.”
“Is everything alright?” Mountain asked worriedly.
Melora nodded. “Yeah, everything is fine but the baby is big enough and the doctor just doesn’t think he’ll last another month in here.” She patted her huge belly. “He wants me to go to weekly appointments.”
Cassie snorted. “At least you’re only carrying one the first time. When I was having the twins, I was on weekly appointment from the fifth month.”
Deke reached out to rub her expanding belly. “Well, you’re only having one this time.”
“Yeah, thank the lord for miracles. Although I’d have taken twins again, anytime. As long as the baby is healthy I don’t mind and this time, there isn’t a killer looking for me.”
“True, Baby Girl.” Deke chuckled. “Hopefully, this time nothing will go wrong.”
“Ha! With this group, anything can and will happen,” Peaches piped in.
“We haven’t talked about a name yet either,” Sam informed the group.
“I already have a name for the baby,” Melora corrected his statement.
Sam narrowed his eyes and stared at her for a moment. His lips tightened but he didn’t say anything.
Melora was standing firm on the name for her son. Her son would carry the name she’d chosen and she wouldn’t allow anyone, not even his father to change her mind.
Sam turned to the women in the group. “How soon can you girls throw a wedding together? We need to be married before the baby is born and we don’t have a whole lot of time.”
Melora went over to the table and sat down in the nearest chair. She only half listened to the discussion behind her. She felt the pressure of being rushed and there was nothing she could do to stop it. If Sam had his way, the wedding would be sooner than she wanted.
Mountain came over and sat down next to her. “What’s wrong?”
Melora looked at her father with tears in her eyes. “Nothing, yet everything.”
“What the hell does that mean?” He looked perplexed. “Don’t you want to marry this guy?”
“Yeah, I really do. But every little girl knows exactly what she wants when she gets married and I don’t think Sam cares about all that.”
“Then you need to tell him,” he insisted. “Men have no clue about shit like that.”
“I know.”
“So what changed your mind about the wedding?”
Melora smiled. “Sam admitted that he loved me.”
“That’s it?” Mountain frowned. “That was all it took?”
“Yup. I just needed him to say the words. I fell in love with him a long time ago but I never knew how he felt, and I wouldn’t marry him just for the sake of the baby.”
“Good for you.” Mountain nodded.
“But now, he’s pushing to get married and I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to marry him, I know that much but we don’t have to do it this very minute. I know he wants the baby to have his name before he’s born but there’s so much to get settled first.”
“Such as?”
“Oh, I don’t know, like where we’re going to live for one thing. I have the house we’re living in and he owns his house. Which one of us is going to move? He still needs to talk to his daughters, one of which we haven’t met yet.” She stared at him and smiled. “Then there’s you and Izzy.”
Mountain frowned. “What about me and Izzy? That has nothing to do with you at all.”
“Well, it kind of does. She wants to help out with this baby and if Sam and I get married, she won’t get to do that. She’ll be heart broken. If I move out of the house, she’ll be alone with you and that wouldn’t look right either.”
“Tell you what, you just leave Izzy to me and don’t worry about her. She’ll be just fine,” Mountain stated firmly.
“And what does that mean?” Melora asked.
“Never you mind. That’s between Izzy and me and none of your business.” He smirked.
“There is something you need to know about Izzy and me. It may not mean anything to you but to her and I, it means everything.
“And what would that be?”
“We’ve been friends for so long, it’s very hard for us to let someone new inside our circle. We have had each other’s back like forever and it seems strange to let someone else be there for us. While you’re my father and she’s happy you are in my life now, her and I have a connection very few people have. I will always be there for her and she will always be there for me and now my baby. That fact isn’t going to change even if I get married or she’s having an affair with you.”
Mountain nodded. “This thing between me and Izzy is more than an affair. It’s more than just sleeping together too. I want a life with her and I hope she wants one with me too. I know I’m a lot older than she is, hell the same thing could be said about you and Bones. But I’m a grown man and she’s a grown woman and whatever this is, I hope it leads to having a life together.”
“Do you love her?”
“Yeah, I do.” Mountain smiled.
“Does she love you?”
“I hope so.”
“Have you told her yet?”
“No, not yet.”
“Then tell her how you feel,” Melora urged as she shook her head. “What is it with guys? Why can’t they ever tell you those three little words? Is it really so hard to say them?”
“Your mother was the only woman I came close to saying them to and that seems like a life time ago,” he explained. “Maybe I’m just not ready yet.”
“Then get ready,” she urged. “Cuz if she loves you back, it’s going to be a hell of a ride for the both of you.”
Suddenly, the door was thrown open and the woman in question came in. Izzy looked around the room and found Melora. Rushing over to her, she threw her arms around her friend. “What the hell is this I hear? You and the old man are getting married?”
“Hey,” Sam protested. “Watch who you’re calling old.”
Izzy laughed and looked at the ring. “Oh, my god—you found your ring!”
“What are you talking about?” Sam asked.
Izzy smiled. “When we were younger, we described our wedding rings to each other. Melora’s was never going to be a diamond but a blue stone in an antique setting. This matches exactly what she described down to a T.”
Sam found her eyes and smiled. “It was meant to be. And I’m glad you found it.
“Me too.” She got a little chill when he said meant to be.
“When is the wedding?” Izzy asked.
“As soon as you girls can throw it together,” Sam insisted. “I want the baby to have my name before he gets here.”
“That doesn’t leave us much time, old man,” Izzy argued.
“Nobody asked you,” Sam growled.
Izzy narrowed her eyes but didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned to Melora. “Are you positive about this?”
Melora smiled and nodded. “Yup.”
“Good luck then.” Izzy grinned. “You, my friend, are going to need it.”
Sam huffed.
Melora let out a giggle.
~* * * *~
It was much later when Quinn stepped outside for a breath of air. She walked to the corner of the building and was looking out toward the woods when Sam came up behind her. She stiffened and tried not to step away. “What do you want?” she asked.
“To tell you the truth…I don’t really know,” he admitted. “I was hoping we could make some kind of peace between us. I’m just not sure how to start.”
Quinn turned to stare at him. “Why doe
s it matter to you?”
“Because you’re my daughter.”
“Again I ask…does that matter to you?”
“Yeah, it does.” Sam nodded. “I’ve always watched over you, not just because you’re my kid but because I loved you. I never got the chance to tell you that before but I’ve always felt it. I couldn’t stay with you and your mother but that didn’t mean I didn’t care about both of you. Junie was the one woman who I might have loved if I’d never met Melora. I am sorry I didn’t met you before now.”
“I used to see you watching us. I asked Mom about you once and she told me who you were. I waited for you to come closer but you never did.”
“Your mother asked me to stay away. She didn’t want me to confuse you, if I wasn’t going to be in your life full time.”
“Did you know she loved you all these years?” Quinn asked with tears in her eyes. “She never stopped loving you even after you left us.”
Sam sighed deep. “Yeah, I knew she loved me but I wasn’t ready for that kind of love back then. I couldn’t stay and take everything she had to offer. It wouldn’t have been fair to her.”
Quinn nodded. “She said she never regretted her time with you. She always hoped we would have a relationship someday.”
“I’m sorry she died. I felt really upset when they told me.”
“Yeah, me too. Even during that time she told me she still loved you.”
Sam wiped his hand down his face. “I’m sorry.”
“So you watched over us all these years because you loved me?”
Sam looked at her perplexed. “Of course I love you, you’re my daughter. Look at you. Beautiful, smart.”
“Sam, there is no of course about it,” Quinn scolded. “Some men don’t love their kids and some men can’t be bothered with them.”
“I’m not most men,” Sam reminded her. “I love my children. I may not be with their mothers but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them. Melora tells me I need to say the words more often.”
“Is that the reason she finally agreed to marry you? You actually told her you loved her?”
“Yeah, that’s why.” Sam flushed. “I thought she knew all this time but she said she didn’t.”
“I’m glad you finally told her then.”
“Yeah me too, now all I have to do is get her down the aisle before the baby is born.”
~* * * *~
Two weeks later, Melora woke up with a backache. Today was the day she and Sam were supposed to get married. The ceremony was going to be at the clubhouse.
Cassie, Peaches Reva and Quinn along with Mountain and Izzy had all been working hard to make it happen.
Melora wasn’t complaining but no one had asked her opinion on the wedding at all. She tried not to care but this was her wedding. The only one she would ever have and she always knew what she wanted. She tried not to let it bother her but she couldn't quite manage that. She also knew the pregnancy didn’t help. She had a hard time controlling her emotions lately.
She got up and showered. Letting the hot water run down her back helped the ache but didn’t make it go away. She got dressed and joined her father out in the living room. Izzy had gone ahead to the clubhouse for last minute wedding duties. Mountain was supposed to drive Melora out there.
He gazed tenderly at her and smiled. “You look a lot like your mother.”
“Except for the fact my hair is almost white and she had dark hair.” Melora giggled.
“Well yeah, there is that.” Mountain chuckled. “I’m glad you got a little bit of me too.” He reached out and touched her silky mane.
“Shall we go?” she asked rubbing her huge belly. “I think this baby can’t wait any longer.”
Mountain frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just ache today that’s all. The baby was restless all night, so I didn’t get much sleep either.”
“All right, let’s go then.”
~* * * *~
Earlier that same day…
Raine sat with Sam at a table in the clubhouse. All around them people were bustling back and forth getting things ready for the wedding. Raine had been watching Reva for months now and Bones just called him on it.
“You have to stop watching her,” Sam told his friend. “Gator is getting mad about it and you’re upsetting Reva. She doesn’t really need this on top of everything else going on here right now.”
“I know but I’ve been trying to work up the courage to tell her something for a while now.”
“And what would that be?” Sam asked raising his glass to his lips. The whiskey inside the glass burned on the way down his throat.
“Bulldog is getting out of prison soon and I need to tell her.”
“Shit, I forgot about him.” Sam cursed as he dropped his glass to the table in surprise.
Raine nodded. “Most people have but I never could.”
“I understand that.” Sam sighed. Looking over at Gator, he noticed the other man’s eyes were on Reva as well.
“Gator is gonna kill him, you know that don’t you?” Sam asked.
Raine nodded. “Yeah, I know and he’d have every right to do it too.” Raine took a drink of his beer. “Bulldog was a mean sonofabitch seventeen years ago and he hasn’t changed at all over the years. In fact, he’s gotten worse and now he’s getting out of prison in a month and the first thing he’s gonna do is come after his wife.”
Sam scoffed. “He won’t get to her, not here.”
“He won’t have to,” Raine replied. “When she finds out he’s out, she’ll run. You and I both know it. He knows her very well and he’ll find her out there. She won’t put anyone else’s life on the line but her own. Bulldog has taken most of her away already. She won’t let him take anymore of her soul.”
“No woman deserves what Bulldog did to her.” Sam shook his head.
“True, Bulldog crossed a line that night and once he started, he couldn’t stop. I’d like to say it was the drugs he was high on that night but we both know it went deeper than that. He was just plain crazy and he didn’t care if he hurt her or not. Gator had every right to take that shot. He had the guts to do what no one else wanted to do. He put a bullet in Bulldog….” Raine paused. “But he should have put him down, instead of letting him live.”
“He didn’t want a war with your family.”
“Yeah, I know.” Raine nodded. “The Moore family was quite strong back in the day but Gator wasn’t the one who betrayed that. Bulldog was. Our father taught us lessons growing up and one of those lessons was to never hit a woman. What Bulldog did to Reva that night went beyond a beating.”
“True, but she won’t appreciate knowing he’ll be free anytime soon.”
“I know but as a human being, I owe her that much.” Raine sighed.
“And as Bulldog’s brother?”
“I owe her so much more.” Raine sighed. “I wasn’t there for her when she needed me to be, so I’ll try and be there for her now. Even if I get my ass kicked.”
Sam snorted. ”Yeah, life does that sometimes.”
“I’m not worried about life kicking me around, I’m more worried about Gator kicking my ass for being the bearer of bad news.”
“There is always that,” Sam agreed. “Just don’t do it today. Today is supposed to be a good day for Melora and she won’t like you disturbing the wedding with bad news.”
“I know but I have to tell her soon. Bulldog will get out in another month and that isn’t very long.”
Before Sam could respond, his phone rang. He answered noting the number was unrecognized by his contact list, “Hello?”
When the caller answered, Sam got to his feet and moved away. Raine watched him go out the back door and he frowned. The wedding was in an hour and he hoped whoever was on the phone wouldn’t disrupt it.
A few minutes later, Mountain and the bride showed up. The girls hurried Melora down the hall to one of the bedrooms and Mountain came over to the table and sat down.
Raine poured him a drink and Mountain gladly took it. “So are you ready for this?” Raine asked.
“Is any man ready for this?” Mountain countered. “I just found my daughter and now, I’m giving her away to another man.”
Raine laughed. “I doubt it, but weddings happen every day.”
“Not to me, they don’t,” Mountain grumbled.
“Get used to it,” Raine suggested. Lifting his beer to his lips he asked, “So have you asked Izzy to be your wife yet?”
Mountain glared at him. “That’s none of your damn business.” Looking around he asked, “Where is the groom?”
Raine looked around and frowned. “He was here a minute ago.”
“Well, if he values his fucking life, he’ll be here when he needs to be.”
Raine nodded. “He will be.”
~* * * *~
An hour later, everyone gathered in the main room. Pastor Ashton was standing near the same arbor that Deke and Cassie would have been married under when Sam disrupted their wedding. With the tigers, Cassie painted on the wall as if gazing over the ceremony.
Deke, Raine and Sabbath were all dressed up waiting for Sam to show up.
Cassie, Peaches, Quinn and Izzy were waiting in one of the bedrooms with Melora and Melora wasn’t the only one watching the minutes tick by.
Cassie left the bedroom at one point. She joined her husband to find out what the holdup was. When she saw the look on everyone’s face she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“We can’t find Sam,” Deke told her.
“What do you mean you can’t find Sam?” she asked. “Where the hell is he?”
“He was here earlier,” Raine spoke up. “Then he got a phone call and disappeared. No one has seen him since then.”
“Well, he’d better get here soon or his happy ever after ain’t EVER gonna happen,” Cassie predicted. She was looking over at Mountain sitting there with his four brothers and shivered. “I wouldn’t want to be the one who pissed that group off.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Deke shook his head. “Talk about getting a beat down.”
When the hour came and went and Sam didn’t show. Everyone began wondering what happened. They all new this wedding was his idea, so it didn’t make any sense.
