Family: The Club Girl Diaries Book 5

by Addison Jane

  I threw my head back and laughed. “The nurses treating you good?” I asked as I pushed to my feet.

  “You could tell Wreck’s Old Lady to be a little sweeter.” He grinned. “She’s the only one immune to my boyish charms.”

  “I’ll let him know.”

  I waved goodbye and headed out the door. Lift settled in beside me as we walked down the hall. We stopped at the nurses’ station, and Del looked up from her computer with a smile.

  “You giving my man in there shit?” I asked with a grin.

  Del was as sweet as they came but the girl didn’t take any kind of crap. That was why Wreck loved her. Ain’t many women out there who would stand up to a six foot five-inch hulk like him.

  She rolled her eyes. “What? Did he tattle on me?”

  Lift laughed.

  I smirked. “Be nice and send him a pretty nurse to help him shower. He’s had a bad few days.”

  She snorted. “I’ve been trying to keep them from molesting him in his sleep. But sure, I’ll send in one of my best.”

  “Why do I get the feeling I’m gonna be regretting this request tomorrow?”

  She turned away but I heard her small giggle. “Bye guys. I’ll catch you later.”

  “You know that look.” Lift chuckled as we walked to the exit.

  “Should have kept my mouth shut,” I grumbled, knowing Del was going to give Mansel hell.

  Harmony and I walked hand in hand up the steps to my parents’ house, not even bothering to knock as we stepped through the front door.

  “Woman, I need meat. Cook more fucking meat.”

  I laughed as we stepped into the kitchen to see my father, Oz, glaring at my mom from the kitchen table. She had her back turned, ignoring his bitching and moaning.

  She sighed. “You need vegetables. The doctor said—”

  “I don’t care what that asshole said.” He looked up at me. “Tell your mother I’m fine.”

  Harmony walked around the table and took a seat next to him. “Why would she think you aren’t fine?”

  I gave my mom a kiss on the cheek and leaned back against the kitchen counter.

  She turned around, glaring at her husband. “The doctor said he needs to eat healthily.”

  “I’m as healthy as a fucking ox.”

  She snorted and turned back to the stove. “There’s lasagna in the oven. That has meat in it.”

  I listened to them banter back and forth as I pulled a beer from the fridge and popped the top off. My parents had a love that ran deep. They argued and fought, but there was nothing in this world that would come between them.

  They were soul mates.

  When everything calmed down and we finally sat down at the table to eat, I could see Harmony picking at her food. She was nervous. We both knew it was time to tell them what was going on, and even though I knew they would be supportive and do whatever was needed to help us, I also knew they would be hurt by the news we were about to share with them.

  Dad cleaned off his plate and set his knife and fork to the side before settling back into his seat. “So, out with it. What’s going on?”

  Harmony stilled, her eyes flicking up to meet mine, pleading with me to tell them.

  I cleared my throat and Mom also set down her cutlery, giving me her full attention. “We’ve been trying for a while now to have a baby,” I told them softly.

  Mom smiled, and I saw a twitch in the corner of Dad’s mouth but he quickly covered it. “Well, these things can take time for some people. It will happen.”

  Harmony looked down at her plate, using her fork to move the food around, maybe trying to disguise the fact that she hadn’t put anything in her mouth. It was strange to see her so nervous. Harmony had always been so strong, ready to face things head on, but this whole baby drama had really hurt her deeply.

  “It’s not going to happen naturally,” I told them, watching as my mother’s face pulled in, her brow creasing in confusion. “We’ve already lost two,” I said sadly.

  Mom instantly reached over, her hand covering Harmony’s. “What happened?”

  I went on to explain the ectopic pregnancies, watching as my parents’ faces flowed through a chain of emotions—sadness, empathy, determination.

  Dad sighed when I was done. “You should have come to us.”

  “There’s nothing you could have done, Dad.” I scrubbed my hand over my hair. “We wanted to surprise everyone. But we know now that it’s not possible.”

  “You’re not giving up are you?” Mom looked at me and then back to Harmony.

  Harmony lifted her head, shaking it gently. “We’re going to look at getting a surrogate,” she told them softly.

  “What does that mean?” Dad asked.

  “It’ll still be our baby, but someone else will carry it,” Harmony answered.

  There was silence in the room as they both took in what we were telling them. I didn’t know what else to say. I knew my parents would support us, no matter what we chose to do, but it was still a huge deal.

  Another woman would be carrying our child. I knew there were risks involved.

  What if they decided not to give up the baby?

  What if they didn’t look after it as if it were their own?

  What if they didn’t get along with the club?

  We wanted to be as involved in the pregnancy as possible. But that would mean they would have to become part of our family—and the club, that was our family.

  “Harmony, how about you help me clean up?” Mom finally said, pushing back from the table and starting to gather plates.

  Harmony nodded, doing the same.

  I looked at my father who was watching Harmony carefully. Almost as though he was expecting her to break any moment, but she wouldn’t. This shit might have her down and may have felt like the pressure was piling up on her, but she would push through.

  I stood up. “Need to talk to you about Mansel,” I told my father.

  He turned to me and nodded, standing slowly.

  Just when I thought he was going to walk out, he took two large steps around the table and gathered my woman in his arms, pressing her cheek against his broad chest.

  I saw a stray tear drip from the corner of Harmony’s eye and onto my father’s leather as she wrapped her arms around him. My heart warmed. There were no words said, but the moment spoke volumes about who my father was and how much he cared for Harmony. He was a hard man, but his love for his family was fierce.

  Harmony smiled as he pulled back.

  “Grab me a beer,” Dad ordered before he left the room.

  I expected my mom to object, but she just nodded and went about clearing the table.

  Harmony’s eyes met mine and she gave me a reassuring smile. It was almost as though Dad had given her exactly what she needed. She grabbed a beer from the fridge and handed it to me. I pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

  “Go.” She smiled, pressing her hand against my chest.

  “Fucking love you,” I told her quietly.

  The pinch on my arm made me jump and my mom’s stunning green eyes shined up at me. “Take your father his damn beer, it’s the only one he’s getting,” she said sternly before pointing her finger at me. “And watch your language in my house.”

  “Yes ma’am.” I laughed as I turned away. My mother was queen. She’d spent over half her life being a President’s Old Lady, and hell did she know how to own it.

  I saw Harmony smirk before she turned away and busied herself. I knew in my gut from the second I met her that she would be the Old Lady I needed at my side, just like my father had had by his. She was soft and compassionate, but she also made no excuses for who she was and the love for the club flowed through her veins.

  Fuck, I needed to marry that woman. And soon.

  We washed down the dishes in comfortable silence.

  I never felt awkward around Bright Eyes. She had welcomed me into her arms and her home as if I was one of her own children.

  Bein
g far away from my mom sucked. I missed her every single day but having Bright Eyes and Oz had helped to ease the ache.

  “I need to apologize,” Bright Eyes said, startling me for a moment. She wiped her wet hands on her apron before turning to me. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the strange color that shone back at me. The green sparkling with a touch of yellow was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. It was piercing, but at the same time she held the gentle gaze of a mother, full with warmth and understanding.

  “I feel like we’ve put a lot of pressure on the two of you to have children.”

  I was shaking my head before she even finished her sentence. I opened my mouth to object but she held up a hand, halting me.

  “Oz and I would have liked more children, but it seemed as though Kit was our miracle baby. We tried after Kit, but it just never happened and in those days, all these other fancy ideals weren’t as well known.”

  I was sad for Bright Eyes. She was an amazing mother and would be a spectacular grandmother. She loved children and the joy they brought into the world. Seeing her with Leo’s daughter Macy had made me so happy, but then guilt had settled when I wondered whether I would ever be able to give her that gift.

  “Eventually we just stopped trying to have more. I always wondered why, until Tie came along.” A soft smile touched her lips.

  Oz had found Tie living on the streets as a young teen. They’d adopted him, taking him in as their own and raised him no differently. Tie was as smart as a whip but chose to join the club after high school despite his parents encouraging him to go to college.

  This was where he wanted to be. There was no arguing with that.

  “Had our life been different, I’m not sure whether Tie would be in it,” she explained as she began to place the dishes back into cupboards. “And I wouldn’t for one second want to be without him.”

  “So you think there’s a reason that this happened?” I asked, clutching a small dishcloth in my hand.

  Bright Eyes looked at me, the sparkle of tears shining in her eyes. “Nothing will ever take away the pain of losing children. They may not have been born yet, but they were yours.”

  I felt a familiar burn in the back of my throat as I nodded. “But I know that one day, maybe soon or maybe later on, you’ll realize why they weren’t meant to make it.”

  Tears fell from our eyes as she rounded the table and pulled me into her arms. “I’m sorry that we pressured you so much.”

  I shook my head profusely, pulling back so I could look directly at her. “No. You didn’t. I want these children for me, for Kit, for you. Kit is going to be the most amazing father, and my heart is so full just thinking about seeing him holding our child. I want a family.”

  Bright Eyes’ face lit up. “You’re right. He will be an amazing father, and when you want something that bad, you just need to fight for it.”

  My head bobbed up and down. “I’m ready. I wasn’t sure at first, putting my child’s life in someone else’s hands is scary.”

  Bright Eyes grasped my hands. “Then you don’t mess around. You don’t settle. You want that woman to be perfect, and you keep searching until you know in your heart that she’s it.”

  I grinned through my tears. “We’re going to look at possible surrogates next week.”

  Bright Eyes pulled me to a seat and we discussed the process, how the first hurdle is getting an egg. We need to see the fertility doctor, talk about the process, discuss what needs to be done, and how quickly we can get things moving.

  “It’s going to be a process.” I sighed, looking down at the table and tracing the wood grain with the tip of my finger. “And there’s no guarantee that they’ll even be able to get an egg. There’s going to be injections and doctors’ visits and scans. Surgery too! Then—”

  “Harmony,” Bright Eyes snapped in the middle of my rant. “Stop it. You’re a young woman. There’s plenty of time. It might happen straight away. You might have to wait. But what you aren’t going to do is stress yourself to the point of a nervous breakdown.”

  My voice shook as I laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “Isn’t she always?” Oz chuckled, walking into the kitchen with Kit following closely behind him.

  Bright Eyes didn’t answer, but the smug smile that played on her lips said everything.

  “You ready to go?” Kit asked, brushing my hair back from my shoulder.

  I nodded and stood from the table.

  Bright Eyes followed, wrapping me in her arms tightly and kissing me on the cheek. “You keep us in the loop from now on, right?”

  “Yeah Mom. We will,” Kit answered, and I backed it up with a sharp nod.

  “You need money for this surrogate or whatever else?” Oz asked as he placed his empty beer bottle on the counter.

  Kit rolled his eyes. “No Dad. We’ll be fine.”

  “These things cost a lot of money, Kit,” Bright Eyes interrupted. “We’ll help if you need it.”

  I moved over and wrapped my arms around Kit’s waist. “And if we do need it, we will ask,” I said narrowing my eyes at Kit.

  He was stubborn, and while I knew that money really wasn’t an issue with him—Kit had plenty to spare—we had to think about our future here too.

  “Let us know how things go?” Bright Eyes said finally.

  “Yeah, Mom. We will.” Kit took my hand. “We’ll catch up soon.”

  I didn’t miss the look Kit and Oz shared before we left and walked out to the bike.

  “Everything all right?” I asked as Kit handed me my helmet.

  “Yeah baby. It’s fine. Just got Dad doing some digging through his contacts to see if we can sort this shit with Mansel before things get any worse.”

  I stilled. “You think there’s more to it than just someone stealing the stuff?”

  Kit took in a deep breath before looking at me. “I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. But if they’re willing to go against Mansel, I’m wondering how far they will go.”

  Shaking my head, I mounted the bike behind him. “It’s never ending.”

  Kit chuckled. “It’s the life.”

  I wrapped my arms around his stomach, resting my chin on his shoulder. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  The clubhouse was in full swing when we got back. I could hear the boys outside at the barbecue area, laughter and conversation filling the air.

  I walked straight to the bar while Kit veered off in the direction of Tie and Wreck. Andi was standing on the other side of the bar with her arms folded across her chest like she definitely didn’t want to be there. Her eyes narrowed on me and for a second I had to hold back from slapping the attitude off her face.

  I swallowed and forced a smile as I slid onto a barstool. “Hey Andi, can I have a lemonade.”

  “I’m not Andi anymore, Harmony. I’ve told you that,” she snapped, reaching to the fridge below the counter and pulling out a small bottle for me. “It’s Andrea.”

  “Anyone ever tell you that speaking to an Old Lady like that is rude,” Del said sharply as she came to stand at my side.

  Andi didn’t acknowledge her subtle threat, turning on her heel and walking away. We watched her leave the bar and head out to the barbecue area, immediately latching on to one of the boys.

  Del turned to me, her brow creased between her eyes. “Is it just me, or is that girl’s attitude growing every day?”

  I continued to watch her, she moved from brother to brother until one placed his arm around her somewhat affectionately and she cuddled into him with a satisfied smile.

  Andi—or Andrea as she liked to be called now—was a lost little girl. She’d been abused and mentally destroyed by a man who had tried to kidnap and sell me. It was just lucky for her that the brothers found her when they did. Or maybe it was unlucky that they didn’t find her sooner because now she saw these men as her saviors, and she was ready to do anything in order for one of them to claim her and make her theirs. She was searching for a White Knight
. But while our boys treated her with respect, they weren’t looking to save her.

  I’d tried to talk Kit out of even taking her in as a club girl. However, when it came to these sort of decisions, the boys made their own. It wasn’t up to me to dictate who they could or couldn’t fuck.

  “If she doesn’t watch it, she’s going to end up pissing people off and then she’ll be thrown out on her ass,” I said simply, shaking my head in disappointment as I made my way around the bar that was now void of a bartender. “I’ve tried to help her but she doesn’t want it. She wants a man who’s going to save her from herself, and while I love these guys to death, it ain’t gonna be any of them.”

  Del nodded. “She thinks they’re going to grow to love her. But you know these boys… it doesn’t work that way. They’re a love at first sight bunch. They know as soon as they see something they want.”

  That was true. These guys didn’t exactly warm to someone. They felt a connection right away. I guess you could call it their caveman instincts.

  We never really had issues with the club girls. They could be a little bitchy between themselves, but that wasn’t unusual for when you had six or so girls living in a tight space together. It was natural and for the most part, they were respectful toward the boys and us. But I knew that if Andi didn’t cool her shit, and the men caught her talking the way she did toward me, they wouldn’t waste a second in laying down the law.

  She put her guard up around me because I’d seen her when she was at her lowest. She didn’t want other people to know how low she’d been at that point. She’d created this fake persona in order to forget those memories and pretend she was a stronger person. Though I could see in her eyes that she was still that scared little girl they’d found and she was still waiting for someone to rescue her.

  There was a smile permanently etched onto my face as I made my way through the grounds of the Troy high school, heading for the music and drama room.

  Music was my life, my passion, my escape. Kit loved it too. I’d even been teaching him in private a little about how to play. He was interested because it was something I loved, and fuck if my heart didn’t soar more than ever when he’d asked me to teach him.