by Addison Jane
“I think you need to start from the beginning,” I urged Piper, tapping my fingers impatiently on the arm of my chair. My heart was beating with trepidation.
Why was she here?
“I was Josh’s nurse at the doctor’s office,” she answered quietly. “At first I would just sit in on appointments with the doctor, help with tests and things like that. Then when things progressed with the cancer, he started requesting I do his hormone injections.”
Hearing the word cancer still chilled my bones to their core. Slider was always so happy, so healthy and carefree. Yet this disease didn’t care who you were. Healthy, young, old, smart, dumb, girl, boy—it cared nothing for those things. It just came along, spreading heartache and destroying lives.
I’d never admitted it to anyone but Chelsea, but I was glad Slider did what he did for Hadley that day. Because I was almost completely sure that I would not have been able to cope with watching him wither away to nothing. Sure, it would have given us more time with him, but he would have been in pain, unhappy and angry at the world. He would have refused our help and support and tried to alienate himself from us. He would have tried to protect us.
“We got intimate once, very early on…” Her voice croaked and she coughed, attempting to clear it, obviously choked up. A smile touched the corner of her mouth. “He was very charming.”
Chelsea laughed softly. “That he was.”
Piper met her eyes and they both smiled fondly. Piper placed her hands in her lap and turned to me. “Look, I’m not here to tell you that he was the love of my life. Could he have been? Maybe. But we really didn’t know each other that long. He was sweet and he made me laugh, and the way he spoke about you all was with great love and admiration.”
My body tingled at her words. They had an impact.
“Obviously he stopped coming for his treatments,” she continued. “No one knew why. I knew he was struggling a little with what was going on and how his life was being impacted. So I figured he would just come back eventually when someone maybe talked some sense into him.”
She echoed the words in my head.
“But he never did.” She shook her head. “Then I saw the obituary in the paper and…” She stopped for a moment, clenching her fists in her lap and digging her nails into the skin.
Chelsea reached over, placing her hand on Piper’s arm in support. She laughed, tears dripping from her cheeks as she struggled to hold them back. “I kept putting off telling him about the baby. I kept saying… oh, I’ll do it next week… next week… next week, and then next week came, and he wasn’t there.”
Slider’s baby.
This woman is carrying Slider’s baby.
His legacy.
His DNA.
I couldn’t believe in that second just how much my heart soared.
“You know it’s his?” Chelsea questioned on a small sniff as she tried to fight off her emotions and hormones.
Piper chuckled, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand before Chelsea plucked the box of tissues—that she had put there due to her regular emotional breakdowns—from my desk and handed them to her.
Piper nodded. “He’s been the only one in a long time. I know you might believe me, or you might not. I just wanted to let you all know that he wasn’t completely gone.”
Silence filled the room as I contemplated the impact of this. This woman, she seemed sincere and honest. I didn’t get the feeling she was lying or that she wanted to hurt us in any way. But it was still a shock.
I cleared my throat. “The club will help and support you in any way possible.”
Piper was already shaking her head before I’d even finished my sentence. “No. I didn’t come here to ask for handouts or help. I’m sorry if that’s how this has come across.”
“It’s actually quite the opposite,” Chelsea broke in, looking at me for a second before turning her body toward Piper and taking the woman’s hand. “Honestly, I think I can speak for both Optimus and myself when I say us offering to help isn’t because the club feels obligated. Slider meant a lot to us… we loved him… he was family. That makes you family now too, and if there’s one thing that this club doesn’t do it’s turn its back on family.”
Piper relaxed back into the chair, breathing deeply. “I’m okay. I have my job which the doctor’s office has assured me that I can come back to after having the baby. I have really supportive parents and friends around me that won’t let me go through this alone.”
“That’s good to hear,” I told her honestly. “But if you’d let us, we would still like to be very much involved. Slider’s life was taken too soon and it’s brought a huge shadow over the club. Knowing that there’s a small part of him still with us… you have no idea what that would mean to my men and the women here.”
Piper chewed on her lip. I knew this was all a lot for her to take in. I wasn’t sure what she had expected from us, but obviously, she never thought that we might offer to be a part of her child’s life.
“He didn’t speak about parents or anything like that,” she finally said. “He only ever talked about the club, so I wasn’t sure if there was anyone else I needed to reach out to.”
Chelsea looked at me sadly. “He was a foster kid. Spent his life in the system.”
“Oh…”
“He has a sister, though. We managed to find her after he died. They hadn’t seen each other since they were kids. I know how much this would mean to her.”
I nodded. “She lives in Seattle with her man and two children. They’re also part of an MC, but I can promise you they’re amazing people.”
Her face brightened a little, and I began to wonder if she really had as much support and backing as she’d said. I’m not sure why she would feel the need to lie about that kind of thing. Maybe she was scared of the club, or maybe she just didn’t want to look like she was out searching for a handout. Either way though, I didn’t question her story.
“Took a lot of guts for you to come here today,” I complimented her.
She laughed softly, looking up to meet my eyes. “It’s taken me a few months. At first, I just wanted to get through the first trimester and make sure the baby was healthy. Then I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. Slider and I were far from in a relationship, it was just a fling, something that happened unexpectedly. But then I kept thinking about how highly he talked about you all and I realized I was being an idiot. He would want you all to know that you couldn’t get rid of him that easy.”
Booming laughter left my mouth. “That right there proves you knew our boy pretty damn well. That’s exactly how he would have felt.”
She grinned at me. “He was one of a kind.”
“That’s the truth,” Chelsea agreed with a broad smile.
“I’m sorry, I need to get to work,” she said, still smiling but standing to her feet awkwardly.
I moved around my desk and took Chelsea’s hand, helping to pull her out of the chair she’d settled into. “Come on, we’ll walk you out.”
Piper nodded, and we headed for the door.
“How far along are you?” Chelsea asked curiously as we walked out the front doors of the clubhouse and into the parking area.
“Close to six months,” she responded with a little excitement in her voice.
Chelsea groaned, and I had to laugh. She swatted me with the back of her hand. “I’m a little over six months, but this one here implanted me with twins.”
I wrapped my arm around my woman’s shoulders and pulled her against me as we stopped at the front gates where Piper had left her car. Ham was still there, leaning against the fence and watching our interaction curiously.
Piper smiled brightly at Chelsea. “My sister had twins, two little girls. By the time she got to like thirty-six weeks, they had to induce her because she could barely even stand any longer, let alone walk anywhere.”
“I’m almost there now,” Chelsea mumbled, elbowing me in the ribs before changing her tone. “Ple
ase come back and visit soon.”
Piper scuffed her feet. “I’ll try.”
“Seriously…” I started, waiting until her eyes were focused on me before I continued. I needed to know I had her attention. “We get that you don’t want help. But if anything does come up, anything at all, then you call me.” I pulled our security business card out of my pocket and handed it to her. “My number is on there, if you can’t get me, the other number is a member called Leo,” I explained. “Tell him who you are, and what you need, and we’ll get someone to you as fast as possible.”
Her head bobbed up and down as she looked at the card in her hands. “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Don’t be a stranger,” Chelsea pleaded. “There are a lot of people here who would love to meet you. In fact, we’re having a huge lunch here for Christmas, please think about coming.”
Christmas was in just a few short weeks. We made it a great family event at the club—friends, family, everyone we knew was invited.
Piper looked to Chelsea, smiling like she had just found herself a new friend. “I’ll keep that in mind. It was nice to meet you.”
We stood at the gates as Piper drove off in her car and disappeared down the street.
Ham joined us as we watched her leave. “Do I want to know what that was about?”
A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth. “Seems as though Slider left us a present.”
The club had been abuzz with energy after Piper’s visit yesterday.
Op had explained to them the situation, and every single man and woman was excited to meet her. It had become increasingly obvious that we weren’t going to let this woman not be a part of our lives.
“It’s almost amusing to see all these hard ass alpha males so excited over the prospect of babies.” Hadley chuckled as we sat outside watching the girls play.
I nodded in agreement. “It really is. They’re all kick ass and take no prisoners until it comes to the little ones, then they turn into these adorable puppy dogs.”
“I resent that.” Leo chuckled as he stepped out onto the patio.
“You can resent it all you like, tough man. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s true,” I sung teasingly.
When the roar of several bikes slowly became louder and louder, I looked up at Leo and frowned. “Are you guys expecting guests?” As far as I knew, all the boys were here. They had Church on Saturday afternoons, and it was almost time for them to be called inside.
Leo’s smirk informed me that there was something going on that I was unaware of. Instantly, I fought to get to my feet, but the struggle was very real. One hand on my arm and the other on my lower back, Leo helped pull me from the outdoor recliner I was sitting in.
“Thanks,” I told him when I finally made it to my feet.
“No problem, princess.”
Hadley stood too, throwing the blanket she had across her legs onto the ground.
She told me that it was pretty cold, and we had the kids rugged up in sweatshirts, pants and hats. But I swear I was still having hot flushes like we were in the middle of summer.
Hadley and I followed Leo around the side of the building and through the space in the wall. Optimus and some of the boys had stepped out through the main door and were already waiting. That was when I spotted the front rider of the group carrying my best friend.
Harmony climbed off from behind Kit and handed him her helmet before she took off running toward me.
Tears were already falling down my cheeks. “You bitch! Why didn’t you tell me! I’m not mentally capable of dealing with this kind of shit right now,” I sobbed, causing Harmony to laugh as she threw her arms around me and we rocked back and forth.
“It was meant to be a surprise, calm your pregnant ass down.” She chuckled in my ear.
I looked over her shoulder to see Optimus smirking at me. “You knew!”
He simply winked before the brothers moved off to greet the handful of men from Troy. When Optimus guided two of the bikers toward the garage at the end of the clubhouse, I knew that he had needed to call in Kit for some of the supply he was talking about yesterday morning.
Still, a little heads-up would have been appreciated.
Harmony pulled back, using her thumbs to wipe the tears from my cheeks. “Stop your sobbing.”
I slapped her arm and frowned at her, but it didn’t take long for my body to soften and I began to smile. “Fuck, I missed you,” I told her, pulling her in for another hug.
“Pretty sure you need to start watching your potty mouth. Babies can hear that kinda shit you know,” Harm scolded jokingly.
Releasing a loud snort, I grabbed her hand and pulled her back around to the patio. “These kids better get used to it.”
Harm and Hadley hugged and said hello happily as I lowered myself back into the lounger.
“I’m going to take the kids inside, it’s getting a bit cold and it will be dinner time soon,” Hadley offered as she rounded up the three girls and ushered them in.
Harm placed the blanket over her as she took Hadley’s seat.
“We can go in if you want?” I said, realizing she was probably freezing from the ride up here.
She shook her head. “I just wanna talk to you for a little bit. I figured it’s about time I pulled my head out of my ass and told you what was going on.”
My heart began to race. I didn’t like those words. I didn’t like that Harmony had obviously been going through something important that I knew nothing about it and hadn’t been there to support her. “Tell me,” I urged, my voice cracking noticeably.
She took a deep breath, cupping her hands together in front of her. Harmony was one of the strongest women I’d ever met in my life. She had her moments, but she never let anything break her down and get the best of her. She believed in who she was, and like me never apologized for that. But, she was also the sweetest, most kind-hearted person willing to give everything she had for anyone in need. To see her so nervous was throwing me off, and building a sickening tension in my stomach.
“Kit and I have been trying to get pregnant for a long time.” Her words were soft and gentle. “It happened twice… and we lost both babies.”
I desperately wanted to get out of my damn seat and pull her into my arms. A feeling of pain and loss washed over me and tears welled in my eyes as I tried to comprehend the feeling of not just losing one baby but losing two.
“Chel, don’t cry,” she whispered, getting out of her seat and moving over to crouch beside me, pulling my hand into hers and rubbing the back of it gently. She smiled encouragingly. “Don’t cry, it’s okay. Kit and I have both had time to work through it. It’s sad and we wish things were different, but they just aren’t. So we need to keep moving forward.”
“What happened?” I asked and listened intently as she explained to me the concept of endometriosis and the two little babies she had lost through ectopic pregnancies. She was lucky that she hadn’t lost her life in the process, and while I mourned for those little eggs that could have been something special to my best friend, I also thanked heaven that they’d been discovered early and she was still here with me.
“So… what are you going to do now?”
Harmony’s wide smile had my body warming as I saw clearly how she’d gone through so much pain but was now fighting back.
I placed my other hand over hers and squeezed. “Tell me, and tell me now. Damn it.”
Male laughter had me looking over my shoulder to see Kit and Optimus leaning against the wide open door frame together.
“While it’s nice to see you, Kit, your woman just dropped a bomb on me, and I need to know what the hell comes next.”
“We’ve found a surrogate.” Harmony giggled.
“A what!” I cried, my eyes bugging out as I looked at her in shock. “You mean someone else is gonna have a baby for you? Are you sure about that? Do you think that’s safe? I mean, I’ve got two, we only really need on— ouch!”
“C
helsea!”
I rubbed at the spot underneath my arm where Harmony had pinched me. It was warranted. I had kind of lost my mind there for a moment. Surrogacy was a huge step. I knew a little about it, but not much if I was being honest. The things I’d read were mainly news articles where a surrogate had contested custody of the child she carried for another couple and won. Or shit where the pregnant woman had disappeared while pregnant and never returned. It was fucking scary.
“For one, you can’t just give away one of our children,” Optimus drawled. “And secondly, will you just calm your ass down for a minute and listen to her explain. I wanna hear this.”
I lifted my middle finger in his direction, but all he did was smirk and blow a kiss at me.
“So…” Harmony started again, rolling her eyes, “… we picked a surrogate already and she’s really great, Chel. Her name’s Kaci. She’s actually a midwife. She’s perfect. Sweet. Honest. Strong. And she gives Kit hell.”
“I think we’re going to get along just fine then,” I declared, seeing the confidence and excitement in her face. This was obviously something they hadn’t taken lightly, a choice that they had to make after considering many different options.
And you know what?
I was so fucking happy for them.
Kit’s parents were two amazingly beautiful souls, and with the way they had raised Kit, I knew he would be an incredible father. Harmony, well, she was born to be a mom. I knew the thought had never really crossed her mind until she found Kit, but she just has this sparkle and aura about her that kids are drawn to. She makes them feel at ease.
“This baby is going to be so lucky,” I beamed, forcing the guilty feelings and anxiety out of my mind. Harmony knew what she was doing, and Kit would have never agreed to something that would put her or their child in harm’s way. I simply felt horrible for not being there to help her when she was going through something so traumatic. But in fine Harmony fashion, she put me first, understanding what pressure I was feeling and trying to not unload her issues on me.
Harmony placed her hand on my belly, rubbing in soft circles. “And so are these ones. Geez girl, you look like you’re about to burst.”
