by London Casey
So I went for my truck.
I got behind the wheel and looked in the mirror at the clubhouse. They had always been my family. Always saving my ass and having my back.
But now I needed to ride forward, to my other family.
**
I ran to the counter and asked where Ellis was. The lady looked up at me and her eyes started to judge me. I was just the bad boy criminal outlaw. Not that I could blame her. Usually when we were at the hospital someone needed stitches from a stab wound or a bullet removed. Sometimes things were worse than that. But we were never a welcoming group of guys at the hospital.
I slipped by the counter and went for the doors. Someone shouted for me, but I didn’t give a shit. I tore open the door and went to where all the rooms were. They were all full, curtains shut.
My plan was simple. Scream for my son and if nobody responded, then I was going to rip the curtains open one at a time until I found Ellis.
I cupped my hands and gave a quick yell for Ellis.
I kept walking, all eyes on me. I probably looked like a crazed loon to the doctors and nurses as they were trying to work hard to help so many different people at once. No offense to anyone in the hospital but the most important patient was my infant child.
I turned a corner and felt a hand grab my leather cut.
A quick tug and I looked over my shoulder to a spitfire woman with wide eyes.
“Don’t start,” I said. “I need to find my son.”
“Are you Kye?” she asked.
“Yes. Who are you?”
“Debbie,” she said. “Stop yelling and follow me. You damn fool.”
She held the bottom of my leather cut and walked fast. She was short, a little round, but she moved with purpose. I had to hand it to her. She knew how to get around the hospital. A couple more twists and turns and she pointed.
“This is the wing for children,” she said. “Screaming out there does nothing.”
“Yeah, thanks. You going to let my cut go now?”
“Maybe,” she said.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You’re really here,” she said. “For Ellis? For Dakota?”
“What’s it your business? You a doctor or something?”
“I’m a nurse,” Debbie said. “But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that Dakota and Ellis have been staying with me.”
That’s when it hit me.
Debbie…
“So you’re…”
“Yeah,” Debbie said.
“Look, we can talk about anything at any time except now. I need to see my son. I need to know what’s wrong with him.”
“I respect you coming here,” Debbie said. “It’s just a little sinus thing. He needs some medicine. He’ll be leaving in a few minutes. You wasted your time coming.”
I finally shook away Debbie’s hold. I shook my head. “No. I didn’t waste my time coming. “That’s my son in there. He needs me.”
I saw a small smile creep across Debbie’s face as I hurried away.
I had no time to deal with the woman that saved Dakota’s life… and the life of my son.
I ripped open the curtain to the room and saw Dakota sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, holding Ellis. The baby was fast asleep in her arms. A doctor stood next to her. He looked right at me and raised an eyebrow.
“Doc,” I said. “I’m the baby’s father.”
“Right,” the doctor said. “As I was just saying to… the baby’s mother… the little guy is going to be fine. Nothing more than a little infection. That’s all. He takes some medicine and he’ll be fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Happens all the time. You brought him in when he was sick and that was the best thing to do.”
“Thank you, Dr. Hilbert,” Dakota said.
“I’ll let Debbie handle the medicine and you’re good to go.”
As the doctor turned, I grabbed for him. I thrust my hand forward. “Thank you, Doc. For taking care of my son.”
The doctor shook my hand. He looked nervous. “Sure. Of course. That’s why I’m here.”
“Means a lot to me,” I said.
The doctor nodded.
Then he left.
I walked toward Dakota and put a hand to her shoulder. Her eyes filled with tears. One trickled down her cheek. I used my thumb to swipe it away.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I whispered. “You heard the Doc. Nothing to worry about.”
“I know,” Dakota said. “It was just… I noticed he was stuffy today. Then it just exploded into this.”
I crouched down a little to be eye level with Dakota. “Darling, that’s why there are hospitals. It’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. You did great. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here sooner. The second you texted me…”
“Were you drunk?”
“No. I wasn’t drunk. I was drinking, yes. But not drunk. I pounded some water and drove over here. I’m sober. I’ll take a DUI test right now.”
Dakota smirked. “I figured you’d be passed out with a woman.”
I took the cheap shot with pride, only because that statement had been almost goddamn true.
“Darling, I’m here right now for you and my son,” I said. “He’s going to be okay.” I looked down at the baby’s face. “Sleeping, again.”
“He wasn’t a little while ago,” Dakota said. “He was crying. Had me scared to death.”
I looked at Dakota. The urge to kiss her ran through me like a fire. I leaned in on her and saw the look on her face. She wanted me to kiss her. She wanted more than that. Fuck, I needed more than that.
The triage curtain opened with a scraping sound. I stood and turned, seeing Debbie standing there. She looked at me and at Dakota.
“We’re good to go,” Debbie said. “I have the meds. Ellis already got his first dose. We’ll give him another in the morning.”
Dakota stood up and then tried to bend for the car seat. I quickly moved to my left and grabbed the car seat. I put it on the hospital bed and opened the little straps. She gently put Ellis down. Watching the way she did it… how she softly touched his arms. How she protected his head, even though it was against cushion. The way she slowly clipped Ellis into the seat without waking him. The way she finally leaned in and kissed the baby’s forehead.
Shit, she was an amazing mother. A beautiful woman. A beautiful mother to my son.
I turned and put my hand out to Debbie. “Can I have that, please?”
“The medicine?” Dakota asked. “Why?”
“I’m going to take you home, darling,” I said to Dakota. “Make sure the little guy is okay for the night.”
I wasn’t going to give Dakota a chance to say no. Ellis was my son. I wanted to make sure my son was home and safe before I could do anything else.
Slowly, Dakota nodded. “Okay.”
“I have my truck,” I said. “Let me drive you home.”
“Where are you parked, Kye?” Debbie asked.
I told her where I was parked. She left the room, going to get the base for the carseat out of her car and bring it to me. I half expected Debbie to give me shit for wanting to drive Ellis. But it seemed like she wanted me there. Almost more than Dakota.
Dakota grabbed the rubber handle of the car seat. I put my hand over hers. My hand was so huge compared to hers.
Our eyes locked again.
“Let me,” I said. “Please. He’s my son.”
“Kye…”
“I’m not in this for games, darling. I’m not in this to break your heart. Or his. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I don’t want to talk about this right now,” Dakota said. “I’m tired. I’m stressed out. I’ve had a really long night.”
“Okay,” I said. “But let me carry my son to my truck. Let me drive him. Let me make sure he’s tucked into his crib. Then you can kick me out of your life.”
“I didn’t say…”
I grabbed the car seat and started to walk.
Dakota caught up to me a second later. We walked side by side down the hallway. We had to stop and Dakota had to sign some paperwork. The nurse explained how much the co-pay was for the visit. It made me sick at how much it cost.
I saw Dakota just standing there, embarrassed because she didn’t have enough money and she didn’t want to admit that to me.
I reached into my pocket and took out money.
“Here,” I said to the nurse. “Take whatever you need.”
The nurse gave Dakota the change and we left the hospital.
Outside Debbie was already at my truck. She assumed I would be the guy with the big ass black truck. I liked Debbie. She had spunk.
Dakota thanked her a hundred times. I thanked her the same. She waved us off and said she was going home to go to bed. She had work in a few hours and needed to get some sleep.
I held the door for Dakota and held her hand as she climbed up into the truck.
Then I got into the driver’s seat and sat there for a few seconds. It was a moment for me. A moment I couldn’t waste.
My woman to the right of me. My baby in the back.
It had a sense of normal for me.
“Can we drive?” Dakota asked.
I looked at her. And the words just slipped out. “Anything for you, darling.”
**
I carried Ellis right to his crib. I put the car seat down and backed away. Dakota crouched down and took him from the car seat. The little guy slept the entire time. It sounded like a dick move but I wanted the baby to wake up. I wanted to look into my son’s eyes and see him.
Dakota put Ellis down and then turned to me and pointed to the door.
We exited the room and went downstairs.
Just like that, we were alone. There was a light on in kitchen that spilled out but didn’t light us up. So we were shadows and silhouettes standing at the front door.
“Thanks for coming,” Dakota said. “I didn’t know what else to do. I was in the car with Debbie and just…”
I reached for her face and touched it. “I’m glad you texted me, darling. I want to be part of this. I need you to know that. There’s nothing that could keep me from my family.”
“Family?”
“Ellis is my family. He’s my son. And you’re my family too, Dakota. No matter what happens between us, you’ll always be the mother of my son. I’ll always take care of you.”
Dakota inched closer to me. Her hands were shaking as she reached for my leather cut. When her hands tightened around my cut, I knew there was no stopping us.
My hand slid to the back of her neck. My other hand touched her waist and I killed off any distance between us. The second our lips touched, everything came back to me. From the night we met to the night she told me she was pregnant. All those months between us, the tension and the moments when we’d give in and just go at it.
My tongue flicked against her soft tongue and I turned her, putting her against the wall. I thrust myself at her, my cock angry and desperate for some goddamn attention. An outlaw like me didn’t hold off for anything or anyone.
My right hand moved from her neck down to her shoulder. I eased over her breast, cupping and squeezing, pressing. Dakota groaned, her mouth still attached to mine. She tasted as beautiful as she looked. But I wasn’t in the mood for sampling. I wanted to fucking devour her fully. From her lips to her neck, to her tits, down her body, until I got between her legs. I was thirsty for her nectar, a sweetness that I hadn’t sampled in a long damn time.
I broke the kiss and went for her neck. My lips and tongue explored, working down and around her throat to the other side of her neck.
My left hand cut down and eased to her inner thigh. I started to creep up, applying pressure between her legs. I nibbled at her ear as I felt the heat between us. I pressed hard between her legs.
Dakota let out a sighing moan and jumped.
The lights in the foyer turned on.
Acting as though we were teenagers getting busted for fooling around, Dakota quickly put her hands to my chest and shoved at me.
I jumped back and looked at her. “What?”
She looked around and then behind her. That’s when she started to laugh. She pointed to the light switch behind her. When she jumped, she had turned the light on.
“Shit,” I said and grinned.
“You should probably go,” Dakota said.
“You sure about that?” I asked.
“Kye… this is different for me. Okay? All of this.”
I walked to the door and opened it. “We’re still on for tomorrow, right? Well, technically it’s today.”
“Yeah, sure,” she said.
“Dakota, I really want to be part of this.”
“I believe you when you say that,” Dakota said.
She moved toward me. She reached up and touched my face. Right by my eye. Even the softest touch brought pain from where I had taken a few shots when we were breaking up the Night Soul MC plan at that house.
“But then you have this,” she said. “You didn’t have this when you were here before. So that call you had to take…”
I gritted my teeth and kept my composure. “It’s my job, darling. It’s what I do.”
“And that’s what scares me the most, Kye.”
Dakota moved to her toes and kissed my cheek.
There was nothing else for us to say.
So I left the house and went to my truck. I sat there and waited for Dakota to turn off the light. I curled my lip, picturing her walking up the stairs and going to bed, alone. She didn’t need to go to bed alone. I could be there with her. I could protect her.
But I knew deep in my heart… my club was going to forever be a problem.
chapter eighteen.
(dakota)
The fever was gone by morning. Ellis was still stuffy and cranky, but the medicine was definitely working for him. I slept in, waking up to the cries of Ellis. By then Debbie was already gone for work. The sweetheart she was made extra eggs and saved them for me. And she set the coffeepot for me. She left me a handwritten note too.
I hated that Debbie did so much and I felt like I was accomplishing nothing in my life.
After breakfast, I ended up on the couch with Ellis on my chest. That was by far the greatest feeling the world. Not that I wanted him to be sick, but just the notion that he was so clingy to me.
I took a little nap myself, again waking up to the sound of Ellis getting upset.
I changed him. I fed him. I played with him. I wiped all the ooze pouring from his tiny nose, making me wonder how in the hell there could be so much in such a small space.
My phone beeped a little before noon.
It was Kye.
He asked me if I wanted pizza for lunch. Call me crazy but it was such a weird text. The guy was a six-foot-forever outlaw and he wanted to bring pizza over like we were going to have a movie night on the couch. His words from the night before kept sticking to me though. How he insisted on being part of Ellis’s life. It was really touching and it really meant a lot to me.
But the marks on his face… just proof that he was always going to be a wild outlaw.
I texted Kye back and said pizza was fine.
I sat on the living room floor with Ellis in his swing. There were animals dangling above his face. Sometimes he’d look at the animals and make noises and swat at them.
“Oh, Ellis,” I said. “I hope you’re ready for this.”
My baby looked at me. He made a noise and spit bubbles collected to the corner of his mouth.
“Your… Daddy…” Just saying that word made my heart race. “You’re going to meet him today. He’s coming right now.”
I pushed at the swing. When Ellis came toward me I leaned forward and made a noise. Ellis burst into a fit of laughing. It was good to see him smile and laugh, even though he was sick.
I waited for the doorbell to ring but that wasn’t how I knew Kye was here.
I heard the rumble of the moto
rcycle engine.
My heart raced even more.
The engine died.
I took Ellis from his swing and stood up. I walked to the door and opened the door.
There was Kye, walking toward the porch, holding a pizza. He climbed the steps and stopped. He looked right at Ellis. Ellis looked right at him. The moment was intense. Father and son meeting for the first time. Call me whatever you want, but Ellis knew Kye was his father. Normally when Ellis met someone he’d look and look away. There was so much for his little brain to try and figure out in life.
But not this time.
Ellis was locked to Kye.
“Holy shit,” Kye whispered under his breath. He balanced the pizza with one hand. He reached out with his other hand for Ellis’s super tiny hand. “Hey, little guy.”
Ellis grabbed at Kye’s pointer finger.
My heart was melting. I didn’t know what to say or do.
Ellis tugged at Kye’s finger and made a gurgling noise.
“Okay,” Kye said. “It’s nice to meet you too, dude.”
Ellis looked at Kye again. His eyes were wider. He offered a quick toothless grin and then made bubbly noises again.
“He’s talking to you,” I said to Kye.
“I hear that,” Kye said. “Tell you what, darling, I’ll trade you. You take the food. I’ll take the kid.”
Now there was a moment. Me taking the pizza box from Kye and then leaning into him so he could take Ellis.
Kye was such a freaking giant to begin with. Holding Ellis, it was so damn cute to see. He was gentle, his big outlaw hands holding with care. He lifted Ellis up to eye level and he smiled. I had never seen Kye smile like that before.
“He has my eyes,” he said. “Definitely my nose, too.”
“He’s yours,” I said. “If that’s what you’re getting at.”
“No,” Kye said. “I’d never say otherwise, Dakota. Just look at him. Look at my son.”
“Our son, Kye,” I said.
Kye brought Ellis toward his chest and held him. Ellis turned his head and looked up. Ellis refused to look away from Kye.
He knows… he really knows…
I opened the front door and we went inside.
I put the pizza on the table. I could already tell that Kye wanted nothing to do with food at that point.
Kye took a seat on the edge of the couch and sat Ellis on his lap. “How do you feel today, little man?”
