by BE Kelly
“What the fuck, Ringer?” Beth barked.
Sophie looked panicked and Ringer pulled her against his body. “I do,” he said. “But, I’m sorry that this isn’t what you deserve, Honey. God, this should be your dream wedding—not us having a quicky ceremony in the courthouse, surrounded by your sister-in-law’s prenatal fluids. No offense Beth,” Ringer said.
Sophie giggled. “None taken,” Beth groaned. “And just for the record, you said that you do, right?”
“He did,” Sophie said. “I heard it with my own two ears. As for the rest, Ringer, I’m not upset about how any of this has turned out. I wouldn’t change a thing. You are my dream come true. I don’t care about all the rest—I just need you.”
“You have me,” Ringer promised. If she only knew how much that was true. He had been in love with Sophie for so long now, he couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t. She was right—this was perfect because it was about them and no one else.
Beth cried out in pain and it sounded like a growl literally ripping from her chest. “This a done deal?” she shouted.
“Yes,” the judge said. “You are man and wife. You may kiss your bride.” Ringer didn’t need to be told twice. He sealed his mouth over Sophies just as the EMTs burst into the courthouse. Ringer broke their kiss and turned to Reaper.
“What can we do, man?” he asked.
“Bring my pick-up to the hospital,” Reaper ordered, tossing him the keys. They got Beth up on a gurney and she held her belly as another contraction seemed to rip her apart. “Meet us there.”
“Will do, Reap,” Ringer agreed. He grabbed Sophie’s hand and led her out into the hallway, following the shouts of pain that trailed down the corridor from Beth.
The judge cleared his throat, “I just need for you to sign the marriage certificate and you can be on your way.”
“We’ll be right behind you, Reaper,” Sophie said. Reaper nodded and followed Beth as they wheeled her out of the lobby. They watched as she was loaded onto the ambulance and Sophie covered her belly. “I can’t wait,” she whispered.
“Fuck, Honey,” Ringer whispered. “After what we just saw, you honestly can’t wait to go through that?”
“Nope—we’ll get to meet our son when it’s all over. I think he’ll be worth it.” Ringer bent to kiss her, pushing her up against the wall just outside the Judge’s chambers.
“I think our son is one lucky little guy getting to have you for his Mama,” Ringer whispered against her lips. He kissed her loving the way she didn’t seem to care that they were causing a spectacle in the middle of the courthouse.
“He’s pretty damn lucky having you as his Daddy,” Sophie breathed. “Now, let’s sign those papers and make this thing official. I need to get to the hospital to meet my little nephew before we head to Yellowstone. I’ve got a honeymoon to get to,” she teased.
“Deal,” he said. Ringer just hoped like hell that the rest of their trip didn’t turn out as crazy as their ceremony. He needed to find that park ranger and get some answers. He had a feeling that his kid’s life might depend on him figuring out this whole shifter thing—the sooner the better.
Sophie
Reaper had texted her the hospital room before they even parked his pick-up in the lot. She had ridden with Ringer and a couple of guys from Perdition agreed to pick up Ringer’s truck and bring it over to the hospital for them. Her little nephew couldn’t wait to make his appearance into the world. He was born on the way to the hospital in the back of the ambulance. Little Christopher was finally here and from the pictures that Reaper texted to her, he was damn near perfect.
They found Beth’s room and Sophie knocked on the door, pushing her way in to find Beth’s sister, Lyra and her husband, Tank already there, gushing over Chris.
“Hey, Sis,” Reaper said. “Meet your nephew.” Lyra handed the baby to Sophie and smiled.
“You’re having a boy too,” she whispered.
“I know,” Beth said, taking Chris from Beth’s sister. Sometimes, she forgot about when Lyra and Beth could do. They were seers and had the uncanny ability to know things about other people just by touching them.
“Congratulations,” Tank said to Ringer. “On the baby and the wedding. Reap was just filling us in on today’s excitement. I hear little Chris was almost born in the lobby of the courthouse.”
“Thanks,” Ringer said. “Yeah, Beth sure took the whole wedding thing to the next level,” he teased.
“I can’t help it if my kid wanted to attend his aunt and new uncle’s wedding,” Beth said. Sophie looked at the newborn squirming in her arms and was immediately overcome by emotions. She hated her fucking pregnancy hormones. She was either hot or cold, all the time and the crying was enough to make her crazy.
“Aw, Honey,” Ringer said. “Don’t start with the waterworks again.”
“Shit, if she starts, Lyra will start,” Tank grumbled. Sophie looked over to find Lyra wiping tears from her cheeks and Beth sobbed.
“Crap,” Reaper said. “Seriously, Sis. You’ve started an epidemic,” he grouched. The women giggled, causing the men to groan louder.
“If she’s not crying, she’s laughing. What the hell, Honey,” Ringer said.
“I can’t help it,” Sophie cried. “He’s just so perfect.”
“Right?” Lyra asked. “I just got done saying the same thing. How are we not supposed to cry at the sight of our perfect new nephew?”
“I need a beer,” Tank grumbled.
“Fine, we can go,” Lyra offered. “Besides, I have to pick up Delilah and we’ll swing back by later, if that’s okay with you, Beth. She’s going to be so excited when she hears that you had the baby. There’ll be no keeping her away from this place and him.” Lyra nodded to where Chris lay snuggled in Sophie’s arms.
“Works for me,” Beth said. “Hopefully, they’ll let me eat soon. I’m starving. Who knew that pushing a kid out of your body would make you so hungry?”
“If they don’t get you some food, text me and I’ll stop to pick something up for you,” Lyra offered.
“I assume you won’t be at church tonight,” Tank asked Reaper.
“Nope,” he said. “I’m staying here for the night, but you can fill me in on the news later.”
“That works,” Tank agreed. “It was good seeing you two again, Soph.” Tank pulled her in for a side hug and then shook Ringer’s hand. “Take good care of her Ringer. She’s like a little sister to me and some of the only family I have.”
“Got it, man,” Ringer promised. “You have my word.” Sophie watched Tank and Lyra leave and knew that they were going to have to have to hit the road too if they wanted to start driving tonight. The idea of having to hand the baby back over nearly made her want to cry again.
“You know, he’ll be here when you get back from your honeymoon, right,” Beth asked, as if able to read her mind.
“I hate when you do shit like that, Beth,” Sophie warned. She smiled at her sister-in-law and handed Chris back to her. “But, I appreciate that. Just so you know, I’ll be by the second we get back to town. Chris and I will have a lot of catching up to do.” Sophie kissed his little head full of dark hair and let Reaper pull her in for a quick hug.
“Take care of yourself, Sophie,” he ordered. He released her and reluctantly held his hand out to Ringer. Sophie was happy that her brother was at least making an effort. “Keep an eye on my little sister, man,” he said. Ringer took Reaper’s hand into his own and nodded.
“Will do, Reap. I promise not to take my eyes off her,” he swore. Sophie giggled and Reaper groaned.
“Just be safe, you two. Send me text updates of where you guys are at,” Reaper ordered. They agreed and left the small hospital room.
“Ready to get on the road, Wife?” Ringer asked.
“As I’ll ever be, Husband,” she agreed.
They were on the third day of driving and she was about ready to get out and walk the rest of the way to Yellowstone. “We almost the
re yet,” she asked for about the millionth time.
Ringer chuckled and took her hand across the console and rested it on his lap. “You’ve only asked me about forty-two times today, so far. I’m impressed. Yesterday by this time, I’m pretty sure you had asked me that question about two hundred and forty times. That kind of restraint is impressive, Honey,” he teased.
“Can you just answer the question, please?” she asked.
“Fine,” he chuckled. “No, we are not almost there yet. We still have about seven more hours. You do realize that if you took fewer pee breaks, we could have been there by now, right?”
“And, you do realize that I have your giant baby growing inside of my body, pressed up against my bladder, making that nearly impossible, right?” Sophie countered. “I’m miserable.”
“Gee, I hadn’t noticed,” Ringer whispered under his breath.
“Can we stop soon? I’m hungry and I have to pee,” Sophie said.
“We just left the hotel about an hour ago. You ate a full continental free breakfast and I made you use the restroom before we left.” Ringer shot her a disapproving look and she shrugged.
“I drank a lot of juice and I have to pee again. As for you noticing the amount of food I ate—” Ringer held up his hands, as if in surrender and she backed down.
“I didn’t say that I was keeping track of what you ate for breakfast. I was merely stating that you just ate about an hour ago,” he said.
“Well, thank you for keeping track of when I eat my meals, Ringer,” she spat. “I’ll let the baby know that we won’t be eating again until it’s time. When do you suppose that will be?” she asked.
“I think there is an exit up ahead with a place to eat and a public restroom. That work for you and the baby?” he asked.
“Yes,” she agreed. “Thank you. We both appreciate that, Ringer.” He chuckled and Sophie couldn’t hide her smile no matter how much she tried to hold onto her pissy mood.
“We good here, Honey?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she breathed. “I’m just sick of being cooped up in the truck and God, I’m hungry all the damn time.”
“I know, Baby. We’ll be to Yellowstone soon enough and then we can set up camp and go for a nice long hike to stretch our legs,” he offered.
“That sounds like heaven but I think we should bring some snacks, just to be on the safe side.” Ringer laughed again and nodded.
“Already planned ahead,” he promised. “I have enough beef jerky packed to keep our little guy happy for a good long time.” Ringer patted her belly and she giggled.
“You know, we haven’t discussed names yet,” she said. “Have you given it much thought?” Sophie couldn’t stop thinking about what she wanted to call him but it would need to be a joint decision. When she got pregnant, she had made a very long list of girl names and a somewhat shorter list of names for boys. Coming up with the perfect name for their little guy wasn’t as easy as she hoped it would be.
“I have,” Ringer said. “In fact, I had a dream two nights ago that we named him Oliver, after my grandfather.”
“I love that name,” Sophie gushed. “I didn’t know you had a grandpa named Oliver.”
“Yeah,” Ringer breathed. “Honestly, he was the best man I’ve ever known.”
“You’re dad wasn’t always a bad person, Ringer. I remember him when I was younger. He and my dad were close.” Sophie remembered the way their two families would get together on Sundays, when the textile plant was closed, and have family dinner together. She looked forward to those dinners every week because it meant she would get to see Ringer. Of course, her brother would hog him as soon as he walked through the door. Reaper and Ringer would disappear to his room, only to come out when they were called to dinner.
“No,” Ringer said. “He wasn’t always bad. But, I’d rather not have my kid named Anthony III.”
Sophie giggled, “We could call him Tres for short,” she teased.
“No,” Ringer barked. “I hated being called Junior. I was happy when people started calling me Ringer, even though they gave me the nickname because they said I was a dead ringer for my old man. I hated that people thought I was like him in any way.”
“You’re not,” Sophie agreed. “You are the kindest man I’ve ever met and I know you’d never do anything to hurt anyone, Ringer.”
“Thanks, Babe,” he said. “This is the exit. You still want food?” Sophie could tell he was changing the subject but she didn’t care. She was starving.
“Yes,” she eagerly agreed. “And, I really need to pee.”
Sophie had to admit that after she got some food into her system, she felt better. She only made poor Ringer stop about forty more times for her to pee, before they made it to the park. They were staying in one of the local campgrounds that had rental cabins and when Ringer pulled up to their little home away from home, she was pleasantly surprised at just how nice it was.
“Wow,” she breathed. “It’s so cute.”
Ringer chuckled, “Cute?” he asked. “What were you expecting?”
“Um, I don’t know,” she admitted. “I guess I thought we’d be in a tent—you know roughing it.”
“Naw—I figured you wouldn’t mind some of the finer comforts of home,” he said. “You know, being pregnant and all. I didn’t think you’d want to sleep on the ground.”
“Right,” she said. “Thanks for that. I don’t think my back would be able to handle the hard ground. Especially after sitting in your pick-up truck for the past three days.”
“How about you let me carry you over the threshold and we can start the honeymoon portion of our trip?” He bobbed his eyebrows at her and she giggled. “If you play your cards right, I’ll even throw in a bubble bath.”
“Oh God,” she moaned. “That sounds like heaven.”
“Good,” Ringer said. He rounded his truck and helped her out of the passenger’s side, pulling her against his body and into his arms. “I can finally give you your wedding present too.”
“Wedding present?” she questioned. “But, I didn’t get you anything.” She hated that he got her something and it didn’t even cross her mind to pick up something for him. Not that there was any time for shopping.
“Just trust me,” Ringer breathed. Sophie nodded and smiled up at him. She trusted him with her life and there was nothing he could say or do to change that. “Thanks, Honey. Now, let's get in and run you that bath.”
“What about finding the park ranger?” she asked.
“We’ll have time for that tomorrow. Tonight, you’re mine,” he promised.
Ringer
Ringer showed Soph around their tiny cabin and was relieved that she seemed to like it. The little place was only going to be home for a few days, while they poked around Yellowstone for answers. He couldn’t wait to give her the wedding surprise he’d planned.
On their way to the courthouse, he made a quick stop at their realtor’s office. He told Sophie he just had to turn in their pre-qualification papers but he had done all that a few days before. He was dropping off an offer for the home he knew Sophie secretly loved. She had protested the idea of him buying her a house but that was bullshit. His new little family needed a new home—someplace they could call their own. The house that Sophie rented from Beth was great but it was too small for their expanding family. He wanted to bring their son home to their new house and watch him grow up there.
He and Sophie had toured a half dozen homes and when he asked her which one she liked, she told him the decision was his to make. He watched her flip through the listings that they were given to bring home to look at. He could hear her heartbeat speed up every time she passed the same listing, over and over. It was a beautiful colonial home just a few blocks from where she currently lived. She kept doubling back to the listing and Ringer knew it was the one she wanted. The realtor called him while Soph was taking a potty break earlier that morning. He wanted to tell her right away but Ringer also knew that he wanted to
make giving her the news special for her.
“Strip,” he ordered. “I’m running you a hot bath.” Sophie sent him a coy smile and he knew exactly what she was going to ask him even before she said the words.
“Will you be joining me?” she asked, pouting out her bottom lip for good measure. Ringer pulled her against his body, letting her feel every inch of his erection. Sophie hissed out her breath and snuggled closer against him. God, she was almost too much for him to handle. His wife was perfect for him as if she was made to be his.
“Yep,” he breathed. He kissed her lips, giving her ass a sharp slap. “Now strip.” Sophie squealed and took a step back from him. She tugged her sweater slowly over her head, letting her blond hair spill over her shoulders. She wasn’t wearing a bra and Ringer felt about ready to swallow his tongue, wanting to suck her taut nipples into his mouth.
“Beautiful,” he whispered against her skin. He liked the way she shivered. Sophie made him feel like the most powerful man in the world, the way she responded to him. “Those too,” he said, motioning to her leggings. She gifted him with her sly smile and slid them down her legs, dragging her lacy panties along with them. Sophie stood completely bare and all he could think about doing was dropping to his fucking knees to worship her. His inner wolf felt as though he was clawing at his skin, demanding to get out. He always walked a fine line around Sophie. One that could end badly for them both if he didn’t tamp down his desire for her. He needed to remember that holding back with her was the only way to protect Sophie and their baby. If he let loose, he worried his wolf would find a way to take over. Ringer couldn’t let that happen.
“Tub,” he grunted, swallowing past the lump in his throat. He closed his eyes, willing himself to calm the fuck down.
“Ringer,” she whispered. Sophie took two steps toward him and he held up his hands.
“I just need a minute, Soph,” he said.
