twenty-seven
Taco looked at his little boy lying helpless in his arms and couldn’t imagine a better ending to the day. Then he looked over at Bambi, his woman, who was swollen and miserable with their third child, and he couldn’t imagine a better start to the rest of his life. He was one lucky bastard.
Today, they’d made a deal that would set the stage for years to come. If it held, he’d never have to worry about the club business bringing shit to his door that would endanger his family. After all these years, Blake had finally brought true peace into their lives.
He had to admit, he was starting to think the dream was just that—a dream. But the asshole had come through for them, and now the future was so bright, Taco might have to wear shades.
Being on cloud nine wasn’t high enough. He was on cloud twenty-nine. Even a golden ticket into Heaven couldn’t make him as happy as he was now, and he’d done some sketchy shit in his life; that pass would be super nice to have.
Everything was falling into place, it seemed. They all had a path toward a nice, cushy life with the normal worries, instead of some outlandish, unbelievable bullshit that was better fit for a fiction novel rather than real life, and if they played it right, played it straight, it might actually stay that way.
Who could ask for anything better?
Taco felt like Julie Andrews. He could really go for a spin or two on a hilltop. Except he fucking hated that song. There was only one musical he liked, and he’d take his secret love of summer lovin’ to the grave. In the biker world, that was called survival. Even if they were all just a bunch of pussy-whipped losers.
“Why are you staring at me,” Bambi grumbled, making Taco chuckle. Quietly. No need to wake the baby.
“Just thinking about how lucky I am,” he told her truthfully. Half of her face pressed into the bed pillow, she cracked her right eye open and glared up at him as if trying to find the lie in his face, but all she was gonna find was the deep and abiding love he had for her.
After a moment, she rolled over onto her side and stared at him some more. Still waiting? She wouldn’t find a change. Taco was totally gone for her and always would be.
“How do you not hate me? I’m a total shrew lately.”
“Nah, you’re just pregnant,” he said easily. Hormones. Bleh. They made his lady crazy, but when it was all said and done, it was a small price to pay to get the little human that would terrorize their life in the best way possible for years to come.
“You’re too good to me.”
“Not good enough,” he contended. In fact, he felt like she deserved so much better than him, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. Didn’t want to give her ideas. Even though he was certain she loved him, he wasn’t taking any chances. The woman was too good for a slum dog like him. Babies. Babies everywhere. That was his solution. Plus, he just enjoyed seeing her full and round from his babies growing inside her. It was the hottest damn thing he’d ever seen. Imagine that. Man, he’d come a long way in a short time.
But that was women for ya. When the right one came along, they had a way of changing a man forever. There were days that Taco reflected on his life and couldn’t comprehend how he’d gotten by for so long without her.
“I love you, baby,” he whispered to her, and she returned the words with softly spoken ones of her own.
With their babies between them, Taco and Bambi closed the gap as much as they dared and crossed an arm over each other, cradling their little family between their loving embrace, knowing that nothing and no one would ever come between them, because if they tried, Taco would be there, ready to eliminate it. And he knew he’d always have his brothers at his back, which was the most comforting knowledge of all.