CHAPTER FORTY
Diesel
As I drove, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. Would she like it? Would it be good enough for her? Would it be everything she dreamed of?
I’d spent many afternoons and nights working on the house. A lot of my brothers came over to help out. It needed a lot of work but we managed to get it done quickly. I wanted it to feel like her home the moment she walked in. Well, our home.
I’d gotten in touch with the owners. After explaining the circumstances, they handed the keys over right away. I was sure that informing them that I’d be paying cash for their house helped out, too. I was able to get started on it right away. While it wasn’t technically ours just yet, It would be by the end of the week. But I couldn’t wait anymore. I wanted to show her that I was invested in our future together. Also, I wanted her to know that all the time away from her lately had been for her.
I’d done a lot of shitty things to Ellie. I would never deny that I was an asshole. But the last thing I wanted her to think was that I was going back to those ways. That I was spending time away from her to be with someone else, or because I was pulling away.
As we neared Tank’s house, she saw him and Grass out in the front yard throwing around a ball. She perked up and waved when she caught their attention. Grass stopped what he was doing and waved frantically back at her. But then her face fell as we kept driving. I almost chuckled. A few more houses went by as we drove. All of them constructed similarly but each had their own unique style. I watched her from the corner of my eye as I pulled into the driveway. Her brows pinched together in confusion and I found it absolutely fucking adorable.
“Where are we? Is this Loch and Reagan’s place?” She looked around like she was trying to figure the whole situation out.
“Nope,” I said hopping out of the car. I rounded the hood, smirking at her slyly through the windshield before I opened her door. She took my hand and stepped out hesitantly. “This is our home.”
She sucked in a deep gasp, her hand flying up to her opened mouth. I smiled as I watched her, the sun catching on the diamond of the ring she was wearing. My ring that I gave her. Fuck, I still couldn’t believe what a lucky bastard I was.
She waddled over to the front steps as fast as her unbalanced body would let her. I was right behind her, helping as she walked up them. I loved the excitement that sparkled in her eyes.
The house was one story. It had three bedrooms and a huge kitchen. I wanted to remodel the kitchen but didn’t want to do it without making it her dream space. I knew she would spend a lot of time in there. Not because I demanded it of her, but because she loved to cook for people.
The place was perfect for us. Enough room for the three of us and room to grow—if she wanted to. I wouldn’t mind having a few more rugrats running around. But I was also worried about it with how hard this pregnancy had been.
We walked into the large living room. I had left most of the decorating to Reagan, only telling her what I had in mind and everything that Ellie reminded me of. The walls were crisp white. The couch and love seat were light gray, with sky blue accents. The coffee table and end tables were antique white. The whole room had a warm summer breeze feel to me. The curtains over that covered the huge front window were sheer light yellow. I wanted to let as much light in as possible.
I turned to her as the tears ran down her cheeks. Her mouth hung open in shock, but I hoped that it was a good shock.
“I-I love it,” she whispered reaching out for my hand. I pulled her into me and rested my chin on her head. I loved how tiny she was and that she barely came up to my shoulder. She fit perfectly against me. “You did all this for me?”
I nodded against her head. I quickly pulled her through the rest of the house, knowing that if we stayed there too long she would start blubbering and we would never move on. Not that I would’ve minded. As long as they were happy tears, she could spill as many as she wanted.
The dining room was painted light yellow. The table was natural light wood. Our bedroom was filled with a heavy dark wood bed frame. One that was sturdy. I winked at her when she ran her fingers over the smooth edges of the headboard. She blushed as if she read my mind of all the things I had planned for her. There were also matching his and her dressers and a huge mirror mounted on the wall. The room was the color of a cool lake. The attached master bathroom was painted a light cool gray. I lucked out that there was a huge tub with jets. No doubt that would get all kinds of use.
“I’m going to make you come on every surface of this house,” I growled low beside her ear. Her body shuddered. I fucking couldn’t get enough of how her body was so responsive to me. Me. And only me.
I took in a deep breath and tried to calm my dick down. We had to leave that room or I was going to throw her down on the bed. And if that happened, we wouldn’t be leaving the room until our baby was ready to come out.
The last room was the one I was most nervous about. I led her to the door across the hall that I had left closed on purpose. She looked at me with wonder dancing in her emerald eyes as she cautiously turned the handle. The door swung open wide and she shuffled into the middle of the room. She did a slow spin, taking in the whole space.
It was a little girls dream. No, I didn’t do a pink princess theme. Although, I was sure that little girl was going to forever be daddy’s princess. Instead, I went with a forest theme. And of course, there were little pixies painted all over the walls. The furniture was antique white and made to look vintage. There was a crib, dresser, and changing table. I also got a rocker that was a light tan. It was big and plush. I wanted something that Ellie could sink into and relax as she held our daughter.
Ellie walked up to the wall with the mural and ran her fingers along one of the pixies. It was the one with the most detail. She was the biggest, but still tiny. Her hair was long and wavy and the perfect color of strawberry blonde. Her eyes were wide, big, sparkling emerald green. Ellie’s eyes moved to mine but caught at something on the top of the dresser before she could look at me. She laughed, loud yet light as air.
“Really?” she asked as she picked up one of the outfits I’d left sitting out. I shrugged with a smirk.
It was hot pink onesie that had a little tutu attached to it. The front read Daddy’s little girl, while the back said My daddy rides a motorcycle and knows how to use a gun. To be honest, I never thought that we’d actually put her in it. It was more of a joke. And by the smile on Ellie’s face, it had done the job. The rest of them, though, she would be wearing at some point.
“I cannot put her in this, Diesel,” Ellie playfully scolded.
“What?” I asked innocently. “It’s never too early to scare off the boys. Or girls. You know, whatever.” And that was the damn truth.
“Oh, our poor little girl. She’s never going to get to date.”
“Fuckin’ right. You know how many little shits like me are out there?!” I flinched at my own words. The last thing I needed to do was to remind her of how I used to be. But to my surprise, she laughed and shook her head. I breathed out a relieved breath, thankful that it seemed she’d forgiven me for all the asshole things I’d done.
“Oh, you.” She rolled her eyes and set the outfit back down. I slipped my arms over her shoulder reaching for the one I loved the most. I held it up in front of us and smiled.
Reagan had found some site on the Internet that could print whatever you wanted on just about anything. The little onesie was light pink and had the Steel Paragons insignia on the front. The back had the club name and chapter city. I knew she would outgrow it fast, but I didn’t care.
“I love it. She should wear that when we bring her home.” I would have sworn the smile on her face couldn’t be any bigger.
“Fuck yeah, she is.” I bent down and kissed the side of her neck as I wrapped my arms around her midsection. My huge hand splayed over her swollen belly. “Do you like it?”
I was glad she was facing away from me. She wasn’t able to see how worried I was for her answer. What if she hated it? The only thing I could do was redo it to her liking and that wouldn’t have been a problem. But I wanted to get it right for her almost all on my own. I wanted to do everything right when it came to Ellie.
“It’s fucking perfect,” she said, making me choke out a laugh. It shocked me and made me smile and relax. Hearing her cuss outside the bedroom was new. And I fucking loved it.
I felt her stiffen all of a sudden and I wondered if she even realized what she had said. Maybe she was freaking out about it.
“You okay?” My tone suddenly losing all its humor.
“Uhhh… you might want to grab that outfit.” Her voice was shaky, but her body still felt strong in my arms. I was confused at what was going on.
“Huh?”
“It’s go time, Diesel,” she said looking down at her belly. My eyes went wide as I released her. She turned around and I saw that her shorts were soaked.
“Oh shit. Okay, yeah.” This was not going well. I needed to calm down and handle the situation for both of us.
I scooped her up and walked through the house as quickly as I could and still be safe. She laughed and hit my shoulder, telling me she could still walk and she was fine. But fuck that. I made sure she was buckled in, then she grabbed her belly and let out a heavy, forceful breath.
“I’m good. I’m good!” She waved her hand at me. I knew it was a contraction. I also was aware that I needed to time them out. Fuck. I had to get her to the hospital.
“Yeah?” Tank said as he answered the phone. I couldn’t think of anyone I wanted to call first more than him. I knew he would take care of letting everyone else know as well.
“Ellie’s in labor.” The words rushed out so fast I wasn’t sure if they made sense. His deep laugh echoed through the phone and Ellie yelled a cheerful hello at hearing it.
“So, she was that excited about the house, huh?” He had the damn nerve to joke at that moment. I growled and he got the hint. “We’ll be right behind you. I’ll call Cal and Loch.”
“Thanks, brother.” I hung up and set my phone down. I was almost to the highway and I needed both hands on the wheel.
The mood in the car shifted quickly. I wanted to reach over and hold her hand but there was no way I was going to let go of the wheel. I needed to drive the safest I’d ever driven in my life.
“It’s too early,” she whispered in a shaky breath. I don’t think she was even aware that she had said it out loud.
“No, pixie, it’s fine. It’s only two weeks early. That’s perfectly normal.” To my surprise, my voice sounded calm.
She nodded mindlessly right before another contraction hit. I wasn’t able to time it, but it didn’t seem like they were that far apart. I worried we wouldn’t make it to the hospital. I heard the bikes off in the distance behind us and it sounded like the whole club was back there. I didn’t realize how much I had until that moment. I needed them and they were there for me at the drop of a hat. Without me even having to ask. This was a family. I would do the same for any of them without a second thought.
“You hear that, baby? They are all right behind us. Everything is going to be perfect,” I said with a smile on my face.