Sami

IT’S BEEN ABOUT A MONTH and today we’re all going to surprise the hell out of my mom. Bailey, Irish, and myself have planned a surprise baby shower. She was just allowed off of bed rest because the swelling and headaches have finally gone away. The doctor still doesn’t want her to go back to work, so she’s been stockpiling food. I guess it’s a good thing that they built the shop or whatever you want to call it under Goose’s apartment.

My mom has been on a roll and there’s a ton of spaghetti sauce, chicken ala king, chili sauce, canned tomatoes, and a ton of other foods. I don’t know what she plans on doing with all of this food, but we’re definitely reaping the benefits of it. Keegan is too. She comes over on a regular basis with Rage’s daughter Kasey. Normally it’s to help mom in the kitchen.

“Before anythin’ happens for the baby shower, you wanna go for a walk with me Sami?” Irish asks me.

“Sure.”

I’m hoping that today is the day that Irish tells me what mom and him are having. I haven’t said a word about it because I know there’s a lot that’s been going on. Mom and Irish told me about the feeling mom got, and I’ve had more guys on me whenever I leave the house. Including when I go to school.

“I know you’ve been patiently waitin’ to hear what we’re havin’. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long. I just needed to make sure your mom was okay and things were goin’ accordin’ to plan before I could leave her with someone else for any length of time.”

“I know. It’s okay, trust me,” I tell him, trying to make sure that he knows I’m serious.

“Well, we’re havin’ a boy!” he tells me, pulling the envelope out of the pocket of his cut.

I open it up and see the picture from mom’s ultrasound. Just from looking at it, I can tell that Irish looks at this picture often. It has a worn look to it and I know what I’m going to do with it as soon as my little brother is born. I’m going to surprise Irish and make sure that he doesn’t ever lose the first picture of his son.

“I’m getting a little brother!” I say excitedly. “Instead of him watching out for me, all the girls in his life better watch their asses! Anyone attempts to break his heart, I’ll break their face!”

Irish starts laughing his ass off as soon as I say that. I know he’s going to say something eventually about me saying swear words, but it’s not in front of my mom so maybe I’ll get lucky. Besides, he’s got other things on his mind like planning this baby shower. He’s been a nervous wreck the last few days and I know that she’s noticed it. But, she hasn’t said a word about it to anyone.

“Well, I guess we should head back. There’s still a ton of work to do before your mom can leave the house. And Darcy should be here any minute,” Irish says.

“Are the other clubs coming too?” I ask.

“Of course they are. I think Slim’s club should be here within the hour and Gage’s club left when Darcy did.”

“What’s everyone telling mom?”

“We’re gonna have a cookout to celebrate her gettin’ off bed rest finally.”

“And what about the dress that Bailey and Melody picked out for her?”

“Bailey is tellin’ her that she picked her out a special sundress for today. She deserves to feel special and as beautiful as she truly is.”

Irish always knows the right things to say. Even when we’re having the worst days, he can pick us up with just a word or two. It’s something that Goose is starting to do with me too. He is always right by my side when he knows something is going to be told to me, so he can offer whatever support I need.

As we’re walking back up to the house, I see Goose outside. He’s sitting at the table out back with no shirt on. I can’t seem to peel my eyes off of him and Irish notices. He starts smirking and trying to say something to me, but I don’t hear a single word as I imagine running my hands up and down Goose’s amazing body.

“You know that his birthday is around the same time as yours, right?” Irish asks me.

“No, I didn’t know that. Why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“Probably the same reasons you didn’t tell him when yours was,” Irish replies, leaving us alone and heading in the direction of our house.

Goose watches me as I make my way to the table and take a seat next to him. I know that I’m going to say something about him not telling me when his birthday is, I just don’t know if today should be the day I do that. In a few minutes, I’ll have to head to the clubhouse so I can help with the decorations. Then I’ll have to come back here so Darcy can do my hair and stuff. This isn’t going to leave my mind though, so maybe I should say something now.

“What’s on your mind butterfly?” Goose asks me.

“Irish just told me a few things. One of those I can’t tell you. The other one, I don’t know if I want to say anything to you right now.”

“Why’s that?” he asks.

“Why haven’t you told me when your birthday is?” I ask him.

“Irish told you it’s not long after yours, huh?”

“Yeah. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I knew you’d want to make a big deal out of it and it’s really not needed. I’ve never had it celebrated before, and I don’t see a reason to start now,” he says, shrugging his shoulders to tell me he really doesn’t think it’s a big deal.

“Well, you’ve got another thing coming. This year, we’re gonna celebrate it. Even if it’s just the two of us, or if my mom and Irish are included in that. We will be doing something for you,” I tell him, leaving no room for him to argue.

“Okay butterfly.”

“Now, I’m heading over to the clubhouse. Are you going with me?” I ask, staring once again at his exposed body.

“If you keep lookin’ at me like that, we’re gonna be in trouble,” he says suddenly.

I quickly look away as Goose pulls a shirt over his head. Even though I hate to see him covering himself up, I know that he has to. So, I stand up to put a little distance between us and make sure he knows I’m ready to head on over to the clubhouse. Bailey, Maddie, and Melody are already over there. Skylar is keeping mom and Keegan busy. Plus, I know that Skylar wanted to talk to mom about something. Since Irish knows that I’m heading over to the clubhouse, I shoot him a quick text to let him know we’re leaving and we start walking.

“Do you think your mom has an idea about what’s gonna happen today?” Goose asks on our way over.

“No. We’ve all been pretty quiet about it. Irish is going to be the one giving the surprise away if anyone does. He’s been so nervous about whether or not she’s going to like it.”

“I know I’d be nervous about it too.”

“We’ve never talked about it; do you even want kids Goose?” I ask him suddenly needing to know.

“Eventually I do. As long as you’re their mother,” he responds. “I don’t want to rush into it or anythin’ like that.”

“I was just wondering,” I tell him, making sure that he knows I don’t want to rush into it either.

“I want little girls that look like you,” he goes on.

“And I want little boys that look just like you.”

Goose smiles down at me and I return his smile. He’s told me before that I have a smile just for him. Well, he’s got a smile just for me too. It lights up his whole face making him looker a little younger. His eyes close just a fraction and he tilts his head when he smiles at me.

We continue our walk to the clubhouse and I get lost in a daydream about being by his side no matter what. I want to have everything I see my mom and Irish leading to. They’re together every day and find time to spend at least a few minutes alone. It doesn’t matter what they do, they just take a few minutes for them. They’re adding to our family with a new baby, and eventually I know they’ll get married. As soon as the situation with my dad is taken care of. Goose is the one I want to do all that with. No one else will ever make me as happy as he will. There’s no question in my mind about that.

We’re finally ready to head over to the clubhouse and mom still thinks we’re having a cookout. She has no clue what she’s really about to walk into and I’m glad that no one gave the surprise away. It got to the point that we weren’t sure about Irish spilling the beans, so I called Pops. He, in turn, called Irish and asked him to come to the clubhouse. The rest of us calmed down once he was out of the house and away from mom. I know that Pops was going to have a talk with him too.

“I don’t know why you guys wouldn’t let me make anything to bring over. Skylar, you shouldn’t have to do all the work,” my mom says.

“Don’t worry about it hun,” Skylar says. “We all know you’ve been busting your ass in your own kitchen, which I’m totally jealous of by the way. Have you thought any more about what we talked about?”

“I have. As long as I can still go back to the diner to work then I think I’m in,” my mom says.

“What’s going on?” I ask since I missed the conversation.

“I’ve decided that I want to open a bakery. Part of the bakery I want to have as a store with ready made food that a person just has to heat up and throw together. Since your mom loves to cook and has been preparing a ton of things, I think we could sell that in the store part while I take care of the baking.”

“That’s an amazing idea! Can I help out?”

“Of course!” Skylar says. “It’s going to be completely operated by members of the club. Mainly the old ladies, but the guys will have to do some things too. I think the prospects should have to pull dish duty and clean up whatever other messes we run into.”

We all laugh because the prospects have more than enough to do at the clubhouse. And Skylar hates adding anything on to their already full plates. When it comes to her baking, she’s ruthless and will pull anyone in to help. This is a fact that all new prospects are warned about I guess.

As soon as we get to the clubhouse, Bailey pulls out a bandana that looks like the one Irish wears when he’s riding. I see her stop my mom and tie it around her eyes. My mom is standing there confused as hell, but none of us are opening our mouths right now. This is going to be one hell of a surprise. We just want to make sure she’s sitting before she realizes what’s going on. Irish doesn’t want us to really surprise her at all, but it’s part of what’s going to make this special for her.

“What’s going on?” mom finally asks.

“Just let us get you inside and sitting down before we tell you,” Melody says, grabbing onto one of mom’s arms to help lead her in.

All of the guys are standing in the main room and it’s crowded as hell. They’re not making a noise, so mom doesn’t know that they’re there. Irish is standing front and center so he’s the first person she sees. I can tell it’s killing him that he’s not the one helping her right now.

The main room is decorated in yellows, greens, and whites. There’s streamers across the ceiling, balloons everywhere, two tables loaded down with food we can munch on for right now, and another two tables for presents. Tables have been moved out of the way so that we can play some games Maddie and Bailey came up with. And I know that mom is going to love this.

“Are you ready?” I ask mom as soon as we have her sitting in a comfortable chair.

“I am.”

The women all count down from five and I pull the bandana from my mom’s eyes as soon as we hit one. At this point, we all yell surprise and I can see my mom’s eyes filling with tears. They’re happy tears though and I’m glad that we could pull this off for her.

Irish is at her side as the first tear spills over. He wraps his arms around her and they share a private moment amongst all of us. Soon, the rest of the guys are congratulating mom before making their way outside for the cookout that we really are having. We’re just having the baby shower first.

Wood is one of the last guys to make his way out of the main room. Before he can even make it to the hallway, Darcy runs right into him. Somehow their feet get all tangled up and he ends up falling and landing face first where his face doesn’t belong.

A few of the guys turn around after hearing the commotion and I can spot Crash and Trojan. They’re quickly making their way towards Darcy and Wood. This is not going to be good for Wood when he’s still laying in the same spot. The rest of us are just waiting to see how this is going to unfold.

“Are you fuckin’ serious right now?” Trojan yells out. “What the fuck are you doin’ Wood? And Darcy, why haven’t you pushed him the fuck away?

Crash is pulling Wood up and walking him out the back door as Trojan helps Darcy back to her feet. I can see that he checks her over before trying to lead her away as well. Darcy isn’t having any of it though.

“You’re not taking me anywhere and you better be leaving Wood alone. This wasn’t his fault. I ran into him and then tripped him somehow.”

“Okay, but he didn’t have to leave his face in your pussy!” Trojan yells out.

“Listen to me once and for all caveman,” Darcy begins. “Whoever I let near there is going to be there. I haven’t let you or Crash there so you have no right to try to tell me who I can, and can’t, be near.”

“Why is it that every time you two are in the same place, this always happens?” Trojan asks, turning away and going in search of Wood and Crash.

Darcy is continuing to yell at him, but her voice is fading away as she’s hot on his heels. We all look at one another and burst out in laughter. Now that we’ve had our entertainment for the day I guess we can move on to the baby shower. Then the cookout later on.

Goose

The baby shower was a huge success. Whitney and Irish got everything they needed and more. Irish, Pops, Joker, and myself carried all of the presents over to their house and put them in the nursery. Whitney isn’t allowed to go in the nursery right now because Irish had it painted and decorated based on what they’re having. Since Whitney doesn’t want to know, she’s been banned.

Now we’re all sitting around one of the picnic tables when Pops sits closer to Whitney. The rest of us are waiting to see what he’s up to. I know that he’s been wanting to bring Whitney and her mom closer together. She’s been allowed out of the rooms in the basement and has her own room. There’s still a guard on her and she’s not allowed near the phones yet. But, there doesn’t seem to be any hidden agenda here. And Pops has been talking to her almost daily.

“Whitney, the choice is completely up to you. I’ve been talkin’ to your mom and I was wonderin’ about havin’ her out here with us today. She’s not made any attempt to contact your dad and I really don’t think there’s anythin’ in the works with her.”

Whitney sits and thinks for a few minutes. Almost to the point that I don’t think she’s going to answer. Irish moves over closer to her and I see that he’s whispering something to her. I’m not sure what it is, and it’s really none of my business. As long as Sami and Whitney aren’t hurt, I’m good with whatever decision she makes.

“I guess. I don’t know if I’m ready for this to happen, but I guess it’s time to move on and forgive her.”

“Okay. I’ll go get her,” Pops says to us all. “Do you mind if she sits with us?”

“No. She can sit here. Just warn her that I may not be the most receptive,” Whitney tells him.

Pops nods his head in response to make sure that we all know he heard Whitney. He’s too excited right now to really care about that though. I can see it in his features. After losing Ma, Pops just wants to put his family back together. That means being able to reunite Whitney and Sami with her mom. It’s just going to take a while for that to happen I think.

It’s not long before Pops comes back out of the clubhouse with Elizabeth following behind him. From across the backyard I can see the hesitation on her face and I know that she’s scared and nervous as hell right now. I’m watching Sami to see what her reaction to all of this is going to be. I’ll be there for her and if I get the sense that she needs to escape the situation, I’ll figure out somewhere to take her. Even if it’s just dancing with her.

Pops and Elizabeth take a seat at the table and I can tell that Whitney wants to say something to her. She can barely take her eyes off of her mom, but she doesn’t want to be the first one to make a move. Whitney is going to leave it up to her mom.

“Whitney, you look wonderful,” Elizabeth finally says. “When are you due?”

“In about three months. Look mom, I’m still not sure what’s going to happen here. Yes, it would be amazing to have you in my life, but I still have a feeling that you have a hidden agenda.”

“I understand where you’re coming from Whitney. But, I can tell you honestly, that I’m not hiding anything from anyone here. I’ve wanted away from your dad for so long. There was just no one around to help me. Well, at least no one that I knew of at the time.”

“Okay. We’ll talk, I just don’t know how much I’m going to divulge to you. At least right now.”

“I’m fine with that,” Elizabeth says.

The rest of the day goes smoothly. We’ve eaten, talked, laughed, and now everyone is getting ready to start dancing. It’s been a long time since I’ve had Sami in my arms dancing and I’m going to fix that today. We’ll be dancing before we head back over to the house to watch our nightly movie.

The first song that comes on is She’s Everything by Brad Paisley. Sami is definitely my everything. Even if we have to wait, she’s everything that I never knew I wanted. In fact, growing up, I didn’t want to be in a relationship with anyone. I’ve never had good role models in life and I don’t know how to be in a relationship. However, I have a feeling that with Sami, it’s going to be easy and I’m not really going to have to work at it with her. Don’t get me wrong, I know we’re going to fight and argue. If we don’t fight and argue I don’t think that we’d make it. I mean, I’m not going to like everything she does and she’s not going to like everything I do.

“Sami, would you dance with me?” I ask.

“Of course,” she says standing up and taking my hand.

Walking out to the dance floor, a sense of peace fills me as I wrap my arms around her. To me it’s like coming home. I’m not sure if she feels the same way, but that’s how it is to me. We sway and move to the song and Sami rests her head on my chest. She’s not quite tall enough to reach my neck and I love that she’s not that tall. Right now, her body fits perfectly with mine. Almost like she was made just for me.

“What’s on your mind Goose?” she suddenly asks me.

“I was just thinkin’ that havin’ you in my arms like this feels like comin’ home,” I answer honestly. I’ll never hide anything from her.

“Yeah? Well, I feel the same way. Is it always going to be like this?”

“I hope so butterfly.”

Once the song is over, we go over and tell everyone goodbye. Whitney and Cassidy are fading fast and I know it won’t be long before they’re following us over to the house. After Whitney getting the feeling that someone was watching her, we’re followed over to the house by James, a newer prospect, and Killer. He’ll come back over here once Irish is at the house.

Sami lets us in the door and we get everything we’re going to need before we put a movie on. She picks a romantic comedy before sitting down and laying her head in my lap. I pull the blanket off the back of the couch and cover her up the best I can.

It’s not long before Sami is passed out and I’m watching the movie by myself. I’m still sitting here, getting as much time with her as I can, when Irish and Whitney come home. They look at us and Whitney smiles before heading into her room. Irish asks if I’m good and I tell him yes. There’s no way I’m moving before Sami goes into her room for the rest of the night.

I’ve been sitting here for a few hours and I finally sense Sami stirring. She looks at the tv and sees that the movie is back on the opening screen before looking up at me. A smile forms on her face and I know that there’s a sadness and something that she needs to talk about.

“Spit it out butterfly,” I tell her, waiting until she finds a more comfortable position.

“I’m worried about what’s going to happen with my mom and grandma.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there’s so much pain and hurt there that I don’t know how they’re going to move past it. I see where my mom’s coming from, but I also see where my grandma is coming from. She wanted to escape from her husband but was cut off from everyone that could help her do that,” Sami says, wiping a tear away.

“The only thing I can say is let them handle it at their own pace. Things will work out the way they’re meant to work out,” I tell her, pulling her into my side.

“I know and I’m trying to stay out of it. But, I want to see my mom happy. I think that having my grandma a part of our daily lives could help with that.”

“Butterfly, let it go,” I tell her again.

“I will, I promise,” she tells me starting to stand up.

This is my cue that she’s getting ready to head to her room. So, I take the blanket and fold it up before placing it back on the couch. Sami wraps her arms around me and hugs me before she turns and walks down the hallway. I watch her until I hear her door shut. Irish makes his appearance to lock everything up before going back to bed.

“You hear that?” I ask.

“Yeah. I’ll keep an eye on everythin’,” he tells me. “I’ll see you in the mornin’.”

I nod in agreement and walk out the door. Making my way to my little apartment, I open the door and look out the window to check the yard for the last time. There’s nothing out here other than a few brothers still partying. They’ve got tents placed over where the houses are located. I’m sure this is done at the request of Grim to keep a few extra sets of eyes on the house. Knowing they’re here, I get undressed and finally go to bed. Tonight will be another night I dream of my girl and the life I hope to create with her.